Deals on wheels

Autumn’s golden light and leafy lanes make it adventure time. Mike Armitage picks the best deals on multipurpose machinery

Save £350 Royal Enfield Himalayan

Who’d have thought a basic, 411cc, 24bhp single could out-sell the BMW R1250GS? Enfield’s robust, straightforward, honest Himalayan was the UK’S best-selling adventure bike at some points in the last couple of years, and popularity means that discounts aren’t common. But hunt around and you can save a few quid. GP Motorcycles (01476 569880) have the Enfield for £4349 in grey or silver, with similar savings on two-tone jobs too. And while £350 doesn’t sound much, in percentage terms it’s like saving £1290 on an R1250GS TE.

Save £1100 Suzuki V-strom

The V-strom won’t overwhelm your adrenaline gland but it will cosset its rider and passenger, supply easy-going thrust and dependable roadholding, and run forever. It’ll also stand out in the adventure sea. With all-singing electronics, spoke wheels and full luggage the XT Tour is already keenly priced at £13,599, but Appleyard (01535 287038) will flog you a box-fresh 2022 model for £12,499 – almost £2k less than a bum-basic R1250GS. Has to be in Dr750-alike yellow, mind.

Save £500 Gasgas ES700

Want a real adventure bike? One that can ford rivers, leap over rocks and genuinely go anywhere? You want a KTM 690 Enduro R or its badge-engineered Husqvarna 701 sibling. Or you did before the new Gasgas arrived. It’s the same chassis and ace 693cc, 74bhp single-cylinder motor as the KTM, only wrapped in tweaked plastic and painted red. Shares the £9349 list price too. The difference is that while discounted 690s are rare, dealers are already knocking cash off the new ES700 – you’ll grab one for £8849 at Gear4 (01778 380380).

Save £745 Yamaha Ténéré 700

What are the colour choices for this year’s Ténéré? Chances are you’ve got no idea without checking. Nobody else will really know either, and so as the paint scheme was the only update for the oh-so-capable middleweight adventurist for 2022 you might as well save a chunk and buy a 2021 version. CMC (01633 749078) are asking a more than reasonable £9155 for the versatile parallel-twin. They’ll also do you a free tracker (just pay for the fitting and yearly subscription) and there’s finance available too.