Honda scooter you can't buy in the U.S. beats KTMs, BMW in Gibraltar Race

The X-ADV is not sold in the United States, though I am sure a few made it here somehow. It has a 745 cc parallel twin engine putting down 54 horsepower and about 50 foot-pounds of torque. It’s available with a six-speed DCT. Topped up with the full three and a half gallons of gas, the X-ADV weighs 525 pounds. Hey, tubeless spoked wheels! The AT doesn’t have those. UK prices convert to around $12,800 for an X-ADV. Steep, but in the ADV space, that’s not bad at all. If you consider the X-ADV to actually be, you know, an ADV bike. 

Before you judge, consider that an X-ADV just won the 601-950 cc class in the Gibraltar Race, a 4,300-mile dash from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic. The rally includes on- and off-road sections that wind across Europe.  (They track a few stats for the race, including the number of knobs the racers wore off tires: 32,380!) Like most rallies, scoring is based on the rider’s ability to reach checkpoints at designated times, not before or after. 

Racer Renato Zocchi beat out a field of enduro machines for the win on his maxi-scooter, including KTM 790 Adventure Rs, Husqvarna 701 Enduros, Yamaha XT660Zs, and an F 800 GS Adventure. To me, that says a lot more about the rider than the bike, and Zocchi is a highly accomplished racer with experience in the Dakar, Baja, motocross, and more. He rode an X-ADV in the event last year and did well, but this year’s performance has to be the coolest thing anyone’s ever done on an X-ADV. Certainly cooler than Marc Márquez playing one as an instrument.

The X-ADV was definitely modified to compete in this event. Of course, it needed navigational equipment for the race. Zocchi had the bike lifted and added Öhlins suspension. Wheels, tires, and exhaust were upgraded, and a front fender was added. Engine and chassis went untouched.

Some say any bike is an adventure bike. Maybe any bike is a race bike, too.