If you’ve got about €12,000 in Europe and you want a motorcycle that can do a motorway, a gravel fire road, and a trip to IKEA without complaint, you’ve got three real choices: the KTM 790 Adventure, the Yamaha Ténéré 700, and the Honda XL750 Transalp. All three are parallel twins between 690cc and 800cc, all three are A2-licence-legal if you need that, and the gap between the cheapest and the priciest is about €800 — not nearly enough to make the decision for you. So here’s the spec-by-spec case for each, because I have genuinely spent more hours comparing these three than I have riding any of them this year.

The spec sheet, side by side

Spec KTM 790 Adventure Yamaha Ténéré 700 Honda XL750 Transalp
Engine 799cc parallel twin (LC8c) 689cc CP2 parallel twin 755cc parallel twin, 270° crank
Power 95 PS / 70 kW 73.4 hp / 54 kW 90.5 hp / 67.5 kW
Torque 87 Nm 68.6 Nm 75 Nm
A2-legal version Yes — dealer remap to 35 kW Yes — factory 35 kW option Yes — factory 35 kW option
Weight 203 kg (dry, KTM’s own figure) 208 kg (kerb) 210 kg (kerb)
Seat height 840 / 860 mm 875 mm (Low seat available) 850 mm
Fuel tank 20 L ~16 L 16.9 L
Suspension travel (f/r) 200 mm / 200 mm 210 mm / 200 mm 200 mm / 190 mm
Ground clearance 233 mm 240 mm 210 mm
Price (Germany, from) ~€12,485 ~€11,699 ~€11,749

Quick honesty note before anyone emails me: KTM publishes its 790 Adventure weight dry (no fuel), while Yamaha and Honda both quote kerb weight (full tank, ready to ride). Add roughly 15kg of fuel to the KTM’s 203kg and you’re looking at all three bikes within about 5kg of each other — which is the actual, boring truth. Nobody is winning the weight argument here by a margin you’d feel on a gravel road.

The KTM 790 Adventure: biggest tank, most ground clearance headroom, most expensive

2026 KTM 790 Adventure, action shot, riding on a gravel road

The KTM 790 Adventure’s 799cc parallel twin makes 95 PS (70 kW) and 87 Nm, and it’s the only one of the three with a genuinely huge 20-litre tank — four litres more than the Honda, which on a bike doing 4-5 L/100km translates into real extra range between fuel stops that don’t exist out past the last petrol station. The WP Apex suspension gives 200mm of travel front and rear, adjustable seat height between 840mm and 860mm, and 233mm of ground clearance.

It’s also the priciest of the three, at around €12,485 in Germany — about €800 more than the Honda and the better part of €800 more than the Yamaha. That premium buys you KTM’s sharper, more street-focused chassis feel and the bigger tank, not more power you’ll actually use on a daily commute. I’ve told my wife twice now that I’m “just looking,” which in this house is understood to mean I am not just looking.

KTM’s also been busy lower down the range — the brand just put a real price on the 690 Rally, its Dakar-styled single-cylinder answer to this exact segment, for riders who want the adventure-touring idea in a smaller, lighter package. If the 790 Adventure’s size and price put you off, that’s worth a look before you cross KTM off the list entirely — and the 690 Rally’s own reveal shows exactly how differently KTM thinks about “adventure bike” once you go a class down.

The Yamaha Ténéré 700: lightest, most ground clearance, cheapest to insure your ego about

The Ténéré 700’s 689cc CP2 twin is the smallest engine of the three by a wide margin — 73.4 hp (54 kW) and 68.6 Nm, noticeably down on both rivals on paper. What it gives up in outright numbers it claims back in suspension: 210mm of front travel and 240mm of ground clearance, both the highest figures here, and a kerb weight of 208kg that undercuts the KTM’s wet-weight-equivalent and the Honda’s 210kg. At around €11,699 in Germany, it’s also the cheapest way into this comparison by a meaningful margin if you skip the Rally trim.

The CP2 engine’s reputation off-road is the whole reason this bike still sells on a six-year-old platform against newer twins with more power — it’s torquey low down, forgiving when you’re standing on the pegs in a rutted trail, and it doesn’t punish you for getting the throttle wrong the way a bigger twin can. Yamaha’s also clearly not done with this segment: the brand has teased a bigger adventure bike for EICMA that everyone’s reading as a three-cylinder step above the Ténéré 700, which tells you Yamaha isn’t treating this class as a finished conversation either.

The Honda XL750 Transalp: middle of the pack on everything, and that’s the pitch

2026 Honda XL750 Transalp, studio shot, front three-quarter view

The XL750 Transalp’s 755cc twin splits the difference almost exactly — 90.5 hp (67.5 kW) and 75 Nm sit between the KTM and the Yamaha on paper, and so does its price at around €11,749 including delivery in Germany (about €11,120 ex-works). Where it actually stands out is the engine character: Honda’s 270° crank gives it a V-twin-like throb that neither rival matches, and for 2026 it’s the only one of the three offering an E-Clutch option — an automatic clutch you can still override with the lever, which is a genuinely useful thing to have the one time a year you’re doing a slow, technical hillside u-turn and your left hand has other priorities.

Its weak point on paper is ground clearance — 210mm, a full 30mm under the Yamaha — and 190mm of rear suspension travel, the shortest figure in this group. This is the most road-biased of the three by spec sheet alone, which tracks with how most owners actually use an adventure bike: motorway, B-roads, the occasional gravel car park, and approximately one serious off-road trip a year that gets mentioned at every subsequent dinner party.

Can you ride any of these on an A2 licence?

Yes, all three. KTM, Yamaha and Honda each build a 35kW-compliant path into this segment, which matters a lot if you’re two years into your licence and not yet allowed the full-power version of any of them. The Honda and KTM both let a dealer remap the ECU back up to full power once you’ve got your unrestricted licence — no new parts, same bike you already own. Yamaha sells the Ténéré 700 as a genuine factory A2 variant from new, badge and all, not a cosplay 300cc pretending to be the real thing.

If the A2 angle matters to you, it’s worth reading our full roundup of A2-licence-legal adventure bikes — all three of these bikes qualify, but so do several cheaper options we cover there that don’t make this particular comparison.

Which one should you actually buy?

If off-road capability and tank range are the priority, the KTM 790 Adventure’s 20-litre tank and chassis sharpness justify its price premium — assuming you’ll actually use the ground clearance and not just the Instagram caption. If you want the lightest, most forgiving bike for genuine trail riding and you don’t mind the smallest engine on paper, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 is the one with a six-year track record of doing exactly that job and a factory A2 version that doesn’t feel like a compromise. If you mostly ride road and want the most refined engine of the three, plus a genuinely useful E-Clutch option, the Honda XL750 Transalp is the one that’s hardest to argue with at its price.

None of them are wrong answers. That’s the annoying part of this comparison — I’ve talked myself into all three at various points this year, which is exactly the kind of indecision that ends with a credit card statement and a garage with one motorcycle too many in it.

What if none of these fit your budget?

Plenty of options exist below this price band. We’ve rounded up nine adventure bikes under €10,000 you can buy in Europe right now, several of them from brands most European riders have never test-ridden. It’s also worth knowing what CFMoto, Kove, QJMotor and Voge are actually building these days — the value proposition at the bottom of this segment has shifted a lot faster than the big three’s price tags have.

FAQ

Which of these three adventure bikes is cheapest in Europe?

The Honda XL750 Transalp starts lowest in Germany, at around €11,120 ex-works (about €11,749 with delivery). The Yamaha Ténéré 700 follows at around €11,699, with the KTM 790 Adventure the most expensive of the three at around €12,485.

Can I ride the KTM 790 Adventure, Yamaha Ténéré 700 or Honda Transalp on an A2 licence?

Yes, all three. The KTM and Honda can be dealer-remapped to 35kW and later unrestricted once you hold a full licence; Yamaha sells the Ténéré 700 as a factory A2-spec variant from new.

Which one has the most ground clearance?

The Yamaha Ténéré 700, at 240mm, ahead of the KTM 790 Adventure’s 233mm and well clear of the Honda XL750 Transalp’s 210mm.

Which one is lightest?

They’re close enough to call it a tie. Yamaha quotes 208kg kerb weight for the Ténéré 700, Honda quotes 210kg kerb for the Transalp, and KTM quotes 203kg dry (no fuel) for the 790 Adventure — add a tank of fuel to that last figure and all three land within about 5kg of each other.

Is there a cheaper alternative to all three?

Yes — see our guide to adventure bikes under €10,000 available in Europe right now, plus what Chinese manufacturers like CFMoto and Voge are now offering in this space.

Reporting via: ktm.com, yamahamotorsports.com, honda.de