The EU’s A2 licence caps a motorcycle at 35 kW (47 hp), with a power-to-weight ratio no higher than 0.2 kW/kg. Eight adventure bikes on sale in Europe right now fit under that ceiling either straight from the factory or via an approved restrictor kit, ranging from a €5,900 single-cylinder budget bike to a full-size 853cc V-twin with the throttle dialled back. Here’s every one of them, compared on the numbers that actually decide which one you can get an A2 test pass on.

I’ve been eyeing this list for longer than I want to admit, mostly because my own licence has been full-A for a decade and none of this technically applies to me anymore. Doesn’t stop me pricing one out every time a spec sheet lands in my inbox.

What the A2 licence actually limits

A2 riders (18+, or two years after an A1 at 16-17 in some member states) are restricted to 35 kW of power and a power-to-weight ratio of 0.2 kW/kg or less, full stop – there’s no separate “adventure bike” carve-out. The engine itself can be bigger than 35 kW’s worth as long as it’s restricted down, but only if the unrestricted version doesn’t produce more than double the A2 limit (70 kW / 95 hp). We’ve covered the full A1/A2/A ladder and where each real bike sits on it in more detail in our licence explainer – this piece is the adventure-specific shortlist that explainer keeps getting asked for.

Every bike below clears both bars: the raw 35 kW cap and the 0.2 kW/kg ratio. None of them are anywhere near the ratio ceiling, actually – the tightest is the KTM at 0.187 kW/kg, and the Himalayan 440 has enough spare weight that it sits at 0.15. The binding constraint on this list is almost always the power cap, not the ratio.

The eight bikes at a glance

Bike Engine Power Weight Seat height Price (from)
Royal Enfield Himalayan 440 452cc single 40 PS (29.4 kW) 196 kg (kerb) 825 mm ~€5,900
CFMoto 450MT 449cc parallel-twin 44 hp (32.8 kW) 179 kg (kerb) 800-820 mm ~€6,300
Kawasaki Versys-X 300 296cc parallel-twin 40 PS (29.4 kW) 179 kg (kerb) 815 mm ~€6,100
KTM 390 Adventure R 399cc single 45 PS (33 kW) 176 kg (wet) 830 mm €6,990
Honda NX500 471cc parallel-twin 35 kW (46.2 hp) 196 kg (kerb) 830 mm €6,831
Voge DS525X 494cc parallel-twin 35 kW (47.6 hp) 206 kg (wet) 810 mm ~€7,100
Yamaha Ténéré 700 (A2 kit) 689cc parallel-twin 35 kW restricted (from 53.7 kW) 204 kg (kerb) 875 mm ~€9,900 + kit
Moto Guzzi V85 TT (A2) 853cc V-twin 35 kW restricted (from 59 kW) 229 kg (kerb) 830 mm €13,499

Prices marked “~” are converted or aggregated from national listings that don’t always agree with each other – treat them as a starting point for a dealer quote, not an invoice.

Royal Enfield Himalayan 440 – the one that needs no kit and no compromise

The Himalayan 440 is A2-legal by a wide margin: 40 PS (29.4 kW) from its 452cc “Sherpa” single, in a 196 kg motorcycle, works out to a 0.15 kW/kg ratio – nowhere near the 0.2 ceiling, and it’s also the cheapest bike on this list at roughly €5,900. Royal Enfield priced and launched it from its own Basecamp in Ladakh, which is either a perfect stunt or a genuinely unfair place to test a bike you’re going to ride to the shops most weekends. Its bigger parallel-twin sibling, the Himalayan 750, is still stuck without a European launch date – and comfortably too powerful for A2 regardless, so don’t wait on it if a licence restriction is the reason you’re shopping this list.

CFMoto 450MT and Voge DS525X – the twin-cylinder budget fight

The CFMoto 450MT undercuts the Himalayan on outright spec for similar money: a 449cc parallel-twin making 44 hp (32.8 kW) at 8,500 rpm, 220 mm of ground clearance, and a curb weight of 179 kg, for around €6,300. The Voge DS525X answers with a slightly bigger 494cc twin tuned to exactly 35 kW (47.6 hp) – right at the ceiling rather than comfortably under it – for closer to €7,100. Both are covered in more depth in our rundown of the Chinese brands worth taking seriously this year. If you outgrow the 450MT once you’re off A2, CFMoto’s own Ibex 950 is sitting right above it in the range – more than double the power, so don’t get any ideas about restricting that one instead.

KTM 390 Adventure R and Honda NX500 – the mainstream picks

The KTM 390 Adventure R makes 45 PS (33 kW) from a 399cc single, at 176 kg wet – the lightest bike on this list – for €6,990 in Europe. The Honda NX500 is tuned to precisely 35 kW (46.2 hp) from a 471cc parallel-twin, at 196 kg kerb, for €6,831. Neither needs a restrictor kit; both ship this way for every market. The KTM is the sharper, more off-road-biased ride of the two on paper – lighter, taller ground clearance, single-cylinder engine character – while the NX500’s twin is the smoother, more road-biased choice if most of your mileage is motorway and B-roads with the occasional gravel detour.

Kawasaki Versys-X 300 – smallest engine, easiest ratio

The Versys-X 300 is the least powerful bike here by a distance – a 296cc parallel-twin making 40 PS (29.4 kW) – and at 179 kg kerb that gives it a 0.164 kW/kg ratio, comfortably clear of the ceiling with room to spare even fully loaded with luggage. Street price sits around €6,100, though listings across Europe have ranged from roughly €4,970 to €6,300 depending on year and market, so it’s worth cross-shopping dealers rather than taking one number as gospel. It’s also the smallest-displacement bike on this list, which matters if you plan to keep riding it after upgrading to a full licence rather than trading up immediately.

Restricting a bigger bike: Ténéré 700 and V85 TT

Two bikes on this list aren’t A2-legal out of the box – they get there with an approved restrictor. The Yamaha Ténéré 700 makes 72 hp (53.7 kW) unrestricted from its 689cc CP2 twin; a TÜV/DVSA-approved throttle kit brings that down to 35 kW without touching the internals, for roughly €300-400 on top of the bike’s own €9,900-ish starting price. The Moto Guzzi V85 TT does the same trick from the other end of the spec sheet – an 853cc V-twin making 80 PS (59 kW) standard, restrictable to 35 kW, at the same €13,499 the unrestricted bike costs. Moto Guzzi’s own range gets a proper airing in our look at the V85 TT’s 105th-anniversary edition, if the V-twin is the one that’s actually talking to you.

Both bikes’ unrestricted output stays under 70 kW (double the A2 cap), which is what makes the restriction legal in the first place – see below.

Why you won’t see the BMW GS or Ducati Multistrada here

The EU rule isn’t just “restrict it to 35 kW and you’re done” – a restricted bike also can’t be derived from a version making more than double the A2 limit, 70 kW (95 hp). The Ténéré 700 (53.7 kW unrestricted) and V85 TT (59 kW unrestricted) both clear that with room left over. A BMW R 1300 GS (around 107 kW) or a Ducati Multistrada V4 (up to 127 kW) don’t – no amount of ECU tuning or a throttle-stop kit makes either one legally A2-compliant, whatever a dealer or a forum post tells you. Enforcement of this clause does vary by member state, so it’s worth checking your own country’s transport authority before assuming a workaround exists.

Which one actually fits you

Cheapest and simplest: the Himalayan 440. Lightest and most off-road-focused: the KTM 390 Adventure R. Best twin-cylinder spec for the money: the CFMoto 450MT. Smallest and easiest to live with long-term: the Versys-X 300. Want a “real” big-adventure-bike feel while you wait out your A2 years: the Ténéré 700 with the kit, or the V85 TT if you’d rather have a V-twin than a parallel-twin. None of these are hard-enduro machines – if you’re building toward that instead of a commute-and-occasional-gravel bike, a full licence and something like Kove’s 660X is the more honest long-term target, and worth knowing about even while you’re still riding restricted.

FAQ

What’s the power limit for an A2 motorcycle licence in the EU?

35 kW (47 hp), with a power-to-weight ratio no higher than 0.2 kW/kg. A restricted bike also can’t be derived from a version making more than double that power (70 kW).

Can any adventure bike be electronically restricted to A2 power?

No. The bike also has to comply with the “not more than double the A2 limit” rule in its unrestricted form – the Ténéré 700 and V85 TT qualify; big-bore ADV bikes like the BMW R 1300 GS or Ducati Multistrada V4 don’t, regardless of how the throttle is tuned.

Yes. At 40 PS (29.4 kW) and 196 kg kerb weight, it sits well under both the power cap and the power-to-weight ratio straight from the factory, with no restrictor kit needed.

Which of these bikes is the lightest?

The KTM 390 Adventure R, at 176 kg wet – and it’s also the only one of the eight with a genuinely off-road-first chassis to go with that weight.

Do I have to remove the restrictor kit once I upgrade past A2?

For the Ténéré 700 and V85 TT, yes if you want the bike’s full output back – the kit is designed to be removed by a dealer or qualified installer, and most are billed as fully reversible from the outset.