A Guide to Dual-Sport and Adventure Motorcycle Terminology

Adventure motorcycling is an exciting and rapidly growing world, so much that it’s developed its very own lingo. Here’s a list of words and terminology to help you understand what everyone’s talking about around the campfire.

A

Adventure (abbr: ADV): An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, risky, experience or activity. Engaging in hazardous and exciting activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory. “Meeting indigenous people and overcoming challenging terrain were the highlights of our adventure.”

Adventure Motorcycle: A two-wheeled vehicle capable of long-distance travel over various terrain. Adventure motorcycles are often separated into sub-categories: Adventure Sport and Adventure Touring. “I plan to ride an adventure motorcycle across some remote areas of Mongolia.”

Adventure Motorcycle - Photo Credit: Ely Woody for BDR

Anti-Lock Brake System (abbr. ABS): ABS has become standard equipment for most adventure motorcycles and some dual-sports. “After someone cut me off, my ABS prevented my wheels from locking up when I slammed on the brakes.”

B

Bead: Part of a tire that seats against the rim. “In order to remove this tire, first we need to break the bead.”

Big-Bore: In the case of multi-cylinder motorcycles, bikes equipped with 999cc or more, or above 649ccs for single-cylinder motorcycles. “I prefer my big-bore ADV for long distance travel because it offers more comfortable power on the highway.”

Bottom Out: When a motorcycle’s suspension have no more room to travel. “My suspension feels comfortable on the road, but bottoms out when I ride hard off-road.”

Bottom Out

Bump Start: Rolling a motorcycle (either down or hill or by pushing it), putting it into gear, then dropping the clutch to start a motorcycle. “My battery was dead, so my buddy helped me bump start my bike so I could get home.”

Bush: Common Australian term for terrain with lots of natural brush, or deep in the woods. “Crikey, this trail took us deep into the bush didn’t it, mate?!”

C

Cager: Someone driving a car, truck or van. “During my commute, a cager cut me off in traffic!”

CE Approved: CE marking is a certification that indicates conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA). “I wear CE-approved body armor under my jacket.”

Center StandCenterstand (AKA Center Stand): Used to hold a motorcycle upright and lifts the rear wheel off the ground. “Having a centerstand makes servicing my chain easy.”

Cruise Control: Electronic feature on some adventure motorcycles that allow for setting a specified speed without having to hand-modulate the throttle. “I set my cruise control at 75mph and made it to the coast in no time!”

D

Dab: Using your feet to keep your motorcycle upright in slow, technical terrain. “I dabbed my way through the slippery creek bed.”

Dirt Bike: A motorcycle used for off-road riding. This includes motocross, enduro, and trail riding. Dirt bikes are typically not street legal. “We loaded the dirt bikes onto the trailer and headed to the track.”

Double Track: An off-road trail, wide enough for two motorcycles or one ATV. Many of these are “public roads” so be sure to stay to the right, especially around blind corners. “We rode the double track in both directions to get up and down the mountain.”

Dual-Sport (AKA Dual Sport): Typically, a single-cylinder, off-road focused motorcycle equipped with DOT hardware to make it street legal, including headlights, tail lights, turn signals, and a horn. Dual-sport motorcycles can be purchased and registered as street vehicles, or converted from dirt bikes (depending on the state you live in). “My dual-sport motorcycle was perfect for touring the on- and off-road landmarks in Utah.”

E

Enduro: An off-road motorcycle usually equipped with features that make them more comfortable for cross-country competition. Slightly larger gas tanks, non-DOT headlights and taillights, and more durable tires are just some of the differences enduro bikes have over motocross bikes. Enduro is also a type of off-road racing. “After I broke-in my new enduro, I won my very first hare-scramble!”

F

Farkle: Motorcycle modifications, some of which are useless. “My bike is farkled-out with an upgraded exhaust, custom seat, bigger gas tank, and a gremlin bell.”

Fiddy: A 50cc motorcycle. “Picked up a new fiddy to use as a pit bike.”

Four-Season Gear: Weatherproof gear designed for keeping riders comfortable in all climates. “This four-season jacket will keep me cool as I ride through Utah, and warm when I get to Alaska.”

Four-Season Gear

Full Throttle: Opening the throttle as wide as possible. “You’re going to need momentum to make it up this hill climb, so give it full throttle!”

G

Gumbo: Common southern term for thick, sticky mud. “As the gumbo caked-up in my tires and I lost traction.”

H

Hare Scramble: Hare scrambles are a form of off-road motorcycle racing that varies in distance and time, with the riders completing multiple laps around a marked course through wooded or other rugged natural terrain. “During the three-hour hare scramble, I was able to complete four laps.”

Hare Scramble

Highside: A type of motorcycle accident characterized by sudden and violent rotation of the bike around its long axis. This generally happens when the rear wheel loses traction, skids, and then suddenly regains traction, creating a large torque which flips the rider head first off the side of the motorcycle or over the handlebars.

I

Inline Four: A four-cylinder engine, or referring to a motorcycle with a four-cylinders. “My inline-four is terrible off-road, but it’s a rocket on the freeway.”

J

Jet: A part of a carburetor fuel travels through. “A clogged jet was why my bike wasn’t starting.”

K

Kickstart: Using a motorcycle’s mechanical kicker to start a motorcycle. “If my motorcycle won’t start because my battery died, I can kickstart it.”

L

Lane Split (AKA Split Lanes): Riding between lanes of road traffic that are traveling in the same direction, or at a stoplight. “Legalizing lane splitting would help to reduce traffic in many states.”

Lane Split

Low Side: When a rider slides into a crash. Opposite of high side. “I hit a patch of gravel and low sided into a ditch.”

M

Monkey Butt: The unfortunate diagnosis of one’s bum after a long or rough ride. “Besides getting monkey butt, traversing the Trans-Canada Trail was awesome!”

N

Nomad: A traveler or wanderer. “Life on the road as a nomad has been an enlightening experience.”

Nomad | Photo by Simon Thomas

O

Off-Road: Any type of terrain that isn’t paved asphalt or concrete. “My adventure motorcycle is my daily commuter, but we go off-road trailing on the weekends.”

P

Parallel-Twin: A two-cylinder engine configuration. Parallel-twins are becoming more popular in the adventure motorcycle category because of their compact design and linear, predictable power output. “My parallel-twin motorcycle is easy to ride on light trails and cruises smoothly down the highway.”

Pinch Flat: When an impact to a wheel creates so much pressure that the rim bottoms out, punching holes in an inner tube. “My low tire pressures worked great for off-roading until I got a pinch flat after a large drop-off.”

Poker Run: An event in which riders travel to checkpoints to collect cards to create a poker hand. The person with the best hand at the end of the run is the winner. “The rally last weekend featured a poker run, and I ended up with a royal flush!”

Q

N/A

R

Rally: A type of long-distance, off-road motorcycle race using roll-charts or GPS for navigation. A social gathering for motorcyclists that usually involves group rides and camping. “The rally competitors will race for a week across various terrain through multiple countries.”

Rally

Ride Modes: Electronically adjustable riding modes that change power delivery characteristics. Many modern motorcycles come with multiple Ride Modes, and some have the ability to adjust power output as well as torque control. Some Ride Mode settings also toggle electronic traction control. “As soon as it started to drizzle, I put my motorcycle into Rain Mode to reduce the power, decreasing the chance of wheel-spin while opening the throttle.”

Roll Chart (AKA Road Book): Printed navigation commonly used for rally racing. Roll charts may be manually or electronically controlled. “The roll chart instructed me to travel half a mile before making a sharp right after a big tree.”

Around the World (abbr. RTW) (AKA Round the World): A term usually referring to a trip that circumnavigates the planet.

Run Out of Rubber: To exceed the maximum lean angle of tire. “First he dragged his footpeg, then his boot, and after he ran out of rubber, he was dragging everything.”

S

Send it!Send it!: A term used to express exhilaration and encouraging someone to jump a motorcycle. “You’ll be fine—lay on the gas and send it!”

Single Track: An off-road route wide enough for one motorcycle. “There were sections on the tight single track that got technical and we had to go one at a time.”

Small Bore: In America, referring to a motorcycle less than 250ccs. “Many riders showed up on fiddys, scooters, and pitbikes at the small-bore meet.”

Squid: A person who rides a motorcycle without their safety gear. “Put on your helmet—don’t be a squid.”

T

Thumper: A motorcycle equipped with a single-cylinder engine “I enjoy my 250cc thumper while trail riding, but I wouldn’t recommend it for extended highway use.”

Touring: Long distance travel. “We’ll be touring around Europe throughout summer.”

Touring

Traction Control: Electronic feature that modulates air/fuel ratio or ignition timing to reduce loss of traction to the rear wheel. Most modern adventure motorcycles come standard with multiple levels of selectable traction control. “I like the traction control at its lowest setting to allow just a bit of wheel spin.”

Trail: An off-road route, generally not suitable for highway vehicles. “We can ride twisty roads up the mountain, or take the trail through the woods.”

Tuck the Front: Loosing front end traction, usually a result of using too much front brake. “While he was coming around the corner, he tucked the front and slid off the road.”

Tuck the Front

U

Universal Japanese Motorcycle (abbr. UJM): Japanese motorcycles from the 1980s that were similar in styling and build. Today, they’re commonly known as “standard” motorcycles. “I went to the vintage swap meet to find a UJM to turn into a scrambler project.”

V

V-Twin: An engine configuration that utilizes two cylinders in a “V” configuration. “I love the sound of my V-twin and the low-end torque it produces.”

W

Waterproof: Completely resistant to water and in some instances, submergible. “My panniers are waterproof and they protected my luggage from getting wet when I tipped over during a stream crossing.”

Weatherproof: An ambiguous term used to describe gear that is resistant to precipitation “My jacket is weatherproof and kept me dry during the quick rain storm.”

Wheelie: A trick or maneuver whereby a motorcycle is ridden for a short distance with the front wheel raised off the ground.

Wheelie

Whiskey Throttle: Completely opening the throttle in a panic situation. “I whiskey throttled the bike when a deer jumped in front of me and almost looped my bike.”

X

X-ring Chains: Like the standard O-ring chains, X-ring chains are also used in high performance motorcycles. It uses X-ring seal to keep lubricant (usually grease) in place.

Y

N/A

Z

Zippy Disease: aka "Destinationitis", coined by Tim Cahill, describes the need to arrive at a destination that just doesn’t matter. People cross swollen rivers, ride in lightening storms, and cross open range at 1am to get to a predetermined bit of dirt for the night. (Suggested by GatewayAdventureSchool)

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Were there any other words or lingo that we missed? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll add it to the list!