In the last decade, we have seen sport touring motorcycle offerings decline and the adventure bike market explode. Adventure bikes are touted as the do-anything bike, from canyon carving to off-road excursions. In practice, if you want a good road bike, you need to give up off-road performance. And vice-versa: if you want to favour off-road then you give up paved road performance.
Manufacturers have met the demand for street performance by offering 17-inch wheels on some models. This version is okay on light gravel, but not very good once you leave that behind. A dedicated sport touring bike is okay on light gravel too, as long as you take a moderate pace.
This past summer on a trip to the Yukon, between road construction and detours, I think I
