2012 Adventure-Touring Shootout - Video

[jandj_davis]

No Multistrada? No worries, I wouldn't take it offroad either.

OK, so now we know the winner of the "Big-Bore" AT bikes. I don't pay enough attention to know if there was a "small-bore" comparison this year (Versys, V-Strom, Tiger 800, F800GS, KTM?, KLR, G650GS, others). Pit the winner of the Big class gainst the winner of the small class, and see who comes out on top. I'm gonna guess it will be the small class winner, but "performance" (can it wheelie out of every corner) seems to weigh too much for most of these "class-crossing" reviews.

[Auphliam]

Nice write up, but sometimes your comparos confuse the hell outta me.

I don't recall a bad word about the Stelvio, and it comes in last. Yet, for all the negative comments about the Ten, it comes in 3rd... and an Adventure Touring bike that you said did very poorly in the "Touring" segment, is second?

[Tom Roderick]

Originally Posted by Sigster

BMW $16,149
"Equipped with ESA II electronically adjustable suspension, the GS boasts one of the few 100% scores on our A-T ScoreCard with all testers giving its suspension a 10 out of 10 for adjustability, feedback, comfort, control and quality"

Where can you get a BMW with ESA II for $16,149 ?
I'd like to buy a few and resell them...

-S

The Rally Model we tested came equipped with ESA II and its price ($19,045) was also quoted in the story. Our ScoreCard has a Price/Value category in which we used the higher price of the Rally Model. The more expensive BMW decidedly lost that category, thus lowering its overal score and compensating for its winning the suspension category.

If we do, however, come across any ESA II equipped GS's for $16k, you'll be the first to know after purchase a few for ourselves.

[Duken4evr]

Agree about the big ADV bikes not being ridden off road. The most commonly used bike for "real" adventure riding is the good old fashioned KLR. I would love to do such riding on a far more sexy KTM 690 or a Husky 630, but the KLR is the one.

This particular KLR, well, it might be the most legit ADV bike in history.

Clean One Owner - YouTube

[The Spaceman]

I just finished watching the video (they're blocked at work). Damn, that was really good! I'd rather watch that than a lot of the stuff Speed TV puts out.

Kudos, dude-os!

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by jandj_davis

No Multistrada? No worries, I wouldn't take it offroad either.

OK, so now we know the winner of the "Big-Bore" AT bikes. I don't pay enough attention to know if there was a "small-bore" comparison this year (Versys, V-Strom, Tiger 800, F800GS, KTM?, KLR, G650GS, others). Pit the winner of the Big class gainst the winner of the small class, and see who comes out on top. I'm gonna guess it will be the small class winner, but "performance" (can it wheelie out of every corner) seems to weigh too much for most of these "class-crossing" reviews.

Yep, we've covered all the A-T segments.

F800GS vs. Tiger 800XC: BMW's slight advantage off-road wasn't enough to overcome the Tiger's on-road prowess.

650 A-T Shootout: Winner depends on how you use your A-T.

250 Dual-Sport Shootout - WR250R vs. Husky TE250 vs DR-Z400S: The Husky is a better dirtbike. The Suzuki a better streetbike.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Auphliam

Nice write up, but sometimes your comparos confuse the hell outta me.

I don't recall a bad word about the Stelvio, and it comes in last. Yet, for all the negative comments about the Ten, it comes in 3rd... and an Adventure Touring bike that you said did very poorly in the "Touring" segment, is second?

The Stelvio was surprisingly competitive but has several drawbacks. Terrible ground clearance due to a poorly placed sidestand, heaviest weight, second-worst off-road, and the second-worst power and worst power-to-weight ratio. Still, it's cool in ways the other bikes aren't.

None of us raved about the Yamaha except for its twisty-road performance, but it has a terrific balance of qualities that really showed up on our ScoreCard. It got very few poor scores and it's relatively cheap.

[The Spaceman]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

None of us raved about the Yamaha except for its twisty-road performance, but it has a terrific balance of qualities that really showed up on our ScoreCard. It got very few poor scores and it's relatively cheap.

I posted a link to this article at Stromtrooper Forum : Suzuki V-Strom Motorcycle Forums and the thread got a lot of comments. Funny thing was that many posts seemed to conclude the Super-T came out on top. When I read the article, my take from it was that the T's engine is buzzy, has weak low-end, and overall was worst in the group.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

I posted a link to this article at Stromtrooper Forum : Suzuki V-Strom Motorcycle Forums and the thread got a lot of comments. Funny thing was that many posts seemed to conclude the Super-T came out on top. When I read the article, my take from it was that the T's engine is buzzy, has weak low-end, and overall was worst in the group.

The biggest Super-T negative for me is that Yamaha had years to develop a clean-sheet design that was clearly superior to the BMW GS, but that wasn't quite achieved. It's very good, but it's not superior.

As rvfrules pointed out, the Super-T's lethargic low-end power in the bottom three gears can be improved with some simple wiring, and I wish we had enough time with the bike to play with that.