Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure Shootout Prologue
Nine bikes and riders, six days and 2,000 miles are the key ingredients going into our 2015 Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure Shootout. Sprinkle in some off-road trekking and garnish with a few nights of camping, and our shootout souffle will be complete. Special sauce will be provided by the unforeseen occurrences that accompany any ride of this nature.
The adventure begins Monday, August 31 with a sunrise gathering at the famous Rock Store. From there we travel North to Big Sur, Gualala, Redwood National Park and back. We’re sure you’re aware that California is hot, bone dry and burning down, so our route will be a coastal one in both directions.
We invite you to follow our progress with daily updates on the MO website and our social networks, as well as GPS mapping provided by the SPOT Gen 3 tracking device.
MO’s Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure – Day 1
MO’s Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure – Day 2
MO’s Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure – Day 3
MO’s Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure – Day 4
MO’s Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure – Day 5
MO’s Ultimate Sport-Touring Adventure – Day 6
We’ve tested many versions of the bikes involved here in solo reviews or in shootout fashion, pitting two or three against one another, but never before have we gathered nine bikes at one time to determine the king of Sporty Adventure-Tourers.
Look for the story and accompanying video to be published on Thursday, September 17.
Don’t forget to enter our Pick a Winner contest. Just click on this link and tell us who you think will win the shootout. If you’re right, you will be entered into a draw to win a new Arai XD-4 helmet.
Here are our competitors:
Aprilia Caponord Rally
A former Motorcycle.com staffer who has gone on to greener pastures, Tom Roderick still can't get the motorcycle bug out of his system. And honestly, we still miss having him around. Tom is now a regular freelance writer and tester for Motorcycle.com when his schedule allows, and his experience, riding ability, writing talent, and quick wit are still a joy to have – even if we don't get to experience it as much as we used to.
More by Tom Roderick
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Prediction: KTM 1290 and BMW S1000XR first and second (not sure about order). BMW 1200 GS third. Adventure touring bikes are better for everyday riding than heavyweight sport tourers. I wonder whether the heavyweights will eventually disappear.
Crap, Thursday the 17th? I thought it was tomorrow. Oh well, we do have the Misano Moto GP race to keep things interesting. Where is Bruce's preview?