Adventure heavyweights rated! Adventure top dogs on- and off-road ft TT-winner James Hillier | MCN

#GS #KTM #adventure
Sports Editor Michael Guy is joined by Chief Road Tester Michael Neeves and Isle of Man TT winner James Hillier to find the best big adventure bike on the market today. Watch the video now and find out more on each bike below.
Adventure & Trail Motorcycle Tyres | Dunlop - www.dunlop.eu/...
KTM 1290 Super Adventure R: www.motorcycle...
BMW R1250GS Adventure: www.motorcycle...
Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally: www.motorcycle...
Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer: www.motorcycle...
For more on Sweet Lamb Motor Sport Complex, visit: www.sweetlambm...
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[@jameshillierracing]

Thanks for having me on the test, was good fun getting to ride at sweet lamb. A Great venue with a little bit of everything for these adventure bikes.

[@Gorbyrev]

Privilege to watch you choosing your lines and muscling these big bikes through the stuff most of us adventure riders are too chicken to try! Great riding Mr Hillier.

[@gadjules7334]

I'd be happy with 10 percent of your skill off road. Thanks for sharing, awesome to watch chap

[@ogasi1798]

thanks for doing it - brilliant job fella, brilliant

[@almightyhimself9284]

james, grow a pair of real balls nd stop this british bias !

[@horse5407]

Enjoyed that very much.

[@johnwaugh6518]

As biased KTM1290 SAR rider, the comment I would make is that most adventure riders will find the tarmac parts easier than the off road/gravel road bits. It's here that the added confidence that the KTM gives makes all the difference and reduces stress, making real adventure riding more of a pleasure.

[@sloppyjoe6243]

Agreed 100%. I havn't ridden adventure, but have done a ton of dirt bike and street riding. The off road portion would be my number one priority if I was serious about adventure riding. Picking up a 550 plus pound bike off the side of a dirt road could get real old real fast.

[@Bloodred.Tac0]

Their complaints would have been fixed with the stock S model…. I get they didn’t have it. But come on…..

[@charliepyle1626]

I agree, the tough roads and trails can break you, literally. It is easy to buy a comfy seat and taller screen.

[@bikesbabes4721]

Never had a KTM, totally convinced its passion personified! Also suspect I will have to pay more and more often for maintenance.. No?

[@johnwaugh6518]

@@bikesbabes4721 15000km service interval (though I did it more often) other than that, no problems on 50K riding my 1290 SAR or in 45K on my 1190 R

[@LambChopRides]

Now that's an Adventure Bike test!! 👏

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

👍🏼👍🏼🏁🏁

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

Would be interested to see you, TMF, TeapotOne and Gregg do a group test on these.

[@jonpeters5194]

Roll the Intro!

[@AndersPetersson79]

Chops!! 😎

[@MOTOUK1]

@@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOneI know the results, TMF, BMW - LCR, Ducati - Vida, Africa twin - Teapot One, BMW 😂😂😂

[@DJAguitars]

Would love to see the midweights reviewed in exactly the same format with the Africa Twin also there as the wildcard. Great job MCN! 👍

[@lukeadv]

Yes to this, would be great

[@babyfknblu]

yes!!!

[@scottstansbury1409]

Me too, I chose the 2023 triumph tiger 900 rally pro

[@aaronkelley6335]

Yeah would have loved to see the Africa Twin in this. Kinda wild the Japanese bikes are an afterthought in this category.

[@defylifeadventure]

The Africa twin certainly isn't a middle weight by any definition. It's well over 1000c, and over 230kg. It's not quite up to capacity or power of these beasts either. It seems to occupy some ground in no-mans-land but is better suited to the heavyweights, rather middleweights. IIRC Upshift Online tested it around a track (off road) and it was some 7 seconds slower than a KTM 990 Adventure. The 790 Adventure was faster still, so the AT wouldn't fair well in mini time trial they do here. Would still be fun to see though.

[@AJSpinDrift]

One of the best MCN videos to date. A fantastic review and a format that's engaging and genuinely informative. More like this please.

[@LimitEdit]

totally agree!!

[@joseg7848]

Nice! BMW 1.45, Ducati 1.43, Triumph 1.39 and KTM 1.34...Amazing! Thanks!!!

[@NicePantsLance]

The Triumph really is the best of all worlds! The BMW is good, but the Tiger beats it in performance. The Multi is amazing, but its expensive and reliability is in question. The KTM is sporty, but doesnt have much touring chops and still has chain drive. The Tiger provides GS-beating performance, good engine reliability, superior touring comfort, and a decent price compared to the rest. Not to mention, the Tiger triple at high revs almost sounds like a V4 😁

[@soldat2501]

To be fair, switching from a Tiger 1050 to an R1200GS saved my life. The Tiger was just that much quicker and it caused me to take chances I never could on the GS.

[@Timmayytoo]

Cool test! The Triumph was a bit of a surprise, but the rest fell pretty much where I would have predicted. This makes me even more eager to see the R1300 tests against the R1250

[@GCTO239]

Best test ever I think…the offroad race was sublime.

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Hillier's not bad, is he? Thanks for watching!

[@Crsf84]

😂😂😂😂sublime😂😂 That’s a sky sports comments if ever there was one

[@hectoralmonte3629]

I was on the edge of my seat holding my breath...what a joy of an episode. Every bike class and purpose should be tested in their element like this.

[@kyailusakayamba6052]

Absolutely love this format. Getting to see the bikes in action was everything

[@phillipchandler8862]

Wow what brilliant fun. Fantastic to have James along.

[@Fernando90054]

I’m going for the BMW, with all its years it still gets the second place on the road test. And in real world its an absolute joy to ride, no diving when braking, it’s still a queen, where ever you go in Europe, we can have proper technical Assistance, but in general it’s non needy bike, always eager to please its master. For me the choice is clear. And now, it is even more. Thank you for the video, it was an excellent job from NCM !

[@TwoGoTouring]

Brilliant video guys really well done, I watch nearly all your reviews and buy MCN. Now comes the but…… 90% or more of these big bikes will never be off road. I have a GSA and couldn’t afford the damage risk. I have nearly 27,000 miles on it in two years and for about 23,000 of those my wife has been on the back, and I would guess there’s a lot of us out here that ride two up quite a lot of the time touring Wales, Scotland the Alps etc. I’d love to see a test where you load up your loved ones on the back of the bikes, fill the panniers with luggage and cover 1000 miles or more in a test of mixed roads and get the opinion of your pillions as well as yourselves on riding a bike fully loaded. I’ve never seen a test like that in any motorcycle magazine.

[@violetscz]

I would also be interested in this review. I feel the same as you. I travel on a Ducati MTS V4S motorcycle and 90% of the trips I ride with my wife. I've only been driving for 2 years and 38,000 km. Czech Republic/Europe

[@mohammede.4500]

I would think a R1250RS would be a better comparison test for those who have no plans on taking the bike off road. Better comfort, street manners, etc..

[@dieged3065]

👍

[@altugafat9543]

If using the motorcycle with a passenger is a choice, GS may be the choice, but if you do not have a passenger, traveling with a GS is soulless. An adventure motorcycle must also have off-road spirit.

[@sganzerlag]

Dude sorry, but that's simply touring. It's arguably not adventure riding, is it? If you're gonna run a tarmac-only two-up review, then the Goldwing should be in the test. And it will probably win. My 2c.

[@mordauntbrabner3804]

Bravo! I ride 5 miles of potted gravel roads daily on my 2017 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro. Rain or shine. All of these bikes have great character and provide the rider choices in fit, function and maintainability suited to individual style and likes. Rallying is way beyond my limits. JH showed what each of these bikes is truly capable of doing. Very entertaining.

[@markkuijper1964]

Now that’s a great and useful review. Great objective tests and opinions on both the two categories. Really enjoyed this 42 minutes. Well done!

[@ramsey3114]

perfect report , i tried and owned all this pikes and i kept the KTM and the Triumph

[@jeremymcguire7069]

This is one of the best and most interesting comparison/test reviews I have ever seen for any category of motorcycle. Great job!

[@AdriCNS-c1i]

It's interesting comparing just the on-road times too ! (I tried to take the times when both wheels were on the tarmac) The Ducati & BMW were the same times on road. KTM was fastest on both surfaces. Bike OffRoad Finish OnRoad KTM 1:02 1:34 (+0:32) triumph 1:05 1:39 (+0:34) ducati 1:08 1:43 (+0:35) BMW 1:10 1:45 (+0:35)

[@altugafat9543]

absolutely yes

[@Jluck78]

MCN does the best shoutouts by far. I really enjoy all the effort you guys put into these videos. The advice and opinions are solid. Good stuff guy, you are the leaders.

[@michaelskinner896]

Nice work gents! Great format too. I think we all look a little too much at the paper stats, but real-world riding with feedback from different riders is much more relevant and important. Thanks for the comparo!

[@cantero2bjornes]

I drove my KTM 1290 Super Adventure R 2022 model from Hirtsahals (northern Denmark) to Bari (southern Italy) in 2 days with a standard seat. Drove according to speed on the roads with 50/50 tires. April 2023 - Should have spent 4 days on that trip. But decent comfort and very happy with the motorcycle no problem.- - But I am very impressed by the accessibility of endur driving with 70/30 rough tyres - Driving in div driving off road here in Norway

[@Moto_Steve_Adventures]

Love this test! I bought the Triumph after riding the BMW and the Ducati. I didn’t test the KTM before purchasing, mainly because I knew it would be more off-road focused and I wanted something that would be nice and plush on the road for longer road trips. Very happy with my decision, and you just proved what I thought as well. Great video!

[@davidwilliamswilliams7174]

Thank you for a really good watch. Bit of a surprise with the winner, but just shows what a great job Triumph have done with their bike 👍

[@corujariousa]

I appreciate and respect Michael's reviews. He's always practical and addresses points that are important in the real world. Any consumer can appreciate that.

[@traitorhatergetarope3163]

Not having ridden any of the these bikes except for the GSA and mostly the long rides knocking down 500 to 900 miles a day and occasionally hitting the dirt roads to find a fishing spot or a camping spot, I ride the GSA on my journeys. I have eyed the triumph a few times but have to say I am quite satisfied with my GSA. Great test, really shows the capabilites of all the bikes and what to expect from each bike. Thanks for the video.

[@MrBiggles]

Great test thanks guys! And a big well done to Triumph!! 🎉

[@stitchjones7134]

Downsized to a 690 from a 1290, havent regretted it at all. Light, practical and i can still tour if I want to. Good luck with the big buggers, my little thumper does it all.

[@mdragon99]

Gooooo Tiiiiiigeeeeer!! KTM 1290 for the Off Road was a given, but I'm amazed by how much!

[@thebigoaktree8401]

Great video. Own a 23 Rally Pro (4850 miles on the clock). Longest trip 1300 miles …it was a gem to ride for all of the reasons that Nivs stated. Bought it as an adventure tourer, or should I say tourer adventure instead? Yes 🤔. Comfortable, capable, and a complete hammer when I need it to be. But the weight of the bike isn’t something for the faint of heart, or physically weak for that matter. If the bike begins to lean at stop before your foot is down …good luck with that! The Rally Pro looks far better in the hands of a pro. Nothing to “play” with. Great bike.

[@troyfrazer8653]

Well done everyone who rode, evaluated, and filmed this test! TRAMOTO Troy

[@fuze59]

This was loads of fun! A test I and some others might find relevant is taking each bike on a week long back country camping trip.

[@joeblow5037]

Although this '18 KLR-650 rider will never have the privilege of riding one of these monsters.....you guys got me pretty close 😲 EXCELLENT video!! and thanks for the massive effort. ❤

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Well said!

[@adamashton74]

Rode my Bmwr1250gsa around Australia in 2023/24 did 36,500klms and took bike off road plenty. Great all rounder and carried me and all my gear for 13 months. Best bike I've owned and most easiest bike I've ever ridden. Thanks for test though enjoyed the comparison. Note, my bmw doesn't have electronic suspension.

[@timrodierides]

Brilliant video - those hot laps were absolute gold!

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@heilpepe7298]

A real comprehensive test of these giant bikes.... Thanks....

[@ryanmalone2681]

I'd be happy with any of these bikes, and have owned the Tiger and currently own the GSA. There is a problem, with the Tiger, the MS, and the SAR is that if you're the type of person that likes to tackle challenging off-road trails, and might spend all day on the trail and only asphalt to connect the trails or get to the trails. If you're going to need to pick up these bikes a few times, you're going to be exhausted quickly and that's gonna be a safety issue. With the GS, you can pick it up all day with minimal effort (ask me how I know). Also, the rider modes switching back to road every time you turn off the Tiger and the dumpster fire that is the infortainment system is so so so annoying on the Tiger. I kept mine less than a year.

[@ashleylemmer8016]

Absolutely loved the format of this test, thanks guys.

[@Aussielifeadventures]

I love my 22 Triumph Tiger rally pro. Beautiful to ride to work and on the weekend I take her to dirt. Thank you so much for the great video guys.

[@BrentLGuay]

I have the Triumph Rally Explorer and love it first ride with it was 10 hrs through mountain passes of BC and I wasn’t tired or sore. The 30 liter tank is great as I didn’t stop once except to fuel up and that was 500 km into trip. I also have a Harley street glide and now this bike takes front seat from my cruiser. Even though they are different the triumph is just more fun and the bike is truly effortless while riding.

[@YangCalgary]

When James says he loses confidence while ripping through sections that would make me sweat at low speed ... brilliant format!

[@markosrides]

Very nice test, I'm just baffled that you chose the GSA which is 40 kilos heavier than the rest and then compared the off-road performance. Regular GS would have been a better choice as it is more in line with these bikes, although the suspension travel is smaller. Same goes for Triumph. Cheers!

[@youtubeaccount9058]

R1250GS Rallye with sport suspension would be the best fit for this test - it's a GS with the GSA's taller suspension.

[@aimeYM1]

Yes - Indeed, that's a compelling argument. The GS experienced unjust treatment🤔, yet it's worth noting they also employed the heavier Triumph Explorer😋.

[@nikoscosmos]

Pointless test given launch of R1300GS

[@youtubeaccount9058]

@@nikoscosmos There is always a new bike coming up soon, once you get up to including 3 or 4 companies. Anyways I am sure the new GS will not be a KTM-beating offroad racer. That just isn't what the GS has ever been, nor what most buyers really want. Yeah they were winning Dakar 40 years ago on works bikes that were related to the production models of the time, but the race itself was not basically an enduro race like now.

[@shegocrazy]

All gs have rubbish suspension off road. The new gs might fix that.

[@ronwilt940]

Terrific review and format for testing these bikes. All the commentary was superb. Triumph pulled out all the stops. They've released details on their 2024 lineup except for the Tiger 1200s. Are we in for more surprises?

[@inked-96]

I use my 1200GSA as my new work horse, plenty powerful, comfortable, can't fault it. Whilst it's no KTM or Ducati for outright fun, i do have an RSV4 as a weekend toy. Great test guys!

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Sounds like a great two-bike garage!

[@chrisroos243]

Cool Test, Thank you. Damn, the KTM is a beast! I think i will get one next year!

[@shawntoronto7967]

Congrats on the best adventure bike test ever. Love that there’s a fast off-road section.

[@casefarley5744]

Good test and well presented. I doubt many of these bikes will be ridden as hard as Hillier did during his laps but the data is still useful.

[@AbeNXC]

Really appreciate you guys going to the extent of putting them all on the same tire

[@clintonhayes]

Clearly you guys are the masters of road tests. That was as good as it gets - an amazing team.

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Wow, thanks!

[@MagnumMuscle1000]

The KTM 1290 hugely benefits from a taller screen, bar risers and a comfort seat. With those mods I like it much better on road than the 2016 GSA I used to have. Off-road the KTM is far superior.

[@northislander4evasir107]

agreed, I added all three

[@inked-96]

How had reliability been?

[@PureEvolution]

off to test ride the tiger this friday perfect video to what before hand nice work guys allways deliver

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Have fun!

[@canuckslions3439]

Great reviews! I bought the 2023 Rally Explorer a few days ago. Got rid of my super tenere. I think I’ll notice a difference haha. Ride safe guys and take care! Darin Hillier in Calgary Canada

[@mikejarvis3035]

Jesus Christ - I needed oxygen after watching that trial against the clock, and the difference in times was such an eye opener, I actually guffawed at them! Hats off to @Jameshillierracing my heart was in my mouth a couple of times when you were going through those ruts. I wouldn't fancy taking ANY bike that size through them - top man!

[@pieterbuys1336]

Why "Jesus Christ" and not mohamed??? Disgraceful!!!

[@jasonball9166]

Best test of these machines I've seen yet....well done loved it

[@eddyhoughton6542]

Great review, thanks for the effort. I'm surprised you rated the KTM as last for road touring, because of the "time in the saddle" angle. I run an 890 Adventure, and I've put in well over 20,000 Km in just over 12 months, all over Spain and Portugal, both on and off road. I'm in my mid-fifties and I have no comfort issues whatsoever. I do 12 hour days in the saddle. Admittedly, the KTM is slightly "budget" compared to the competition, but for usability, it's second to none, and I'm less afraid of dropping it, because it's surrounded by cheap plastic panels. Compared to my previous bike, a BMW 1150, there's no vibration through the bars, something to really bear in mind for long touring days. I'll almost certainly trade the 890 up to the 1290 having watched this video (and pending the results of a comprehensive test ride, myself, of course). The only other competition really is the Norden 901, but it's practically the same bike. Thanks again, great video, and intelligent test criteria.

[@egilrasten4181]

Thanks for a great test and review, always fun to see how the bikes compares when driven by professionals. To me, as an average rider and who is looking to buy one of these top adventure bikes, this «competition» becomes totally irrelevant (but great fun though) as I will have very different priorities when choosing one of the bikes. If I ever, by accident, ends up in such an off-road track, my only priority would be to get to the other end without crashing the bike. My preferred driving will be touring on twisty roads along with great nature and scenery, motorways for long distance transport is a necessity and perhaps a gravel-road now and then can be fun. The most challenging part for me is to drive on motorways at high speed and longer distances, which can be both tiring and boring, and it is my first priority that the bike is comfortable on the motorway over longer distances. Second priority, it shall be fun and comfortable to ride on twisty roads and that the traction control on wet and slippery roads is the best in class. I tested all the same bikes at end of this summer, not the top adventures bike as in this test, but the standard versions. The bike I liked to most (by a landslide!) was the Ducati Multistrada V4s. This bike had an enormous fun factor when driving on twisty roads, the engine and the quickshifter was unparalleled to any of the other bikes, and it was very comfortable on the motorway with adaptive cruise control and blind zone detection (some don’t like these accessories, but I do). Also, the Ducati is by far the best-looking bikes with great details and finish (just my personal opinion). The second bike was the BMW 1250 GS, which was very comfortable on twisty roads. It was not so comfortable on the motorway, as the wind-screen started wobbling from side to side at high speed. However, that can probably be fixed. Otherwise, the bike was great. If the new 1300 GS is way better than the old 1250 GS, it can certainly challenge the Ducati. Third was the Triumph Tiger 1200, and close to the BMW. It was very comfortable and its suspension was fantastic. Riding over a speed bump (at high speed) and the bike simply absorbed the speed bump (almost comparable to the old Citroen CX if you know this car). However, the Triumph was to me a bit boring and docile compared to the Ducati and BMW. Then I tried the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S from the same dealer, and riding on the same road as the Triumph. I simply didn’t like the KTM that much, it was kind of racketing, rough and “unpolished” compared to the other bikes. Over the same speed bump as the Triumph, and at the same speed, I actually lost contact with the seat and was up in the air for a nanosecond. Thus, totally different behaviour as the Triumph. However, I guess the suspension works very different when riding over a speed bump compared to riding hard-core off-road. As I stated above, I’ll never ride the bike in the most challenging off-road anyway, so speed bump capabilities will be much more important than off-road capabilities. Everyone must test for themselves and follow their own preferences. It is like music; some like opera other likes rock’n roll 😊. I have now ordered a new Ducati Multistrada Rally and will pick it up when the snow melts away during the spring and just can’t wait to start riding again. So again, thanks for a great review and I really enjoyed reading all the comments.

[@RikkyTang]

Brilliant video! it's greeat to see these big adventure bikes being pushed off road and compared directly against each other 👍 Some great filming too!

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Glad you enjoyed it! It's amazing how capable all of these bikes are when you stop to think about the weight, size, and tech onboard. We had fun pushing them to the limit.

[@1050speed]

Has to be the best road test I've seen that was great looking forward to more similar content

[@brettlashbrook8527]

Excellent review. Fun to watch and informative. Top job and well done Triumph. All the best Brett.

[@AndrewPoole01]

Great video thanks but a bit confused about a few things 1. The on road test was all on road while the offroad test was 50/50 on road. A more comprehensive offroad terrain test might have been better 2. I might have missed something but the comment was made that all electronics were turned off on the ktm but no comment on the choice of electronics on the others apart from something like “we played around with the electronics but couldn’t find a setting that we liked” 3. An average of say 3 runs instead of a single shot might have averaged out line choices etc I realise time is often limited though. Or at least a longer ride offroad as most rides don’t just last 2 minutes It just didn’t feel to me like the off road test was perhaps as great an assessment as it could have been? Fun to watch though. Thank you

[@rdavidsen7344]

Agree. I posted prior to reading yours. Only a minute of true off-road for the comparison.

[@BlackThor15]

Amazing, simply amazing! Well done you MCN team!! Hopefully middleweight next. 👍👍

[@MyNameishidden-l2f]

Reviewing both on and off road Overall Winner 1) Triumph 2) KTM 3) Ducati & BMW Mr. Guy should come back and do more videos...loved this one...Remember his Bakker adventure bike video review from over a decade back

[@JagLite]

Fun test. Not that 99% of the owners could ride like that but it does show what the bike is capable of.

[@7443jan]

Best test ever between this bikes. The Dunlop Trail max is probably my next tyre on my KTM 690R. It would be nice to hear something about the experience of the riders with these tyres.

[@MOTOUK1]

Amazing video guys, amazing test and owning a tiger 1200 rally pro I can say too Neevesy I agree most comfy adventure bike, I did an 850 mile day with just fuel stops and so comfy. Triumph sure did a good job as they do on all there bikes. I don’t know of a manufacturer that has such a wide genre of bikes and all great. 😂 hence I own a Bonneville and a Tiger 👍

[@brianeaston3748]

A great test,well done 👍 I just bought a new GSA,and its a brilliant bike and in the real world not many people will take them to that extreme,off road, because there so expensive to buy,but it's good to see what they can do in the right hands,but on a test if anyone drops a bike,they don't need to pay for the damage,so its easy to thrash expensive bikes off road,great test from all involved 👍

[@raystewart365]

I owned a triumph explorer and now have a new GSA and for me the BMW is a brilliant all round bike

[@geoffball9547]

One of the best reviews ever!

[@chaitanyachiplunkar500]

Dynamic comparison test.😀👍 every aspect was thoroughly checked for on/off-road. kudos🎉

[@ENGBriseB]

Triumph have come along way. Great review guys.

[@adamc209]

Awesome stuff! Happy with my 1200 GSA, does everything well 😎

[@2wheels1guy25]

Great video! But…too bad you didn’t include the Honda ATAS (preferably manual). It would be interesting to see if the lack of power and bump in reliability would be an acceptable trade off. But hey…at least this leaves room for future tests!

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Yep, always room for future tests! Especially now Honda have updated it again, too... It was left out of this test due to the lack of power compared to the other bikes included. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@tHaH4x0r]

Also, I doubt the lack of power matters offroad. It is no wonder most mid-range adventure bikes put down about 70bhp. Its nearly impossible to put down more power offroad with unstable surfaces.

[@defylifeadventure]

Nice to see MCN upping its content game and using a control tyre too. Great stuff. There seems to be an obsession with Sweet Lamb though. there are other places to visit that the viewers would like to see too even if Molly is a great dude.

[@dafyddprichard4107]

Great video! I’d love to see the exactly same test repeated with the next-size-down equivalent models - BMW F850GS, Tiger 900, KTM 890, etc - would the weight saving and extra nimbleness result in quicker times compared to the larger siblings?

[@Beinhartwie1chopper]

I am so glad that James didn't crash!

[@MKA63]

Thanks for this. I picked up my new GS yesterday (not the GSA). Loving it so far except where I am, there is rain forecast for the next 4 days . I would have found it interesting to see what happened to the off-road times if the tests were repeated immediately after.

[@gabrielleroux3556]

Incredible reviews and tests. Thank you!

[@ReferenceFidelityComponents]

Great test, thanks for such a comprehensive round up. Gs has become too lardy and they haven’t yet sorted the suspension. The dynamic esa works for me only in dynamic mode on road. As a sports tourer their best bike is no longer the GS nor the RT. It’s the RS which makes most sense. Brilliant bike. Triumph surprised me. I had a mk1 Tiger Explorer and whilst brilliant on road, you couldn’t get around the stupidly top heavy balance at slow speed which ruined it so much for me I sold it for a GSA. KTM have been king off road for years now but reliability issues for me still stop me buying one. Ducati has a strong engine at high rpm but I felt let down by weaker than expected low down grunt and didn’t like the riding position. The surprise for me is the trumpet. I may have to look into one again. Have they cured the top heavy balance, especially wrestling the thing off the side stand fully laden? I would have liked to see how the Veestrom 1050 compared as it’s the only affordable one out there for most people and has nailed reliability.

[@altugafat9543]

Suzuki V-strom 1050DE is a very good bike in the middle class and safe motorcycle category.

[@andrewshore262]

Unsurprised by the result…..The Tiger is a sublime ride but I’m biased - great test!

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Great point!

[@MichaelWilliams-jc2ui]

Great review of the European big boys. Pop out now to order my Tiger!

[@LatinoTraveller85]

You need to test the new F900GS adventure bike, The R1300GS 2024, and in no way BMW won't be on the top!

[@highwayman1218]

Thats a heck of an offroad rip on those big ADVs! 👍👍

[@danghita4386]

Much better test than the average on KZbin.. however statistics and numbers talk best when there is enough data. I mean having one pilot doing one lap with each bike is not conclusive and I feel towards the end he knew the track better and exploited the ruts and corners more efficient. The format of the test was great, though having at least 3, maybe 5 pilots doing the same track at least few laps with each bike and picking the best or the average would be more relevant? I have/had 3 of these bikes and my own impression is a bit different with BMW an absolute winner on street and very close to KTM off road. I kept the KTM though..

[@PM-xm5ew]

Great review but I do wish you included the settings used on each bike for the offroad tests. For example the GS in Enduro Pro with dynamic set to max.

[@MrBerry67]

wow didn't expect that - well done Triumph - as a Triumph fanboy ( I own two) and in the market for one of these bikes I now need to test ride the triumph

[@kee7678]

That Triumph is a flat out amazing bike.

[@MegaTilts]

Best ever adventure bike review vid....James is a beast!

[@andybeetson9117]

Brilliant test guys , had my eye on the triumph for a while now , wish it was a bit more purposeful looking but great all- rounder 👍👍

[@gadjules7334]

What a fantastic review, I thoroughly enjoyed that. A thorough test with expert riders and very enjoyable to boot. Thank you

[@moontrekerben7801]

Great test ! Glad that Triumph is doing very well. But you pick Adventure bike for Triumph an Bmw.... the weight is quit différent. As a Triumph Tiger rider an looking to change... the Ktm is seems to be the best all around bike there! Thanks to everybody!😊

[@GCTO239]

Africa Twin should be in it though. It is a bloody fantastic bike and DCT is unique and easily the best system on the market. Forget about peak power. The 11000 engine delivers nicely.

[@tubejorrit]

More comparable with the Vstrom 1050, its not a super naked.

[@motorcyclenewsdotcom]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. The Africa Twin was left out of this one due to being so down on power. It would've done well off-road though. We'll look to add it to the next big test we do like this.

[@chrismalton1904]

Really enjoyed watching the test, cheers 👍

[@Mikolaj_u]

Loved the test. Amazing work! Subscribed

[@ConstantinDendrinos]

Thank you so much for this test. Really great test and presentation! I would also choose the Tiger for the same reasons you have mentioned.

[@Gazza-cw9yz]

Thankyou, looking for a dirt oriented adventure bke. Probably a mid level one, but what you have proved, as well as other tests, that it doesn't matter what class that you look at, KTM is the choice for the dirt. Here in Australia speeds on the highway are quite low and the roads may as be dirt in themselves, that's how poor they are, even our biggest highway. Maybe you should do a test on what bike suits what country, depending on the condition of their roads.

[@sbabbaro1977]

I owned the tiger1200 rally pro but I found a few defects including: engine too weak at low revs, on-off effect and cardan noise, traction control too invasive, delay in accelerator response, non-adjustable electronics, TFT with little information, few buttons on the electrical blocks, difficulty putting it on the central stand with suitcases , dangerous anti-stall effect, the engine shut down when downshifting with the clutch and 150 horsepower is electronically limited. after only 6500 km I switched to KTM1290 out of desperation, I couldn't stand these defects. I loved the triumph brand and have owned the last 3 generations of tiger1200 but the latest rally pro disappointed me deeply.

[@jonathandavies6862]

👀 Damn Triumph came out swinging! 💪great objective tests on & off road + excellent feedback from the Pro's! 👍well done MCN

[@orangelion03]

Brilliant test!!! Good stuff. My conclusion: we live in a time of plenty! Any one of these is a fantastic ride and it's wonderful we have so many choices. FYI: current ride is 21 Tiger 900RP, previous was 2006 GS and 2017 GSA.

[@adderhoney]

Really excellent test, guys. Glad that I subscribed online. Keep it up! 😊

[@sanatandharma4435]

Bloody frightening riding at that speed! Masterful riding James!

[@robt7773]

One of the best videos you have done guys..well done and thanks!!.Nevsey absolutely nailed it in his summary…I’ve ridden all four and his conclusions are spot on…Triumph have made a very comfortable touring bike that is more than able to put a smile on your face when you get to your location… they will need to review it now that the 1300 GS has been released. Well done guys!!!!