Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1488797
HARLEY-DAVIDSON PAN AMERICA VS. BMW R 1250 GS ADVENTURE VS. KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE R VS. DUCATI MULTISTRADA V4 S COMPARISON TESTI P122 The grand old man of the big-bore ADV segment, the GS Adventure can still hang with the best of them in just about every area. which includes Dynamic ESA (Electronic Suspen- sion Adjustment), a system that's been around for ages that lets you choose between settings for rider, rider with luggage, two riders, two riders with lug- gage, etc. On top of that we had DTC (Dynamic Traction Control), heated grips, tire pressure monitoring, and ABS Pro, which let us disengage the rear ABS for off-road riding. The Touring Package included a proximity key, GPS, cruise control, LED auxiliary lights, and the mounts for the hard bags. We also had the Dynamic Package fitted, which gave us an up-and-down quick- shifter and the Ride Modes Pro feature. Ride Modes Pro features Dynamic, Dynamic Pro, Enduro and Enduro Pro, which all have their own throttle, traction and suspension maps. Also included is Hill Start Control, dynamic brake assist, and engine brake control. Standard fitment for the GSA is a six-axis IMU that mitigates the ABS Pro sys- tem, three riding modes of Eco, Rain and Road, DTC, a USB charging socket, full LED lighting and a TFT color display. All up, the extras thrown at our test bike amounted to a $4345 extra spend if you were picking this up at your dealer. (Electronic Suspension Adjustment) works well and has been around for some time, but the options available in terms of suspension performance from the Ducati especially saw it rank lower in the overall standings. The BMW is the king of the freeway, but the KTM and Ducati have upped the game on dirt to a point that has seen the GSA drop to third overall. The overall platform hasn't been compre- hensively overhauled since 2013 when the water-cooled engine made its de- but (save for the debut of the ShiftCam valvetrain in 2019), so it might be time for BMW to produce a new GSA. If that happens, BMW could well reclaim the title they held for so long.