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/748467
B I G B O R E A D V C O M P A R I S O N T E S T P62 SHOOTOUT H ave ADV bike, will travel! That's what the world's leading motorcycle manu- facturers want. They want you to find your inner Ewan and Charlie and head for far off lands on big bikes with dreams in your heart and cash in your wallet. And should you indeed follow those dreams—or just a snaky weekend away with the wife— you might want to consider any of these four machines as your choice of steed. These bikes on test here are the cream of the big-bore ADV crop. Honda's new Africa Twin, KTM's soon-to-be-replaced 1190 Adventure R, the new Ducati Multistrada Enduro and the venerable BMW R 1200 GS Adventure—these are serious machines designed to take you anywhere your little heart desires. We do acknowledge we are missing from the test the Triumph Tiger Explorer, Suzuki V-Strom and ancient Yamaha Super Tenere, but we felt we should whittle this test down to the best of the best in the category—so here we are. Our test loop had us travers- ing Big Bear National Park in Southern California for a couple of days, intermixed with the beer drinking arguments that are a prerequisite to determine an overall winner. Our focus was mainly on the dirt, with good doses of tar riding thrown in. These bikes are meant to go off road, after all. So without further ado… Rennie Scaysbrook Job Title: Cycle News Road Test Editor Age: 34 Experience: Riding since the age of three, racing since eight and street riding at 16. Rides and races anything and everything as part of being a Road Test Editor. Has a strange love for Vegemite. Lost a fight with the Armco at Pikes Peak this year. Kit Palmer Job title: Cycle News Editor Age: 55 Experience: Started riding motorcycle at eight; first time on a bike didn't go well but he loved it anyway. Considers himself a dirt-bike guy but rides on the street nearly every day. Raced motocross for many years until he caught the enduro bug (then the hare and hound bug, then the hare scrambles bug...) Bottom line, if it has two wheels, he enjoys riding it. Sean Finley Job title: Co-owner of Cycle News Age: 47 Experience: Riding since his parents bought him a Honda MR50 at age five. Racing since age 14 (if you count three wheelers and quads) but followed that up with a lot of years of motocross and off-road racing. A lot of ADV miles including two-up trips with his wife. Jesse Ziegler Job title: Co-owner (the good part) of Cycle News Age: 39 still! Experience: Started riding dirt bikes at five, raced his first motocross race at 17 and has been evaluating motorcycles full-time as a magazine editor since 2005. Arguably has too many ideas of what the perfect motorcycle is. Also has the cutest daughter in the world. THE TESTERS