Most of the GS riders I’ve seen only ride as far as the nearest BMW dealers where the congregate in packs in their BMW branded clothing and high viz polite wastecoats, drinking expensive coffee and negotiating their next GS and the trade in value of their sub 10k current model. on the subject of GS’s I rewatched the long way round series the other week, what a clusterf*ck decision that was by KTM
Apparently, KTM is not alone making clusterf*ck decisions. On another subject of GS: This is the only GS I'm interested in.
Being on my third BMW (second GS) and also my third Ducati, a Monster (had a 1200 Multi) I can safely say that it is mostly Ducati with ultra low miles. Still remember the Ducati dealer working out a price for my Multi to trade in with only 15k on it, “how many miles..?” wtf, its an adventure bike! I hate that term anyway, “adventure bike”. Ffs, just a comfy do everything bike with an upright riding position is what they mean. My best adventure was my first full on Euro trip on an R1.
I did 28,000 miles in under 3 years on my Mutley 1200 & traded it in for a GS1200; which is nearing 40,000 miles. Some of us do use them a fair bit.
I can actually relate to that. When I purchased my first Ducati (a Panigale), all I did was explore new back roads (in my new town and countryside) using my GPS to find the twisties. Of course, some of those twisties didn’t turn-out to be exactly track quality smooth but it was adventurous and fun nonetheless.
Then you won't be able to ride the decent roads in Austria & Italy (or wherever else is banning noisy bikes)
The current 1260 Multi isn't technically allowed on some Austrian passes due to being above the db limit I'm led to believe.
You have described my nearest BMW dealer, Lovetts, precisely..... And totally agree re: "The Long Way.." series and KTM. Dunno if true, but did KTM really have that little faith in their products? And maybe BMW had too much but they got the publicity and business that would have come from it.
‘‘Any bike can be an adventure bike” .... So true. I had one of my best trips ever last year when FlyBe failed riding from Devon to my place in the Highlands on my xt600e via the backroads. True enough the bike was underpowered, the brakes were crap but it was as meaningful as any mc trip as any I have done in Europe. The magic comes from something slightly intangible - the road, the bike and the laughter. Those who associate this as coming from a particular bike / engine layout have so much to explore! Signed Iain 64.75 yrs
In reply to the whole thread..... I am looking forward to testing the new V4s - progress is always exciting but also challenging (reverse if you prefer), but the work that has gone in has my respect. I hope when I try to get on the new MTS, it is immediately the DBs and gives me an immediate and large issue to solve. I remember moving from the R1150GS to the 2011 MTS - night and day. So here is hoping something emotional happens.....
This "adventure" crap is a real pain. My definition comes from my early days of riding when every trip was an "adventure" because you were very likely to break down on the way! Now, they even call one of the bikes that I am considering, Kawasaki Versys 650 GT, an adventure bike. It has 17" wheels with normal mudguards not hiked right up like the Guzzi V85. When, oh when, are manufacturers (not journalists as they are beyond help) going to wake up and smell the coffee? Nobody in the UK spends over 10k on a new bike and thinks, "Great and now I'll off-road it down a green lane!" Drop it or get stuck in the mud with a great big 250kg bike that is too heavy to pick up, so think, "feck it!" and just abandon it where it fell and get the train home.
And I get the trend to just "track day" it in Spain, if that is your thing, but you are not going to do that on a Multi, or any kind of "adventure" crap - and so you do not need a V4 with oodles of power! You want a light twin - oh, you don't mean like Ducati made 10 years ago!!!!!
How low can their DB limit be? The Multi 1260 registers 87 dba at idle which is 10 db less than my stock Panigale 959.
Aren’t bikes banned from some European/German roads on certain days now? Purely for noise reasons? Unfortunately some bikers are to blame as well.
Just got this off the web, I had heard about it! https://www.femamotorcycling.eu/banning-motorcycles-in-tirol/
Interesting want to know more about this has anyone experienced the ban?, Also Austria Bike cops ride Multistrada's, or they did a couple of years ago when one of then kindly stopped me on the Grosglockner...
