Adventure bikes are a scam - discuss...

[Skub]

I think the adventure style boom was helped by the lack of decent looking sports tourers. However, I reckon this is changing with bikes like Suzukis gsxs gt.

It'll be mildly interesting to compare Suzuki sales between the gt and the gx.

Maybe more to do with the adventures of Charlie and Ewan,though christ knows why it didn't work the other way after repeated scenes of picking up/extracting the totally unsuited monstrosities.

[dern]

The bikes can’t be a scam as they’re capable of doing what they’re depicted as being able to do. The marketing is misleading in that it skips the skill level required to do the things that are being depicted but marketing is always misleading.

[Mr Moofo]

Looks like all bikes are a scam then - most are just selling a dream of adventure, racing with the wind in you hair, being Peter Fonda, pulling hot girls or guys, being dead cool, being dead fast (even on cooking bikes), being an outlaw/ dangerous/ lairy/ different / left field.
The fact is that none of us could do what Rossi or Dougie Lampkin on most bikes

Same with cars/ MTB/ Gyms

[KungFooBob]

In that case, the only bike that isn't a scam... is a C90.

[Taff]

I've had several off road / enduro bikes and prefer that shirt of riding position, so it's no surprise that I loved the position on my tiger 800 and kept it for a lot of miles.
What did surprise me when I test ride it for the first time, was how close to the 1150RT and FJR that I had just before the Tiger. Touring bike position without the piss stains

[Bigjawa]

An early Vietnam era M-16.....

[KungFooBob]

An early Vietnam era M-16.....

The chrome on my Enfield is better than jungle soiled M16 barrel.

[Dickyboy]

Best of both worlds.

[/quote]

An American guy arrived on one of those with the intention of buying my GS adventure, proceeded to expound the virtues of it's raising & lowering suspension, then couldn't understand why he was too small to get his feet down on my GS - which incidentally had a low height seat in the low position & the front preload set to minimum.

Oh & the guy who did buy it dropped it at the first corner and ran back to get me to help him pick it up - some people are just blinded by their ambition

[Sadlonelygit]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/cbCoT7bVMUWRUEss/

[Sadlonelygit]

The fact is that none of us could do what Rossi or Dougie Lampkin on most bikes

Many moons ago I was tootling around my local off road stomping grounds when I bumped into Steve Saunders practising. When he finished defying the laws of physics, he came over and told me to have a go at (what looked to me) an impossible climb.
I unfortunately uttered those immortal words 'not on this bike with these tyres mate!'
He told me to get off, rode my bike down the road and back up, then went up the climb (he did take a dab mind) like it was a between section ride. And the bastard left it up there as well!
Illustrated to me the difference between skill and ambition very clearly.

[Supermofo]

Not actually watched the video but the gist I suspect from the comments is that we could get better road bikes if we weren't lead down the marketing path. That goes for sportsbikes or Adv bikes. There's a compromise in making a bike good for a lap time or for off roading that probably ultimately detracts from being ideal for what 90% of people actually do, which is ride on the road.

I think Adv bikes have a plus side over sportsbikes in that they are better/more practical for road work with our shite roads. But I suspect a more road focused version would be better still for most people. I think my personal problem with them is that most are fuggin huge and ugly. If I was going to get a boxer beemer it'd be a R1250R or RS not a GS.

I think that's what I like about the GSXS is that it's built as a roadbike rather than going too far one way or the other. It's sporty enough whilst also being comfy enough. It'll never win any tests as it's too middle of the road, but that's sort of what makes it so good for what I use it for.

Be interesting to see if this bigger and bigger craze continues, bikes and cars are all about Adv/SUV at the moment. I like neither and really hope things start going the other way, but I doubt it as for example Volvo have just joined the list of manufacturers who will no long make anything but SUVs Down with that sort of thing

[Bigjawa]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/cbCoT7bVMUWRUEss/

I'd give it a go!

[Mr Moofo]

Not actually watched the video but the gist I suspect from the comments is that we could get better road bikes if we weren't lead down the marketing path. That goes for sportsbikes or Adv bikes. There's a compromise in making a bike good for a lap time or for off roading that probably ultimately detracts from being ideal for what 90% of people actually do, which is ride on the road.

I think Adv bikes have a plus side over sportsbikes in that they are better/more practical for road work with our shite roads. But I suspect a more road focused version would be better still for most people. I think my personal problem with them is that most are fuggin huge and ugly. If I was going to get a boxer beemer it'd be a R1250R or RS not a GS.

I think that's what I like about the GSXS is that it's built as a roadbike rather than going too far one way or the other. It's sporty enough whilst also being comfy enough. It'll never win any tests as it's too middle of the road, but that's sort of what makes it so good for what I use it for.

Be interesting to see if this bigger and bigger craze continues, bikes and cars are all about Adv/SUV at the moment. I like neither and really hope things start going the other way, but I doubt it as for example Volvo have just joined the list of manufacturers who will no long make anything but SUVs Down with that sort of thing

I cannot imagine what it would be like riding my Ducati 998s around the roads of Sussex now - they are in such shit condition, with potholes, over banding, gravel on corners, uneven surfaces and lakes of standing water. Added into that nonsensical 20 mph speed limits through most towns and 50 MPH on roads outside of them. The Scrambler makes it nearly pleasant

[Yorick]

I have a superb bike for road and track. I have a brilliant bike for off-road.

I don't want a bike that weighs same as both put together, to try and do both jobs, thank-you very much

[Ditchfinder]

Not actually watched the video but the gist I suspect from the comments is that we could get better road bikes if we weren't lead down the marketing path. That goes for sportsbikes or Adv bikes. There's a compromise in making a bike good for a lap time or for off roading that probably ultimately detracts from being ideal for what 90% of people actually do, which is ride on the road.

I think Adv bikes have a plus side over sportsbikes in that they are better/more practical for road work with our shite roads. But I suspect a more road focused version would be better still for most people. I think my personal problem with them is that most are fuggin huge and ugly. If I was going to get a boxer beemer it'd be a R1250R or RS not a GS.

I think that's what I like about the GSXS is that it's built as a roadbike rather than going too far one way or the other. It's sporty enough whilst also being comfy enough. It'll never win any tests as it's too middle of the road, but that's sort of what makes it so good for what I use it for.

Be interesting to see if this bigger and bigger craze continues, bikes and cars are all about Adv/SUV at the moment. I like neither and really hope things start going the other way, but I doubt it as for example Volvo have just joined the list of manufacturers who will no long make anything but SUVs Down with that sort of thing

I cannot imagine what it would be like riding my Ducati 998s around the roads of Sussex now - they are in such shit condition, with potholes, over banding, gravel on corners, uneven surfaces and lakes of standing water. Added into that nonsensical 20 mph speed limits through most towns and 50 MPH on roads outside of them. The Scrambler makes it nearly pleasant

Yup the roads are in such poor condition that the Guzzi is rarely pleasant to ride except on A roads nowadays. I'm half tempted to chop it in for something with more travel and dual purpose tyres just so I can ride it on a wider variety of roads. It would mean I wouldn't have to ride for an hour to get to the roads that it feels good to ride it on and would open up a lot of the scenic B-road stuff more local to me.

Problem I have with ADV bikes is that I'm such a short-arse I can't get on most of them, The 500 Cabalero and the new Himalayan look about my best chance seat height wise.

[Dickyboy]

If I was going to get a boxer beemer it'd be a R1250R or RS not a GS.

That's exactly what I've been looking at to replace the GSA - once you've had hard luggage, heated grips etc it's hard to go back.

My Achilles heal is enjoying being different, hence the Morini Scrambler & Moto Guzzi Centauro

[Supermofo]

The 500 Cabalero and the new Himalayan look about my best chance seat height wise.

Ok not an Adv bike, but consider a 690 Duke. As light as the Cabalero with loads more power. The Duke is proper fun on twisty, nadgery B roads.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Ride what you want, why does anyone care what bike someone else rides, just ride it and have fun.

[Ditchfinder]

The 500 Cabalero and the new Himalayan look about my best chance seat height wise.

Ok not an Adv bike, but consider a 690 Duke. As light as the Cabalero with loads more power. The Duke is proper fun on twisty, nadgery B roads.

Had a Duke 390 and whilst it was ace it also made me feel like I should be hooning everywhere, I fancy something a bit less focussed and able to cope with singletrach country roads over the Pennines. Also the Duke 690 seat height would give me a nose bleed or necessitate a nice pair of platform boots

[Mr Moofo]

I cannot imagine what it would be like riding my Ducati 998s around the roads of Sussex now - they are in such shit condition...

You should try riding a 1930's hardtail.

I can only assume that in the 1930's that the roads were in better condition, because I genuinely don't think motorcycling would have caught on very much if they were as bad as they are now.

After riding on race track grade roads for a decade (and hardly ever on UK roads when I was back) it's been a hell of an experience taking to UK roads again. They are in an appalling condition.

TBF, the Rudge can probably only hit 40 mph on a good day - and the brakes are only valid for 15mph or under. So the hardtail bit is going to be a little less impactful