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8 adventure bike comparison test..

notasweetman

notasweetman

Cruisin' Guzzisti
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
110
Location
Redditch, Worcestershire, UK
Motorcycle News in the UK has just run an 8-bike test over 1000 miles. The 8 are: Triumph 1200 Explorer, Honda 1200 Crosstourer, Yamaha Super Tenere, Ducati 1200 Multistrada, Kawasaki 1000 Versys, KTN 990 Adventure, BMW 1200 GS and the Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX.

Guess which comes last? Yup. Our beloved Stelvio. "Ageing Italian feels like it's made from cast iron. Has charm... but little else". I'll admit many of the others are smoother, lighter, faster etc. and, of course, younger!

1. Triumph
2. Honda
3. Ducati
4. BMW
5. Yamaha
6. KTM
7. Kawasaki
8. Stelvio

Then they score the bikes for various qualities and test them for various performance indicators. They give the BMW 8.1 out of 10 for handling and the Stelvio 6.6. Now tell me I'm wrong, but I've ridden both and far prefer the Stelvio on the road. I also remember journalists praising the Stelvio's handling vs. the BMW's Telelever front end?

Does this make me run out and swap my beloved '09 (in red!) for one of the others - newer, faster, lighter, smoother... Not a chance! :D
 
UK magazine awards 1st place to a Triumph... I bet the same test run by an Italian magazine would have resulted in a significantly better score for the Stelvio ;)
 
Positions all relative to advertising budgets.
I bought a BMW R1100s in 2001 against all the press advice, best bike i'd had so bought another.
My Breva 1200 is up there with anyting I have owned, does exactly what it's designed to do.
35 years riding bikes and a free thinking mentality go a long way.
 
The Stelvio is one of the best Guzzi made to date, and the handling (for it's size) is at the top of the scale. One thing I learned as a moto journalist... when faced with these (most often) zero mile test bikes, and more often not set up properly, a back-to-back test is tough. Given proper set up, and some serious miles on the bike, I'd like to see the result after two years of use against all of these, especially in a cost of usage standpoint.
That said, the Stelvio is up against some stiff competition in the above war, with its heavy weight and largely air-cooled mill vs. Euro emissions. Uncork it, and you'd have a different outcome.
To each his own. Luckily most of us here can see quickly past the narrow-focused reporting done there.
 
Greyo said:
UK magazine awards 1st place to a Triumph... I bet the same test run by an Italian magazine would have resulted in a significantly better score for the Stelvio ;)
Click to expand...

UK journalists biased ? How very dare you ! Next thing you'll be suggesting our politicians are liars & cheats :p
 
Not only rubbish reporting,but inconsistent even by their own terms.If you look at the performance figures,the Stelvio beats the GS,yet they score it lower for performance.Eh?They are still a sports bike blinkered lot at MCN,they are still trying to come to terms with adventure bikes.The Triumph does look a nice bike though!
 
davem said:
Positions all relative to advertising budgets.
Click to expand...

But we've the best advert strap line (been run in Bike magazine)

'Not for every Tom, Dick or Herman!' :D :D :D

The write up did suggest that the journo improved their views of the Stelvio as time went by.
 
I don't think I've ever bought a bike on the strength of a road test. I prefer talking direct to owners and getting a couple of test rides.
Perhaps if Moto Guzzi spent a shed load of money on advertising in these journals we'd see a higher placing. But hey! who cares? we know the Stelvio is a superb motorcycle so thats all that matters.
I like the relavant exclusivity of my Stelvio when every man and his dog is riding about on a GS1200, Guzzi riders aren't 'sheeple' :)
 
How about this, Todd, Get in touch with some of your journo contacts and arrange a comparison test which asks a bunch of owners to test all the other bikes. They would have a better idea of reliability, on-costs, real-world suitability etc, and would be asking the right kind of questions.

We all know our lives with our bikes are not all about lap times and how professional riders with focussed abilities far in excess of Joe Public define what's good and what 'has charm... and not much else...' Over here 'Ride magazine' has a go at this kind of test every now and again, but they still feel controlled by the journos and their vested interests. Wot u think? :unsure:
 
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