Monthly Archives: October 2025

Review: BMW F 900 GS

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Every self-respecting brand has at least one big-bore adventure bike in its lineup. Still, it’s the middleweights that fly out of showrooms the fastest. Honda sells more Transalps than Africa Twins, Triumph can’t build enough Tiger 900s while the 1200 gathers dust, and KTM’s 890 dominates their sales charts. Even Suzuki moves more V-Strom 800s than 1050s.

At BMW, it’s a different story. The smaller GS has spent generations living in the pitch-black shadow of its big brother. And while mid-size adventure bikes have become increasingly off-road capable in recent years, the F 850 GS – and its predecessors – just didn’t deliver as soon as the asphalt stopped.


Enter the BMW F 900 GS. In Bavaria, they’ve flipped the script completely and gone all-in on a more hardcore approach. I notice it right away when hopping off Continue reading →

Review: KTM 890 SMT

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SMT. Supermoto Touring. Or in other words: a playful long-distance bike. Sounds good, right? And yet, the KTM 890 SMT is currently the only bike in the SMT segment. Ducati has its Hypermotards, but those only check the “SM” box, no “T” in sight. Whether that means the other brands don’t see value in the category or avoid it for other reasons, I can’t say. But it sure made me curious to find out how KTM defines those three letters.


So here’s the question: should you look at the SMT as a sport-touring machine (like the ones we see plenty of these days, think of the recently tested Suzuki GSX-S1000GX, the Triumph Tiger Sport 800 or the more adventure-styled Ducati Multistrada V4 S)? Or is the SMT simply in a class of its own?

If it’s up to KTM to decide on that matter, it’s definitely the latter. Unlike the trio I just mentioned, KTM’s focus is a lot less on the “T” and much more on the “SM.” The sporty Michelin PowerGP tires and the chopped windscreen make that clear instantly. Add the white beak to the mix and the 890 SMT ends up with a pretty “different” look. It’s a bit of an odd bird. And as we all know, whether you fall for a bike often comes down to looks.


At first glance the 890 SMT might look like an 890 Adventure on street tires, but it’s actually quite different. The SMT rolls on 17-inch wheels, has a shorter suspension travel and swaps Continue reading →