What would you do in this situation? You’re hesitating whether to go to the Dolomites in Italy or the Picos in Spain, so you start planning routes for both trips. Then, a week before the departure, the weather forecasts say: “Sorry guys, rain predicted in almost all of Southern Europe.” Which of these two options would you pick: stick to your guns and get your rain gear ready, or completely change your plans?
Two days before our departure, after one last look at the (not improving) weather maps, we made up our minds: forget the Dolomites, forget the Picos, we’re going to Norway. We had no desire for rain, and besides, Norway had already been on our shortlist for a while. After an evening of track plotting, Continue reading →
It’s a tough battle if you’re a heavyweight adventure bike and want to maintain your position in the market. The dominance of the Gelände/Straße seems unshakable while almost every other brand is battling for one of the positions below the German overlord. And if you don’t want to fall hopelessly behind, you have to bring some innovation to your models regularly.
The Triumph Tiger 1200 is perhaps the most direct competitor to King GS. With the disappearance of the Yamaha Super Ténéré and the Honda Crosstourer, it’s the only remaining rival with shaft drive. The Moto Guzzi V85 TT also features a shaft drive, but with its 850 cc, it belongs to the adventure middle class.
The heaviest adventure bike from the Triumph stable first came to life in 2012 as the Triumph Tiger Explorer. It underwent a major update in 2018 when it was renamed the Tiger 1200, and then reincarnated for a third time in 2022.
The team from Hinckley started from scratch for this resurrection and built a completely new model. They chose the 1,160 cc inline-triple engine from the Speed Triple as the base, making adjustments to the ignition sequence and crank pins. These modifications were intended to provide stronger low-end power while maintaining the power in the mid-range and at higher rpm’s.
The frame, driveshaft and design were also reevaluated, with the electrically adjustable windscreen being replaced by a manual one. Additionally, the single-sided swingarm was exchanged for a double-sided one. Overall, this resulted in Continue reading →
It has become our annual tradition, we are once again planning a motorcycle trip for June this year. The concept remains the same: strap a tent on our bikes and off we go!
We had five destinations on our shortlist, of which Norway, Wales and Scotland have already been crossed off. That leaves us with the Picos and the Dolomites. We have roughly mapped out the routes for both trips, and now it’s time to make a decision.
Question: which trip would you choose and why? And for those familiar with the area: are there any roads we absolutely shouldn’t miss?
Option one: Picos
I haven’t been to the Picos before, but I’ve heard enough good things about it to rank it high on our shortlist. The biggest disadvantage compared to the Dolomites is that it’s a bit further before we reach our destination. Although the journey is just as important as the destination of course.
On day 1, we’ll be ride quite a distance into France, just over 1,000 km on the highway. On day 2 (blue), the winding roads begin just below San Sebastian. On day 3 (green), we’ll enter the Picos. On days 4 (yellow) and 5 (orange), we’ll ride loops through the Picos. On day 6 (red), we’ll leave the Picos and head east. On day 7 (purple), we’ll take a detour through the Bardenas Reales, cross the Pyrenees and end the day just across the French border. On day 8, we’ll take the fastest route back home.
The Dolomites are etched in my memory as one of the highlights of my trip to the Alps in 2017. So I don’t mind heading back in that direction again, this time taking more time to explore. Maybe add some Julian Alps too? Why not!
On day 1, we’ll ride to Campitello di Fassa in the Dolomites. Here we’ll stay for 4 nights and take loops on day 2 (blue), 3 (green), and 4 (yellow). On day 5 (orange), we’ll head east. On day 6 (red), we’ll say goodbye to the Dolomites and head into the Julian Alps. Our destination is Kranjska Gora. We’ll stay here for 2 nights and take a loop on day 7 (purple). Day 8: take the fastest route back home.
Let’s start with a confession. It might seem that I would always choose an adventurebike as my daily ride, but if it were purely about the looks, I’d surely pick something else. What, you ask? Since I visited the Matchlight Motorcycle Show my soft spot for cool custom choppers only got bigger.
Harley-Davidson quickly comes to mind if you look at that type of bikes, but my previous Harley tests never really convinced me. Too little power, footpegs dragging on the asphalt … In short: too little riding pleasure if you don’t just want to stick to leisurely cruising.
Enter the new Street Bob. The model year 2022 received the new Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine and it’s the most powerful Continue reading →
We already planned to do a tour of the French Alps in 2020, but we had to cancel our plans due to the well-known virus. The routes were already mapped out, but before we could finally depart on our trip in June of this year, a reality check forced us to do some fine-tuning a few weeks earlier. Certain campsites were still closed, and some parts turned out to be too big of a detour for the limited time we had (a week).
After the release of the new BMW S 1000 RR in 2019, we were looking forward to the launch of the updated BMW S 1000 R. Its predecessor already had some years on the clock: in 2014 it appeared in showrooms for the first time, as a direct descendant of the then RR.
Of course the design of the new S 1000 R is the first thing that catches the eye. The rather classic headlight makes you frown less than the one on the previous generation. The bike looks shorter and more muscular (although it’s actually three centimeters longer). Just one glimpse is enough to know that this bike goes hard.
BMW logically started off from the all new RR when developing their supernaked. The 1000 cc engine has been revamped to broaden the torque band, just like its predecessor. The RR’s ShiftCam technology was thrown overboard too. The philosophy behind these adjustments is that the RR must excel on the track, while the R has to show its best performances on the street – and therefore the highest revs are visited less often than with the RR.
You don’t need a thermometer to see that the adventure segment is still the hottest around. Not because everyone has to plow through deserts or wants to ride from the North to the South Cape, but simply because these bikes are so comfortable. And because they look nice and cool of course. And at the same time they give you the feeling that you can just pack your bags and go on an adventure.
So it’s quite logical that Husqvarna came up with an adventure bike too. After all, they have plenty of experience in motocross and enduro, and since they’ve been partnering up with KTM, they don’t have to beg hard to borrow some parts.
The result: the Husqvarna Norden 901. Look at the engine, the frame, the swingarm, the tank, the buttons … Isn’t this just a KTM 890 Adventure turned into a Swedish design object? I took the Norden and my tent for an eight-day trip to Continue reading →
Team Throttle 