Author Archives: Jean Le Motard

Review: Ducati Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour

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Those folks at Ducati are something else. If you were considering a Multistrada not too long ago, you would have had to choose between six models (V2, V2 S, V4, V4 S, V4 S Rally, and V4 S Pikes Peak). But hey, the more, the merrier, right? So, Ducati added two extra models in 2023: the V4 S Grand Tour and the V4 S RS.

Let me help you identify the different family members. The V2 is the twin-cylinder, with the V2 S as its more luxuriously equipped counterpart. On the other hand, the V4 is the standard four-cylinder. Wheelie control, cornering ABS and traction control come standard on the “regular” V4, while the V4 S offers more options, including electronic suspension, a larger display with smartphone connectivity, a quickshifter and cruise control. The V4 S Rally is geared towards off-road enthusiasts, the Grand Tour for the travel-hungry, the Pikes Peak for the sporty riders, and the RS for the even sportier ones.

I had the chance to test whether the Ducati Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour truly lives up to its promise as a touring bike and took it for a weekend ride all the way to Normandy.


The Grand Tour comes with a bundle of options on top of the V4 S equipment: side panniers, heated seats for both rider and pillion, heated grips, fog lights, adaptive cruise control (instead of non-adaptive), blind-spot warning, tire pressure monitoring and a center stand. These options can also be ordered on other Multistradas too, but on the Grand Tour, Continue reading →

Travel test: BMW R 1300 GS

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2023 must have been a very anticipatory year for BMW Motorrad. Because when you replace the most popular steed in your stable, you obviously don’t want to make a poor impression. Moreover, BMW didn’t settle for a cautious facelift and a few small technical tweaks, but pushed itself to a major makeover. I had the opportunity to test the new 2024 BMW R 1300 GS for a week during a trip to Spain with two friends. The report of that trip will follow. For now: my findings of the GS after 4300 km in the seat.


To illustrate the importance of the GS for BMW’s business figures: in 2023, BMW sold a little more than 209,000 motorcycles worldwide. More than 60,000 of those were accounted for by the ‘big GS club,’ namely the 1250 GS, the 1250 GS Adventure, and the new 1300 GS (which has been on the market since the fall of 2023). You can safely say it’s BMW Motorrad’s cash cow.

I also want to mention upfront that I’m not a member of the GS Haters Club. Okay, it seems like everyone has a GS, making it feel somewhat ubiquitous. But after testing the 1200 GS Rallye and “needing” a new motorcycle myself, I almost bought a second-hand blue 1200 Rallye. Yes, I chose Continue reading →

Travel report: Southern Norway in 7 highlights

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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 →

Travel test: Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Explorer

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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 →

Dilemma: Picos or Dolomites?

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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.

Check out the detailed routes.

Option two: Dolomites & Julian Alps


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.

Check out the detailed routes.

Review: Harley-Davidson Street Bob

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Let’s start with a confession. It might seem that I would always choose an adventure bike 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 →

Travel report: French Alps 2022

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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).


When creating the routes we took the Route des Grandes Alpes as a base and added interesting passes, roads and gorges. Continue reading →