ADV. 3 letters in motorcycling, that mean what in the automotive world SUV might mean, although sport-utility is more excitingly interpreted as adventure in the two-wheel world. And even though I'm sure it's just a marketing gimmick to play on the specific mindset of motorcyclists, one needs not be a huge motorcycle aficionado to see that the adventure motorcycle is the new norm.
Even though the exact statistics are difficult (read: expensive) to get, last 20 years have seen the rise of the adventure motorcycle in the way we know it today - large engine capacity, good weather protection, enough hauling capability for two-up and luggage, long suspension travel. We can also note that for many a motorcycle manufacturer the adventure model in their lineup has become the flagship - one that is ladden with all the newest and best technology and stands proudly in the middle of the showroom. Market does seem to be shifting recently, with the middle-weight ADV bikes becoming more popular, but there is still a high demand for those all-road cruise ships we've come to know and love. The most prominent OEMs in the segment are definitely BMW motorrad, KTM, Honda Motorcycles and Yamaha, but everyone dabbles in the segment - even the mighty Harley-Davidson which would in previous years rather be caught dead that to make anything else but a cruiser.
The upsides of riding a modern ADV motorcycle are many, and they are closely connected to their inherent traits described in the previous paragraph, power, speed, agility, ability - but there are downsides, too. Two that are most likely to put anyone off the adventure path are their sheer size/weight - these are large machines with tall seat height, huge ground clearance pushing north of 250kg, and once you add luggage and crash bars and tall windscreen and a tool kit and auxillary lights and all the little things people like to add on their ADVs these become even taller, wider and heavier; and their price - with only a few optional extras, a flagship adventure motorcycle from a top-tier OEM will set you back for at least 20k$, and that's no joke money for an average person.
Luckily, as the adventure segment has been growing for a while, the used market is flooded with bikes, many of which haven't seen much action and have been taken care of, so the majority of riders with not a lot of disposable income have something to choose from. And that brings me (almost) to the actual topic of this article - if I was in the market for a large adventure motorcycle, which one would I choose? Well, I'd choose the Honda Africa Twin, but I'm a little bit of a Honda fan-boy, and I accept that this might not actually be the best choice - the best choice is still BMW R1200/1250GS, and here is why.
The reason I list the two together is because they are mostly the same beast, and it may be too early in life if the 1250 to find an “affordable” used one, and 1200 cannot be bought new anymore - hopefully that explains it. And don't get me wrong, you might live in a place where it's common to ride a 15 year old motorcycle, in which case R1100GS or R1150GS will do just fine, and many would argue that one'd be better off with an old airhead, but that's a story for another thread. Back to the why…
BMW put itself on the adventure motorcycle map back in 1981 when Hubert Auriol won the Paris-Dakar rally on BMW R80G/S (notice the old designation), and with one year giving it over the Honda XR550, it continued to rule Paris-Dakar for the next 3 years. Interstingly enough, BMW Motorrad hasn't won a Dakar rally since (!?) Back in the day though, adventure motorcycles weren't the bikes we know today, they were oversized dirt bikes - dual-purpose motorcycles, with clumsy fairings and much less capable chassis; even the sports bikes of the era couldn't come close in power and capabilities of modern day ADVs, nonetheless the rally bikes. Things were going ok, but the end of the millennium was definitely a street-racer era, so in reality adventure motorcycles didn't rise in popularity until 2004, when although BMW just introduced the BMW R1200GS, Ewan McGregor and Charlie Bowman went on the (now legendary) Long Way Round - riding east (?) from London to New York on a pair of R1150GS BMWs! Intersting thing to note is that the team considered using KTM, BMW andHonda motorcycles, and they decided to go with the KTM - however KTM subsequently declined to participate in the (ad)venture in concern that the this experiment might fail. Allow me to make a presumptuous claim - KTM was absolutely certain Ewan and Charlie would fail on a pair of KTMs, because those machines although extremely capable were utterly unreliable. BMW jumped in and helped make history - GS became a staple designation in adventure motorcycling, and up to date, in all different itterations, BMW has sold over half a million motorcycles wearing that insignia. R1200GS has proven over the years to be dependable and reliable, and there are thousands of testimonials of bikes going to the end of the world and back clocking hundreds of thousands of kilometers without major failures. Of course for a motorcycle that has been around for as long the R1200GS, the aftermarket is huge, and there literally isn't a part for it you cannot find with a quick Google search. BMW Motorrad service network is decent, but the fact that it is such a popular motorcycle means that today you can find a mechanic and parts practically wherever you are in the world. 1200cc boxers are frugal, have just enough poke to keep you entertained, and with some practice one can really dare take them to every kind of terrain. Another thing that many people may also find to be very important when it comes to choosing a motorcycle is resale value - not something many a motorcycle can boast with, and R1200GS holds that firmly no matter which market you are in, there isn't a country in the world that does not consider the iconic boxer twin worthless.
So in short, whether you are in the market for a new or used adventure motorcycle, and you are looking for a capable, reliable, omnipotent, entertaining motorcycle with good service network, huge accessibility and aftermarket and excellent resale value, there is only one obviously reasonable choice for where to spend your hard-earned money - BMW R1200/1250GS.
