stormy
12-12-2004, 11:45 PM
Found these test reports, maybe a little old, but worth a read, (then again, maybe not, you choose!)
CAPONORD ETV1000
Why do British motorcyclists shun off-road-styled machines? They don't know what they're missing, says Chris Moss
ITALY'S most prolific bike builder, Aprilia, has created yet another superb machine - the off-road-styled CapoNord. The model raises the firm's reputation, and expands its range even further. But the sad fact is, only a small number of prejudiced British motorcyclists will consider it.
No ego required: the CapoNord is great fun to ride, and proves that you don't have to reach lunatic speeds to feel satisfied
Even the importer, Aprilia UK, recognises this country's short-sighted view of the market, and is ordering only two hundred or so of the bikes. It's a shame, because the CapoNord offers so much. In contrast, most other European nations, which recognise the virtues of such bikes, will flock to order CapoNords, making its production in Italy worthwhile.
Why motorcyclists here don't care for these off-road-styled machines, commonly known as trailies, remains a mystery. Britain's much greater preference for high-horsepower superbikes is beginning to make less and less sense. They are expensive to buy and run and insurance is becoming more and more prohibitive. If owners were honest with themselves, they'd admit to not being remotely skilled enough to take advantage of the incredible performance. They're also being foolish in experimenting with such potency, as it can all too quickly lead them into the law courts, or even less attractive scenes. Owning a superbike is all just a big pose for many of them, simply something to brag about down at the pub.
The CapoNord offers much more than an ego boost. It's practical, comfortable, versatile and has plenty of useable performance. Above all, it's great fun to ride, and proves that you don't have to spend life at more than 100 miles per hour to feel satisfied.
My enjoyment of the bike was enhanced by the venue, Sardinia, which Aprilia chose for the press debut. But the roads on the island also put the CapoNord's abilities to the strictest test, and proved what a competent, easygoing bike it is.
Many of the roads were so tight and twisty, the bike was barely upright for more than a couple of seconds. You had to have your wits about you to maintain a decent pace, and the Aprilia had to be very accomplished to cope.
It was a stern examination of the machine's handling and braking. The engine also needed to be pretty friendly with its power delivery to make the ride safe and secure.
There's no doubt that taking a superfast sportsbike along the same route, with the same level of enthusiasm for speed, would have involved much risk-taking, with the inevitable production of blood, sweat or tears.
The only body reaction the CapoNord causes are smiles, and very broad ones at that. For a start, the Aprilia is so easy to ride. Anyone, from novice to veteran, will feel at home on it after a few yards. The bike's relaxed riding position and excellent balance see to that. And to prove this, those qualities are evident at speeds ranging from walking pace to flat-out.
With confidence in the bike being so high from the first few wheel revolutions, one gains immediate faith in getting things moving along quicker. And the engine does a great job of doing that.
It's the familiar 998c, 60-degree V-twin, fitted to Aprilia's superbikes, which powers the CapoNord. But changes such as smaller fuel-injection throttle bodies, lower compression pistons and different camshafts alter the power characteristics, increasing the urgency of the motor lower down its rev range.
Strong, fluid and broadly spread torque, delivered the instant the throttle is twisted, means the gearbox rarely needs to be troubled. Once things are moving there's no need to select more than the top two gears from the slick, six-speed box. You can rely on the motor's impressive mid-range surge to make swift progress.
If you're in a bit more of a hurry, then dropping down an extra gear or two and revving the V-twin a bit harder brings stronger performance. And, given time, the motor will drive the CapoNord up to its top speed of about 125mph.
A potent and punchy motor like this could get you into hot water if it wasn't housed in a capable chassis. Luckily, that's just what the Aprilia has. It's easy to manage corners thanks to the high and wide handle-bars, offering lots of leverage for last-minute direction changes. And if things don't always meet with your expectations, the brakes can help save the day with their strength and progression.
The suspension has plenty of travel and is quite softly sprung. But the high-quality damping controls its movement nicely and keeps the bike well-composed. There's plenty of feedback to let you know just how well the tyres are coping under pressure. And its plushness does a great job of absorbing road irregularities, aiding comfort and making stints in the saddle feel very civilised, even if they're lengthy ones. Other features include a luggage rack and a temperature gauge that warns of ice.
Aprilia ETV 1000 CapoNord
Price/availability: £7,575OTR. On sale mid-April.
Engine/transmission: 998cc, 60-degree, V-twin, fuel-injected, four-stroke, eight valves, 98bhp at 8,250rpm, 71.5lb ft of torque at 6,250rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 125mph (est), average fuel economy 38 mpg (est)
SUZUKI V-Strom DL1000
Suzuki's V-Strom is an oddball. It looks like a supermoto, but has overdrive for the motorway. It has a useful screen, but an uncomfortable seat. It even has a big tank - but be careful you don't run dry, says Kevin Ash
I decided to give up trying to categorise Suzuki's new V-Strom - it looks a bit like a trail bike but lacks off-road ability, it's too soft to be a supermoto and it's not sharp enough to be an out-and-out sports bike.
Daring to be different: the V-Strom's quirky styling sets it apart from more conventional touring machines
After a month in the company of the Telegraph's long-term test example, the machine's purpose has become clearer: the V-Strom is a touring bike. It just approaches the class from a different angle, coming across as a touring bike for those who don't like conventional touring bikes. The V-Strom is altogether more youthful, with its odd but rangy looks, aggressively angled headlights and underseat exhausts, but such things don't diminish its touring credentials.
The engine is highly effective in the distance-covering role. The one-litre V-twin is based on the unit which powered the sporting TL1000S and TL1000R, but smaller inlet valves and gentler camshaft profiles make its power delivery biased towards the low and medium rev range. It still kicks at 6,000rpm but shows signs of strain when it's spun much harder - this is a real-world engine, with punchy overtaking power and plenty of urge for climbing hills while loaded with luggage and a passenger, although the very tall sixth gear dilutes the torque enough for the motor to feel flat on tighter terrain. So treat it like an overdrive for relaxed motorway riding (there's even a green light on the dash to let you know it's engaged) and explore the lower ratios of the cooperative and satisfying gearbox at other times.
The broad spread of torque encourages you to let the revs drop right down but venturing below 2,000rpm is inadvisable due to an unpleasant snatchiness, in common with other big V-twins, and even the potential to stall the motor on a light throttle opening. Otherwise the engine is as easy-going as you'd want, responding dependably to the throttle (thanks to Suzuki's excellent twin butterfly per inlet fuel-injection system) and vibrating unobtrusively, although there's an irritating resonance in the bodywork at 2,000-3,000rpm.
The chassis is also biased towards the needs of the longer-distance rider, offering stability rather than agility, but the widely set handlebars mean that with a bit of muscle the V-Strom can be flicked through corners with surprising agility. It's not flustered by this sort of treatment, holding its line through turns rather than running wide as you might expect, and despite the tyres' semi-knobbly profile the grip is good enough to get the footrests grinding the road.
No complaints about the Bridgestones, but quite why the bike isn't fitted with proper, uncompromised road rubber isn't clear, because the V-Strom has no pretensions as an off-roader. The use of a trail bike's 19-inch front wheel will probably restrict choice of replacement - we'll see, as the miles are accumulating rapidly.
I'm still equivocal about the bike's comfort, despite a couple of thousand miles aboard. Wind protection is good, while the upright riding position is perfect as much for taking in the scenery as for negotiating heavy traffic. There's plenty of room for taller riders, too, although the seat height will trouble shorter ones. My only reservation concerns the seat, which at first is delightfully cosseting but starts to feel uncomfortable after only 30 minutes or so - but five hours later it's got no worse, meaning only minor aches in the posterior after a full day's riding. Maybe the seat will bed in, or perhaps my backside will adapt...
Whatever, the potential to cover big distances is helped by the generous, 4.8-gallon fuel tank, which should allow a range of about 200 miles: 46mpg is within easy reach and some riders might achieve 50mpg. The problem is knowing when you're running dry - twice I came within a whisker of a direct appreciation of the bike's 456lb mass, as the only low-fuel warning is a liquid-crystal petrol pump icon switching on and off. There's no reserve tap and no eye-catching flashing light to attract your attention. It will run dry before we hand the bike back later in the year, I guarantee it...
If I owned the V-Strom the only change I'd want to make would be the front suspension, as the unadjustable forks feel choppy and rather cheap. On rough surfaces a lot of harshness is transmitted to the rider, while under hard braking the front of the bike will dive hard then struggle to control itself. Both handling and comfort would benefit from improvements here - as it is, you have to endure the rubbery sensation that comes with low-quality damping.
So far, though, the positives far outweigh the negatives, in particular the vivacity lacking in most touring bikes (which is why more riders don't buy them). Visually it's an oddball but quite an endearing one, and dynamically its repetoire is broad.
We'll be finding out how capable it is in the coming months when our V-Strom will tackle everything from intensive commuting to a continental tour. First impressions, however, are very good indeed.
Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom
Price/availability: £7,349 on the road. On sale now; contact www.suzuki-gb.co.uk (01293 518000).
Engine/transmission: 996cc, V-twin four-stroke with eight valves; 97bhp at 7,600rpm, 74.5lb ft of torque at 6,400rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 140mph, average fuel consumption 45mpg.
HONDA XL1000V VARADERO
A much-needed makeover has made the new Honda Varadero less ugly than its predessors - but only just, says Kevin Ash
The Honda Varadero, now four years old, had a range of things in its favour: good comfort, lofty riding position, torquey V-twin engine, reasonable fuel range and even a modicum of off-road ability. But one thing turned me against it - it was the ugliest motorcycle in the world. As such, it could have outperformed a FireBlade on the race track and toured better than a GoldWing, but I'd never have bought one simply because I wouldn't want it parked outside my house.
Looks aren't everything: but despite the Varadero's visual shortcomings, it does offer a comfortable, quality ride
Since then, the Aprilia Capo Nord has taken over as the most aesthetically challenged new motorcycle on the market (no surprise when it looks like a Varadero drawn with a ruler), and now Honda has decided the Varadero is due for a cosmetic makeover. I'd have specified full plastic surgery, but as any change is bound to be an improvement I won't complain too much.
The new machine is indeed slightly better, or, more accurately, less ugly, than before but it still has that sagging belly look of an ageing labrador and a mish-mash overall style in which the fuel tank is plain black, the fairing panels one colour and the headlight surround another. At least there's an attempt to clean up the visage with integrated indicators and a reshaped headlight, although this treatment makes the bike look as if it's just bitten on an especially bitter lemon.
Still, when you're riding it, you can only see the facia and handlebars, and although you might wonder why the engine temperature is given a proper LCD gauge while the more useful fuel level only merits a warning light (surely these would be better the other way around?), it's a comfortable enough place to be.
Very comfortable, in fact, as the riding position is upright and spacious atop the supportive and reasonably broad seat, while the bodywork does a good job of fending off the weather. The screen is on the narrow side, so taller riders find the wind hitting their shoulders, but if you're the right height the noise and buffeting at speed are minimal. There are two height positions, although unforgivably you need to break out the tool kit to make adjustments and keep it out if you need to readjust the headlight angle - it makes you wonder if many bike designers ride the machines they've worked on...
For all its vague off-road pretensions, the Varadero will be used to consume motorway miles and explore twisty backroads. The comfort proves fine for this, even at sustained high speeds for long periods, and the fuel range is significantly enhanced, too. Honda claims that the old model's range was 210 miles compared to the new bike's 290, an improvement of 36 per cent. Having said that, the old model (along with several other Hondas, such as the CB600F Hornet and SP-2) was notorious for extremely high fuel consumption, so these gains only bring the bike up to an acceptable level. The tank, incidentally, has an unchanged 5.5 gallon capacity.
The only factor detracting from the bike's comfort is the suspension, which provides a choppy and occasionally harsh ride quality, most noticeable on rough-but-level surfaces such as concrete motorways. The only adjustment available is rear spring preload - the lack of damping adjustability points to some cost-cutting - and off-road the bike tends to bounce over bumps rather than absorb them. But it works well enough on winding roads, dealing with reasonably fast direction changes without too much fuss.
The engine represents the biggest improvement over the old model. The changes include replacing the carburettors with fuel injection, which works very well. It lets the rider trickle the bike down to less than 2,000rpm even in higher gears without the snatching and spluttering you'd expect from a big V-twin. The mid-range is noticeably stronger and the overall impression is of a highly refined and agreeable engine, certainly the smoothest and most sophisticated big V currently available.
Pillion comfort is also good, with plenty of legroom and a comfortable seat
that's not much higher than the rider's. This is worth mentioning because many Varadero riders travel two-up, which means they'll also appreciate the assortment of optional equipment and luggage. This includes a pair of good-sized panniers and a big topbox which locks to the standard luggage rack. Honda also offers heated handlebar grips which, with the larger plastic handguards of the new model, should help keep winter riders' hands a lot warmer.
Dynamically, it's a pleasing and efficient machine, if not a very exciting one, which offers the upright riding position so many touring riders appreciate. It would be better still for higher quality suspension, however, and although it's less ugly than before I'd still want to put a cover over it if I had to park it outside my house...
Honda XL1000V Varadero
Price/availability: £7,349 on the road. On sale now. Contact: Honda UK, tel 01753 590500 or visit their website.
Engine/transmission: 996cc, V-twin four-stroke with eight valves; 93bhp at 8,000rpm, 72lb ft of torque at 6,000rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: Performance: top speed 125mph (est), average fuel consumption n/a.
We Like: Sophisticated engine, comfort.
We Don't Like: Looks, suspension.
YAMAHA TDM900
Yamaha's old TDM 850 was genuinely different but failed to catch on. The new, 900cc version should change all that, says Kevin Ash
Eyebrows rose when Suzuki and Ducati claimed their new V-Strom and Multistrada were innovative concepts. Not only is a hybrid sports and trail bike little different to the supermoto idea which has been around for several years, but Yamaha is offering, for 2002, a thoroughly uprated version of its TDM850, a bike in exactly the same mould as the V-Strom and Multistrada but which was launched 11 years ago.
Grand tourer: great on rough surfaces. the TDM900 is also well suited to long distances. The larger capacity engine improves power and torque
That first TDM was genuinely original but it didn't make a big impact in Britain. Various reasons are put forward for this, including the problem that at the time no one was quite sure what a TDM was for. The speed and insurance issues for sports bike riders weren't then driving them to look for alternatives, and the original TDM850 was a very expensive bike, outperformed by cheaper, more mainstream machines, which surely must have stifled its acceptance as much as any other market resistance.
Even so, it sold solidly enough to remain in Yamaha UK's range, giving the company by far the strongest foundation from which to take on what has suddenly become an interesting category - big, soft supermotos with all-round ability and exciting performance.
The TDM850 was a hugely underrated bike, but it did have some flaws, which the new, 900cc version has to address, the first being high-speed handling. While the old bike was inspiring to flick through a series of tight corners, in faster ones and even in a straight line the front wheel wandered only approximately along your chosen path.
The new aluminium-alloy frame - 40 per cent stiffer than the outgoing steel one - and uprated suspension have that problem licked. The 900 tracks true and secure, even at 130mph on the test track. Concomitant with that is a new-found tactility from the front end which gives you more confidence to ride the bike harder. It's not as agile as you might expect from its fresh, rangy looks, but that's due to the longer wheelbase needed for stability.
Back roads are best tackled by swinging the bike through corners rather than the brake-flick-power approach of some sports machines, but they're no less satisfactory for that. The long-travel suspension - with about 25 per cent more movement than a conventional road bike's - is also better suited to the appalling surfaces you find on so many British roads, although a hint of choppiness and some harshness over washboard surfaces points to it being a grade or two below the best available.
This is confirmed under extremely heavy braking, when the front end dives suddenly and can occasionally be persuaded to bottom out. However, thanks to a pair of supersports-type four-piston calipers grabbing the front discs, you'll find yourself slowing with more room than you expected as the TDM loses speed with impressive competence.
The engine has gained 49cc through 2.5mm larger diameter pistons, and is now fed through a fuel injection system in place of the 850's carburettors. Power is up five per cent and torque by 11 per cent but, as with many injected engines, a little of the response and vivacity has been lost. Brush the throttle of a carburetted version and the motor would burst up the rev range, where the 900 has a more measured, less spontaneous response. The increase in low and medium-rev torque has evened out the power curve, too, so there's no obvious power band apart from a small step up at 4,000rpm.
Despite the character potential of the large capacity, parallel-twin format, the TDM900 is just a little bland, although we should blame factors beyond Yamaha's control - such as the stifling silencers with their catalytic converters - for some of that. However, the strength of the motor offers accessible performance where it's most needed, such as when overtaking.
The bike has other strengths. Its upright riding position is supremely accommodating, so much so that I rate this one of the most comfortable motorcycles I've ever ridden, purpose-built tourers included. The small fairing, recognisably TDM but restyled for the 900, removes the worst of the windblast with less turbulence, so you can cruise at high motorway speeds without tiring too much. Fuel consumption is ordinary - 39mpg in mixed riding conditions is not going to win any awards from Greenpeace - but with 4.4 gallons in the tank you can expect to cover 150 miles before having to worry about a refill. It's a lot better than the Honda Varadero's dreadful 33mpg in similar conditions.
The TDM's touring credentials are enhanced by the amount you can see from sitting so high, a trait that also makes this a very fine town machine. The new transmission has transformed the bike's urban manners, which were spoilt on the 850 by a heavy gearchange. Only excessive backlash in the drivetrain remains - this turns crawling into a series of jerks, intrusive enough for me to check that the final drive chain wasn't too loose. It wasn't, so the only fix is to learn to be more sensitive with the throttle.
I was fond of the old TDM, for all its flaws. Although the new one still isn't perfect, I feel even better about it as an all-round, real-world motorcycle with the potential for exceptional entertainment. At £6,499 it's only slightly cheaper than a substantially quicker supersport 600, but the TDM imposes none of those bikes' attitudes; it's far more comfortable and makes it far easier to maintain a fast pace. It's also £1,000 cheaper than much of its nearest direct competition, the big trail bikes, which it easily outhandles.
Yamaha TDM900
Price/availability: £6,499 on the road. On sale now.
Engine/transmission: 897cc parallel twin, four-stroke with 10 valves; 85bhp at 7,500rpm, 66lb ft of torque at 6,000rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 135mph, average fuel consumption 39mpg.
TRIUMPH TIGER
The new Triumph Tiger's off-road styling lends itself better than ever to the bike's real job of touring. Kevin Ash reports
There is no pretence with Triumph: the Tiger might look like it is built for crossing deserts, but in reality it is purely a touring bike.
If you want a genuine off-roader, look elsewhere. What's the point, then? Why not buy a Trophy or Sprint ST if you want a Triumph, or one of the many other excellent sports-tourers on the market? Well, oddly enough, there are qualities that come as a consequence of the Tiger's trail-bike styling - and that's all it is - which make it ideal for touring.
That high seat, for example, might put the bike out of bounds for shorter riders, but it does give panoramic views of the road ahead, with obvious safety benefits. Then there's the long-travel suspension - get the damping right (as Triumph generally seems to) and the result is a plush ride, even on some of the nastier road surfaces we face so often these days.
The big, enduro-style fuel tank is another touring enhancement. Its 5.3 gallons can see you the far side of 250 miles between fill-ups, perfect for remote areas with few garages, or for covering vast mileages in a short time.
Still, this is all generic big trail-bike stuff (or it ought to be). What singles out the Tiger is how well it presents these features. The bike is much the same as the all-new, fuel-injected Tiger introduced two years ago, with two important changes.
It has a bigger engine, a version of the injected 955cc unit that powers the Daytona 955i, and it has been given a firmer set of springs with damping to match. So now you get a very healthy 104bhp from spinning the motor to 9,500rpm, up from 86bhp at 8,200rpm, with torque increasing from 63lb ft to 68lb ft. Most impressively, the torque now peaks at 4,400rpm, where it used to top out at 6,400rpm.
The engine has had plenty of other changes apart from the capacity increase (due to the bore growing 3mm to 79mm), mostly to reduce mechanical noise, while the transmission has also been improved.
Very effective the changes are, too. The engine's extra pull is a dramatic improvement, with hard acceleration available from 3,000rpm and useful thrust 1,000 revs below that. It keeps pulling hard until not far short of the 9,500rpm red line, giving a wide range of accessible power. Vibration is never more than a minor tingle, while the mechanical whistling and whirring that have been a characteristic of Hinckley triples are reduced substantially.
Gearchanging is the background activity it always should be, an improvement on the sometimes sticky and heavy change of the old Tiger, although the engine's extra torque means you tend to stick it in top and leave it anyway.
For a touring bike, this is all perfectly in order - lots of torque and smoothness to go with it - but big trail bikes should also be fun, and the ease with which the Tiger is able to pop up the front wheel or hurtle past a car when the mood takes you means it's as enjoyable as any in this respect. Point it at a series of bends and the chassis responds with a new eagerness, thanks to the tauter set-up. There's enough grip from the tyres to use up the considerable ground clearance, but the most obvious changes are when you're changing direction and braking: flick the Tiger from side to side and it remains more composed than before, holding its line convincingly.
The brakes have plenty of power, although they're not sports-bike sharp, but what they do have is more easily utilised, as the forks can cope with quite a bit more. Squeeze the lever suddenly and the bike no longer pitches down on to the bump stops at the front - it stays composed instead, with the tyre in even contact with the road and stopping distances shorter and calmer as a result.
I'm not convinced that most Tiger riders will be better off with the harder suspension; for gentler, everyday riding, some of the original's plushness would still be welcome. Still, the ride quality suffers only slightly, and fully laden with passenger and luggage, the new model copes much better, so this isn't really an issue.
Ergonomically, the Tiger is unchanged, which means you get an impressively comfortable seat and riding position. The good news is that it's quickly and easily height-adjustable without the need for tools. The bad news is that it can be varied only between high and very high (33.1in to 33.8in).
The warning lights don't show up readily enough in bright sunlight (not a big problem in the UK) and the LCD clock buried low on the dash is rendered near-invisible by reflections in its glass, while a bike in this class really should have adjustable-span levers. Still, you do get a power point for accessories such as heated clothing.
But overall the Tiger has the air of a fully sorted machine. Its biggest problem is the same as that suffered by the Aprilia CapoNord tested two weeks ago - this class of bike is not popular in the UK, where we prefer sports bikes and more conventional machines. If you're the sort who changes your bike regularly, it's worth trying a Tiger for a year, as I'm convinced many riders will be impressed by its combination of abilities and just how much fun it can be.
Triumph Tiger 955i
Price/availability: £7,599 on the road. On sale now.
Engine/transmission: 955cc, three-cylinder four-stroke, fuel-injection and 12 valves. 104bhp at 9,500rpm, 68lb ft of torque at 4,400rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: (est) top speed 135mph, average fuel economy 45mpg.
BMW R1150GS AVENTURE
There are plenty of imitators, but BMW's latest R1150GS Adventure is the only big trail bike that is truly at ease in the rough, says Kevin Ash
Drawing parallels between cars and motorcycles rarely works, but you can't help thinking of BMW's GS series as a two-wheeled Range Rover. Both machines have dual-purpose roles, have spawned a host of imitators and have remained benchmarks since their introduction, which in the bike's case was 1980.
Eat dirt: the BMW's R1150GS Adventure's forward bias helps the front end to grip better and the rear simply to follosw
Also like the Range Rover, the BMW GS displays an impressive ability on the dirt. Unlike the car world, the Beemer is the only large-capacity trail bike genuinely at ease on the rough (including all the models listed as "Worth considering" in the specifications panel on this page). The Ducati-powered Cagiva Elefant was a capable off-roader, but it never sold well and is no longer available. Other big off-road bikes (and the BMW is the biggest) are more often carefully described as off-road styled, with their long-travel suspension, extensive tank capacity and lofty riding position listed as attributes for touring.
Not so BMW, with the latest R1150GS Adventure. The 150-mile launch route in southern Spain, most of which was off-road, included dry, loose surfaces as well as some mud, sand, rocky climbs and even a deep river crossing.
The Adventure differs from the standard 1150GS, introduced in 1999, in several respects, all aimed at enhancing its off-road capability. The suspension travel has been increased by 20mm front and rear to 210mm and 220mm respectively - a typical road bike will have 120mm - while the rear damper has a new linkage to increase the damping rate progressively as the suspension compresses. There's also a taller and wider screen, a new seat aimed at allowing the rider to move around more easily, a bigger front mudguard (surely already the largest on any production bike) and revised gear ratios.
The test bikes were fitted with anti-lock brakes (£650 extra) as well as the optional Overland package, which includes a larger, 6.6-gallon fuel tank, extra-low first gear and off-road tyres. For the sort of terrain we encountered, the £300 Overland package was essential, especially the tyres. These offered plenty of grip on the road (despite squirming disconcertingly) and excellent traction in the dirt, unlike the lookalike off-road treads of most trail bikes, which clog up at the first sign of moisture.
The rest of the bike was excellent. In those conditions, it felt impressively enormous, especially with your 6ft 3in correspondent riding rally-raid style, standing bolt upright on the footrests. It's not something that comes naturally - to me anyway - but under the guidance of Paris-Dakar regular Simon Pavey, I was soon piloting the quarter-ton monster at improbably high speeds along dusty forest trails and boulder-strewn tracks, my head at least 8ft from terra firma. The GS Adventure is simply huge - its seat is nearly a yard off the ground (compare that with your inside leg measurement) - but it's a bike that makes it easy to tackle terrain that I would normally only consider traversing by helicopter.
Part of the reason is a feature that experienced riders will find a limitation, namely the forward weight bias compared with a dedicated off-road bike, but this does help the front end to grip better and the rear simply to follow, whether spinning, bouncing or sliding sideways. Or all three.
I even had time to enjoy the spectacular Andalusian scenery and went for a whole day without dropping the bike. If there's a downside, it's the strength you need to restore a felled 1150GS to the upright, although Pavey had a technique for this, too. Other, less lucky, riders demonstrated how the wide Overland fuel tank and those time-honoured horizontal cylinders are vulnerable to damage. One slide punched a small hole in a rocker cover, although the ensuing gentle drip of oil wasn't enough to stop the bike.
Just as some sports bike riders unleash their steeds on race tracks, a few GS riders will be tempted to explore the muddy corner of their bikes' performance envelopes. The majority, of course, will do no such thing, although it won't stop them bragging that they could. But the GS Adventure is equally capable as a touring bike. The new seat might be high (there's a slightly less vertiginous 34in option) but it's more comfortable on long road rides than the original, despite its off-road bias. The standard tank holds 4.9 gallons, which will allow 200 miles between refills, while the Overland tank should be good for more than 300 miles.
The braking system is sensitive enough for off-road use, but there's enough power to haul up a fully fuelled, heavily laden Adventure at road speeds. The refined anti-lock system is a reassuring back-up and it can be switched off for use on the dirt, where you often need to be able to lock up a wheel.
The engine's wide spread of torque adds to the GS's touring credentials, and it vibrates less harshly than the 95bhp version in the R1150RS - the GS has 85bhp, with more torque at low revs by way of compensation. In fact, the off-roader is more pleasant on the road than the dedicated sports-touring RS (and an awful lot better off it). It also happens to be great fun, agile and responsive enough to tempt you into taking it for a quick spin on a Sunday afternoon.
BMW R1150GS
Price/availability: £8,195 on the road. On sale now.
Engine/transmission: 1,130cc, twin-cylinder four-stroke with eight valves; 85bhp at 6,750rpm, 72.3lb ft of torque at 5,250rpm. Six-speed gearbox, shaft final drive.
Performance: top speed 120mph, average fuel consumption 45mpg.
and, yes ........ I typed it all out!!!
anyone got any plasters for me fingers ...... both of 'em?
Stormy
CAPONORD ETV1000
Why do British motorcyclists shun off-road-styled machines? They don't know what they're missing, says Chris Moss
ITALY'S most prolific bike builder, Aprilia, has created yet another superb machine - the off-road-styled CapoNord. The model raises the firm's reputation, and expands its range even further. But the sad fact is, only a small number of prejudiced British motorcyclists will consider it.
No ego required: the CapoNord is great fun to ride, and proves that you don't have to reach lunatic speeds to feel satisfied
Even the importer, Aprilia UK, recognises this country's short-sighted view of the market, and is ordering only two hundred or so of the bikes. It's a shame, because the CapoNord offers so much. In contrast, most other European nations, which recognise the virtues of such bikes, will flock to order CapoNords, making its production in Italy worthwhile.
Why motorcyclists here don't care for these off-road-styled machines, commonly known as trailies, remains a mystery. Britain's much greater preference for high-horsepower superbikes is beginning to make less and less sense. They are expensive to buy and run and insurance is becoming more and more prohibitive. If owners were honest with themselves, they'd admit to not being remotely skilled enough to take advantage of the incredible performance. They're also being foolish in experimenting with such potency, as it can all too quickly lead them into the law courts, or even less attractive scenes. Owning a superbike is all just a big pose for many of them, simply something to brag about down at the pub.
The CapoNord offers much more than an ego boost. It's practical, comfortable, versatile and has plenty of useable performance. Above all, it's great fun to ride, and proves that you don't have to spend life at more than 100 miles per hour to feel satisfied.
My enjoyment of the bike was enhanced by the venue, Sardinia, which Aprilia chose for the press debut. But the roads on the island also put the CapoNord's abilities to the strictest test, and proved what a competent, easygoing bike it is.
Many of the roads were so tight and twisty, the bike was barely upright for more than a couple of seconds. You had to have your wits about you to maintain a decent pace, and the Aprilia had to be very accomplished to cope.
It was a stern examination of the machine's handling and braking. The engine also needed to be pretty friendly with its power delivery to make the ride safe and secure.
There's no doubt that taking a superfast sportsbike along the same route, with the same level of enthusiasm for speed, would have involved much risk-taking, with the inevitable production of blood, sweat or tears.
The only body reaction the CapoNord causes are smiles, and very broad ones at that. For a start, the Aprilia is so easy to ride. Anyone, from novice to veteran, will feel at home on it after a few yards. The bike's relaxed riding position and excellent balance see to that. And to prove this, those qualities are evident at speeds ranging from walking pace to flat-out.
With confidence in the bike being so high from the first few wheel revolutions, one gains immediate faith in getting things moving along quicker. And the engine does a great job of doing that.
It's the familiar 998c, 60-degree V-twin, fitted to Aprilia's superbikes, which powers the CapoNord. But changes such as smaller fuel-injection throttle bodies, lower compression pistons and different camshafts alter the power characteristics, increasing the urgency of the motor lower down its rev range.
Strong, fluid and broadly spread torque, delivered the instant the throttle is twisted, means the gearbox rarely needs to be troubled. Once things are moving there's no need to select more than the top two gears from the slick, six-speed box. You can rely on the motor's impressive mid-range surge to make swift progress.
If you're in a bit more of a hurry, then dropping down an extra gear or two and revving the V-twin a bit harder brings stronger performance. And, given time, the motor will drive the CapoNord up to its top speed of about 125mph.
A potent and punchy motor like this could get you into hot water if it wasn't housed in a capable chassis. Luckily, that's just what the Aprilia has. It's easy to manage corners thanks to the high and wide handle-bars, offering lots of leverage for last-minute direction changes. And if things don't always meet with your expectations, the brakes can help save the day with their strength and progression.
The suspension has plenty of travel and is quite softly sprung. But the high-quality damping controls its movement nicely and keeps the bike well-composed. There's plenty of feedback to let you know just how well the tyres are coping under pressure. And its plushness does a great job of absorbing road irregularities, aiding comfort and making stints in the saddle feel very civilised, even if they're lengthy ones. Other features include a luggage rack and a temperature gauge that warns of ice.
Aprilia ETV 1000 CapoNord
Price/availability: £7,575OTR. On sale mid-April.
Engine/transmission: 998cc, 60-degree, V-twin, fuel-injected, four-stroke, eight valves, 98bhp at 8,250rpm, 71.5lb ft of torque at 6,250rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 125mph (est), average fuel economy 38 mpg (est)
SUZUKI V-Strom DL1000
Suzuki's V-Strom is an oddball. It looks like a supermoto, but has overdrive for the motorway. It has a useful screen, but an uncomfortable seat. It even has a big tank - but be careful you don't run dry, says Kevin Ash
I decided to give up trying to categorise Suzuki's new V-Strom - it looks a bit like a trail bike but lacks off-road ability, it's too soft to be a supermoto and it's not sharp enough to be an out-and-out sports bike.
Daring to be different: the V-Strom's quirky styling sets it apart from more conventional touring machines
After a month in the company of the Telegraph's long-term test example, the machine's purpose has become clearer: the V-Strom is a touring bike. It just approaches the class from a different angle, coming across as a touring bike for those who don't like conventional touring bikes. The V-Strom is altogether more youthful, with its odd but rangy looks, aggressively angled headlights and underseat exhausts, but such things don't diminish its touring credentials.
The engine is highly effective in the distance-covering role. The one-litre V-twin is based on the unit which powered the sporting TL1000S and TL1000R, but smaller inlet valves and gentler camshaft profiles make its power delivery biased towards the low and medium rev range. It still kicks at 6,000rpm but shows signs of strain when it's spun much harder - this is a real-world engine, with punchy overtaking power and plenty of urge for climbing hills while loaded with luggage and a passenger, although the very tall sixth gear dilutes the torque enough for the motor to feel flat on tighter terrain. So treat it like an overdrive for relaxed motorway riding (there's even a green light on the dash to let you know it's engaged) and explore the lower ratios of the cooperative and satisfying gearbox at other times.
The broad spread of torque encourages you to let the revs drop right down but venturing below 2,000rpm is inadvisable due to an unpleasant snatchiness, in common with other big V-twins, and even the potential to stall the motor on a light throttle opening. Otherwise the engine is as easy-going as you'd want, responding dependably to the throttle (thanks to Suzuki's excellent twin butterfly per inlet fuel-injection system) and vibrating unobtrusively, although there's an irritating resonance in the bodywork at 2,000-3,000rpm.
The chassis is also biased towards the needs of the longer-distance rider, offering stability rather than agility, but the widely set handlebars mean that with a bit of muscle the V-Strom can be flicked through corners with surprising agility. It's not flustered by this sort of treatment, holding its line through turns rather than running wide as you might expect, and despite the tyres' semi-knobbly profile the grip is good enough to get the footrests grinding the road.
No complaints about the Bridgestones, but quite why the bike isn't fitted with proper, uncompromised road rubber isn't clear, because the V-Strom has no pretensions as an off-roader. The use of a trail bike's 19-inch front wheel will probably restrict choice of replacement - we'll see, as the miles are accumulating rapidly.
I'm still equivocal about the bike's comfort, despite a couple of thousand miles aboard. Wind protection is good, while the upright riding position is perfect as much for taking in the scenery as for negotiating heavy traffic. There's plenty of room for taller riders, too, although the seat height will trouble shorter ones. My only reservation concerns the seat, which at first is delightfully cosseting but starts to feel uncomfortable after only 30 minutes or so - but five hours later it's got no worse, meaning only minor aches in the posterior after a full day's riding. Maybe the seat will bed in, or perhaps my backside will adapt...
Whatever, the potential to cover big distances is helped by the generous, 4.8-gallon fuel tank, which should allow a range of about 200 miles: 46mpg is within easy reach and some riders might achieve 50mpg. The problem is knowing when you're running dry - twice I came within a whisker of a direct appreciation of the bike's 456lb mass, as the only low-fuel warning is a liquid-crystal petrol pump icon switching on and off. There's no reserve tap and no eye-catching flashing light to attract your attention. It will run dry before we hand the bike back later in the year, I guarantee it...
If I owned the V-Strom the only change I'd want to make would be the front suspension, as the unadjustable forks feel choppy and rather cheap. On rough surfaces a lot of harshness is transmitted to the rider, while under hard braking the front of the bike will dive hard then struggle to control itself. Both handling and comfort would benefit from improvements here - as it is, you have to endure the rubbery sensation that comes with low-quality damping.
So far, though, the positives far outweigh the negatives, in particular the vivacity lacking in most touring bikes (which is why more riders don't buy them). Visually it's an oddball but quite an endearing one, and dynamically its repetoire is broad.
We'll be finding out how capable it is in the coming months when our V-Strom will tackle everything from intensive commuting to a continental tour. First impressions, however, are very good indeed.
Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom
Price/availability: £7,349 on the road. On sale now; contact www.suzuki-gb.co.uk (01293 518000).
Engine/transmission: 996cc, V-twin four-stroke with eight valves; 97bhp at 7,600rpm, 74.5lb ft of torque at 6,400rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 140mph, average fuel consumption 45mpg.
HONDA XL1000V VARADERO
A much-needed makeover has made the new Honda Varadero less ugly than its predessors - but only just, says Kevin Ash
The Honda Varadero, now four years old, had a range of things in its favour: good comfort, lofty riding position, torquey V-twin engine, reasonable fuel range and even a modicum of off-road ability. But one thing turned me against it - it was the ugliest motorcycle in the world. As such, it could have outperformed a FireBlade on the race track and toured better than a GoldWing, but I'd never have bought one simply because I wouldn't want it parked outside my house.
Looks aren't everything: but despite the Varadero's visual shortcomings, it does offer a comfortable, quality ride
Since then, the Aprilia Capo Nord has taken over as the most aesthetically challenged new motorcycle on the market (no surprise when it looks like a Varadero drawn with a ruler), and now Honda has decided the Varadero is due for a cosmetic makeover. I'd have specified full plastic surgery, but as any change is bound to be an improvement I won't complain too much.
The new machine is indeed slightly better, or, more accurately, less ugly, than before but it still has that sagging belly look of an ageing labrador and a mish-mash overall style in which the fuel tank is plain black, the fairing panels one colour and the headlight surround another. At least there's an attempt to clean up the visage with integrated indicators and a reshaped headlight, although this treatment makes the bike look as if it's just bitten on an especially bitter lemon.
Still, when you're riding it, you can only see the facia and handlebars, and although you might wonder why the engine temperature is given a proper LCD gauge while the more useful fuel level only merits a warning light (surely these would be better the other way around?), it's a comfortable enough place to be.
Very comfortable, in fact, as the riding position is upright and spacious atop the supportive and reasonably broad seat, while the bodywork does a good job of fending off the weather. The screen is on the narrow side, so taller riders find the wind hitting their shoulders, but if you're the right height the noise and buffeting at speed are minimal. There are two height positions, although unforgivably you need to break out the tool kit to make adjustments and keep it out if you need to readjust the headlight angle - it makes you wonder if many bike designers ride the machines they've worked on...
For all its vague off-road pretensions, the Varadero will be used to consume motorway miles and explore twisty backroads. The comfort proves fine for this, even at sustained high speeds for long periods, and the fuel range is significantly enhanced, too. Honda claims that the old model's range was 210 miles compared to the new bike's 290, an improvement of 36 per cent. Having said that, the old model (along with several other Hondas, such as the CB600F Hornet and SP-2) was notorious for extremely high fuel consumption, so these gains only bring the bike up to an acceptable level. The tank, incidentally, has an unchanged 5.5 gallon capacity.
The only factor detracting from the bike's comfort is the suspension, which provides a choppy and occasionally harsh ride quality, most noticeable on rough-but-level surfaces such as concrete motorways. The only adjustment available is rear spring preload - the lack of damping adjustability points to some cost-cutting - and off-road the bike tends to bounce over bumps rather than absorb them. But it works well enough on winding roads, dealing with reasonably fast direction changes without too much fuss.
The engine represents the biggest improvement over the old model. The changes include replacing the carburettors with fuel injection, which works very well. It lets the rider trickle the bike down to less than 2,000rpm even in higher gears without the snatching and spluttering you'd expect from a big V-twin. The mid-range is noticeably stronger and the overall impression is of a highly refined and agreeable engine, certainly the smoothest and most sophisticated big V currently available.
Pillion comfort is also good, with plenty of legroom and a comfortable seat
that's not much higher than the rider's. This is worth mentioning because many Varadero riders travel two-up, which means they'll also appreciate the assortment of optional equipment and luggage. This includes a pair of good-sized panniers and a big topbox which locks to the standard luggage rack. Honda also offers heated handlebar grips which, with the larger plastic handguards of the new model, should help keep winter riders' hands a lot warmer.
Dynamically, it's a pleasing and efficient machine, if not a very exciting one, which offers the upright riding position so many touring riders appreciate. It would be better still for higher quality suspension, however, and although it's less ugly than before I'd still want to put a cover over it if I had to park it outside my house...
Honda XL1000V Varadero
Price/availability: £7,349 on the road. On sale now. Contact: Honda UK, tel 01753 590500 or visit their website.
Engine/transmission: 996cc, V-twin four-stroke with eight valves; 93bhp at 8,000rpm, 72lb ft of torque at 6,000rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: Performance: top speed 125mph (est), average fuel consumption n/a.
We Like: Sophisticated engine, comfort.
We Don't Like: Looks, suspension.
YAMAHA TDM900
Yamaha's old TDM 850 was genuinely different but failed to catch on. The new, 900cc version should change all that, says Kevin Ash
Eyebrows rose when Suzuki and Ducati claimed their new V-Strom and Multistrada were innovative concepts. Not only is a hybrid sports and trail bike little different to the supermoto idea which has been around for several years, but Yamaha is offering, for 2002, a thoroughly uprated version of its TDM850, a bike in exactly the same mould as the V-Strom and Multistrada but which was launched 11 years ago.
Grand tourer: great on rough surfaces. the TDM900 is also well suited to long distances. The larger capacity engine improves power and torque
That first TDM was genuinely original but it didn't make a big impact in Britain. Various reasons are put forward for this, including the problem that at the time no one was quite sure what a TDM was for. The speed and insurance issues for sports bike riders weren't then driving them to look for alternatives, and the original TDM850 was a very expensive bike, outperformed by cheaper, more mainstream machines, which surely must have stifled its acceptance as much as any other market resistance.
Even so, it sold solidly enough to remain in Yamaha UK's range, giving the company by far the strongest foundation from which to take on what has suddenly become an interesting category - big, soft supermotos with all-round ability and exciting performance.
The TDM850 was a hugely underrated bike, but it did have some flaws, which the new, 900cc version has to address, the first being high-speed handling. While the old bike was inspiring to flick through a series of tight corners, in faster ones and even in a straight line the front wheel wandered only approximately along your chosen path.
The new aluminium-alloy frame - 40 per cent stiffer than the outgoing steel one - and uprated suspension have that problem licked. The 900 tracks true and secure, even at 130mph on the test track. Concomitant with that is a new-found tactility from the front end which gives you more confidence to ride the bike harder. It's not as agile as you might expect from its fresh, rangy looks, but that's due to the longer wheelbase needed for stability.
Back roads are best tackled by swinging the bike through corners rather than the brake-flick-power approach of some sports machines, but they're no less satisfactory for that. The long-travel suspension - with about 25 per cent more movement than a conventional road bike's - is also better suited to the appalling surfaces you find on so many British roads, although a hint of choppiness and some harshness over washboard surfaces points to it being a grade or two below the best available.
This is confirmed under extremely heavy braking, when the front end dives suddenly and can occasionally be persuaded to bottom out. However, thanks to a pair of supersports-type four-piston calipers grabbing the front discs, you'll find yourself slowing with more room than you expected as the TDM loses speed with impressive competence.
The engine has gained 49cc through 2.5mm larger diameter pistons, and is now fed through a fuel injection system in place of the 850's carburettors. Power is up five per cent and torque by 11 per cent but, as with many injected engines, a little of the response and vivacity has been lost. Brush the throttle of a carburetted version and the motor would burst up the rev range, where the 900 has a more measured, less spontaneous response. The increase in low and medium-rev torque has evened out the power curve, too, so there's no obvious power band apart from a small step up at 4,000rpm.
Despite the character potential of the large capacity, parallel-twin format, the TDM900 is just a little bland, although we should blame factors beyond Yamaha's control - such as the stifling silencers with their catalytic converters - for some of that. However, the strength of the motor offers accessible performance where it's most needed, such as when overtaking.
The bike has other strengths. Its upright riding position is supremely accommodating, so much so that I rate this one of the most comfortable motorcycles I've ever ridden, purpose-built tourers included. The small fairing, recognisably TDM but restyled for the 900, removes the worst of the windblast with less turbulence, so you can cruise at high motorway speeds without tiring too much. Fuel consumption is ordinary - 39mpg in mixed riding conditions is not going to win any awards from Greenpeace - but with 4.4 gallons in the tank you can expect to cover 150 miles before having to worry about a refill. It's a lot better than the Honda Varadero's dreadful 33mpg in similar conditions.
The TDM's touring credentials are enhanced by the amount you can see from sitting so high, a trait that also makes this a very fine town machine. The new transmission has transformed the bike's urban manners, which were spoilt on the 850 by a heavy gearchange. Only excessive backlash in the drivetrain remains - this turns crawling into a series of jerks, intrusive enough for me to check that the final drive chain wasn't too loose. It wasn't, so the only fix is to learn to be more sensitive with the throttle.
I was fond of the old TDM, for all its flaws. Although the new one still isn't perfect, I feel even better about it as an all-round, real-world motorcycle with the potential for exceptional entertainment. At £6,499 it's only slightly cheaper than a substantially quicker supersport 600, but the TDM imposes none of those bikes' attitudes; it's far more comfortable and makes it far easier to maintain a fast pace. It's also £1,000 cheaper than much of its nearest direct competition, the big trail bikes, which it easily outhandles.
Yamaha TDM900
Price/availability: £6,499 on the road. On sale now.
Engine/transmission: 897cc parallel twin, four-stroke with 10 valves; 85bhp at 7,500rpm, 66lb ft of torque at 6,000rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 135mph, average fuel consumption 39mpg.
TRIUMPH TIGER
The new Triumph Tiger's off-road styling lends itself better than ever to the bike's real job of touring. Kevin Ash reports
There is no pretence with Triumph: the Tiger might look like it is built for crossing deserts, but in reality it is purely a touring bike.
If you want a genuine off-roader, look elsewhere. What's the point, then? Why not buy a Trophy or Sprint ST if you want a Triumph, or one of the many other excellent sports-tourers on the market? Well, oddly enough, there are qualities that come as a consequence of the Tiger's trail-bike styling - and that's all it is - which make it ideal for touring.
That high seat, for example, might put the bike out of bounds for shorter riders, but it does give panoramic views of the road ahead, with obvious safety benefits. Then there's the long-travel suspension - get the damping right (as Triumph generally seems to) and the result is a plush ride, even on some of the nastier road surfaces we face so often these days.
The big, enduro-style fuel tank is another touring enhancement. Its 5.3 gallons can see you the far side of 250 miles between fill-ups, perfect for remote areas with few garages, or for covering vast mileages in a short time.
Still, this is all generic big trail-bike stuff (or it ought to be). What singles out the Tiger is how well it presents these features. The bike is much the same as the all-new, fuel-injected Tiger introduced two years ago, with two important changes.
It has a bigger engine, a version of the injected 955cc unit that powers the Daytona 955i, and it has been given a firmer set of springs with damping to match. So now you get a very healthy 104bhp from spinning the motor to 9,500rpm, up from 86bhp at 8,200rpm, with torque increasing from 63lb ft to 68lb ft. Most impressively, the torque now peaks at 4,400rpm, where it used to top out at 6,400rpm.
The engine has had plenty of other changes apart from the capacity increase (due to the bore growing 3mm to 79mm), mostly to reduce mechanical noise, while the transmission has also been improved.
Very effective the changes are, too. The engine's extra pull is a dramatic improvement, with hard acceleration available from 3,000rpm and useful thrust 1,000 revs below that. It keeps pulling hard until not far short of the 9,500rpm red line, giving a wide range of accessible power. Vibration is never more than a minor tingle, while the mechanical whistling and whirring that have been a characteristic of Hinckley triples are reduced substantially.
Gearchanging is the background activity it always should be, an improvement on the sometimes sticky and heavy change of the old Tiger, although the engine's extra torque means you tend to stick it in top and leave it anyway.
For a touring bike, this is all perfectly in order - lots of torque and smoothness to go with it - but big trail bikes should also be fun, and the ease with which the Tiger is able to pop up the front wheel or hurtle past a car when the mood takes you means it's as enjoyable as any in this respect. Point it at a series of bends and the chassis responds with a new eagerness, thanks to the tauter set-up. There's enough grip from the tyres to use up the considerable ground clearance, but the most obvious changes are when you're changing direction and braking: flick the Tiger from side to side and it remains more composed than before, holding its line convincingly.
The brakes have plenty of power, although they're not sports-bike sharp, but what they do have is more easily utilised, as the forks can cope with quite a bit more. Squeeze the lever suddenly and the bike no longer pitches down on to the bump stops at the front - it stays composed instead, with the tyre in even contact with the road and stopping distances shorter and calmer as a result.
I'm not convinced that most Tiger riders will be better off with the harder suspension; for gentler, everyday riding, some of the original's plushness would still be welcome. Still, the ride quality suffers only slightly, and fully laden with passenger and luggage, the new model copes much better, so this isn't really an issue.
Ergonomically, the Tiger is unchanged, which means you get an impressively comfortable seat and riding position. The good news is that it's quickly and easily height-adjustable without the need for tools. The bad news is that it can be varied only between high and very high (33.1in to 33.8in).
The warning lights don't show up readily enough in bright sunlight (not a big problem in the UK) and the LCD clock buried low on the dash is rendered near-invisible by reflections in its glass, while a bike in this class really should have adjustable-span levers. Still, you do get a power point for accessories such as heated clothing.
But overall the Tiger has the air of a fully sorted machine. Its biggest problem is the same as that suffered by the Aprilia CapoNord tested two weeks ago - this class of bike is not popular in the UK, where we prefer sports bikes and more conventional machines. If you're the sort who changes your bike regularly, it's worth trying a Tiger for a year, as I'm convinced many riders will be impressed by its combination of abilities and just how much fun it can be.
Triumph Tiger 955i
Price/availability: £7,599 on the road. On sale now.
Engine/transmission: 955cc, three-cylinder four-stroke, fuel-injection and 12 valves. 104bhp at 9,500rpm, 68lb ft of torque at 4,400rpm. Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: (est) top speed 135mph, average fuel economy 45mpg.
BMW R1150GS AVENTURE
There are plenty of imitators, but BMW's latest R1150GS Adventure is the only big trail bike that is truly at ease in the rough, says Kevin Ash
Drawing parallels between cars and motorcycles rarely works, but you can't help thinking of BMW's GS series as a two-wheeled Range Rover. Both machines have dual-purpose roles, have spawned a host of imitators and have remained benchmarks since their introduction, which in the bike's case was 1980.
Eat dirt: the BMW's R1150GS Adventure's forward bias helps the front end to grip better and the rear simply to follosw
Also like the Range Rover, the BMW GS displays an impressive ability on the dirt. Unlike the car world, the Beemer is the only large-capacity trail bike genuinely at ease on the rough (including all the models listed as "Worth considering" in the specifications panel on this page). The Ducati-powered Cagiva Elefant was a capable off-roader, but it never sold well and is no longer available. Other big off-road bikes (and the BMW is the biggest) are more often carefully described as off-road styled, with their long-travel suspension, extensive tank capacity and lofty riding position listed as attributes for touring.
Not so BMW, with the latest R1150GS Adventure. The 150-mile launch route in southern Spain, most of which was off-road, included dry, loose surfaces as well as some mud, sand, rocky climbs and even a deep river crossing.
The Adventure differs from the standard 1150GS, introduced in 1999, in several respects, all aimed at enhancing its off-road capability. The suspension travel has been increased by 20mm front and rear to 210mm and 220mm respectively - a typical road bike will have 120mm - while the rear damper has a new linkage to increase the damping rate progressively as the suspension compresses. There's also a taller and wider screen, a new seat aimed at allowing the rider to move around more easily, a bigger front mudguard (surely already the largest on any production bike) and revised gear ratios.
The test bikes were fitted with anti-lock brakes (£650 extra) as well as the optional Overland package, which includes a larger, 6.6-gallon fuel tank, extra-low first gear and off-road tyres. For the sort of terrain we encountered, the £300 Overland package was essential, especially the tyres. These offered plenty of grip on the road (despite squirming disconcertingly) and excellent traction in the dirt, unlike the lookalike off-road treads of most trail bikes, which clog up at the first sign of moisture.
The rest of the bike was excellent. In those conditions, it felt impressively enormous, especially with your 6ft 3in correspondent riding rally-raid style, standing bolt upright on the footrests. It's not something that comes naturally - to me anyway - but under the guidance of Paris-Dakar regular Simon Pavey, I was soon piloting the quarter-ton monster at improbably high speeds along dusty forest trails and boulder-strewn tracks, my head at least 8ft from terra firma. The GS Adventure is simply huge - its seat is nearly a yard off the ground (compare that with your inside leg measurement) - but it's a bike that makes it easy to tackle terrain that I would normally only consider traversing by helicopter.
Part of the reason is a feature that experienced riders will find a limitation, namely the forward weight bias compared with a dedicated off-road bike, but this does help the front end to grip better and the rear simply to follow, whether spinning, bouncing or sliding sideways. Or all three.
I even had time to enjoy the spectacular Andalusian scenery and went for a whole day without dropping the bike. If there's a downside, it's the strength you need to restore a felled 1150GS to the upright, although Pavey had a technique for this, too. Other, less lucky, riders demonstrated how the wide Overland fuel tank and those time-honoured horizontal cylinders are vulnerable to damage. One slide punched a small hole in a rocker cover, although the ensuing gentle drip of oil wasn't enough to stop the bike.
Just as some sports bike riders unleash their steeds on race tracks, a few GS riders will be tempted to explore the muddy corner of their bikes' performance envelopes. The majority, of course, will do no such thing, although it won't stop them bragging that they could. But the GS Adventure is equally capable as a touring bike. The new seat might be high (there's a slightly less vertiginous 34in option) but it's more comfortable on long road rides than the original, despite its off-road bias. The standard tank holds 4.9 gallons, which will allow 200 miles between refills, while the Overland tank should be good for more than 300 miles.
The braking system is sensitive enough for off-road use, but there's enough power to haul up a fully fuelled, heavily laden Adventure at road speeds. The refined anti-lock system is a reassuring back-up and it can be switched off for use on the dirt, where you often need to be able to lock up a wheel.
The engine's wide spread of torque adds to the GS's touring credentials, and it vibrates less harshly than the 95bhp version in the R1150RS - the GS has 85bhp, with more torque at low revs by way of compensation. In fact, the off-roader is more pleasant on the road than the dedicated sports-touring RS (and an awful lot better off it). It also happens to be great fun, agile and responsive enough to tempt you into taking it for a quick spin on a Sunday afternoon.
BMW R1150GS
Price/availability: £8,195 on the road. On sale now.
Engine/transmission: 1,130cc, twin-cylinder four-stroke with eight valves; 85bhp at 6,750rpm, 72.3lb ft of torque at 5,250rpm. Six-speed gearbox, shaft final drive.
Performance: top speed 120mph, average fuel consumption 45mpg.
and, yes ........ I typed it all out!!!
anyone got any plasters for me fingers ...... both of 'em?
Stormy