Not sure why you say you are disappointed in the Africa Twin, because it's a more capable off-roader than the other bikes listed. Personal preference or specific application comparison? All those machines are very capable machines and the differences will be in the details/semantics/compromise you are wiling to accept and your intended application.

Tiger: good package, lots of farkles, but if you crash it/heavy drop, you're not going further- like so many machines, if you kill the speedo cluster, you're done for as everything runs through there. crashbars mount onto the engine casing- you drop it, you break it. subframes have a tendency to crack, but can be repaired. 1st gear is too long for trail riding- you spend a lot of time on the clutch.

800GS: good machine, but BMW build quality not upto standard. If you do plenty of kms, you'll spend more on this bike for maintenance items, such as steering-head bearings etc. You'll need to spend some money on the suspension package for two-up with luggage, which can be expensive. Tried and tested machine, but also runs everything through the speedo cluster. I've seen 800GS's stranded because of simple things like harness wires breaking when the bike gets dropped

Strom- road biased - see comments below. Best fuel range of all the bikes listed (on the standard tank).

AT: trail biased. rear suspension will need an upgrade/service rebuild for two-up touring with luggage ($400-1000). parts availability a bit of a problem at the moment, but this will improve over the next year as the model is rolled out.



I assume you are referring the capability on mostly paved roads when you say they are about all the same? But I don't agree in general. The V-strom is the better choice for paved work (tubeless tyres, 19" front wheel etc.), whilst a machine like the Africa Twin is the better for off-road/trail stuff with a 60/40 bias towards dirt.

Also- the V-strom has the least ground clearance off all the machines. That with the other aspects of the purchase package makes it a machine with a limited off-road capability.

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Squily