Phew! Well said!

Of course I know its all crap. I work in the motorcycle trade and see this day in and day out.. MCN has written nothing but promotion based biast drivel for years. Its just sad that its probably the biggest selling and furthest reaching publication in Britain.

I find it all quite hilarious but frustrating at the same time...

I guess its misunderstanding is what makes it even more desirable to those of us who do "get it" !

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I think its great because it means I might actually be able to get my hands on one by next year.

I agree though what a dumb review, where was the new 650 gs which is surely a better comparison than the 800gs at £1500 more.

I have narrowed my search down to the Tenere and the 650 gs. The Yamaha has my prefered looks, that screen looks great for road work. The BMW has the better engine but I am not keen on the run of the exhausts. Tim is running a BMW 650 so it will be interesting to see how it performs on his trip to the Pyrenese with a pack of 1200's.

I need one bike that will do it all, work travel green lane and the odd trip to the pub with the missus on the back, she is fed up of sitting on the rear fender of my TTR.

Only KTM and I think possibly CCM still seem to use the linkless rear shock which is a great design but I am not convinced of the longivity of either of those bikes and at over £6k the new KTM is over priced.

As for MCN it was useful the other day I lined the cats box with it for the trip to the vets and he pissed all over it !

Welcome back Ted

Guys you all speak my language its all because of advertising money. I have given up looking at bike reviews if they had their way we will all be on R1's or GSXR's!!!!! I like all bikes and have many fun miles on all different ones........ pay your money make your choice but ignore those idiots who review.

I usually ride my Guzzi Quota when two up. But I recently bought myself the new Tenere and have just completed a 4.500 km two-up fully laden tour with it, comprising both asphalt and gravel. Not too roomy for my passenger, and not too comfy - she (my daughter) prefer the Quota - but it held up without any feeling of "raping" the engine. On the contrary, I'd say. For me it'll the perfect tool for solo adventuring and will be my weapon of choice for my coming tours. It felt much more nimble and actually lighter than any of the twins I've ridden (BMW, AT, TA included) - as is probably a fact with all singles - and it will probably outperform them all when it comes to fuel range. I must say I also feel safer against mechanical failure on the Tenere than I do with the BMW GS range. But then again that's only a notion, and has probably nothing with the real world to do. (Please - I do not intend to start a BMW bashing thingy here. It's just an opinion, or expression of a feeling, notion or sense if you will.)

Anyway, I don't find MCN or few other magazines to be neither alpha nor omega when it comes to my choice of bikes. I recon it's more about whatever suits you and makes your heart beats faster. If it's a Yammie R1, BMW F800GS, Aprilia Pegaso, Kawa KLR or any other - please go ahead and conquer the world with it!

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

What did you expect? MCN (although it´s useful for other stuff i.e. the classifieds etc) is geared to the sportbike-wielding masses who tend to stick to Blighty´s golden shores, apart from a run to the ´Ring or Assen once a year. So thats the context they use. For those Enlightened Ones who need a more specific test... then there´s ermm, ermm - here? So why get wound-up over very little, don´t read "Adventure Touring" articles in the press (but does Bike mag count with the Walsh stuff/BikeHigh...??).

The motorcycle press is not alone. Essentially every 'specialist' magazine I have ever read on a subject I know something about is riddled with bias, innacuracy, fashion nonsense and ego. They are all written for people who like to read about stuff rather than actually do it. That is why they are so irritating to those of us who actually go and do. The realisation that you know more about a subject than the writer of the article is a tiresome and familiar one to many of us, I'm sure.
My personal experience says this goes for motorbike magazines, mountaineering mags, travel magazines, mountain bike magazines. Don't get me started on snowboard magazines! I haven't found a single magazine in any of these genres that comes close to offering anything like a decent read. I'm pretty sure the rest of the magazine press is the same.
If I'd believed any of the cr*p I'd read in bike mags I would never have bought my beloved Enfield and, instead of buying an XT for my trip in 2006, I would have spent so much on a BMW 1200GS with matching Touratech luggage I would have run out of money by... erm, northern France!
The upside is we have to go out and find out stuff for ourselves. And after all, isn't discovery the very essence of adventure!

Matt

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http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!