New Motorcycle Review: Triumph Tiger 850 Sport
Powerful mid-sized triple cylinder adventure sport offers riding fun that can take you almost anywhere for $12,000.
Powerful mid-sized triple cylinder adventure sport offers riding fun that can take you almost anywhere for $12,000.
The Royal Enfield Himalayan is a retro-styled midsized modern classic capable of on and off-road adventure. It’s a great bike for a dirt rider looking to venture onto the street for the first time or a low cost option for a newer rider looking for a no frills do-it-all motorcycle.
BMW’s newest GS offers new adventure-seekers premium fit and finish in an affordable entry-level package.
WRN reader Michele Karaffa Cage used to ride a cruiser, but she wanted to ride on gravel roads. Listen to her tell us why she chose the BMW F 700 GS as her do-all motorcycle.
The green trend has finally sprouted in motorcycling, with one of the more emerald-colored entrants being California-based Zero Motorcycles, a company manufacturing electric motorcycles. Imagine power cords instead of gas pumps and you get the green idea.
People ask me, “What is a touring bike?” and I always say it’s any bike you’re touring on. I know I know, but really, unless you’re doing some truly hardcore riding, anything with a decent-sized gas tank that’s comfortable for a couple-day’s ride that you can strap some gear on is fine. Still, it’s very nice to have a bike that’s actually built for touring and the 650cc Versys is a versatile choice.
The Buell motorcycles have come a long way since the late 1990s, from tubular frames to frames with the gas tank included in the design. Riding a Buell motorcycle is unique in that you are included in the Harley, BMW and metric sportbike crowd. Most of the models look like the metric sportbikes but are actually open standard motorcycles, with the exception of the new 1125R and the Buell Firebolt.
The BMW R 1200 GS is one of the most successful production models for the company. BMW began as a producer of aircraft engines in 1913, and it began producing motorcycles before it produced cars. In 1921, BMW developed the M2 B15, also known as the first “Boxer” motorcycle.
BMW believes its success in the US motorcycle market now and in the future requires grabbing hold of newcomers and not letting go. The company has identified many newcomers as women, in addition to older and returning riders and, surprisingly, people of smaller statures.
This must be the year for the introduction of the “one platform/three bikes” theme. Kawasaki introduced three versions of its Vulcan 900 all in one model year (reviewed here on WRN); and now BMW unveils three versions of its new G 650 X platform in the same year. Genevieve test rides them and shares which one is her favorite.