This is a question I ask everyday

 

This was on Facebook recently and as I have often said manufacturers have gone mad!

That’s a blown up BMW 1300 GS ( latest model in the GS family).

In my 20+ years of riding, I have witnessed adventure-seeking individuals being deceived by marketing tactics and purchasing large, expensive dual sport bikes. They come with accessories and electronics, just like the 1250 GS, 1200 Adventure, Super Tenere, and others. They look fantastic in the showroom or on paved roads.

While there are some owners who are adventurous enough to do some serious off-roading on these fat bikes, it’s unlikely that more than 10% of most owners are doing so. To be honest, the remaining 90% of overweight dual sport bike owners only purchased them after viewing an advertisement featuring a paid professional biker such as Dave Darcy from MadTV riding through sand dunes or the Colorado River.

And again, the manufacturers continue to make dual sport bikes bigger and more expensive. The ADV market has witnessed the rise of big bikes with big engines that are packed with as much nanny technology as a modern car. Air bags will soon be installed on fat dual sport bikes, like the one in the Goldwing.

All these excessive features lead to bloated and overweight bikes. Taking the bikes off road, and I mean really off-road, will be great until you lose control and they fall down or get stuck in mud. Hopefully you don’t break any expensive parts of your bike or worse yet break your leg because you dropped it, a 500-pound machine.

Regrettably, you are not Pol Tarres. You’re not going to be throwing your bike around like it’s a trial bike, and you’re not going to be picking up your ADV all day long on your off-road adventure.

Ever wondered why Itchy Boots chose a light weight Honda CRF 300 to transverse the world ?