Outcome was no surprise to me 😊. Cause I’m riding an ‘old lady’ since 1991 and testrode many new GS’es but never was really impressed enough to let my trusty airhead go. Who is with me?
Interesting comparo, however the outcome was precictable in that the 80G/S wil hold itself well against the modern series in technical settings quite simply by far less bulk and nweight!! Thats why I dont own a modern GS and have retained my 42 yo R80G/S since new. However I noted the compressed forks at one stage that 36mm front end really needs an update. Before you shoot me, I also ride 'older' and modern KTMs a 950 & 1290. The 950 would perfom better in the same circumstance for very similar reasons. Thanks and nice work Nico!
Well, the "less to go wrong" is sooooooooo true! There are no electronics on the R80 at all. I asked Christian if he will ever, "ever" sell it, he just laughed at me and said, "would you sell your child?".
Absolutely brilliant Scott! 2 champion fellas right there giving you a hand! Niko's adventures will be incredible to see. Will be following. Thanks again Scott. Have a great summer!
So the light bike was the best at hill climb, technical, and braking, essentially all offroad categories. The performance diffence between heavy and light bikes still exist at high rider skill levels.
Yea, when Christian and I first talked about doing this, he said that he already knew which bike would win, it was just a matter of putting everything together...with the same rider. 😊
That comparison was so cool! What did Nico attribute the relative success of the R80GS to? A lesser mass? Tractability? More importantly, how must BMW amend the design of the latest GS models to achieve a better outcome off-road without compromising on-road performance? Regardless of the outcome, I’m still working on how to convince my Better Half that I deserve the latest Trophy X…
Okay. Do I have a massive deja vu or did you re-upload that video? 😕 I like that the old R80 isn't far off. But that shouldn't be surprising. Most people will still choose the newer models. Because or despite of the electronics.
Also, at a certain level, namely, Niko's level, one can see the bike is largely irrelevant, though I'm sure he would most enjoy a tool suited to his task.
Really depends on the goal of the rider. Small, light bike is going to be easier to handle on technical challenges; large, heavy bike is good for loading up gear and moving between locations. Having been on adventure rider website since 2009 (didn't know much about such things before information age) , it seems like adventure riding is divided into many camps 🫣. Generally speaking, some do it just to ride and say 'look what I did' and others do it to go places not easily/normally accessible because they actually wanted to go to those places. Personally, I think the latter is the minority. That said, the most practical would seem to be bikes like Yamaha WR250R, Suzuki DRZ400, or Kawasaki KLR650 and best selected based on rider size. But those are also the least glamorous and require more work (packing/unpacking, etc.) than just filling side cases and riding off at high speed. GS seems best suited for long treks covering large distances, but not necessarily technical off-road. Same dilemma in (bicycle) bike packing versus bike touring: what do you want to do? Except in that realm, things are going the opposite of what they did in moto world. People are leaving the heavy touring frames and endless bags of gear in favor of lightweight, minimalist gear. Proper tool for the job usually garners the most enjoyment despite those talented people who become a marvel for doing what others can't or won't do 🤷
Pretty tendentious. They could have filled up the panniers with gravel to make the differences bigger. Don't get me wrong, I like my R80 GS but there's way better motorcycles even for light terrain.
Umm...there was gear in the cases, all the camera gear that I took that day from home, 1.5hr ride to the park and water, food, all stayed in the cases while Niko was riding, minus some of the stuff for when we were filming (drone/tripod/batteries were in and out depending on situation...etc.) So, no need for gravel. This IS as real as it gets, not fake like gravel.
