snakebitten said:
So in summary, I am simply trying to say that it might be true that the Honda or Triumph may be superior on tarmac. And maybe by a considerable margin. But not enough to render the S10 or GS tarmac toads.
However, those same design biases towards dirt that Yamaha and BMW made for dirt prowess could be HUGE when you are having the "adventure ride" of your life! Supposedly, that's why we wanted one of these bikes.
I love motorcycles. All kinds. But this unique class of Big Beast adventure bikes is getting a little "stretched" with the latest editions, if you ask me. Or at least the word "adventure" is starting to mean other things.
I think the spread of bikes is a good thing. Many Europeans and Especially Poms seem to have little use for Nuclear Powered Dirt bikes like the S10 and many people "THINK" they are afraid of dirt based on past experience with very nervously set up bikes with inappropriate torque curves. (Like a Tiger 1200
) And from my own experience, it doesn't matter how many times someone says that the S10 is different (off road and ABS) most people will just assume that a lowly YAMAHA couldn't be capable of that and that all the owners are just over zealous noobs.
The percentage thing, to me, is a bit of a strange one. I can be doing mostly tarmac most of the year (80/20) and then spring for a big ride (like the Alcan except with dust hiding ruts and sand and flies instead of mozzies mud and ice, which will see 0/100 for a couple of days straight. SO my main frustration with the "jacked up road bikes" was how much constant concentration it took over a long distance in those conditions. YAMAHA have decided to make that a whole lot easier without loosing too much on the road. Because it is easier you tend to push into harder places and go just a bit overboard, past the real design limits of the bike on occasion.
The main thing for me though is the transition from tarmac to gravel/dirt/track whatever is easy, not draining. It's pretty natural on this bike. Which was just what I was after. So I picked up some big pluses from the Strom without many negatives. I was thinking of going down the KTM or DR650 path but luckily YAMAHA saved me from that one because it would have meant gaining something and losing others. This way it's a win win (Mostly). I still have to watch the weather though. 900Km of mud is no fun on a huge bike.
snakebitten said:
Hey GrahamD, is there snow on this trek now? )
I don't know. Where is it. I know of many roads that look like that. ::024::