There are adventure bikes, and then there are Adventure Bikes, with both capital letters and a capital concept firmly lodged in your mind. Throughout the decades, BMW Motorrad has worked hard to keep its original Gelände/Straße spirit intact through multiple iterations. Fans can (and will) argue over how well it's done, but it's difficult to deny that it's managed to stay top of mind in the category all this time.
BMW isn't the only game either in or out of town, though. KTM is nothing if not competitive, so it naturally brought the fight to BMW in the premium adventure segment as well. While the GS might have the history, the 1290 Super Adventure R is here to keep BMW on its toes.
