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Difference between revisions of "Category:Motorcycle types"
→Touring: Global On+Off-Road (GS) Tourers
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This category encompasses motorcycles designed specifically to provide global touring capabilities on both pavement and off-road with the intent of making virtually any destination reachable. Motorcycles in this category share an unique combination of traits that provide them very high ground clearance (for off-road purposes), particularly large fuel reserves, large displacement understressed engines for high reliability and heavy torque output, large size and good high-speed highway behavior & handling. This combination of traits (and their weight) is also what separates them from traditional off-road, enduro and MX class motorcycles. It is common for a large selection of purpose-driven options to be available for global tourers, including skid plates (to protect the engine and transmission during off-road use), larger and additional fuel tanks than stock, metal-formed hard luggage for extreme condition use, hardened GPS naviation systems designed to handle off-road abuse, etc. These bikes do not necessarily ship with hard luggage, but usually offer them as optional extras either from the manufacturer or via third-party suppliers. These motorcycles are often used as the basis for competitions in extreme rally events, including the grueling [[Dakar Rally|Paris-Dakar Rally]]. | This category encompasses motorcycles designed specifically to provide global touring capabilities on both pavement and off-road with the intent of making virtually any destination reachable. Motorcycles in this category share an unique combination of traits that provide them very high ground clearance (for off-road purposes), particularly large fuel reserves, large displacement understressed engines for high reliability and heavy torque output, large size and good high-speed highway behavior & handling. This combination of traits (and their weight) is also what separates them from traditional off-road, enduro and MX class motorcycles. It is common for a large selection of purpose-driven options to be available for global tourers, including skid plates (to protect the engine and transmission during off-road use), larger and additional fuel tanks than stock, metal-formed hard luggage for extreme condition use, hardened GPS naviation systems designed to handle off-road abuse, etc. These bikes do not necessarily ship with hard luggage, but usually offer them as optional extras either from the manufacturer or via third-party suppliers. These motorcycles are often used as the basis for competitions in extreme rally events, including the grueling [[Dakar Rally|Paris-Dakar Rally]]. | ||
The global GS tourer was pioneered by the introduction in 1980 of the [[BMW]] [[BMW motorcycles|Motorcycles]] R80 G/S, the first full mass-production motorcycle specifically designed for the task. G/S is the German abbreviation for Gelände/Straβe, meaning "off-road+street" use; the G/S name was later simplified to remove the slash. In the intervening years, [[BMW motorcycles|BMW]] has upgraded their R80G/S through a number of models, and competitors have also delivered motorcycles designed to breach the same market niche with mixed success ( [[KTM | The global GS tourer was pioneered by the introduction in 1980 of the [[BMW]] [[BMW motorcycles|Motorcycles]] R80 G/S, the first full mass-production motorcycle specifically designed for the task. G/S is the German abbreviation for Gelände/Straβe, meaning "off-road+street" use; the G/S name was later simplified to remove the slash. In the intervening years, [[BMW motorcycles|BMW]] has upgraded their R80G/S through a number of models, and competitors have also delivered motorcycles designed to breach the same market niche with mixed success ( [[KTM|KTM]] is a good example of a successful competitor in the niche, although their primary competition to the current BMW R1150GS & R1200GS is not available in the USA as I write this). | ||
Noteworthy current examples include the [[BMW motorcycles]] [[BMW F650|F650GS]], [[BMW R1150GS|R1150GS]] & [[BMW R1200GS|R1200GS]], the [[KTM|KTM]] 990 Adventure series. | Noteworthy current examples include the [[BMW motorcycles]] [[BMW F650|F650GS]], [[BMW R1150GS|R1150GS]] & [[BMW R1200GS|R1200GS]], the [[KTM|KTM]] 990 Adventure series. | ||