Welcome...

MY FIRST RIDE on a BMW GS wasn’t memorable for the right reasons. It was cold, dark, wet and I was mostly filtering on the R1150, which was the first boxer-engined bike I’d ever ridden. It felt alien. I got off puzzled, unsure what the fuss was about.

Fast-forward 15 years and the GS is not just the world’s biggest-selling large-capacity motorbike but is also one of my favourites. Like so many owners, I’ve been won over by the comfort, the easy-to-exploit performance. I even like the looks.

So it’s easy to see why the GS is so popular. And why, over the years, so many other firms have tried to take sales away from it with their own big adventure bikes. The latest challenger is the hi-tech KTM 1290 Super Adventure S - but can it topple the king? Find out on p14.