At the end of the day...

After a final run up to Newbury followed by a gruelling, 30°C, dual-carriageway rush-hour run back north, we’ve experienced all three bikes in the full range of environments. Yet despite their varied characters and the riders’ wide-ranging riding backgrounds, there’s a unanimous consensus. Honda’s Africa Twin is the best all-round adventure bike of the trio: the optimum blend of touring comfort, backroad poise and off-road confidence. You could argue that the Triumph Tiger 800 XCX is a more exciting, more composed and better-value bike for pure road use. And you could argue that the BMW F850GS is more sophisticated, less daunting and more manageable down a dirt trail. But all three riders say the one bike they’d want in their garage is the Honda Africa Twin.

What Honda has is a bike that feels like an authentic, capable adventurer, that doesn’t sacrifice any road manners. The 2018 model update hasn’t actually made much difference – the previous bike’s most obvious oversights (ugly dash, no cruise control, weak heated grips) haven’t been addressed at all. But everything else is sound and convincing.

As before, the Triumph remains the most road-focused, with the sportiest engine and the firmest chassis. It’s an extremely tempting proposition, especially for anyone with little intention of tackling a byway. But for it to feel more like a fully fledged adventurer, it needs better low-speed balance, a more natural standing riding position and a softer suspension setup.

And BMW’S F850GS? It’s hard to know exactly what to make of it. It’s taken a big step away from the F800’s original lighter, stripped-down adventure role and shuffled closer to the heavier, more comfortable R1200GS. But at the same time, being in this company shows up its poor wind protection, limited tank size and, in fully loaded spec, its considerable pricetag too.