Verdict
All these bikes are good value, though each in their own way. At £8000 the Africa Twin looks and feels like a completely new bike but is £2500 cheaper than list. At that price, the only niggles are the slightly discoloured spokes (they all do that according to owners), and the sparsity of extras – though the previous owner has fitted heated grips and engine bars, there’s no centrestand, panniers or 12V socket. And it’s not the DCT model. But stuff that. If you’ve got the cash and want what is effectively a brand new adventure bike you’d struggle to do better than this. The GS is a different proposition. For £5500 you are buying an example of the greatest adventure bike in history, made by a company whose brand carries the kind of cachet Suzuki would sell its grandmother for. With under 10,000 miles on the clock, ours is barely run in and, with a bit of attention to the flakey engine paint, would look almost new. Because of the age-price ratio it doesn’t feel like a bargain, but that’s not what Gses are about – you buy it because it’s a fantastic bike which won’t drop in price much even if you rack up proper miles. If you want to join the GS club, this is a sensible place to start. The Tiger, on the other hand, feels more like a bargain. £4000 for a bike this tidy, fun, practical and fast seems like a no-brainer. Because of the mileage (32,000) you’ll probably have to replace a few more bits than the others but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be just as much fun. Provided, of course, you don’t head off down a tempting green lane.