It’s What We Do

This entry is part 1 of 18 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #18

wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Main-series-img-6.png

I ’m looking with interest at the manufacturer-branded rides happening at the moment.

Of course I’m rapt to see adventure riding being embraced by so many, and I’m even more thrilled manufacturers judge our favourite pastime is deserving of their support.

But there’s a little niggle at the back of my mind and I guess I’m wondering why owners feel there’s a need for rides that cater specifically to their particular bike.

Isn’t the adventure in getting out there and meeting a challenge? Do we believe a course specifically planned with our brand of bike in mind will offer that challenge, while a ride planned by a different brand will be…what…‘unsuitable’? Or are we in fact looking for the lesser challenge of knowing the course is planned for exactly what our bikes are designed to do?

BMW’s been running its GS Safari for a long time, and it’s a huge success.

I’ve ridden a few GS Safaris, and they’re sensational. Would they be any less sensational if I did the same course on a KTM or Yamaha?

I suspect a lot of the backbone for these rides comes from rider perception.

“Isn’t the adventure in getting out there and meeting a challenge?”

The KTM guys feel they’re being offered a tougher, more off-road course than, say, the BMW GS Safari guys. Maybe they are.

The Ténéré Tragics guys I think get together more because they’re all on Ténérés than anything to do with the terrain, and there’s something really comfortable and fun about riding with a batch of people who are all, give or take, on the same bike as you.

Suzuki and Kawasaki haven’t jumped on board yet this time around, but they’ve been there in the past. The Suzuki Sidetrack Subscriber Rides spring to mind.

Anyhoo, I see the manufacturer-sponsored rides getting bigger and more amazing all the time, and I start to wonder if it’ll lead to our riding splintering into brand-name groups. There are still some great rides going from groups like RideADV and Maschine, the Triumph guys have always welcomed all brands, and BMW is in fact welcoming other brands now, so maybe I’m jumping at shadows.

Maybe the true adventure guy who’s up for the challenge, no matter what bike he’s on, is still out there and smashing through the big hurdles.

I sure hope so.

And I sure hope the manufacturers keep running rides. No matter what questions are in the back of my mind, those rides are fantastic, and to see so many riders flocking to these events – not races, just good-quality riding events – puts a huge smile on my face.

As long as everyone’s riding there can’t be much of a problem.

Series NavigationRiding the Cordillera Blanca – South America at its best >>