BMW R 1250 GS or Honda Africa Twin 1100 DCT Adventure Sports?

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BMW R 1250 GS or Honda Africa Twin 1100 DCT Adventure Sports?


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This is my comparison of Honda Africa Twin 1100 Adventure Sports DCT ES (Electronic Suspension) and BMW R1250GS in the non-Adventure version. After having ridden all big adventure motorcycles currently on the market, I’m sharing my…

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40 Comments

  1. Currently selling my GS1250 after first test drive of AT. It destroys the BMW in multiple areas but mostly in handling off road / Dirt roads. BMW is all over the place while the AT is a dream with excellent handling.

  2. IMHO, Honda has built the best world travel Adventure bike, not just another Commuter bike. An important fact that ALL the comparisons seem to miss, maybe because they only test ride in big cities, is the compression ratio. Honda sacrificed HP/TQ numbers for the ability to run on sub-standard (non-premium) fuel. Have fun with the BMW GS and it's12.5:1 compression or the Ducati Multistrada with it's14.0:1 compression ratio in places in the world with non-premium fuels. The Honda Africa Twin with 10.1:1 can run on very sub-standard fuels. Couple this with Honda's world wide network for getting repairs, as compared with Any other competitor, and you have a true world traveler. I also believe in the future Honda will make the HP/TQ adjustment increase with a supercharger and retain the lower compression ratio.

  3. Lots of people hate BMW because of maintenance and price. ?But there is a lot more to consider before you can make an assumption or comment on them.
    "Too high of a price":
    True for the regular "Joe" that doesn't have any skills in mechanics and trusts anyone else to do everything for them. Seems like you haven't been on one of those GSs, GTs or GTLs, or even any BMW motorcycle to know the difference (correct me if I'm wrong). The reason I say that is because some people say that the AT's DCT is better than the GS in all aspects (definitely not 100% true for anyone that knows the GS and the AT). Anyone I know that have tried any of the BMW Bikes have a different, or a change of opinion if they are not completely biased by a certain brand. AT is better off-roading though, no doubt in my mind. And the DCT is very nice also, which is a huge plus for me. I would have a DCT instead of any regular transmission on a bike at any time.

    But guess what, that's as far as the AT is going to take you when you actually ride it side by side against the GS or GSA.
    So DCT and Off-Roading goes to the AT in my opinion.

    I am planning to buy me an AT because of the DCT; However, if I find a good price on a GS, I'm not putting my money on that AT since I would like to have a lot of the accessories that the GS already include for almost the same price at the end of the deal.

    I love the looks of the AT over the GS at any time. But it is a lot of comfort and power to consider on the GS. It is a matter of what deal I can find when I pull the trigger to get my ADV bike.

    If I was planning on doing a lot of off-roading, the AT would definitely be my choice. Reliability of Honda is a good thing going for the AT! But that is also a very relative topic that depends on who is doing the maintenance on the BMW (me in this case). I do my own maintenance so reliability is not an issue at all.

    In my case I do everything on my bikes because I can't trust any mechanics, especially the ones BMW hires at their shops. They charge way too much $$$(that would be the expensive crap people talk about) and don't seem to do a very good job at it. I am in the US and the closest BMW shops I have are about 2.5 – 3 hours away, and the reviews are horrendous (price and mistakes made by "mechanics" or Techs, etc.).

    I do all the maintenance for my GTL K1600 because of that.

  4. Thanks for the review. Taking into consideration that motorcycle ownership and rider preferences are subjective, I may understand how the GS can outperform the 2023 ATAS on almost every front for a particular rider. However, I've owned and have ridden a number of adventure motorcycles and honestly, a 2022 GS 1250 with 20 000kms felt foreign (odd) to me. Even if the ATAS has much less top end HP & torque, what it does have is very usable and satisfying for me. Also, because it's a low stress engine, reliability is likely enhanced for the benefit of its owner. To that end, I'm hoping the 2024 ATAS variant will be even more competitive, because I plan to trade my current bike for one once they become available in Canada. 🙂

  5. loads of very useful information, but is it really …? If I am not mistaken, all these very important things you mentioned are waying towards GS if used on the paved roads. I am really wondering if these advantages matter at all if you take the bikes where they really belong …

  6. AF looks just right, the GS looks like most bikes today very similar to a stinging hornet. Not my style. I go for easy cruising and not for acceleration and some low but solid RPM that sound good and not loud like a bulldozer or a Harley. Not much out there what can be a winner …

  7. The biggest difference is reliability. I had a bmw, total beast but always problems, it's funny bmw convinced people it's a rtw bike! It's not.

  8. I've owned both. I still own the ATES. People buy the BMW for touring, it's good, but if you're really not going to ADV then just buy a true touring bike. I never had any issues with my Honda, a boat load with the BMW.

  9. BMW is unambiguously better on the road.
    The Africa Twin is unambiguously better off road and/or far away from mechanics.

    BMW is usually much easier to pick up.
    Honda is more reliable.

  10. Doposażyłem swoją Afrykę w quickshifter i nie żałuję. Przebijanie biegów w górę przy mocniejszym odkręceniu manetki i towarzyszący temu strzał jest uzależniający 🙂 Pozdro!

  11. Very good comparison video. I wonder how capable the non adv GS is off road with decent off road tires ?? I am really torn between the bikes. Im a honda guy but the low center of gravity in GS may be the determining factor for me as im a below avg weight rider and may not be able to risk going off road and not being able to pick up the bike. I like the non adv version of the AT because it has more of a dirt bike look. For some reason and fully loaded africa twin Adv spt looks too busy… as if it is a off road baby goldwing. The base model looks much cleaner and more sporty. If im not going for rock climbing on a bike then i hope the base GS will do just fine with decent offroad tires

  12. Great street specific review and comparison. But I feel like it’s silly to judge adv bikes without looking at their off-road performance. I.e. the title of this video should be “Which adv bike is better commuter”

  13. I rode a BMW 1250 GS a week ago, a disaster, after 5km I turned around and handed in the bike.
    Throttle response is like a rubber, in dynamic mode, very bad. Brakes are really good (on the Africa Twin too). Wind protection is bad for my 185cm, regardless of whether the shield is up or down.
    I will never buy a BMW GS

  14. I’ve ridden both. But it really comes down to one thing – what would do with the bike? If you are planning on half off road + half onroad around the world – Go with Honda. If you are staying within the Western/Eastern part of the Europe, mostly on highways, then go with BMW.

  15. Honda afrika has one advantage over which bmw loses completely – it is DCT. All the other advantages of BMW do not go into any comparison. The mechanical box is the last century. Those who say that bmw is better than Honda have never driven a honda with DCT. In addition, the honda aftika is a versatile off-road enduro motorcycle, to the north, like the toyota land cruiser, it rides comfortably both in the city on asphalt and on full off-road. And bmw is a motorcycle for fat lazy burghers who drive only on asphalt and are afraid to go off-road. Bmw is an absolutely boring motorcycle. Honda is definitely better.

  16. I always wanted a gs and my son just bought me one, I couldn't believe it, I am 69 now and absolutely nothing is going to stop me , I live in Tasmania where every man and his bike go to for the excellent twisties over here. I am going to travel the outback on the mainland. Your review was very genuine, thanks.

  17. Here in Arkansas we have these rocky trails that a GS, nice as it is, has a hard time. I've seen a few Beemers hung up and on a single track……forget it. On road-BMW, Off-road-Honda, Based on experience and observation.