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On a paved road it romps. Offroad, you have to obey the bike and ride on its terms. The Adventure has a specific extreme terrain riding style -- you stand, arms relaxed, hands light, edging the front wheel into turns, weighting the outside peg, digging a knee into the padded tank. The handlebar adjusts for the standing position. You never put your foot down, à la motorcross. It's easy to skitter a 200-pound dirt bike around a quick pivot point, but try this with a GS, and the weight of the bike turns your lower leg into a spiral fracture. A few hours in the saddle, and you come to trust the power, the clawed knobbie tires and the thrust. The engine is your friend, powerful enough to launch wheelies in lower gears, with enough torque to be ridden like an automatic (pick one gear and you can pull through most conditions). Faced with a technical stretch (a water crossing, a rocky descent, a sand-filled wash), the advice is to look ahead to where you want to go, and pull the trigger. Never look at where you don't want to go (the big rock, the ditch); the bike is so sensitive to input that it will follow your gaze.
-- by James R. Petersen |
