[dhgeyer]

BMW pretty much invented the "adventure touring" field, and still dominates it. Their best selling bike is the R1200GS. In BMW model language, GS at the end designates an "adventure touring" bike.

I was given an R1200GS as a loaner back when Max BMW was still doing loaners. I put about 100 miles on it going home, and then back to the dealership. I didn't care much for it for mostly ergonomic reasons.

They also make an F800GS, an F650GS (which is actually an 800), and a G650GS which is a 650 single. All of these bikes accept BMW off road tough luggage, which, like the bikes, they don't exactly give away. The F800GS and the F650GS are vertical twins with multi plate wet clutches on the Japanese model. The G650GS single is also built on the basic Japanese architecture. All three bikes are made by some outfit in China, and marketed by BMW. To confuse the issue, BMW made a bike a few years ago designated F650GS, which was the exact same single that is now the G650GS. Got all that?

The R1200GS is the classic BMW architecture, and is made in Germany by BMW.

As WW pointed out, the Kawasaki KLR 650 is a much less expensive and just as rugged alternative. It is a single, and I am told the vibrations are pretty bad, but a lot of people swear by them.

I test rode a G650GS and didn't like the vibrations on that bike. I said as much to the BMW salesman, and he said something to the effect that, well, it's a single and they do vibrate, but the GS isn't anywhere near as bad as the KLR 650 (Kawasaki), which I would tend to believe.

The Suzuki Vstrom (1000 or 650 version) is not an adventure touring bike as it comes from the factory, but it can be set up as one, but that involves time, effort, and money in some combination depending upon how mechanically inclined you are and how much of that work you want to do yourself.

Interestingly, Motorcycle Consumer News just did one of their "Shoot Outs" between three Japanese sport touring bikes. They took an R1200GS along as kind of a pack mule for the trip. When they got done, they decided to compare the GS to the sport touring bikes as a sport touring bike rather than an adventure touring bike. It won over the three sport touring bikes hands down, and was better in every comparison category except one. Having ridden one, I think the R1200GS really is a better sport touring bike than it is an adventure touring bike, because it's just too big and heavy for serious off road work in my estimation. Like WW says, when riding off the road, there's a good chance that you might have to pick the thing up.

Adventure Touring bikes are not generally the best road bikes, or the best off road bikes. They are a compromise designed for people who want to tour (long distance) in places where some but not all of the roads may be not-so-good to non-existent to cow paths. There were a few people doing this type of thing before BMW got into the act, and they generally used fairly lightweight 500cc or so standards with or without some modification. BMW introduced the GS series, and then, through intense marketing, virtually created the sport as we know it. Now everybody and his brother/sister wants a GS. I'm convinced that most people who have them don't need the off road capability, and would really be better off with something else. If you listen to some of these people, you need a GS if you're just gonna' ride down a dirt road, which is total BS!

So, to sum up, only you can decide if some kind of adventure touring bike is for you. If you're just thinking about riding into a park after hours on the highway, then you're much better off with what you have. If you have some thought of really getting into on/off road touring, then that type of bike makes sense.

Of the various ones I've seen, I'd go for the F800GS or the slightly stripped down F650GS. But my R1200R is just fine for the limited dirt roads, or even single track paths that I might decide to try. For that matter, the GZ250, being so small and light, is not so bad in rough terrain.