Its 2013 and all the rivals now have bikes on sale. I expect the Crosstourer to get a raw deal in the press, why? because its a Honda!! When the press talk about the BMW R1250 GS, it mentions its rivals i.e KTM, Yamaha and Triumph-what about the Crosstourer??? I bet its unjustly bottom of the pile by the bike journos, or maybe 2nd bottom if lucky-could be wrong

I must admit that I was going to wait until 2013 to buy my adventure bike as I was also interested in the KTM, BMW and Aprilia.
This is how i weighed up the other bikes and choose the Crosstourer last year:
BMW 1250GS; Have previously had a R1200gs which I liked immensley, however I sold it due to the lack of power and mates choosing to go back to sports bikes (i got a last edition Honda SP2-damm wish Id kept it). I believe build quality is not good at BMW, and outside of excellent BMW warranty it could be unpleasant!. I also wrongly presumed the BMW R1250 GS would be more expensive than it is!
KTM 1190 Adventure; Love V twins and I like the build quality of KTM. 2 negatives for me-no shaft drive and a leaked test drive which said the bike was awsome, however complained of high speed stability

, which is a reported problem on the KTM 990 SMT which I have also considered in the past.
Triumph Explorer; Bike looks pretty rugged and purposeful, is reported to have a good engine. The negatives for me are that Ive never been a fan of British bikes-sorry, would be worried about build quality.
Ducati Multistrada; Very good looking V twin with monster power. The negatives are no shaft drive, complaints of poor low speed throttle when pootling about town (was a problem on my Honda SP2), and Ducatis past reliabilty problems-especially with all the high tech electrics. Im sure this has all been sorted out, however mud sticks!!
Aprilia Caponard; Fabulous V4, however no shaft drive and possibly a bit too thirsty?
Yamaha Tenere; Looks to have very good build quality, and for me personally a bit of a rugged looker. The only negatives for me is the low powered parallel twin engine which on paper seems to be its achilles heel, and its pricey.
Honda Crosstourer; Fabulous V4 engine, super build quality, and a bike that would be the most reliable of the bunch. Its looks have certainly grown on me which seems to be a trait with recent Hondas-just like the present Fireblade!! which was also given a rough time in the press when released. The only negative for me is the bikes weight , however the bike does feel light and agile on the road. I have no desire to take it off road, so really the weight shouldnt bother me-dont know why it does

Please note these are my own opinions and not really that scientific
