Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

Table of contents

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

22nd pictures

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

1/22
All 20 bikes competing in the Alpen-Master 2015 plus the twelve testers gathered in one picture. Individual shots of the motorcycles follow.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

2/22
Kawasaki Versys 1000 in the Adventure Big category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

3/22
Ducati Multistrada 1200 in the Adventure Big category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

4/22
BMW S 1000 XR in the Adventure Big category.

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Rossen Gargolov

5/22
Yamaha YZF-R3 in the Easy Going category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

6/22
Moto Guzzi V7 II Stone in the Easy Going category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

7/22
Kawasaki Vulcan S in the Easy Going category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

8/22
Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle in the Easy Going category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

9/22
Yamaha YZF-R1 in the Sport / Touring category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

10/22
MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 in the Sport / Touring category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

11/22
Kawasaki Ninja H2 in the Sport / Touring category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

12/22
BMW R 1200 RS in the Sport / Touring category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

13/22
Suzuki GSX-S 1000 in the Naked Bikes category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

14/22
Ducati Monster 821 Stripe in the Naked Bikes category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

15/22
BMW F 800 R in the Naked Bikes category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

16/22
Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR in the Naked Bikes category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

17/22
Yamaha MT-09 Tracer in the Adventure Mid category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

18/22
Triumph Tiger 800 XCx in the Adventure Mid category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

19/22
Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT in the Adventure Mid category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Rossen Gargolov

20/22
Honda Crossrunner in the Adventure Mid category.

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Rossen Gargolov

21/22
KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the Adventure Big category.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015
Jorg Kunstle

22/22
Another quick group photo, then it’s off to the competition. You can read and see the results in the respective articles on the Alpine Masters 2015.

motorcycles

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

Alpine Masters 2015
The prelude to the largest motorcycle comparison test

The Alpen Masters 2015: 20 motorcycles and only twelve drivers? Yes, it takes a little ingenuity and logistical talent to pull off the Alpen Masters, the largest group test in the world.

Johannes Muller, Gert Thole, Eva Breutel

07/09/2015

The rose garden and the Vajolet towers, real showpieces of the Dolomites, stretch their jagged peaks towards the sky in the background. In the front of the picture are 20 motorcycles from 2015, with twelve riders of very different ages in between and behind them. Wait a minute, how is that supposed to work? 20 motorcycles and only twelve drivers? Yes, it takes a little ingenuity and logistical talent to pull off the Alpen Masters, the largest group test in the world. Although MOTORRAD offers everything that is available in terms of testers, writers and assistants – more than twelve people are not available, after all, the magazine has to be produced in Stuttgart meanwhile. So putting all 20 motorcycles that are being tested here in one picture needs to be well planned.

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Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

Alpine Masters 2015
The prelude to the largest motorcycle comparison test

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For the eleventh time, MOTORRAD is looking for the absolute king of the Alps, the motorcycle that does best in the adventurous carousel of passes, with which you most like to get dizzy in the wild ups and downs of the mountain peaks. Hardly any other Alpine region is better suited to this demanding test than the Dolomites, known by connoisseurs as Dolos for short. Between Marmolada and Langkofel, between Sella and Rosengarten, pass after pass stretches out in a breathless succession, sometimes steep and winding with hairy switchbacks, sometimes well developed with generous curves. The moment of truth strikes here for every motorcycle, regardless of brand or price.

Different scoring for the Alps

Because MOTORRAD uses a modified point evaluation at the Alpen-Masters, which relentlessly reveals even the smallest weakness of a motorcycle when storming the summit. Guarantee, maintenance costs and top speed are not evaluated, the more important are driving dynamics properties such as steering precision and maneuverability, i.e. things that are important in literally every bend in the Dolomites.

The testers’ agenda also includes special tests such as braking downhill measurements with a co-driver and pulling through uphill and at an altitude of 2000 meters.

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

motorcycles


Alpine Masters 2015


This is what the test track looks like


read more

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

motorcycles


Final Alpenmasters 2015


At the highest level


read more

Start of the Alpen Masters 2015

workshop


40 emergency stops at the 2015 Alpine Masters


This is how MOTORRAD tests brakes and handling


read more

New or revised models only

A total of 20 motorcycles are eligible to start at the Alpen-Masters, and only new or revised models of the respective year, this time from the 2015 production. That is why the ever-popular Alpine hit BMW R 1200 GS is missing in this year’s comparison, because there is currently neither a new nor a revised version. According to the regulations of the Alpine Masters, older machines are in principle also allowed to take part, but only if they have never competed in this competition. Since the GS participated with water boxers in their debut year 2013 and promptly won, this selection criterion does not apply to them either: They therefore had to stay at home in Munich. 

Groups are put together

Once the 20 motorcycles have been selected, they are put together into five groups that are as homogeneous as possible. A tricky task for test boss Gert Thole, because clear assignments in common categories, such as touring or enduro, are becoming more and more difficult these days. This year, for example, it was tricky to classify the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800, which the manufacturer itself describes as a sports tourer and consequently ended up in the Sport / Touring group. However, it would probably have fit into the group of medium-sized adventure bikes. But because of the countless crossover concepts on the market today, certain compromises are just as much a part of the Alpine Masters as wildly romantic mountain peaks.

The names of the individual groups remain. The Alpine Masters has a strongly international character, several colleagues from abroad take part in the preliminary round and the final, and the mega-test is reprinted by numerous magazines around the world because of its uniqueness. In order to facilitate international cooperation, the groups are now grouped under English names. This year they are: “Easy going” for machines with a certain lightness, “Adventure Big” for large enduros and crossover concepts, “Adventure Mid” for machines of the same kind with a medium-sized displacement, plus the refreshingly easy-to-classify “naked bikes” and finally “Sport / Touring” motorcycles.

The final

The preliminary round is followed by the grand finale. There all newly crowned group winners compete with the reigning King of the Alps, this time with the KTM 1190 Adventure, which was the overall winner last year. This finale is something very special for MOTORRAD because, for once, it is not strictly based on the points scoring. Rather, the six experienced testers from half of Europe are allowed to judge according to their personal taste – which always provides tangible surprises and a lot of explosive.

The 20 motorcycles

20 bikes, divided into five groups.

Who was there this year:

Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle

Kawasaki Vulcan S.


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Kawasaki Vulcan S.

Moto Guzzi V7 Stone


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Moto Guzzi V7 Stone

Yamaha YZF-R3


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Yamaha YZF-R3

BMW S 1000 XR


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

BMW S 1000 XR

Ducati Multistrada 1200


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Ducati Multistrada 1200

Kawasaki Versys 1000


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Kawasaki Versys 1000

KTM 1290 Super Adventure


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

KTM 1290 Super Adventure

Honda Crossrunner


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Honda Crossrunner

Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT

Triumph Tiger 800 XCx


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Triumph Tiger 800 XCx

Yamaha MT-09 Tracer


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Yamaha MT-09 Tracer

Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR

BMW F 800 R.


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

BMW F 800 R.

Ducati Monster 821 Stripe


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Ducati Monster 821 Stripe

Suzuki GSX-S 1000


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Suzuki GSX-S 1000

BMW R 1200 RS


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

BMW R 1200 RS

Kawasaki Ninja H2


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Kawasaki Ninja H2

MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800

Yamaha YZF-R1


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Yamaha YZF-R1

Eva Breutel


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Eva Breutel

Italy correspondent, writer and tester. 

Quite a italophile

Karsten Schwers


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Karsten Schwers

Chief tester, driving force behind the scoring.

Absolute sports bomb

Gert Thole


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Gert Thole

Head of Test and Technology. Absolute master of the 

Alpine Masters. Offroad fan

Rainer Froberg


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Rainer Froberg

Fleet manager. Photo driver and head logistician of the Alpen-Masters.

Kitchen connoisseur

Sven Loll


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Sven Loll

Test driver and racing instructor, photo model and driver. 

Tended to pause

Johannes Muller


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Johannes Muller

Editor, writer and tester.

Likes all motorcycles of any kind

Sebastian Schmitz


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Sebastian Schmitz

Part-time archivist, photo driver.

Connoisseur and lately enthusiastic triathlete

Maximilian Balazc


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Maximilian Balazc

Student, photo driver.

Loves powerful car and motorcycle engines

Jorg Jutzeler


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Jorg Jutzeler

Ex boxing trainer.

All-purpose weapon and occasionally used as a payload. Athlete fan

Andrea Toumaniantz


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Andrea Toumaniantz

Motorcycle tester at INMOTO, IT expert (Italy). Frequent guest of the Alpine Masters.

Goes on the gas, likes fun

Kristijan Tičak


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Jorg Kunstle

Kristijan Tičak

Editor-in-chief of MOTOREVIJA, car and motorcycle tester (Croatia).

Veteran of the Alpine Masters. Tour fan

Oscar Pena


Start of the Alpen Masters 2015


Rossen Gargolov

Oscar Pena

Test editor at MOTOCICLISMO (Spain).

For the third time at the Alpen Masters. Performance fetishist.

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