Table of contents
- Alpine Masters 2015 The prelude to the largest motorcycle comparison test
- Different scoring for the Alps
- New or revised models only
- Groups are put together
- The final
- The 20 motorcycles
- Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle
- Kawasaki Vulcan S.
- Moto Guzzi V7 Stone
- Yamaha YZF-R3
- BMW S 1000 XR
- Ducati Multistrada 1200
- Kawasaki Versys 1000
- KTM 1290 Super Adventure
- Honda Crossrunner
- Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT
- Triumph Tiger 800 XCx
- Yamaha MT-09 Tracer
- Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR
- BMW F 800 R.
- Ducati Monster 821 Stripe
- Suzuki GSX-S 1000
- BMW R 1200 RS
- Kawasaki Ninja H2
- MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800
- Yamaha YZF-R1
- Eva Breutel
- Karsten Schwers
- Gert Thole
- Rainer Froberg
- Sven Loll
- Johannes Muller
- Sebastian Schmitz
- Maximilian Balazc
- Jorg Jutzeler
- Andrea Toumaniantz
- Kristijan Tičak
- Oscar Pena
Jorg Kunstle
22nd pictures
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.
Rossen Gargolov
2/22
Kawasaki Versys 1000 in the Adventure Big category.
Rossen Gargolov
3/22
Ducati Multistrada 1200 in the Adventure Big category.
Rossen Gargolov
4/22
BMW S 1000 XR in the Adventure Big category.
Rossen Gargolov
5/22
Yamaha YZF-R3 in the Easy Going category.
Rossen Gargolov
6/22
Moto Guzzi V7 II Stone in the Easy Going category.
Rossen Gargolov
7/22
Kawasaki Vulcan S in the Easy Going category.
Rossen Gargolov
8/22
Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle in the Easy Going category.
Jorg Kunstle
9/22
Yamaha YZF-R1 in the Sport / Touring category.
Jorg Kunstle
10/22
MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 in the Sport / Touring category.
Jorg Kunstle
11/22
Kawasaki Ninja H2 in the Sport / Touring category.
Jorg Kunstle
12/22
BMW R 1200 RS in the Sport / Touring category.
Rossen Gargolov
13/22
Suzuki GSX-S 1000 in the Naked Bikes category.
Rossen Gargolov
14/22
Ducati Monster 821 Stripe in the Naked Bikes category.
Rossen Gargolov
15/22
BMW F 800 R in the Naked Bikes category.
Rossen Gargolov
16/22
Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR in the Naked Bikes category.
Rossen Gargolov
17/22
Yamaha MT-09 Tracer in the Adventure Mid category.
Rossen Gargolov
18/22
Triumph Tiger 800 XCx in the Adventure Mid category.
Rossen Gargolov
19/22
Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT in the Adventure Mid category.
Rossen Gargolov
20/22
Honda Crossrunner in the Adventure Mid category.
Rossen Gargolov
21/22
KTM 1290 Super Adventure in the Adventure Big category.
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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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.
motorcycles
Alpine Masters 2015
This is what the test track looks like
read more
motorcycles
Final Alpenmasters 2015
At the highest level
read more
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
Rossen Gargolov
Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle
Kawasaki Vulcan S.
Rossen Gargolov
Kawasaki Vulcan S.
Moto Guzzi V7 Stone
Rossen Gargolov
Moto Guzzi V7 Stone
Yamaha YZF-R3
Rossen Gargolov
Yamaha YZF-R3
BMW S 1000 XR
Rossen Gargolov
BMW S 1000 XR
Ducati Multistrada 1200
Rossen Gargolov
Ducati Multistrada 1200
Kawasaki Versys 1000
Rossen Gargolov
Kawasaki Versys 1000
KTM 1290 Super Adventure
Rossen Gargolov
KTM 1290 Super Adventure
Honda Crossrunner
Rossen Gargolov
Honda Crossrunner
Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT
Rossen Gargolov
Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT
Triumph Tiger 800 XCx
Rossen Gargolov
Triumph Tiger 800 XCx
Yamaha MT-09 Tracer
Rossen Gargolov
Yamaha MT-09 Tracer
Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR
Rossen Gargolov
Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR
BMW F 800 R.
Rossen Gargolov
BMW F 800 R.
Ducati Monster 821 Stripe
Rossen Gargolov
Ducati Monster 821 Stripe
Suzuki GSX-S 1000
Rossen Gargolov
Suzuki GSX-S 1000
BMW R 1200 RS
Jorg Kunstle
BMW R 1200 RS
Kawasaki Ninja H2
Jorg Kunstle
Kawasaki Ninja H2
MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800
Jorg Kunstle
MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800
Yamaha YZF-R1
Jorg Kunstle
Yamaha YZF-R1
Eva Breutel
Rossen Gargolov
Eva Breutel
Italy correspondent, writer and tester.
Quite a italophile
Karsten Schwers
Jorg Kunstle
Karsten Schwers
Chief tester, driving force behind the scoring.
Absolute sports bomb
Gert Thole
Rossen Gargolov
Gert Thole
Head of Test and Technology. Absolute master of the
Alpine Masters. Offroad fan
Rainer Froberg
Rossen Gargolov
Rainer Froberg
Fleet manager. Photo driver and head logistician of the Alpen-Masters.
Kitchen connoisseur
Sven Loll
Jorg Kunstle
Sven Loll
Test driver and racing instructor, photo model and driver.
Tended to pause
Johannes Muller
Jorg Kunstle
Johannes Muller
Editor, writer and tester.
Likes all motorcycles of any kind
Sebastian Schmitz
Rossen Gargolov
Sebastian Schmitz
Part-time archivist, photo driver.
Connoisseur and lately enthusiastic triathlete
Maximilian Balazc
Rossen Gargolov
Maximilian Balazc
Student, photo driver.
Loves powerful car and motorcycle engines
Jorg Jutzeler
Jorg Kunstle
Jorg Jutzeler
Ex boxing trainer.
All-purpose weapon and occasionally used as a payload. Athlete fan
Andrea Toumaniantz
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
Jorg Kunstle
Kristijan Tičak
Editor-in-chief of MOTOREVIJA, car and motorcycle tester (Croatia).
Veteran of the Alpine Masters. Tour fan
Oscar Pena
Rossen Gargolov
Oscar Pena
Test editor at MOTOCICLISMO (Spain).
For the third time at the Alpen Masters. Performance fetishist.
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