NastyNils.com — Independent motorcycle journalism by Nils Mueller

Last updated: Aug 2, 2026

The Aprilia Tuareg 660 riding a Colorado gravel trail in low evening light after a long day

Travel · Adventure

Arm Pump and Back Pain: It Is Not the Motorcycle

When your lower back complains after two hours and your forearms shut down, you start looking for the fault on the motorcycle. Usually it sits somewhere else. Colorado made that very clear to me over 1,060 miles.

By NastyNils · Jul 31, 2026 · 7 min read

NastyNils standing next to the Aprilia Tuareg 660 on a ridge overlooking the San Juan mountains in Colorado

Travel · Adventure

Buying a Used Motorcycle: Inspect the Seller, Not the Bike

Jul 31, 2026 · 7 min read

The Aprilia Tuareg 660 on a rocky alpine switchback in Colorado below jagged mountain peaks

Travel · Adventure

Setting Preload: It Costs Nothing and Works Immediately

Jul 31, 2026 · 7 min read

First-Hand Buyer's Guides

Latest Buyer's Guides

Buyer's Guide · Adventure

BMW F 650 GS Dakar

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BMW F 850 GS Adventure

Globe-Trotter With The Tank

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BMW F 900 GS Adventure

The Long-Haul Tech Hauler

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Nils Mueller, known to riders as NastyNils, is the founder of 1000PS and a long-term motorcycle tester. Since 2001 he has tested more than 1,000 motorcycles. This is his English-language notebook.

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Cockpit view from the Aprilia Tuareg 660 at a Colorado water crossing with the second rider ahead

Travel · Adventure

We Turned Back, and It Was the Best Call of the Trip

Jul 31, 2026 · 7 min read

Aerial view of a gravel road curving through a Colorado burn scar with a lone adventure bike on the track

Travel · Adventure

Where You Look on Gravel Is the Whole Technique

Jul 31, 2026 · 7 min read

1000PS Network

NastyNils is the personal blog of Nils Mueller, founder of 1000PS — Europe's largest motorcycle media platform. For motorcycle news in English:

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NastyNils.com is a private, non-profit motorcycle blog. For media partnerships, sponsoring, advertising, or product reviews (gear, riding apparel), please contact the 1000PS sales team directly.

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The Essential Reads

Nasty Nils on…

A wavy asphalt mountain road through Appalachian terrain — exactly the kind of blind left-hander where most riders drift wrong.

How-To

The Centerline Trap: Why You're Riding Blind Left-Handers Wrong

In a blind left-hand corner, the thing you're afraid of is stationary. The thing that will kill you is invisible — and you're riding straight toward it.

A row of classic motorcycles displayed in a showroom — the place where most buyers negotiate for the wrong things at the wrong time.

How-To

The Dealership Discount Illusion: Why Negotiating MSRP Never Works

The dealership margin on new bikes is 12–15%. If you walk in expecting to negotiate a significant discount off MSRP, you are going to lose that negotiation before it starts. The money is somewhere else.

Mulholland Drive at sunset — a winding canyon road through the Santa Monica mountains, the kind of asphalt where mid-weight naked bikes shine.

How-To · Naked Bike

The Adrenaline-to-Price Ratio: Why Mid-Weight Naked Bikes Beat 200 HP Superbikes

The horsepower arms race produced the least interesting motorcycles money can buy. Measured by adrenaline-per-dollar on the roads where you actually ride, the mid-weight naked bike wins by a margin nobody puts on a spec sheet.

More from the notebook

Husqvarna 701 Supermoto MY2026 seen side-on through a fast section of the Bad Fischau supermoto track, rider tucked in behind the number board.

Review · Supermoto

2026 Husqvarna 701 Supermoto Review One Cylinder Still Wins

Jul 30, 2026 · 6 min read

Kawasaki KLE500 SE turning in at Bad Fischau, seen head-on with the screen, spoked front wheel and the rider hung off to the inside.

Review · Adventure

2026 Kawasaki KLE 500 Review Knobby Tires on Pavement

Jul 30, 2026 · 5 min read

NastyNils in light adventure riding gear standing next to the loaded Aprilia Tuareg 660 at a Colorado mountain lake

Travel · Adventure

The Gear Compromise Every Adventure Rider Knows Too Well

Jul 27, 2026 · 6 min read

A rider standing beside the loaded Aprilia Tuareg 660 at an alpine pond with conifer forest behind

Travel · Adventure

What to Pack for High Altitude on an Adventure Bike

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

NastyNils riding the loaded Aprilia Tuareg 660 down a forest gravel road at dusk in Colorado

Travel · Adventure

Aprilia Tuareg 660 on the Colorado BDR: A Long-Term Test

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

Aerial view of a dirt road winding through a green Colorado valley with burnt forest and mountains beyond

Travel · Adventure

The America No Tourist Sees: Colorado's Alpine Loop

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

Aerial view of a dirt road curving through a Colorado burn scar with a lone motorcycle on the track

Travel · Adventure

How to Plan the Colorado BDR: Route, Season and Bikes

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

Rider's-eye view from the Aprilia Tuareg 660 cockpit on a paved Colorado mountain pass with the Garmin on the bars

Travel · Adventure

Rider Aids Off-Road: What Off-Road ABS Actually Buys You

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

Travel · Adventure

Rockies or Alps: What Is Actually Different Up There

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

A KTM hard-enduro rider at the Red Bull Romaniacs start arch in Romania's Southern Carpathians.

Travel · Enduro

Southern Carpathians: What This Enduro Really Asks of You

Jul 24, 2026 · 7 min read

POV from the Aprilia Tuareg 660 bars on a sandy two-track through high-desert sagebrush in Colorado

Travel · Adventure

Tire Pressure on Gravel: Why We Ran It Deliberately High

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

NastyNils smiling in the foreground with the loaded Aprilia Tuareg 660 parked at a Colorado alpine pond behind him

Travel · Adventure

Unimpressed for Three Days, Then Sold in One Afternoon

Jul 24, 2026 · 7 min read

Travel · Adventure

What Actually Makes a Good Adventure Bike: 9 Criteria

Jul 24, 2026 · 6 min read

NastyNils rides the KTM 1390 Super Adventure S EVO (MY2025) through a tight paved corner on a supermoto circuit in Austria, leaned over in red Vanucci leathers, tire barriers and green track verges behind him — a big adventure bike pushed at sporting pace on asphalt.

Review · Adventure

2025 KTM 1390 Super Adventure S Evo Track Day Review

Jun 22, 2026 · 5 min read

NastyNils selfie with the Stark Varg SM MY2026 electric supermoto — white frame, red motor unit, minimalist design at Motorsport Arena Austria.

Review · Supermoto

2026 Stark Varg SM Electric Supermoto Track Review

Jun 22, 2026 · 6 min read

NastyNils rides the 2026 Suzuki SV7-GX through a fast right-hand sweeper on a tree-lined country road near Montpellier, headlight on, mid-corner lean.

Review · Sport Tourer

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX Review: The V-Twin Lives On

Jun 18, 2026 · 8 min read

Nils Mueller leans the 2026 Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally hard into a tight Austrian supermoto corner on Bridgestone T33s.

Review · Adventure

2026 Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally Review and Lap Test

May 26, 2026 · 5 min read

NastyNils pushes a BMW R 1300 GS hard into a tight corner on an Austrian supermoto track, the boxer cylinders and skid plate on full display as the adventure bike leans deep on dry asphalt.

Review · Adventure

2026 BMW R 1300 GS ASA Review: Auto Box, Real Speed?

May 18, 2026 · 6 min read

A convoy of adventure riders descending a winding gravel trail through an open Colorado alpine meadow, pine-covered slopes and rolling hills behind.

Travel · Adventure

Colorado Calling: Why the COBDR Is My 2026 Obsession

May 18, 2026 · 4 min read

Nils kneels next to the BMW Motorrad Vision K18 concept on its display platform at the Concorso d'Eleganza, with Lake Como in the background.

Travel · Tourer

Lake Como, the BMW Vision K18, and a Million-Dollar Concours

May 17, 2026 · 5 min read

BMW K 18 Vision concept motorcycle on tarmac at sunset, rider in black gear seated low, exposed single-sided swingarm and minimalist sculpted bodywork visible, side-on shot at golden hour.

Travel · Tourer

BMW Motorrad K18 Vision — Six Cylinders, One Statement

May 16, 2026 · 6 min read

NastyNils riding a blue and white CFMOTO 450MT adventure motorcycle on rocky gravel terrain in a Mediterranean coastal region with islands and blue water visible in the distance, wearing rally bib 564.

Review · Adventure

2025 CFMOTO 450MT Review — Cheap ADV, Real Race Verdict

May 8, 2026 · 8 min read

Onboard view from a Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Limited 2026 on a closed supermoto track in Austria with overcast skies and dry asphalt.

Review · Adventure

Harley Pan America 1250 Limited First 2026 Lap on Cold Asphalt

May 8, 2026 · 7 min read

NastyNils riding a Suzuki V-Strom 800DE on a gravel forest road in the Yellowstone area, fall aspen and birch trees in golden foliage lining the road, distant mountains.

Review · Adventure

2025 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Review After 1700 American Miles

May 8, 2026 · 4 min read

NastyNils on a red Beta RR 2T X-Pro 200 enduro on a dry dirt ridge overlooking a vast Utah salt flat with distant mountain ranges under a clear blue sky.

Travel · Enduro

Salt Lake City to Kanab on a Beta RR 2T X-Pro 200

May 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Nils Mueller taking a selfie with the 2026 Kawasaki KLE 500 on a gravel road in Lower Austria, full riding gear, lush forest in the background.

Review · Adventure

Kawasaki KLE 500 (2026): What the Test Didn't Settle — And What the Community Did

May 7, 2026 · 6 min read

Nils in a leather jacket and jeans next to a sport-tourer / naked-bike lineup — the buyer's stance most used-bike guides forget to teach.

How-To

Used Motorcycle Buying Guide: Buy the Seller, Not the Bike

Apr 28, 2026 · 6 min read

A remote desert road on the UTBDR stretching into the distance — exactly the terrain a real adventure bike is engineered for, and most are not.

Editor's Choice · Adventure

Adventure Bike or Street-Tourer? The 2 Specs That Reveal the Truth

Apr 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Nils standing next to a Kawasaki KLE500 — a beginner-friendly, budget-friendly bike that demonstrates correct sizing for the rider's body.

How-To

The Mental Parking Lot Test: How Seat Height and Weight Destroy Rider Confidence

Apr 17, 2026 · 7 min read

Nils on a BMW R 12 GS along a dramatic coastal cliff road — the kind of mixed-surface route where suspension travel decides whether a scrambler is real or theater.

Editor's Choice · Scrambler

Scrambler Fake-Check: How to Spot the Optical Illusions Passing as Adventure Bikes

Oct 1, 2024 · 5 min read

Nils on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 cornering hard at an Australian racetrack with coastal cliffs in the background — the place where lap-time obsession is loudest, and most worth quieting.

Editor's Choice

Escaping the Lap-Time Ego Trap: On Riding for Yourself

Mar 1, 2020 · 6 min read

The Beartooth Highway in Wyoming, switchbacks unfolding through alpine landscape — the test bed where hairpin technique either works or it doesn't.

How-To

Curing the Hairpin Throttle Jerk: How to Master Alpine Switchbacks

May 15, 2017 · 8 min read

An open Arizona highway leading toward Mount Lemmon — the kind of long, unbroken touring road where passive slumping turns into back pain by hour three.

How-To

Active Tension vs. Passive Slumping: The Real Reason Your Back Hurts on Long Rides

May 14, 2017 · 7 min read

About this site

NastyNils.com is an independent motorcycle publication for English-speaking riders in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada — readers who plan backcountry camps, weekend rides, or simply want honest guidance on which motorcycle fits their life.

There are no native ads on this site. Recommendations are personal, based on first-hand testing. All opinions here are the author's, written without manufacturer or advertiser interference.