Aprilia Tuareg 660 on the Colorado BDR: A Long-Term Test
1,060 miles of real backcountry, passes near 13,000 feet, a rental bike with 21,000 miles on the clock. What the Aprilia Tuareg 660 truly delivers, and where it falls short.
Section
Travel
Destination reports and road notes — the routes worth the detour, the passes that earn their reputation, and the ones that don't. Ridden first, written after.
What to Pack for High Altitude on an Adventure Bike
Ninety-nine degrees in the valley, barely above freezing on the pass, and 12,900 feet in between. Here's how you pack for a trip where the weather changes its mind three times a day.
The America No Tourist Sees: Colorado's Alpine Loop
Up on the pass, near 12,800 feet, a stranger grinds fresh espresso. Welcome to the America no tourist sees, reachable only on an adventure bike.
How to Plan the Colorado BDR: Route, Season and Bikes
745 miles of official route, passes near 13,000 feet, and a day with no gas station at all. What you need to know before you plan the Colorado BDR.
Rider Aids Off-Road: What Off-Road ABS Actually Buys You
Four ride modes, five traction settings, rear ABS you can switch off. Here's what counts in real high-country gravel, and where the electronics hit a wall.
Southern Carpathians: What This Enduro Really Asks of You
There's a moment after the first river crossing when it clicks: this place forgives nothing. Romania's Southern Carpathians are the wildest enduro terrain Europe packs into one range. The question isn't whether it's beautiful. It's whether you're up to it.
Rockies or Alps: What Is Actually Different Up There
In Colorado the landscape starts where the Alps stop. On treelines, scale, and the distances you have to relearn before the riding makes sense.
Tire Pressure on Gravel: Why We Ran It Deliberately High
Running 43 psi on coarse gravel sounds wrong. On a trip with no workshop within hours, it's a deliberate choice against the flat, and it has a price.
Unimpressed for Three Days, Then Sold in One Afternoon
For three days I was certain this bike and I would never be friends. Then came a pass at 12,640 feet, and the whole thing turned around.
What Actually Makes a Good Adventure Bike: 9 Criteria
Range, standing ergonomics, load reserve. Nine criteria an adventure bike has to answer for, checked against real high-country gravel rather than a spec sheet.
Colorado Calling: Why the COBDR Is My 2026 Obsession
There are motorcycle trips you plan with your head. And then there are the ones that start somewhere deeper. Colorado is firmly the second kind. In July 2026 we line up two Aprilia Tuareg 660s on the Backcountry Discovery Route.
Lake Como, the BMW Vision K18, and a Million-Dollar Concours
It is not a launch event. It is not a magazine shoot. It is the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este — and BMW dropped a six-cylinder K18 concept onto the same lawn as cars worth more than houses. Here is what Lake Como looked like this year.
BMW Motorrad K18 Vision — Six Cylinders, One Statement
When BMW says 'Concorde on wheels,' they actually mean it. The K 18 Vision landed on the Villa d'Este lawn last weekend wearing a 1,800 cc inline-six like a piece of industrial sculpture — and made everyone forget Lake Como was even there.
Salt Lake City to Kanab on a Beta RR 2T X-Pro 200
For a Central European rider, Utah does not compute the first time you stand in it. Salt Lake City to Kanab on a Beta RR 2T X-Pro 200, in a small group on a mix of enduros. Slickrock, sand, water crossings, slot canyons. Here is what stuck.