These three sport adventure-touring bikes share a certain bird of prey aesthetic. The Ducati Multistrada 950 (right) and Suzuki V-Strom 1000 (left) have ADV-style beaks and 19-inch front wheels for light off-road riding, while the street-only Kawasaki Versys 1000 LT (middle) has 17-inch wheels. Photos by Kevin Wing.
Summertime is for touring. Long days, warm weather and vacation days that have been squirreled away like acorns mean it?s time to pack the saddlebags and hit the road. Although this is our October issue, you?ll receive it during the dog days of August and we did our testing in early July. With 14 hours of daylight, we combined this three-bike comparison test with a three-day camping challenge (read that story here).
Ducati?s introduction of the Multistrada 950 for 2017 inspired us to revisit the ?crossover? comparo we did a couple years ago (Rider, May 2015 and here), substituting the Ducati for the Yamaha FJ-09 and putting it up against the updated-for-2018 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and the unchanged Kawasaki Versys 1000 LT. These street-biased adventure tourers have engine displacements ranging from 937cc to 1,043cc and as-tested prices ranging from $12,999 to $15,139. Only the Kawasaki comes with saddlebags as standard equipment, so we installed factory accessory saddlebags on the others. We stuffed our stuff in the saddlebags and packed our camping gear in dry-bag duffels, using Rok Straps to secure them to the back. Details about each bike can be found at the end...