richardg
Admonishtrator
I'm a competent middle of the pack enduro racer. I swear I would come last on a big adventure bike, even if it was just trails. I last raced on a 125 two stroke Husky 4 years ago and was putting in the best times of my racing 'career' versus a Husky 4 stroke 310 and 250, and a Gas Gas 2 stroke 300That might be true for some of them but others are actually quite capable. On a trail bike race I did in Wales I finished mid-pack on my 2-stroke, lightweight Honda CRM250R but was well beaten by an Africa Twin and a BMW GS (the latter ridden by journalist Paul Blezard) - and while there was a bit of fire-road etc. it had proper off road sections too, and some of them quite tough (one climb in particular I recall as being very slippery and was quite a struggle even on the CRM).
I don't really think that something like a BMW1150GS was really expected to be doing trials or enduro type sections though, and while they will certainly mostly get used off-road they will be very capable on broken surfaces or gravel roads.
We all have different preferences to a degree. Those that passed you may well have been exceptional riders that may have even passed you on an LC with knobblies.
Who knows.