The MCN Test: BMW’s benchmark R1250RS faces serious competition

Freedom is motorcycling’s greatest gift, the most rewarding expression of which is heading off on long-distance adventures to far-flung destinations where epic roads and stunning scenery are there for the taking.

But in order to maximise your experience, you need the right tool for the job.

There’s no point grinding out motorway miles in comfort only to shrink your options once the roads become more entertaining. For all their comfort, full-dress tourers quickly lose their appeal when the tarmac gets wiggly.

You can have the best of all worlds, however: cossetting ergonomics allied to sharp handling and exciting performance.

For that you need a sports-tourer, and right now the choice of high-end, all-rounders is so broad that you have to wonder why anyone would bother with a full-dress tourer.

BMW’s boxer-twin RS has been evolving steadily over decades. And, like fine wine, it’s matured magnificently. Powered by the firm’s shiftcam-equipped 1254cc flat twin, the RS is the epitome of sports-touring performance – a blisteringly rapid, well balanced package capable of tackling motorway miles and mountain twisties with equal aplomb.

But the BM’s position as sports touring benchmark is under threat from a brace of new competitors…