Picture special: BMW's 800 and 1200GS take on Honda Transalp

Thanks to its many appearances on the telly over the past few years, BMW’s big adventure bike is one of the most recognisable bikes of the modern era.

Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor’s trips up and down, and round and round the globe, with their trusty BMW R1150GS and R1200GS Adventures have inspired the explorer in many of us; bikers and non-bikers alike. As a result the sales of the R1200GS in particular, have gone through the roof.

To find out exactly where the new BMW F800GS fits in to the market and what you get for your money we decided to take all three on just that: an Adventure.

And whilst we were at it we thought we’d give it the ultimate test by taking along its bigger sibling, the BMW R1200GS and Honda’s Transalp.

Check out these pictures so see what these adventure motorcycles look like.

You can see the full road test in this week’s MCN, out Wednesday, May 7, 2008.