I’ve tried to be German and ruthlessly efficient about explaining this and so, as follows:
Model F750GS F850GS F850GS-A
HP 77 93 90
Fuel Cap 15l 15l 23l
Seat height 815mm 860mm 875mm
Kg 224 229 244
Susp travel F 151 230 230
Susp travel R 177 215 215
Got it? Basically, what it means is that the
F750GS is a trifle more Strasse than Gelande,
and it’s BMW’s answer to the introduction of
Adventure Touring. Is this necessary? Actually, I
think it probably is. Certainly it is off-road
functional, and it’s an exceptional machine to
ride. There are numbers of good riders who
dissipate away like smoke when gravel roads are
mentioned, the same riders who know that were
they more confident in a bit of loose, that the B
roads would beckon – particularly here in NZ.
So, rather than being a full-on adventurer,
laden with panniers and packs, spotlights, long
travel suspension and 21-inch front wheels, it
arrives with cast aluminium wheels – 19-inch
front, a lower seat height, and a biddable 850cc
engine, slightly detuned. It is a middle-weight,
road-based touring bike that handles a bit of
gravel and loose very well indeed, without it
being the primary factor.
And… it’s a joy to ride. The balance and tracking
is perfect straight out of the box. Bump
absorption is impressive and the front stays in
the groove as well as the Tiger 800 and that’s
saying something.
At first I wondered why. Why would you bother?
But as I spent more and more time on gravelly
back roads, zooming into shingled carparks and
even some trials riding on hills, grass and sand,
I realised that this bike is not some weird addition
to the fleet, it is a fully capable motorcycle
which imparts real confidence.
KIWI RIDER 101