KIWI RIDER 11 2019 VOL2 | Page 29

...the GS Rallye isn’t a BMW exclusive event, with the organisers and BMW Motorrad NZ seeing it more as an opportunity to show off the GS lifestyle to riders of other marques As riders trickled in to sign on to the event Friday evening, the open and friendly nature of the GS community shone through. With everything on display from early R80GS models (including an example of the coveted Paris-Dakar version) to sidecar rigs, and even the new R1250GS, the passion for these go- anywhere globetrotters was clearly evident. Thanks to ‘Vege’ KR’s publisher, my CRF250L Rally was swapped out for something much more appropriate for the BMW Rallye – a G310GS fitted with Mitas E-09 rubber – while I was at the same time assured that once I used the route sheet navigation system I wouldn’t want to go back to Google Maps. The last BMW GS Rallye took place in Raglan in 2016, and was so popular that riders apparently kept asking when the next on would be. So, for the 2019 event over 80 riders made the trip north to take part, with a surprisingly decent spread of both ages and genders alike. Unlike other events, the GS Rallye isn’t a BMW exclusive event, with the organisers and BMW Motorrad NZ seeing it more as an opportunity to show off the GS lifestyle to riders of other marques rather than preaching to those already converted. So, it turns out I could’ve run my Honda, but the little red BMW was calling and I wasn’t going to let the opportunity to play with some seriously good rubber go amiss. Mitas, after all, also sponsored the event by offering riders a heavy discount on appropriate tyres to take on the, roughly 300km, gravel course laid out via the route sheet. KIWI RIDER 29