What! A GS should never do THAT!
By Sean Hendley
Pics: Deon van der Linde
You know when you slip into that familiarity of your most favourite comfy pair of shoes, or when you sink into your favourite chair or slide into the seat of that one special car…. and your whole body just goes “Aaahhhhhhh, that is so nice” and just relaxes into the luxury of that feeling? Well, we have that rare opportunity to experience that privilege now and then, and swinging a leg over the BMW R1300GS we borrowed from BMW Motorrad Fourways the other day gave that exact same feeling.
At 2 metres tall, a lot of motorcycles I get to ride just feel cramped and narrow like they are built for MotoGP racers and not the general buying populace at large. I saw Glenns feature on that Thruxton R – and just looking at it, I know that I just wont fit… BMWs GS designers seem to have envisaged full sized, boere seun, rugby player types riding them. But then, they somehow have made them manageable and comfortable for the slightly more squat side of the market as well as everybody in between, much to the delight of my slightly too short for their weight daily cohorts. My shoulders just relaxed immediately as I settled into the wide soft seat and reached for the bars. The stepped seat offers just enough lower back support with the ergo’s included into their design, and both the seat and tank narrow nicely where they meet. Old GS’s, especially GSA’s really got you aligned for your next proctologist appointment with the girth of their tanks.
Yes, I have always had fun tilting a GS into a sweeping bend, their low C of G lends itself to that. I’ve also boomed down dirt highways at ridiculous speeds, especially on my own very old 1150GS, but I have never really had a hankering to go and jump a GS like a dirt bike. Maybe a KTM or even one of Hondas adventure machines, but never a fat old GS.
The plan was to whip out to The Cradle, but there’s this evil little bugger that lives on my left shoulder and occasionally manages to squirm out from under its more ‘righteous’ counterpart and whisper interesting sweet nothings into my ear, and today was one such occasion. The little sod reminded me of a certain bit of very deserted and oft forgotten bit of road that in a 5 km stretch has some of the most spectacular dirt riding and is full of jumps and then transitions onto beautiful private tarmac that is also full of jumps, and thus plans were changed – for the better.
Tipping the scales at around 115kg’s I’ve learned that ‘Dynamic’ electronic suspension should be set on ‘Rider with pillion and luggage’ to absorb the landing better. Enduro Pro mode is also great to get the back wheel to step out a bit, which I only found out after it happened – I think I might still be buzzing on that adrenalin rush as I scribble this a few hours later – but it made for a pretty cool pic with my butt planted in the seat, the rear wheel skieting sideways and the front wheel getting airborne all at the sametime – that I only did the one time, to be absolutely honest and it gave me some serious 901 flashbacks.
I actually wanted to ride it in rough terrain to try and understand a bit more of the hoopla around the mags versus spokes ongoing discussion. All I can say is – I didn’t notice any significant difference. I rode the spoked wheel version around the time they were launched in this country a few months ago – almost a year back now, and truly, in my very modest opinion other than looks and personal preference…. and who feels they need to wear the biggest undies around the braai fire, there is no noteworthy difference.
Where I did feel a slight difference is on the tarmac, the mag wheels seem to have less flex in them and give better road feedback and better stability in the corners, and let’s be honest, on the tarmac is where 80% of these bikes are going to spend most of their time, as a big, comfortable tourer that can handle a dirt track when needed….. and all the potholes, donga’s and craters appearing all to regularly on our roads these days.
Dammm, this is one good motorcycle – This particular unit is available at BMW Motorrad Fourways with less than 5,000km’s on the clock, in very, very tidy condition – near to new to be honest for R325,000.00.
Never ridden one? We suggest that you do.
