“Take it, ride it, tell us what you think.”
That was the directive from BMW Motorrad East Rand Rodney Serfontein when we popped into the shop towards the end of last year. It was a short, sweet convincing request that we took to heart…
By Glenn Foley. Pics Deon VDL.
We had a brief introduction to the new Showa mounted Rally at the general launch mid 2024 and during that ride, we asked if we could get the bike for a longer ride. We aimed the bike from the busy shop out towards our offices and habitual stomping grounds to put the bike through its paces.
Fast flowing terrain is where this bike loves to be and we’ve said it before – BMW absolutely nailed it when they designed and built this one. Forget the other bikes that wear the GS moniker, it’s not a tourer like the 800 or 1300GS.
Just look at it – no chunky plastics or screens. No big flat seats. No hint at luxury travel. Just a lekker aggressive, tough looking machine.
Did you know that the F 900 GS makes more power than the Boxer powered 1200 GS did when it was launched in 2007?
Makes you wonder where mid range adv bikes are actually headed…
This one has carved its own niche in the GS family. It’s a big dirt bike that is equally comfortable on the road or hitting more technical trails.
It’s one of those big bikes that you can fling about like a dirt machine.
It’s absolutely more big enduro than big travel and we love it!
BMW engineers have decided to take the fight to mid weight ADV builders and by gum they’ve built a great bike! Here’s a reminder about what it’s made of:
The F900 GS is powered by an 895 cc, 270-degree, parallel-twin engine. The engine hosts an updated cylinder head and new forged pistons versus the previous engine’s cast pistons. Claimed power is very close to the Ducati DesertX, Tiger 900 Rally Pro, and KTM 890 Adventure R models.
Power is delivered through a six-speed gearbox and this bike was equipped with BMW’s optional Gear Shift Assist Pro that works the gearbox in both directions.
Wide serrated footpegs are a great addition, as is the new rear brake lever with fold-over riser as a standard offering.
The F900GS is slim and reasonably light at 219 kg wet.The weight saving is in part due to the newly-developed 14.5-liter plastic fuel tank which saves 4.5 kg’s of weight over a steel tank. An additional 1.7 kg is saved thanks to the pretty Akrapovič silencer.
The F900GS rolls on 21”/17” tubeless wheels with fully-adjustable USD Showa forks and a ZF Rear monoshock.
This one was the top drawer model, the optional equipment ex works Enduro Pro package featuring fully-adjustable titanium nitride-coated USD 45mm Showa forks, fully-adjustable central spring strut, handlebar risers and an M Endurance chain.
Electronics:
The 6.5-inch TFT display is standard with phone, music and navigation capabilities. It’s equipped with a 12 mm holder as standard, which permits action cams or other devices to be mounted.
You can manually turn off traction control with the push of a button on the dash, but there is no way to fully deactivate the ABS.
Controls and ride modes are very BMW familiar, but the ride modes you get depends on the package you choose.
This one offered five ride modes: Rain, Road, Dynamic, Enduro, and Enduro Pro. Enduro Pro is the only mode that allows you to adjust the throttle response, ABS, and traction control.
Rain and Road are for sensible riding. Enduro Pro mode means that it gets easy to slide the rear wheel around.
The brakes are twin-piston Brembo calipers up front with a single-piston caliper at the rear wheel. ABS Pro provides lean-angle-sensitive braking control and is reduced at the rear wheel in Enduro mode and can be deactivated at the rear wheel in Enduro Pro mode.
Dynamic Brake Control (DBC) is included in the optional “Pro” riding modes and deactivates the throttle once a certain amount of braking pressure is applied.
What’s it like to ride?
In a word. FUN.
On the road you feel dirtbikey comfortable. The tank narrows into your lap and the flat seat is firm and not uncomfortable. The bars are upright with pegs that are sensibly placed. She accelerates easily to speeds in excess of the national speed limit and has long legs for that epic trip. The screen is not adjustable and it’s a bit blowy, but if you want more wind protection, then maybe chat to your dealer about an extended screen, but we had no complaints about life in the cockpit.
For longer journeys, you’ll need to plan those fuel stops – whilst we didn’t have the bike long enough to get an exact reading, but BMW claims 300 odd kilometres to a tank. We’d check that first, especially if you blast along, which on this bike, you will. One of our mates owns one of these and whilst the bike is more economical than, say the GS1250, riding nicely, she gets 280 odd KM’s to a full tank.
In the dirt, there was more than one occasion in the dirt that our rider thought – “Whoa there cowboy, this is not your 300 – it’s actually a 900”, and convinced himself to tap off a bit.
This bike is quick and pretty nimble for a machine of this size.
Throttle delivery is smooth and the ride by wire does not feel snatchy.
The engine is sweet – whether you want to creep along or open her up, it’s willing and more than powerful enough with a great balance of power for anything you’d like to do.
Stand up (well thought out and comfortable), look up, open up and she tears along leaving a pall of dust in your wake. The wide enduro pegs offer good footing.
Slow down, sit down, dab your foot through the rocks or across that donga, most will get their feet to the floor and safely pull through.
The suspension – as expected from Showa feels really good – and our lot had no complaints about the ZF rear unit.
The Rear Metzeler tyre was pretty worn, so that made for lots of fun coming out of the corners and sliding the ass about.
Guys, you need to ride it. BMW has made a departure from their traditional ADV machines with this one – it’s a lot of fun. It’s not necessarily going to pinch any traditional GS owners, but we reckon that it should hook a younger crowd who are more dirt oriented.
Priced from R253000.00, this one came from BMW Motorrad East Rand.
