#gs

Smaller, faster, more complex

As expected, BMW announced a new middleweight adventure lineup for 2024 with the new F 900 GS, F 900 GS Adventure, and F 800 GS, replacing the previous F 850 and F 750 models. While all three models receive updates including a larger displacement engine, the F 900 GS in particular received additional attention with the goal of making it a sportier model better optimized for off-road riding.

A few weeks ago, we uncovered some specifications for the yet-to-be-announced 2024 BMW R 1300 GS from Swiss homologation documents. The certification data confirmed details such as the 1,300 cc engine displacement and cited peak performance figures of 143.5 hp at 7,750 rpm and 109.9 lb-ft. at 6,500 rpm. What was less clear was how much the new GS would weigh.

Who doesn’t love a good BMW GS story? This one is especially good. Today’s example is a 2005 R1200GS – ironically, listed at the V-Strom forum  StromTrooper.com – with over 100,000 miles. If the ad (reposted below) is any indication, the bike has 133,600 miles to be exact. The GS has been known to be virtually bulletproof, and this bike is driving home that point.

The air had a brisk freshness about it. Pure mountain air with a hint of fall from the turning leaves. The kind of unsullied atmosphere that can only be found far from the pollution of civilization. The sun had begun its slow descent behind the surrounding red rock mesas, and the cottonwoods and aspens appeared to glow in the late daylight, contrasting beautifully with the red rock, blue skies and well-manicured grass of the Gateway Canyons Resort. The resort sits at 4,500 feet, in the juncture of five canyons, some of which had been carved out more than a billion years ago. This would be the proving ground for our evaluation of BMW’s latest mid-size GS offerings – the 2019 F 750 GS and F 850 GS.

The R nineT has been a nice hit for BMW since it was introduced a little more than two years ago, appealing to both BMW traditionalists as well as those in younger demographics. And then came the R-nineT Scrambler we rode last month, which will surely carry the nineT’s momentum into the future. Oh, and there’s also the Pure and Racer concepts shown just weeks ago.

Instead of two specially-prepped BMW R1150GS Adventures, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman should have split Long Way Round riding duties between stock versions of the GSA and KTM’s (at the time) 950 Adventure. An epic shootout of 20,000 around-the-world miles! Alas, they did not. Leaving moto hacks such as myself and John Burns to venture less than twenty-hundred miles within the confines of the state of California. Kind of the opposite of epic.