BMW Motorrad GS Experience-d on the F850 GS Adventure

The GS Experience

I was at the BMW Motorrad GS Experience. It’s a school, of sorts, for owners and prospects of the BMW GS range of motorcycles. It’s a day-long event wherein a BMW certified instructor takes you through the basics of adventure motorcycle riding off the road. 

There are two levels, with 10 drills apiece. And, the focus of the drills is on three things - vision, controls, and riding posture. Level 1 is simpler. It involves setting the motorcycle ergos to suit your riding, the basics of standing up and riding, and then going out and actually riding. Nothing dramatic, nothing challenging, just getting used to the terrain and the motorcycle. 

Level 2 is more demanding. It demands more skill on the rider’s part. The terrain changes to soft sand and slippery gravel. And the instructor asks you to perform almost stunt-like manoeuvres on the bike from sliding it on brakes to sliding it on the throttle.

The curriculum for us media folks was a mix of the two, with more level 1 stuff thrown in

The Motorcycle

Yes, back to the F850 GS. And, the one I chose was still pretty much in road-going guise. Sure, it had spoke wheels and underinflated tyres for better grip on dirt. But, there was no hard packed dirt here; just very loose, freshly tiled soil. On/off tyres just wouldn’t work here, forget road bias rubber. What this surface needed was proper knobbies. No wonder my front wanted to tuck under me every other second. And the rear, given that we were in Enduro mode, just couldn’t stop from spinning up. 

But, that was only for the first three minutes. Because when I came back in, I found myself the F850 GS Adventure. And what a tremendously talented motorcycle it is! It is based on the standard 850, of course. So, you get the same engine and gearbox, the same chassis, and the multifunction display and switchgear. Even the output figures – power and torque – are identical. 

But, there are mechanical differences. And telling ones at that. The Adventure gets a larger fuel tank (23 litres against 15 litres). It gets an adjustable windscreen, wider footpegs, and a regular sized luggage rack. It also gets added protection for the engine and for the rider’s hands. More importantly, it gets more travel for the front suspension. And, off-road focused tyres, which of course, made all the difference that particular afternoon.

The Ride

With the F850 Adventure between my legs, the course suddenly seemed a lot easier. Not that it prevented me from falling – I took a few tumbles, but then I picked up the bike and went my way. Did I mention that the school also teaches you the correct and easy way to pick up a 220kg plus motorcycle? Well, it does. Because falling is very much a part of ADV riding, particularly offroad. 

The F850 is easy to grip with your feet and knees when standing up, which made the steering drill effortless. Then we moved on to going round and round in circles with the steering locked. If it sounds scary, it looks scarier still. But again, the balance on the F850, the linear throttle response, and the easy-to-modulate clutch – not to mention the grip from those tyres – again, made this drill child’s play.

The next set of drills involved going up and down slippery slopes and making emergency stops mid way there. This involved rolling the bike back down while still being on it. Now, the Adventure might have a slightly higher seat height compared to the regular F850, but the bike’s narrow waist meant that all 5 feet 9 inches of me made it back down without tipping over. That too on loose soil.

Going up inclines was as easy as ABC for the 850. Like our instructor said – 'braap' it just before you start your climb and then taper the throttle all the way up. This prevents one from going over the crest and hitting something you can’t see on the other side. And ‘braap’ is something the 850 packs in by the torque load.  But due to the loose surface, one had to pick the line up the slope early to avoid falling over and rolling down the sides.

Finally, towards the end of the day, we moved to level two. First we did the brake slide. All it involves is locking your rear tyre and leaning the motorcycle at the same time so one can execute a U-Turn in the narrowest arc possible. Now I know it sounds simple. But, when you are standing up and riding a near 250kg motorcycle (fully filled) on a loose surface, things can go bad very fast. It took me a number of attempts to actually lock the rear and lean the bike to get it to point the other way.

Then part two of the drill was introduced. Once the brake slide was done and the bike was pointing in the intended direction of travel, it was time to bring in the throttle. As was the case with braking, one had to measure the throttle input so as not to slide too much and high-side! But, one had to gas it enough to get the right drive to both stand up on the bike and exit the U-turn. Now, that I read this, I don’t think it’s all that simple.

The End

And that was it. We didn’t do the remaining of the Level 2 drills, which involved riding though sand and gravel and then recovering from it. Now, one could blame it on the heat, or our lack of stamina, or simply the setting sun, but we just didn’t want to push any more. However, at the end of the day, I had yet again learned something new about riding and motorcycles. And, I had fallen for yet another motorcycle. This one is so talented and so well engineered and so easy to ride, that I want the F850 GS Adventure, RIGHT NOW!

Photography: Himanshu Pandya and BMW Motorrad