SPEED AND COMFORT WITHOUT QUESTION

I don’t know about you, but it’s a struggle to keep my brain alert in the coronacrisis – possibly because I’m busy treating it to several glasses of wine every night. Purely to keep the economy going, you understand.

Anyway, in case you’re feeling the same mental sluggishness, here’s a free quiz to keep you alert.

Ask a BMW GS owner what they’ll replace it with when they finally trade it in, and the answer is: A) Shares in a nightclub in the Orkney Islands.

B) A rabbit.

C) Another GS.

It is, of course, C. Unless you really like rabbits. Because the GS has been the bestselling new bike in the UK and Europe over 500cc since 2004.

Owners love them, and the moment you climb on board, you see the reason – they make you feel like a Master of the Universe, capable of crossing entire continents in a single bound in speed and comfort. Especially with the temperature just above freezing, I was cosseted in a bubble of contentment behind the big screen, my pinkies toasted by excellent heated grips and even my nether regions kept warm by the optional heated seat on the top-of-the-range Rally TE model.

Also light years away on this latest version of the GS are cunning headlights that turn and tilt to light your way into corners even at extreme angles of dangle.

The 1250 GS, with wider bore, longer stroke and variable valve timing, not only has more grunt than the 123bhp engine on its 1200 GS predecessor, but delivers it from just below 3,000rpm all the way to the redline at 9,000rpm. And in an endless, creamy swell of torque that’s more effortless, smoother and a bit quieter as well. Weighing 249kg, it’s a tribute to the suspension and chassis that it’s as stable as the Swiss government at walking pace. It only takes a featherlight touch on the bars to send it gliding into bends out on the roads.

One thing I’m glad BMW haven’t changed is the fact that at idle, the tacho display looks exactly like a pint of beer. Deliberately, obviously. So while the gorgeous R18 is still my favourite BMW of all time, I know which one I’d pick for global adventures.

Bike supplied by BMW Motorrad Belfast, charleshurstgroup.co.uk/bmw

WARM TO IT New BMW GS for a quieter, cosier ride