Touring enduro
ADVENTURE: SPOTLIGHT ON VERSATILITY OF GS BIKES
Initially a ‘crossover’ bike, subsequently labelled as Big Daddy of a new segment.
Iknow one is not supposed to mention fun and the Germans in the same breath but rules are meant to be broken – especially if you are addicted to adventure and living on two wheels.
Back in the mists of time (like when I became eligible to ride a motorcycle with an engine capacity greater than 50cc), the biking world was split in two; those who rode on-road (superbike/tourer) or dirt-munchers (enduro/ “scrambler”)… and ne’er the twain did meet.
Until July 1980, when BMW launched the R80G/S (Gelände/ Straße/off-road/street) which featured an 800cc air-cooled flat-twin boxer motor. Initially perceived as a “crossover” bike, the R80G/S was subsequently acknowledged as Big Daddy of a whole new market segment, the touring enduro.
The category became known as adventure bikes after actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman used later models to undertake two global roadtrips known as Long way round and
Long way down in 2004 and 2007 respectively.
The television programmes and books that stemmed from these rides so popularised the versatility of GS bikes that BMW established a virtual monopoly in the rapidly growing segment, prompting “purist” enduro manufacturers such as KTM and Suzuki to follow suit.
Even the superbike manufacturers got in on the act … Ducati with Multistrada and Triumph with its Tigers.
Production of the R80G/S took place from 1980-86, where after it was renamed R80GS with the S standing for Sport. This was after Hubert Auriol rode the bike to first place in the 1981 Paris-Dakar Rally … the first of many victories for BMW in the gruelling event.
The genius of the BMW design was that it took the comfort of riders into account as much as it did power and performance. The riding stance was much more upright than normal for a street bike, thanks to a longer travel suspension and larger front wheels.
Aesthetics, however, remained typically Teutonic (the triumph of function over form) until the early 1990s when the “off-road-capable” F650 Funduro, powered by a single cylinder four-valve 652cc Rotax engine.
This was the predecessor to the fuel-injected F650GS Dakar which had a taller screen that protected the rider from wind buffet at higher speeds on the open road.
According to the BMW GS Wikipedia page: “The single-cylinder bikes have a strong following and are thought by many of their riders to be better off-roaders than the heavier boxer-engined bikes.
“Like the larger two-cylinder models, they offer significant capacity to carry gear and supplies over long distances. Their versatility is attractive to riders who intend to spend weeks, months, even years travelling on two wheels.”
Sales really began to take off after BMW got rid of the styling clunkiness. I was introduced to the world of GS with the Funduro and dabbled with the series (as a motoring journalist with a love for bikes) until I bought a second-hand Dakar eight years ago. Within months it became – and remains – the most loved of all the bikes I’ve owned in 45 years of riding.
I’ve travelled extensively and without major mishap, generally keeping up with larger and more modern bikes (BMW R1200GS as well as KTM) on both tar and gravel. The only time I made a total tit of myself was with Henry Cole (World’s greatest motorcycle rides) when I parked on a slope in downtown Cape Town and accidentally tipped my bike over onto a lot of very expensive Triumph classics … talk about domino effect!
Paul Wren took me on several rides around Mauritius on Harley-Davidsons when he was dealer-manager for the American brand on the island. He listened to my carping about not being able to get the best out of the twisting roads and, on my last visit, provided an 800GS just to keep me quiet.
Being a GS evangelist has also seen me invited to a number of BMW Motorrad launches and riding new models ranging from the baby G310GS to the monster R1250GS Adventure.
My local adventures included doing a trip along the R62 in the Western Cape with my good friend Peter Voigt, visiting all the brandy distilleries between Robertson and Oudtshoorn on behalf of the SA Brandy Foundation.
We weren’t allowed to drink along the way but that didn’t prevent the effusive distillers from loading by panniers and topbox with samples of their wares.
That was all very well till I hit a massive drift, at speed, while messing around in Seweweekspoort near Calitzdorp. Took me months to get rid of the broken glass and smell.