BMW R1200GS Rallye
Off-road styled version of the R1200GS Grippier pegs, shorter screen and one-piece seat Optional Sports suspension for hardcore riders
PPERCEPTION IS REALITY. So as BMW’S new R1200GS Rallye looks like a tougher, more off-road-ready version of the world’s most popular large-capacity motorcycle, surely that’s what it is. Its rugged image draws you into daydreams of rampaging down green lanes and blasting across deserts. BMW’S talk of “uncompromising off-road optimisation” fans the flames of fantasy higher, their blurb building the Rallye into “an off-road machine which can be stopped by nothing”.
Time for a reality check. The Rallye does indeed have a few different parts designed to improve things when you head off-piste, but it’s no radical revolution. The screen is shorter, reducing the chance of you walloping yourself in the face when standing up on the larger, more heavily serrated footpegs. The GS’S regular two-part seat has been replaced with a shorter, slimmer and flatter one-piece saddle, and wheels are spoked rather than cast. There are radiator guards to deflect stray stones, plus plastic covers by the pegs to protect the frame’s new blue paintwork from heels and boot buckles.
But the Rallye’s list of upgrades soon starts to run dry. Other than its blue beak, gold Brembo brake calipers, black shaftdrive unit and bespoke tank graphics, the Rallye really isn’t much different to a regular R1200GS. Same suspension, same wheel sizes, same weight, engine and performance. Price starts at £12,730, but in this pauper spec it comes with only basic traction control, two rider modes (Road and Rain) and mostly unadjustable suspension. And unlike the standard R1200GS, the Rallye doesn’t even have a centrestand. So don’t think of this as a complete bike in itself, but as a blueframed blank canvas ready to be upgraded with anything from the GS’S extensive and impressive options catalogue – from keyless ignition to the new-for-2017 self-levelling semi-active suspension.
Alternatively you can start with the R1200GS Rallye Sport. For £14,625 this comes with a heap of electronic extras (all options on the regular GS) including cornering ABS, a two-way quickshifter, heated grips, LED lights and hill-hold control. This also unlocks Dynamic and Enduro modes, adding some sporty spirit. But in a peculiarly un-sporty move, the Rallye Sport also regains the regular GS’S spacious split seat, its protective taller screen and its practical centrestand. So it turns out that even the Rallye Sport isn’t that much more of an off-roader than the regular R1200GS – no 21in front wheel, no weight reduction and certainly no return to 2005’s HP2 Enduro.
But there is one optional extra that promises to properly prepare it for an off-road pasting. The Rallye is the only version of the R1200GS that can be specified with BMW’S new taller, tougher “Sports” suspension (see box on p58 for details). However, don’t be too hasty to tick that box – Dakar Rally veteran, Off Road Skills chief instructor and GS authority Simon Pavey believes it’s not necessary unless you’re already a seriously accomplished off-roader, adding that it’ll actually make life harder if you’re a knobbly novice. As such, the bikes he’s running on his riding school this year all feature regular suspension.
In fact, it’s one of his bikes (a hybrid of Rallye Sport electronics with the regular Rallye’s screen and seat) that we’re riding today. Having tagged onto the tail end of one of Off Road Skills’ annual Portuguese Paradise tours, this
“Time for a reality check. The Rallye… is no revolution”
morning is spent heading north away from Faro on a leisurely road ride. After an hour we turn onto a wide, empty gravel trail, where I switch riding mode from Road to Enduro Pro without having to stop. This doesn’t change the engine’s power or the throttle’s responsiveness, but it does relax both the traction control (to allow generous powerslides) and the ABS (still active at the front but off at the rear).
The Rallye will leave dealers on road tyres, unless customers specify off-road rubber (at no extra cost). This particular bike has Metzeler Karoo 3 knobblies, which bite reassuringly hard into the dusty trail. They work well with the off-road ABS, even letting you squeeze the front brake lever as hard as humanly possible and still refusing to slip, skid, wobble or hesitate. The two-way quickshifter is a huge help on dirt, letting you leave the clutch lever alone to retain full control over the handlebars as you click up or down the gearbox.
The Rallye feels perfectly comfortable rolling along on these scenic, easy-going trails, chugging along in a high gear at little more than tickover, steering easily and not feeling at all like the near-250kg behemoth it is. Of course, that’s mostly down to how well-developed and capable the regular R1200GS is – though the Rallye’s grippier footpegs definitely provide a more solid platform on which to stand.
Several miles and a few surprise water splashes later, the dirt pauses and the road returns. And not just any road, but an absolutely belting, sinuous stretch of fast, empty, ridiculously grippy blacktop called the N124. Within seconds the riding mode is cranked up to Dynamic Pro, which gives a direct one-to-one throttle response and lets the 1170cc boxer twin punch at its most potent. It’s eager at any revs, pulling bullishly from walking pace and building to a 123bhp peak at less than 8000rpm, so it arrives quicker than you expect.
It’s certainly more than powerful enough for the tyres. Pick the pace up on tarmac and the Karoos feel a little strange – there’s an initial heaviness to the steering, followed by a slightly runaway dive into each corner – but you get used to it. There’s more front-end grip than you’d expect (no doubt helped by the abrasive road surface), though the motor’s power and the rear tyre’s knobbles mean the orange traction control light spends a high percentage of every corner blinking furiously. At least there’s no unpleasant stammering or stuttering as the traction control does its thing – if the light wasn’t on, you’d never know anything was holding you back. It certainly doesn’t stop the GS from keeping a stunning pace. There are plenty of faster bikes on the market, but the ease with which this covers ground is simply staggering.
By mid-afternoon the temperature’s snuck up to 22°C. As I stop to catch my breath at the side of another stunning dirt route, my eyes run greedily over the piercing blue frame. Then I get it. The Rallye isn’t really about adding to the GS’S level of off-road ability – it’s about highlighting the level that already exists. Pick a regular R1200GS and you can choose from white or black paint options, while the fully loaded GS Exclusive comes in brown – all discreet and mature, but offering nothing in the way of eye-catching excitement.
The Rallye looks like a party. It’ll draw a crowd and make you smile when you open the garage door. In black, white or brown the GS keeps its head down, not drawing attention to how ridiculously capable it is. But the Rallye wants the perception to match the reality.
“The Rallye isn’t about adding to the GS’S off-road ability”