The new pretender
Martin’s come along with me on the newer bike as a comparison and by now, we’re cutting and twisting our way though some of our favourite Lincolnshire back-lanes and after a good 50 miles we stop and swap bikes. Introduced in early 2018, the F850GS is in effect a totally new bike. There is a new cast-steel bridge chassis that replaces the tubular item, a conventionally-placed fuel tank and an all-new 270° motor with a bigger bore, longer stroke and 10bhp more.
The extras list is mind-boggling. This £10,755 Sport has a quickshifter, heated grips and LED lights as standard, but the £560 Comfort pack adds keyless ignition, tyre pressure monitors and a centrestand, while the Style package adds graphics for £225 and the Premium pack includes cruise control, luggage rack and semi-active rear suspension, for £840. There is also a £200 sat-nav pack, a TFT dash for £595 and an SOS button for emergency help, costing £295. All told, that’s £80 more than a standard R1250GS, at £13,495.
This means it’s a very different proposition to the first bike. “It’s fairly obvious there has been a shift in BMW’S thinking,” says Martin as he gets off the new bike. “Like the big GS range, it has become better finished and less extreme, almost like a touring bike that can go off-road, rather than vice versa.”
But as soon as you get on the 850 it feels great. The V-twin-aping parallel twin is perkier than the 800’s boxer wannabe, loving to rev and feeling happier thrashed. Even though it doesn’t rev any higher, you feed it gear after gear through the quickshifter, lighting up the disco display of the Tft-dash like you’re riding a middleweight sportsbike on stilts. The fuelling is so crisp, yet so predictable — far better than the F800GSS.
It handles well too — provided it is on the correct mode. Like most machines with mode switches, toggling between them informs every part of the machine’s character and in Road mode, it doesn’t dial-in enough damping into the rear’s semi-active shock, making it far too soft for someone like my 14.5-stone self. The rear is in constant up and down movement, lacking in control and it feels worse than it is because there is no adjustment at the front.
Toggling Dynamic mode sorts things out and now with the front and rear balanced, the BMW reveals its true sporty nature. Even with a 21-inch front wheel it’s so much fun you can’t help getting carried away: the handling, the accuracy and the ride quality are impressive.
Up the dirt track
Martin’s leading as we reach a crossroads and aim straight ahead, heading for the rough green lane. I toggle the F850 into Enduro mode (which slackens off the TC and ABS and softens the suspension) and do as MFG does — he’s an experienced and able off-roader and heads into the slime.
It turns out we’re on the Viking Way, the route that sealed Martin’s love for the F800GS. The churned brown of a winter lane stretches into the dormant Leicestershire countryside. Ahead are puddles, ruts and viscous gloop. It all looks
a bit scary but the new GS takes it all in its stride; easy and simple to ride, even for a road rider like me. It slithers and slides, but never gets out of hand. Like everything in biking, the key is to trust the bike, keep calm and carry on — any owner of a middleweight GS can do what we’re doing now.
We buzz back and forth, taking a slippery descent that requires much rear brake and a slippery, paddling, wheel-spinning U-turn when we realise our path is blocked.
We swap bikes and save for the 800’s jittery throttle, the older machine is easier and feels lighter — which isn’t surprising: at 225kg fully-fuelled, it weighs 17kg less than the new, fully-spec’d bike. As Martin says; “It’s just easier to handle — the riding position is nicer, with higher bars, wider footrests and the brake pedal is easier to feel when you’re standing up. It has longer-travel forks, too. But you do notice the ABS getting confused — it took ages to stop as the front brake come coming on and off.”
With the light fading and the cold of winter closing in, we head for a coffee and a jetwash. Both bikes serve different purposes – the breadth of abilities of Martin’s GS is compelling and with early bikes coming in around £4000, they make a great used buy, especially if you fancy a bit of light greenlaning and simple pleasures.
The new F850GS is something different — more sophisticated, faster, brilliant on the road but with less will for adventure. It still delivers superbly in almost any scenario you can throw at it, but just don’t expect it to be as affordable or lighter than its ancestor.