Quick Ride
Quick Ride
Jimmy Lewis
BMW R1150GS ADVENTURE Shouldn't it be called the P-D?
JUST 18 MONTHS AGO, I was contracted by BMW to race the Bavarian bike-maker’s works flat-Twin in various desert rallies, including Paris-Dakar. Does that make me biased, particularly in favor of the bike tested here, the R1150GS Adventure?
Not in the least. Hey, I tell it like it is. Just ask anyone. So you can believe me when I say the Adventure is the world’s best streetbike. Last month’s cover story? Should have won it handsdown. It’s my kind of bike.
With the Adventure, BMW set out to build the ultimate ride-anywhere motorcycle. Compared with the standard GS, it’s equipped with meaty Continental knobbies, longer-travel suspension, a re-ratioed sixspeed transmission, gigantic 7.5-gallon gas tank and improved wind protection. The optional luggage fitted to our testbike will set you back $1380, and does a pretty good job of mimicking the aroundthe-world Touratech setups strapped to the machines of most true adventure riders.
So, where to start? How ’bout first gear? Lower than that of the standard GS, it’s a great thing if you plan on doing any off-roading. The oil-head Boxer motor is all about torque, which makes for a pretty nice pairing. You’ll get to know and love words like “lug,” “lope” and “chug.” On the street, it’s the type of power that will have you in fourth gear by the time you complete a left turn from a stop. Overdrive sixth is gone in favor of a shorter ratio that’s closer to fifth. It’s better if you like making no-downshift highway passes, but requires spinning the motor about 600 rpm higher to achieve similar cruising speeds. On the downside, fuel economy suffers. Worse yet, the gauge’s liquid-crystal display moves disproportionately quickly as the tank empties.
The beefier suspension is an improvement on anything that registers as a bump. In the dirt, it’s worlds better than that fitted to the standard GS. As a result, the seat is uncomfortably high for anyone shorter than 5-foot, 10-inches tall, but the shape of the solo-only saddle is true dirtbike; you can move around easily, which is a big bonus on long or off-highway rides. Wind protection is straight from factory rally-bike wind-tunnel testing. Ironically, if you’re shorter than 5-10 it’s great. Otherwise, the non-adjustable windscreen causes some buffeting.
Despite their chunkiness, the Continental rubber works surprisingly well on the pavement (though the big knobs are a bit noisy), and are a real plus in the dirt; don’t venture off the beaten path without ’em. As for wear, our testbike’s rear tire lasted about 3500 miles, which is good for a knobby. Heated handgrips, electrical outlets and a wellstocked toolkit add to the creature comforts.
At $15,200, the Adventure is pretty pricey, right in line with other BMWs. It’s intended for the one-bike, high-mileage guy, the type of person who is willing to chuck it all and ride anywhere. Okay, so it may not be the world’s best streetbike, but based on my assessment of the overall quality of the roads on planet Earth, it certainly qualifies as the “best world tourer.”
