KIWI RIDER 06 2019 VOL.1 | Page 61

I was almost mesmerised with the way the fork stanchions were fluttering up and down on the motorway with not a single bump making its way through to me – truly impressive RIDING Picking the bike up from Jock’s back-blocks property was the first time I’d had a really good look at the new machine since the BMW Adventure range launch we covered in the April Vol1 issue of KR. As I said earlier, my machine of choice was the 1250GS – I’d ridden it to Hawkes Bay and back and was seriously impressed with the bike – pretty much because it looked like it was half the size. Getting the GSA off the centre-stand was a nerve-wracking affair that didn’t really subside with use, this is just a big bike and that’s it. Sat astride the beast my feet were almost flat on the floor, but not quite. In the taller seat position it was the balls of my feet and there was no way I could get it off the stand while on the bike. I opted to use the sidestand the majority of the time. Leaving Jock’s with tank and tail bags strapped to the bike with a mid-morning rendezvous in Cambridge to meet up with Mat, Ray and Mike it was straight onto twisty roads. This was my first surprise, the Bavarian Bus didn’t feel anything like it’s visual size would suggest. The weight and size of the bike quite literally melted away, leaving an agile, easy-steering machine – quite the trick. I’ll come back to this later. With a couple of hundred clicks to go I set about playing with all of the settings, modes and screen positions. There’s electronic suspension – Dynamic ESA – which means the damping control of both the front and rear suspension units automatically adjust according to the riding state and the way the rider is riding. There’s also automatic load compensation. As the first part of the trip was on the motorway, I selected Comfort and the Road engine setting. Jock had been raving about the Dynamic mode, but I wanted to get used to the ‘normal’ settings before fiddling. BMW’s Telelever front suspension system is a system that divides riders. Jock isn’t a fan. However, I was almost mesmerised with the way the fork stanchions were fluttering up and down on the motorway with not a single bump making its way through to me – truly impressive. Motorway overtaking is a simple affair, just leave it in top gear and wind the throttle open… there’s huge amounts of grunt from this motor. Picking up the boys in a wet and misty Cambridge gave the opportunity to try the traction control on the polished tar-seal. Wet, polished tar-seal and a grunty motor don’t normally mix well. BMW’s traction control just works, pretty much seamlessly stopping the rear sliding accelerating on the slippery bits – it just doesn’t accelerate, sensing the merest hint of slip and dialling back the power. KIWI RIDER 61