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