...the GS Rallye isn’t a BMW
exclusive event, with the organisers
and BMW Motorrad NZ seeing
it more as an opportunity to show
off the GS lifestyle to riders of
other marques
As riders trickled in to sign on to the event
Friday evening, the open and friendly nature
of the GS community shone through.
With everything on display from early R80GS
models (including an example of the coveted
Paris-Dakar version) to sidecar rigs, and even
the new R1250GS, the passion for these go-
anywhere globetrotters was clearly evident.
Thanks to ‘Vege’ KR’s publisher, my CRF250L
Rally was swapped out for something much
more appropriate for the BMW Rallye – a
G310GS fitted with Mitas E-09 rubber – while
I was at the same time assured that once
I used the route sheet navigation system I
wouldn’t want to go back to Google Maps.
The last BMW GS Rallye took place in Raglan in
2016, and was so popular that riders apparently
kept asking when the next on would be. So, for
the 2019 event over 80 riders made the trip
north to take part, with a surprisingly decent
spread of both ages and genders alike.
Unlike other events, the GS Rallye isn’t a
BMW exclusive event, with the organisers
and BMW Motorrad NZ seeing it more as
an opportunity to show off the GS lifestyle
to riders of other marques rather than
preaching to those already converted.
So, it turns out I could’ve run my Honda, but
the little red BMW was calling and I wasn’t
going to let the opportunity to play with
some seriously good rubber go amiss.
Mitas, after all, also sponsored the event by
offering riders a heavy discount on appropriate
tyres to take on the, roughly 300km, gravel
course laid out via the route sheet.
KIWI RIDER 29