With a lot of hype and noise surrounding the latest 1300cc adventure models from BMW with the entire modern toy-set in situ and a futuristic visage, this BMW R 12 G / S is almost the polar opposite, yet it retains much of the core GS ethos. The ' G / S ' rather than GS branding harks back to, well, not quite the beginning of time but the beginning of the multi-cylinder, large( back then) capacity‘ enduro’ class, when an 800cc adventure bike was bordering on ridiculous. That G / S moniker stands for Gelände / Straße or Off-road / Street in English, meaning a bike that could master and live in either realm. That was in 1980, which, for those who remember the original R 80 G / S, is closer to the Second World War than the present day. How’ s that for some perspective? Yep, 45 years on, everything and nothing has changed and this new model, complete with an Enduro Package Pro option that with an 18inch rear wheel, flat seat, bar risers, grippy ' pegs, and all variants have that alluring retro look. Strangely, for a bike with travel potential, BMW has spec ' d a small 15.5 litre tank( 95RON fuel). With consumption around 5.1l / 100km, range will only be around 225km to reserve. With 109hp at 7000rpm and 115Nm of torque at 6500rpm, the engine is air / oil cooled, rather than fully liquid-cooled like the chest-beating 1300cc beasts. The tried-and-tested engine can be accompanied by up and down shift-assist and a choice of modes. The base model runs the expected Rain, Road and Enduro themes but as art of the Enduro Package Pro option, you also get Dynamic Traction Control( DTC)