ROAD NEWS
BMW CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF GS
T
his month marks 40 years since the very first
BMW GS – an R80G/S – rode out into the
wilderness and didn’t look back, setting up a
legacy of motorcycling.
BMW’s GS series has become a motorcycle
concept that is as legendary as it is sophisticated,
now boasting a range of models from the entrylevel
G310GS through to the “party couch”
R1250GS Adventure.
The adventure began in autumn of 1980 when
BMW Motorrad presented the R80G/S, a
market first which combined two the abilities
of both off-road and on-road motorcycles into
a single package.
Thanks to its (then) unique combination of
road, touring and off-road capability - without
compromising on everyday use – the R80G/S
became the conceptual forerunner of the new
motorcycle category that would become
today’s most popular category – the
adventure motorcycle.
In 1981 Hubert Auriol rode to victory in
legendary Paris–Dakar Rally. This is just the first
of the many motorsport successes that BMW
Motorrad was able to celebrate with a GS.
Since the days of the R80, BMW has utilised
the GS platform as a cornerstone of the brand
and the flag carrier of BMW’s heritage boxer
engine tech.
To date, BMW Motorrad has set loose more
than 1.2 million BMW GS models to customers
worldwide with the current lineup the most
expansive yet in both breadth and capability
comprised of the G310GS, F750 and 850GS along
with the range-topping R 1250GS models. Stay
tuned for our test of an original Paris-Dakar
machine in a coming issue soon.
86 KIWI RIDER