BMW Motorrad Montana and their Rustenburg sister branch invited their customers to an unveiling, and an opportunity to ride their new middleweight GS range. The event was hosted by Grotto to Gravel which is fast establishing itself as a go-to venue for this sort of event. I was intrigued to see the new bikes, so I rode out to the beautiful venue nestled in the Magaliesburg. Grotto to Gravel is the brainchild of Gus and Mariette Maartens, quite possibly two of the nicest people that you will ever meet. Despite Gus going through some serious health challenges, they forge ahead at full steam. In Grotto to Gravel, they have created an absolute haven for motorcyclists with accommodation options and a full-time chef catering to the culinary needs of visitors.
I say that I was intrigued because I was fortunate to have attended the World launch in Almeria, Spain, of the BMW F 900 XR and F 900 R, literally a month before the Covid lockdown (Remember that fiasco?). The 900 motors impressed me. Displacing an actual 895cc and producing 77Kw and 92Nm of shove, they haul the new bikes along with authority! The 850 powerplants were showing their age and the 900cc motors have brought BMW back into the game. The question on everyone’s minds was, when would the new 895cc mills gravitate to the GS range? Well, sports lovers, that time is now.
The full F 900 GS range was displayed and available for customers to ride around Grotto to Gravels’ dynamic offroad track. The event was well attended with Montana’s customers and the Grotto to Gravel faithful in attendance. The bikes are certainly impressive. Watching the BMW GS Trophy riders strut their stuff on the bikes gave us a glimpse of how competent the new bikes are. They are totally new and re-engineered motorcycles, spec’d to go toe to toe with the opposition. The comments of those who rode the new bikes were overwhelmingly positive.
I am not going to go into detail on the individual model specifications as you can browse our Buyer’s Guide for the details and pricing. Perhaps unfairly, BMW’s middleweight options have always lived in the shadow of their class-defining ‘big’ GSs. Let me just say that these bikes are serious offerings and deserve consideration in their own right.
BMW F 900 GS & F 900 GS Adventure
For more information on the bikes featured in this article, click on the links below…
Both the 900 Adventure and the straight 900 GS look proper with their new-long travel Showa suspension and optional packages. We will endeavour to lay our hands on test units to assess them fully, but in the meantime, if you are in the market for a middleweight Adventure bike, it is well worth visiting your local BM dealership to suss these beasts out.
