Australasian Dirt Bike – June 2019

“I

’m not sure I can do that!” I

said nervously to snapper

Dean Walters when he pointed

to a new spot on the

embankment. We weren’t

getting the photo right and the

new angle he lined up with the iconic

McKillops Bridge in the background would

have me riding up what looked like a

near-vertical, two-metre ascent with a nasty,

freshly graded corner at the bottom.

To make matters worse, there was a bunch

of smiling journos standing around waiting

for me to create a memorable moment.

Y’know, headbutt the TFT dash and crash!

The new F 850 GSA is actually a big bike. It

looks and feels big when you heave a boot

over it and it’s 244kg wet if you weigh it. I’d

spent a lot of time on the F 800 GS but not

much on the Adventure version. The new

bike looks great, much better than the 800

GSA which was a bit fat in the rear courtesy

of the enlarged under-seat tank and was just

“capable” rather than exciting.

I had my confidence up as I sized up the

embankment, after half a day of jumping

erosion mounds and drifting hundreds of

NSW South Coast and Snowy Mountains

corners in search of the perfect pic. Once I

started riding, the GSA quickly started

feelingsmaller.

It’seasytothrowaroundandtheonly

TO THE

Cause

JOSH EVANS TRIES THE OTHER

HALF OF BM’S ADV EQUATION

The 23-litre tank doesn’t hide under a rock

Silver radiator shrouds will cop some abuse

TFT instrument screen works even under dust

http://www.adbmag.com.au JUNE 2019| 73