TOPGEAR.COM → JULY 2019 017
s appealing as the idea of travelling to
the remotest regions in the world on a
BMW R 1250 GS is, the sheer size of the
motorcycle has been known to make a lot of
people reconsider. And those are the people that need
to be part of the GS Experience. It is there that you get
to explore the limits of your big BMW under the expert
guidance of coaches who make these mountains look
like 450 enduros.
We had the chance to be part of the experience in
Pune last month and we’ve come back not as scared as
we were of the big motorcycle.
Over a day, Shahnawaz Kareem took us through
the basics of how to make your GS do things that look
impossible. We started off with the basics – picking up
a fallen GS. From there we moved on to steering drills,
ascends, descends, uneven surfaces, shifty surfaces,
turning around in tight spaces, stall and recovery and
a whole bunch of other things that make you feel a lot
more confident about taking your GS to places where
motorcycles have no business being in.
Through the day, we went from being jittery about
the large motorcycles to sliding them around and
jumping them up in the air.
The highlight of the experience is that BMW uses
tried and tested curriculum that is specific to the
motorcycles they make. For example, things such as
the fact that the GS never rests flat on the ground when
it falls over is taken into consideration. The drills are
effective and the instruction methods are all vetted by
BMW and have to adhere to the highest standards.
If you are in the market for any of the GS
motorcycles, this school is a must-attend. Trust us,
you will come out of it looking at your motorcycle
with new respect and with the ability to tap into its
vast capabilities.The GS Experience
will have you
exploring the limits
of your GS in no timeA
Shahnawaz
demonstrates recovery
from precarious perches