evo India – July 2019

HY DO WE FALL SIR?

“So that we can learn to pick

ourselves up,” said a certain

caped crusader’s butler and

that was the mantra at the 2019

BMW GS Experience. Riders

gracefully went down, kissing

the soil only to get back up and

start again more confidently.

The BMW GS Experience was an off-road junkie’s

Disneyland. Steep slopes, ruts, loose soil and a lot

more. The rides? BMW’s entire badass GS fleet! Like

any other newbie, I was overwhelmed knowing

that I would get to ride these motorcycles in their

element! Not so long ago, I had a chance to swing

my leg over the F 850 GS and all that torque at my

disposal wasn’t something I comprehended.

This time my plan was clear. Start off the training

with the puniest of the lot, the G 310 GS and then

maybe, just maybe, hop onto the intimidating 850s

and the 1250.

WORDS by MANAAL MAHATME

PHOTOGRAPHY by TEJAS BHAGAT & BMW MOTORRAD INDIA

Left: Some air time on the F 850 GS Adventure.

Facing page (clockwise from top): The instructor shows us

how it’s done; the smile says it all; the ‘drill’ that was practiced

the most; getting the body position and vision right

The BMW GS Experience is all about mastering the art

of riding in the dirt with your favourite Bimmers

DIRTY DANCIN’!

The training began with a classroom session on

what we were about to learn and basic Motorcycle

101. We then headed out to learn the most
     rudimentary things in off-road riding – correct body
     position and vision. Before we hopped onto our
     motorcycles, Shahnawaz Karim, our instructor, gave
     us a demo on how to pick up our motorcycles, for this
     was going to be practiced... A LOT!
     The bikes were all prepped for the day’s adventure:
     levers and handlebars adjusted, mirrors off and all of
     them, except for the 310, in the ‘Enduro Pro’ mode.
     “You will fall. Pick up your bike and get back at it.
     You won’t learn unless you fall”. Yeah, that was our
     trainer’s pep talk. And probably that’s all I needed
     to hear. Instead of the 310, I walked over to the
     ‘intimidating’ 850. There was no turning back now!
     We started off with a couple of warm-up laps on
     ploughed, loose soil to familiarise ourselves with
     the motorcycle and the terrain. One after the other,
     most of us were baptised by the dirt. Not one soul
     gave up though. Picking up the bike, we went around
     more confidently, testing our skills (and lady luck).
     Throughout the day, we learnt the art of enduro
     steering, riding in circles with full steering lock,
     emergency stops on slopes, short ascents and
     descents and even practised emergency stops to
     bring the bikes to a standstill.
     Though I thought I would be kissing the ground
     often, I had only two tumbles in my ledger by the end
     of the day, enough incentive for me to get on to the
     burly R 1250 GS. And this time, I could easily pull
     off all the drills without breaking a sweat and with
     much more finesse (not so intimidating now, are you
     1250?). In fact, the R 1250 GS was much easier than
     the F 850 GS!
     I never was an off-road guy until the GS
     Experience. A day in the dirt with some badass bikes
     was probably all I needed to join the league of the
     inveterate dirt-snorting junkies in the office. Well
     BMW, when are we getting started with level 2? L

W

BMW GS EXPERIENCE