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
- 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