Australasian Dirt Bike – May 2019

bigbikebutthrowingitaroundlikea

dirtbike,withitslowcentreofgravity,

feelssonatural.Wedidn’ttackle

super-roughtracksbutitplodsand

steersverywellwhenbushbashing

overlogsandupanddownsteep

embankments.Wedidsomeeasy

singletrackandthatwasfunbutyou’d

definitelygetmoresingletrackthrills

onanendurobike.Ifyou’reabitrich

andhave25-30ktosplashonasecond

bikeyoumightenjoysomebigger

multi-day/weektrips,maybewitha

partnerontheback.Okay,soscrapthe

partneridea...Likeme,youobviously

liketostandupandflogitthroughfire

trails,constantlypracticingwheelies,

smoothlandingsofferosionmounds

andtheelusivestart-sliding-before-the-

apexslides!Yeahthoseones,youcan’t

dothemwithapartnerontheback.

The1250GScouldeasilysatisfythe

off-roadneedsofskilledandnot-so-

skilleddirtriders.Youmightwantthe

RallyeXtorideFinke,as Davisdid.

AnythingelseandthestandardGS

willdealwithit.TheGSAhaslonger

travelsuspensionand 10 litresofextra

fuelbutis19kgheavier(268kgwet).

MANYOPTIONS

IpreferredtheGSovertheGSAsimply

becauseoftheweight,theGSjust

handledbetter.OnbothbikesIsettled

ontheDynamicESAsettingwhichsets

thepreloadonthego.Itjustworks.

Milesgavemeaquicklessonsliding

atlowrevsandthe 1250 istheperfect

biketopracticeon.

Comeintoaslipperycorneronaclay-

cappedroadstandingup,alittlebitof

back-brakeslide,tipthebikeontothe

insideofthetyreand,inatallergear

thanyouwouldnormallyselect,feed

onthethrottlebeforetheapex.Boom,

you’reslidinglikealegend.

Ididlosethefrontafewtimesbut

thewidehandlebarandKaroosmade

lightworkofthecorrection.It’snotall

rosesthough.BoththeGSandGSA

wereabitclunkyusingthepower-

shifterinfirst,secondandthird.Itried

toperfecttheshiftingwithoutsuccess.

ThebigADVbikesectorisdefinitely

theultimatebikeforAustralia.The

bitumenanddirtcapabilitieshavelittle

effectoneachother.TheGScouldexist

solelyasadirtorasaroadbikeand

stillbewellregarded.Obviouslyitwill

neverreplaceanendurobikefor

singletrackbutitis,withoutdoubt,

greatvalueformoneyandextremely

capableasanoff-roadbike.Takethat

youinternettrolls!

Gotsomethingtosayaboutthisyarn?

[email protected]

Moreimagesandinfoatadbmag.com.au

TheR1250GShasafewmorestringstoitsbow

72 |MAY 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au

The GS could easily satisfy

the off-road needs of skilled

and not-so-skilled dirt riders

New trick

Whohasn’tsloweddownontheedge

ofatownandtakentheirhandsoff

thehandlebartohaveabig

crucifixionstretchonlytobegreeted

withallsortsofnoisecomingfrom

thedrivetrainbecausetherevsget

toolow?The1250GShasananti-hop

featureintheclutch.Nowyoucan

rollintotownintopgearandidleat

about47kmhwithouthoppingor

stalling,evenuphill.Ifyouhaveto

stopintown,takeoffwithjust

enoughthrottletoactivatethepower

shifter,clickthroughthegearsand

idlespeedwilldrivethebikewithout

acareintheworld.

Plug your

dongle

To access the Pro modes, Dynamic Pro

and Enduro Pro, you need a little

dongle. Just plug it in under the seat

to enjoy the pleasure of rear wheel

lock-up slides and traction control,

but it’s designed for use with knobby

tyres. If you have the standard tyres,

use Enduro mode.

The modes control three things;

throttle response, traction control and

ABS. You can play within the modes

too. For example on a particularly

slippery road I stopped and changed

Enduro Pro to: throttle response -

Rain, ABS – Enduro, which allowed the

ABS to work on the rear wheel. It

worked really well too. I am a fan of

ABS in the dirt if it allows some

sliding. Setting separate custom

modes would be a nice option.

ADV TEST I 2019 BMW R1250GS