Launch: 2014 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure

I feel it’s usually wrong to start a test report with a question, but I’ll do it anyway. Time and again, while riding the 2014 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure through, over and under the motorcycle paradise that is Tasmania, I asked myself: “Is this the best bike in the world?”

The R 1200 GS Adventure is an evocative motorcycle. The image of a totally kittled GSA conjures up thoughts of world travel domination, of being indestructible and, above all, being free. Just one look at a GSA and your mind automatically removes itself from the city to a place you’d rather be – with mates or a spouse, far away where the beer is cold and you never have to wonder what day it is.

In 2014, the GSA joins its sibling, the R 1200 GS, in receiving the gobsmacking water-cooled engine that won such universal acclaim in 2013. It’s not fair on genuine water-cooled engines to call this one so, as it’s still cooled by air and oil to the tune of 65 per cent with only 35 per cent actually H2O chilled. The move to partial water-cooling saw a 15hp gain in overall power with more torque to boot, as well as the obvious lower emissions and improved fuel economy.

The layout is still trademark BMW mind you: two fat ol’ cylinders sticking out horizontally, with the bike accompanied by that flat, lumbering exhaust drone we’ve come to know and eventually love from the Bavarians.

What is different in the engine between the two GSs is the crank is 900 grams heavier on the GSA, aimed at producing a calmer throttle when you’re off-road, which is where this machine is primarily aimed at. The behaviour of the engine (thanks partially to the crank change) is moderated to a massive extent by the electronics, which is an area you’re always grappling with on a GSA (and GS for that matter).

There are five different riding modes on the GSA – Rain, Road, Dynamic, Enduro and the optional Enduro Pro -- all giving you varying throttle, traction control, anti-lock braking and suspension characteristics that can be changed in the preset menu of you so desire. This can truly be a lot to get your head around and I only really got comfy switching the maps on the go and knowing what I would get after nearly two days on board. However, once you get to this level, changing the bike’s modes will become second nature – the excellent switch layout doesn’t hurt here.

Riding the GSA is an exercise in belief and disbelief – belief that you can actually ride such a massive motorcycle in a competent and somewhat fast manner, and disbelief as you watch the bike do things a machine of its size has no right to. There’s 260kg of ready to ride motorcycle there, but what it can do is nothing short of astounding. It can ride twisties on knobby tyres better than most sportsbikes can (and that’s a fact), it’ll go through tracks and over obstacles you would previously only tackle on a proper enduro bike and, and it’ll tour with more comfort and ease than almost any proper touring machine – and that includes the ones in BMW’s range.

That huge wheelbase, combined with the revised front end (the trailing arm of the telelever has been modified for more precise handling) makes this thing as solid as a 10th century British castle through anything but the snottiest of tarmac twisties.

Change of direction is best done with patience rather than zest as the characteristic of the BMW telelever is such that unless the front wheel is planted in the turn, to the uninitiated it can feel flighty and unsecure. Forget that and learn to trust the system – once you do your riding will be changed for life.

It’s a similar situation in the dirt – the revised suspension feels slightly more planted than previously, but then the entire bike is such a leap forward from its predecessor it’s like comparing apples with watermelons.

The maneuverability of the chassis in tight sections is quite astounding. We took these big Germans up some really tight single track, the journos following BMW Australia’s ubermaster Miles Davis, and each time the GSA punched its way through the scrub and crap to emerge unscathed, leaving me in particular even more jaw dropped.

So, you can imagine my thoughts when we then rode back to the tar, scrubbed the mud off and got stuck into it like we were in some unofficial TT practice session. The brakes and the way the anti-lock braking works on dirt has come so far in the last couple of years – you can really trust the system to look after you on dirt whereas before I was pretty hesitant.

The brakes are linked by around the ratio of 9:1 front to rear, and you’re a better rider than me if you can really tell the rear brake is being applied while you hammer the front. The system is there more or less as a safety extra for lazy brakers: i.e. those who hammer the front brakes only and don’t touch the rear.

If you’re a regular to this website you’ll be well versed in the amazingness of that water-cooled engine. It helped the GS scoop pretty much every award throughout the 2013 model year so not much needs to be said in this short space. What I will say is the crank change does indeed make the throttle that little bit nicer but there’s still power to absolutely fricking burn. However, it’s just like any other GS in that it doesn’t like to rev really hard – keep the rev tacho under the top quarter of its scale and you’ll be getting all the jollies you need.

The electronics are, as mentioned, a massive factor in the appeal of the GSA. They are there to be used – so do so – and there’s a big difference between the five ECU modes in just how urgent the GSA’s performance is. Enduro Pro is a fantastic mode, allowing you to lock the back wheel to aid corner entry and giving a reduced traction control level. Rain, Road and Dynamic are the road modes – the GSA goes from subtle and smooth in Rain mode with soft suspension, throttle and a high intervention of anti-lock braking and traction control to an absolute animal in Dynamic mode, where it’ll allow you to drift on acceleration to and make you feel you are a much better rider than you actually are. Well, it did for me at least.

Which brings me back to my first question: is the 2014 BMW R 1200 GSA the best bike in the world? This is the closest I’ve ever come to riding a bike that can be all things to all riders. It flatters my riding skill; it’s comfy like a tourer; it rides the dirt like a real dirtbike – albeit a very heavy one (the Metzeler Karoo 3 tyres certainly helped here, they also perform remarkably on the road for off-road tyres); it carves up tarmac like my old R1; and looks tough as hell to boot.

It makes me want to go riding more than any bike I’ve ridden in a very long time. There’s almost nothing at all I don’t like about it – and that’s a first. So the answer is… no. This is not the best bike in the world. Simply because, I haven’t ridden every bike in the world! But of those I have, move over: the 2014 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure is my new personal favourite.

R 1200 GS ADVENTURE IN BIKE SHOWROOM

FAMILY DIFFERENCES
Here’s what you get on your BMW R 1200 GS Adventure over the standard GS.

SPEC OF LAUNCH BIKE
The bike as tested is priced at $28,661, combining:

Recommended retail price $24,300
Standard features
ASC and Riding Mode – Rain and Road Automatic Stability Control
Chrome Exhaust
Heated Grips
RDC Tyre Pressure Control
LED Additional Fog Lights
White LED Indicators
Off-road Tyres
Pannier Fastenings for Aluminium Panniers

Fitted optional equipment
Touring Package $1800
-    Dynamic ESA Electronic Suspension Adjustment
-    On Board Computer Pro
-    Preparation for GPS Device
-    Cruise Control

Dynamic Package $1400
-    LED Head Lights
-    Riding Mode Pro – Dynamic, Enduro and Enduro Pro
-    Daytime Riding Light

Fitted accessories
Tank rucksack $498
Enduro aluminium engine guard incl. mounting kit $468
Headlight guard (for off-road use only) $195

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Final drive: Cardan shaft
Clutch: Anti-hopping wet

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame type: Tubular steel bridge with engine as stressed member
Front suspension: BMW Telelever fork, adjustable for preload (optional ESA), 210mm travel
Rear suspension: BMW Paralever, adjustable for preload and rebound (optional ESA), 220mm trave
Front brakes: Twin 305mm discs with four-piston radial calipers
Rear brake: 276mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Wheels: Cross spoked
Tyres: Metzeler Tourance Next -- front 120/70-19, rear 170/60-17

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Steering head angle: 65.5 degrees
Trail: 92.7mm
Claimed wet weight: 260kg
Seat height: 890/910mm
Wheelbase: 1510mm
Fuel capacity: 30 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $24,300
Test bike supplied by: BMW Motorrad Australia, www.bmwmotorrad.com.au
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres