Dirt and Trail MAY 2022

perhaps not as powerful as its Austrian
rival, but it is a whole lot smoother and more
gentleman-ly.
Our route took us through some river crossings
and with the recent rains they were pumping
properly. In fact, most of the dirt roads were
actually streams with deep pools here and
there, thick sand, rocks a plenty and deep rutts
were our off-road companions mostly.
Stick the big GS into dynamic or Dynamic Pro
and aim it wherever, it does all the thinking
for you, from traction control and ABS to
suspension setting and reactions to power
delivery so you can concentrate on the road or
trail ahead.
The “Exclusive” we had on test with the 40th
anniversary edition felt a bit more aggressive,
less refined and possibly not quite a sure
footed on the squirley stuff. Clearing a water
crossing and taking off a some serious speed
up a sandy track that became quite pack with
serious ruts on the Bumble Bee was easy, fun
and made me look like a much better rider
than what I actually am, the same section done
at the same speed on the “Exclusive” was a
lot more exciting, lots of butt clenching and
stretching of the ocular muscles, chucking in a
good surge of adrenalin for good measure.
Then it was straight on to the tar and some
twistys’s. On the tar, where most GS peeps
ride, you’ll battle to find a more comfotable
machine. Cranking through a bend quite low
I had to suddenly tighten up and dip in harder
to avoid a big patch of sand and was fully
expecting the big BMW to fall over, which it
didn’t… and this only served to challenge me
to see how low I could get before we had to
start paying insurance excesses on accident
damage claims.
My courage gave in before the bike did…
fortunately, the lower and faster I cranked into
corners the lower the GS seemed to want to
go.
We only had these bikes for a day or so and as
we headed back to the office I looked longingly
down the Freeway and day dreamed of places
like Memel, Normandien Pass, Verkykerskop…
BMW. May we please book some bikes for a
longer ride soon?
In the final analysis, the price ticket may seem
a lot, but you are getting a lot for your money…
The Exclusive with 30 000 odd kilometres on
the clock will set you back R240k.
The blinged out Bumblebee with 3000 odd
kilometers – a mere R352 500. But you will be
the boss of the GS kingdom.
Both were on the floor at BMW Motorrad
Fourways.
www.bmw-motorrad.co.za/cedar-isle
(011) 367-1600