Now bmw motorrad does know a thing or two about big adventure motorcycles
in fact there are 1250 GS is known around the world as a continent crusher
heck they've even taken a stab at small capacity adventure bikes in the form of
the G310 GS but as they say the middle child of the family is the more sensible
one and any it's only motorrad adventure family this the F 850 GS is
their new middle child so is it more sensible than the bigger GS but more
importantly doesn't know enough to take on her absolute favourite in this mid
capacity Adventure segment but Triumph Tiger 800 XCX about that sorry
we couldn't get a tiger but there'll be some comparisons nonetheless
now the whole point of having a maid or even the large capacity adventure bike is
to cover highway miles with ease so how does the 850 fare in that department
well sorry to start things off on a slightly negative note but in that
department it's not so impressive
firstly the before reproduction isn't bad great and it's also not adjustable
so on the highway at highway speeds I kept hearing a crazy amount of wind
noise and whistling in my helmet of course we're not even tried we'll offer
you a better windshield as an accessory
and then there's the seat it is a bit soft and a bit narrow those width is
great for off-roading but for long hours in the saddle on the
highway your bum can hurt a little bit but I'm sure BMW will offer you a better seat as an accessory
of course you can carry luggage with you on the highway as
this pro vision offers you pannier mounts as standard but panniers those are accessories
now one of our bigger concerns is this reading position the
handlebars they seem a bit too far away from you so even with my height of 5"10
I'm kind of stretching to reach them it almost feels like the Suzuki v-strom 650
xt like it was designed for much taller riders so on the highway along this
my above back does go for a toss
but the one department where does quite impressed is its filly fancy which on the
high and even the city is much higher than that on the Triumph Tiger 800 XCX and that has to
now this is a pretty good engine and at 853 CC it's now larger than before
and it's got a 270 degree firing order which means it's punchy like a v-twin so
it does not make as much power as the tiger 800 it actually makes more torque
open the throttle and get past 5,000 rpm and the bike just takes off
well actually internationally it doesn't make the same power as the tiger but in India
we get 5 PS less so that the toque can run properly on 91 octane fuel
in fact in terms of acceleration it's marginally quicker than the tiger but there's a
distinct lack of bottom end so to compensate for that BMW has made for a
second and third gear really short which really does help 850 case when
you're off the road and giving that extra grunt on the dart and fourth
fifth and sixth gear made quite tall for easy highway cruising but that means
you really can't pull in high gear from low speed so even at 60 kph in sixth gear
if you open the gas the engine sputters a little bit
but the biggest concern here is just a way engine sounds
now don't get me wrong it is fairly smooth but it sounds just so clatter the
and it can get so annoying on the highway
now I'm gonna touch upon handling just a little bit
first of all the steering has a great range which means norian through traffic
is really really easy but short some corners and that massive 28 degree rake
it becomes very apparent the front end feels really way when steering kills
other lazy to thanks that massive 126 mm off trail so what I am saying is this is
not the most fun bike to have on earth twisty mountain road but the brakes they
are actually quite good with decent feel and plenty of bite and fat braking
distance are actually lesser compared to the tiger XCX
so where does the f850 GS really excel ended this that would have to be and it's offer ability which is
really you're right up there and that's thanks to a few things firstly its
weight yes it is actually heavier a lot period compared the tiger 800 XCX but
you will never feel that weight and that has to do with the way the weight is
distributed and that something BMW is an absolute export and then the
bike actually feels a lot narrower compared the tiger which means when
you're maneuvering our type of Road trails it's just so much easier even the
ergonomics are absolutely spot-on for stand-up riding so I will say the
default versions of the rear break leaver and the shifter are a bit low for my
taste and then helping you effort are those spoke wheels which runs tubeless tire
stands which are a boon for those who want to trade off the beaten path and
even these tires these missionary ana keys they were decently well on tarmac
but they really come into their own on the dirt and on top of that this pro
version comes with electronically adjustable suspension at least at the
rear which means as the push of a button you can set large that we are damping
but also rear pillows this semi-active suspension monitor
rear wheel travel and adjust damping automatically based on your selected
riding mode and the surface you're riding on and this ensures and the rear
wheel maintains as much contact with the surface as possible great for maximizing
passion in the dirt
however the front is non-adjustable an Isetta fit on the softer sides so over
really sharp bumps it can bottom out once in a while and speaking about
electronics this pro version also gets dynamic fashion control which I think
works really well it's cuts in quite gently and this will do in the curing
which is great for offer newbies like myself and of course there are riding
modes to make your life easier rain row and dynamics which come as
standard but all this pro version you get a chip which you can plug another
seat that enables the nd low flow mode that gives you a few more options when
your traction control and for your abs basically it lets you dial these
settings back so you look completely apeshit on the road the other thing
that's impressive about this F850GS is just how well put together this
motorcycle is the quality of plastics is top-notch
the panel gaps are extremely consistent and everything just feels solid like a
proper BMW should then would you look at this switch gear granted it's not the
most intuitive to use but it's just so well made you can also get this
excellent full-color TFT instrument screen which has Bluetooth connectivity
music control and even navigation and it can also act like a hub for helmet
headsets to facilitate communication between the rider and pillion
but then discreet well that's a 60,000 rupees extra
now this is not a comparison but if what you want from an adventure touring
motorcycle is mostly highway used with some off-road thrown in as well then I
think that Triumph Tiger 800 XCX makes a lot more sense but if you have a thirst
for adventure then this F 850 GS is absolutely phenomenal
it's a shining example of just how well BMW motorrad understands the adventure
touring motorcycling genre and while it might not crush continents like the
R 1250 this is definitely the most sensible GS of them all so while my
personal taste in adventure motorcycles might tilt towards the Brits if I had to
pick amongst these German I think my tongue should definitely be this F850 GS