Every self-respecting brand has at least one big-bore adventure bike in its lineup. Still, it’s the middleweights that fly out of showrooms the fastest. Honda sells more Transalps than Africa Twins, Triumph can’t build enough Tiger 900s while the 1200 gathers dust, and KTM’s 890 dominates their sales charts. Even Suzuki moves more V-Strom 800s than 1050s.

At BMW, it’s a different story. The smaller GS has spent generations living in the pitch-black shadow of its big brother. And while mid-size adventure bikes have become increasingly off-road capable in recent years, the F 850 GS – and its predecessors – just didn’t deliver as soon as the asphalt stopped.

Enter the BMW F 900 GS. In Bavaria, they’ve flipped the script completely and gone all-in on a more hardcore approach. I notice it right away when hopping off Continue reading →