BMW F 850 GS - The Latest Middleweight Adventure Tourer Motorcycle

BMW’s latest middleweight adventure tourer motorcycle promises to be a more capable globetrotter

- Abhay Verma

The middleweight adventure touring segment has witnessed rapid growth in the past few years. A big reason behind this is the fact that an increasingly large number of bikers want to see the world on two wheels today. And another reason is that full-sized adventure tourers are too big, too powerful and too heavy today, making them a little too unwieldy for a lot of riders.

Interestingly BMW Motorrad has launched a third offering in the very segment now, the BMW F 850 GS Adventure. As the Adventure suffix would suggest, the 850 GSA is intended to blend long-distance touring to goanywhere abilities even further than the standard F 850 GS.

So what has changed?

The biggest change is the 23-litre fuel tank, to offer a higher tank range which has made the bike almost as wide as full-sized ADVs! There’s a bunch of goodies that are standard like the handguards, crash guards and luggage racks. I also like the fairing’s silver panels better as they look more purposeful, especially with the ‘drilled’ holes.

Heck, even the clutch and front brake levers are angled lower so they’re easier to use when up on the pegs! The equipment list also includes anti-slip metal footpegs and a height-adjustable windscreen. Overall, the 850 GSA looks more purpose-built and has better visual appeal than the standard 850 GS, especially in this rallye blue paint scheme.

The extras…