The Middle Path

Promise of an off-road focussed motorcycle is always exciting, especially when it bears the GS name. But is it really that good? We find out.

- Debabrata Sarkar

There’s an entire day of riding to be done. I’ve already spent some time with the middleweight GS and I haven’t quite been able to make up my mind. This is the more off-road focussed of the two that sit in the middle of the GS hierarchy, and it is the more powerful one as well. It does enough on the open highway, has many modes to play with and can be set up for the terrain you are after with adjustments to the damping. What strikes you most though is the incredible balance on this motorcycle. I landed up turning it onto a bit of a narrow trail strewn with rocks, gravel and tricky inclines. Both the GS and I were caught off guard, read struggling, here. Let’s not forget that despite being a 853cc, parallel twin, the 850 GS still weighs in at 229 kilos. That isn’t particularly light, and the 860mm seat height cannot quite be described as small. And the on-road tyres weren’t helping matters either.

Armed with shiny spoked rims, finished in gold, the 850 GS, especially in these BMW colours looks quite impressive. It doesn’t pretend to match the bigger GS in any way. It’s visibly narrower, carries less bulk in design, with a shorter nose and narrower fairing, and is strapped with a skinny 90/90 21-inch tyre at the front. This along with the slim design of the tank, that holds 15 litres of fuel, tends to make you believe that the 850 GS is lighter and leaner than the numbers suggest. When you combine that with the superbly balanced chassis that it sits on, you tend to think not-very-intelligent thoughts. Especially when you don’t have the talent for it. I, of course, did exactly that. And took a couple of ridiculous tumbles in the process. Luckily, I managed not to bruise much, apart from my ego.