Zen Hammer

If the world won’t really oblige your peace of mind, BMW might have found a way of coercing it

- Sherman Hale Nazareth

Have you noticed how the escapist appeal is getting increasingly romanticised off late? It’s in times of sheer bewilderment and overburdening that we tend to gravitate towards things that bring us peace. We seek out what feels most natural to us. Because let’s face it, humans weren’t designed to live in heavily industrialised cities, work nine-to-five jobs and gaze dreamily at solid concrete walls. So we as motorcyclists aim to get as far away from these urban nightmares as we possibly can at the first chance we get. It’s no wonder then, ADV motorcycles have become all the rage in recent years. What sets this cross-continental buffet of ADV bikes apart, though, is how differently they do the exact same thing. More importantly, it’s how much more relaxed your brain is after a hard day’s ride. And trust you me, that little ‘Adventure’ tag to the F 850 GS’ nomenclature will probably make you eligible to be a successor to the Dalai Lama.

Now I’ve ridden the 850 GS before. It may not have the refinement of the Triumph Tiger or the urgency of Ducati’s Multistrada 950. But what it does have is a very natural feel to it, which makes it a very unintimidating bike to ride despite its ADV proportions. As with all BMWs, it’s the feature list that sets the models apart. So what exactly does the Adventure model entail? Well for starters, it’s got the larger 23 litre tank, so longer range is a given. And despite it looking absolutely massive, once you’re