The extraordinary convergence of a name

The GS name was used in the automotive industry long before BMW’s famous line of bikes. From 1970–1986 French carmaker Citroën manufactured a small family car—the Citroën GS (and later GSA). At first glance, this humble, plucky car would seem to have nothing in common with BMW’s contemporary range...

...continue reading

Gear Shift Assist Pro—summary and myth busters

Two of the most-read posts on my blog are the ones relating to the Gear Shift Assist Pro (GSAP) system on the R1200GS which was launched earlier this year. Of note, the system was an industry first for road bikes with the ability to execute both upshifts and downshifts without using the clutch. However...

...continue reading

BMW F800R updated

Along with the launch of the S1000XR, BMW announced their updated F800R at EICMA Milan 2014 on 4 November. I’ve taken a few days to digest the changes to this often underrated bike. My first impression is that the updated F800R has lost a good chunk of its distinctiveness because of BMW’s decision...

...continue reading

Filtering (aka lane splitting): Yes, it’s safer

In most of the world, filtering (otherwise known as lane splitting) is not only legal and expected practice by motorbikes, it is often a component of the road test when going through the licencing process. Yet, this practice remains a point of contention with often strong negative opinions in North...

...continue reading

S1000XR released

As expected, the S1000XR was released today at EICMA Milan 2014. The new bike is classed as an ‘adventure sport’ and is listed within the Enduro category on BMW’s international website (between the F800GS and R1200GS ranges). Its main competitor is the Ducati Multistrada. The 999cc 4-cylinder engine...

...continue reading

It’s come a long way...

I started this blog on Tumblr in early 2012 when I purchased my F800GS, before migrating it to Blogger a few months later in May. How do the stats measure up over the last 29 months? Page views Page views are the number of people who visit or revisit pages on the blog. Overall 22,997 people...

...continue reading