BMW GS Experience
Sometimes getting dirty is way cooler than dragging your knee to the tarmac
After the TVS off-road training I was quite confident in riding off-road. Although the bikes were small it was quite easy but real adventure bikes come with a lot of mass to be thrown around. Lucky for me, BMW had their GS experience planned out for the media and I got a chance to be a part of it. Here, BMW has their smallest bike which is the G 310 GS while they even had the BMW R 1250 GSA! The show stopper, however, was the latest BMW F 850 GSA. But out of all the options, I picked the F 750 GS as I knew how the bike behaves.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/48041658376/[/flickr]
The BMW F 750 GS was my ride for the day
To start off, we got some classroom sessions with Shahnawaz and Ajit while they explained to us what to do when you fall off a motorcycle. As these were big bikes and the setup around was pure off-road, the risk of falling and hurting ourselves was high. We were shown the techniques on how to stand and ride on the motorcycle while the first training was all about control of the motorcycle from the lower half of our bodies. Lock the legs and hold the tank with the knees while the upper body stays loose. This, I knew from the training but it mattered a lot more with the big bikes.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/48041692598/[/flickr]
We started off with an open tent classroom session
We got riding and as I had picked the F 750 GS, the seat height and dynamics were very likeable and comfortable. Also, it had off-road spec tyres which made it a little easier for me to get around the rough patches. The first drill was to keep riding and understand the area while we put one leg on the seat and eventually have both legs up. This was to make us realise that if we try to control the bike with the upper body, it is very difficult and tiring as well. The second drill was braking and it continued as we got along with the motorcycle. This time we had to keep a good pace, keep a check on the brakes while using only the front and have good throttle control too.
