New BMW R1200GS: Exploring the Rockies After the 2013 Flood

There are many of great reasons to live in southern Alberta; the economy is healthy, Calgary is a vibrant city made up of people from all over the world and there is a real sense of community in this part of the country. However, for me, the best part of living here (and the main reason I moved in the first place) is due to the proximity to the Rock Mountains. Whether you like camping, backpacking, skiing, rafting, photography or, more importantly, motorcycling this region has it all. Once you get into the foothills or the mountains proper, there is no shortage of scenic and curvy roads to be had in on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Incredible motorcycle roads nearby

Kananaskis Country's famous Highway 40 (the highest paved road in Canada) is just around the corner. The Icefields Parkway, consistently rated as one of the most scenic rides in the world is just a little further west. Want to ride to a gorgeous waterfall for an after-work BBQ with friends? No problem, Elbow Falls is less than an hour away down the spectacular Highway 66. Feeling like a tackling a little dirt on your dual sport? The Powderface Trail, Forestry Trunk Road or the McLean Creek Park OHV riding area will satiate your appetite. And, if you feel like exploring a little further, the Kootneys (motorcycle heaven in Canada) and some of Montana's best roads (Going-to-the- Sun Road, Lolo Pass, et al) are all within weekend striking distance.

Sadly, the floods of June 2013 changed the lives of many Albertans; it will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history. More than 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Calgary alone, and the devastation to private property and public infrastructure across the province is well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The City of Calgary and the Province of Alberta have done an amazing job of getting things back on-line, but it will be years before everything is back to ‟normal”.

This had me thinking about some of my favourite Alberta mountain motorbike routes, hearing about all the washed out bridges, landslides and severed roads, I feared the worst. A little on-line research confirmed some of my fears; many of the best motorcycle roads would be closed for weeks or even months. So after a few weekends spent volunteering with the flood relief efforts in our own affected neighbourhood, my wife, Sandra and I packed our bags and headed out to see if there were still some motorcycle fun to be had on Alberta's alpine roads.

Adventure touring in the Rockies

Personally, I think an 'Adventure Touring' motorcycle is the best way to handle motorbike work in the Rockies; it gives you so many options. The tall and upright riding position provides a great view of the mountains and wildlife, the long travel suspension evens out the bumps sometimes found on Canadian roads, the pack-horse-like abilities allow you to bring all of your camping gear, and most importantly the ability to choose the road less travelled when the opportunity arises can make all the difference to any trip. I'm also most comfortable on an ADV bike, both literally and figuratively. At 45 years of age and 188 cm in height, sport bikes and the like get uncomfortable in a hurry, and last year I rode my 2000 F650GS Dakar almost 50,000km from Calgary to Ushuaia and back, so I'm pretty familiar with the genre.

The adventure touring motorcycle market has come a long way over the last 30 years, and the last 10 - 15 years in particular have given us some really incredible bikes, including the legendary Honda Africa Twin, KTM 950/990 Adventure, Ducati Multistrada, Yamaha Super Tenere and the BMW R1200GS, to name just a few. Even in this outstanding group, one bike stood out as the definitive go-to adventure bike, the R1200GS, and it had the sales results to prove it. When the previous generation GS was launched in 2004, it offered riders what was then an unparalleled level of comfort, performance and versatility in the adventure market, the bike could tour, mix it up on a track day manage some backcountry duty without so much as breaking a sweat. Okay, perhaps it was a little large and heavy for the some of the more extreme single track, but is handled itself well despite its size in all conditions. I've been amazed at where these things can go in the hands of the right rider.

I guess that was the beauty of the GS, because although you couldn't really say it was beautiful per se, it rewarded riders of all levels and of all disciplines. It was sort of like an all-weather interceptor, ready to go anywhere are a moment's notice. I was so impressed with the bike I bought one as soon as I could save up it, which actually took quite a while. It was an amazing machine, very practical and versatile. I say 'was' as I sold it back in 2011 in order to help finance our yearlong South America trip. Lots of great memories on that bike.

So, imagine my surprise when a few days before heading out on our mountain mission, an email containing the opportunity to test the new R1200GS arrived in my inbox. Before long, calls were made, details were exchanged, the handoff was completed and I soon found myself at the helm of a shiny new R1200GS.

The R1200GS looks even better up close

Upon picking up the bike I noticed a couple of things. First of all it looks really, really good, much better than in photos. Secondly, there are a lot of new buttons, I'm not 100% sure what they all do, but there are many, most of which have cryptic TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) written on them. Everything is new on the bike, but most of what was good on the old GS is more or less the same, only better. The fit and finish are the best I've seen on a motorcycle, the riding position seems a bit more comfortable with the bars moved a little closer to the rider (bar risers will be needed for serious off road riding) and the controls like the clutch and brake levers, both of which are now adjustable, are much lighter to squeeze.

From air cooling to water cooling

Of course the real story with new R1200GS is with the shift from air cooling to water cooling for the engine. Look closely and you'll see there are now 2 small radiators where before there was… nothing. The bike employs both liquid and air cooling, using what BMW refers to as ‟precision cooling” to keep the important bits cold, so the opposed cylinder arrangement and character of the engine remain intact more or less intact, only smoother. The air/fuel mixture now enters the engine at the top of the exposed cylinders and the exhaust exits from below, making for a more straightforward arrangement. Power is now rated at a whopping 125hp! I've owned sports cars with less power.

Clutch and exhaust

BMW has moved to a wet clutch for the new GS, and integrated the transmission, addressing one of the weaker elements of the old set up. The transmission is now very sweet, with nicely weighted and crisp up and down shifts. The exhaust and driveshaft have also changed positions; the pipe is now on the right hand side of the bike to prevent riders from burning themselves on the hot exhaust when moving the bike around the garage by hand. Moving the driveshaft to the left side has the unintended (or quite possibly 100% intentional) effect of making the bike look much cooler when it is at rest on the side stand. It has to be said, BMW has done a great job with the design and engineering of the bike.

Handling and rocket speed

My first impression of the bike was that although it feels quite heavy at a standstill (I would not want to have to pick it up), all that weight simply disappears once the wheels start rolling, it is very well balanced and light to the touch, not unlike the old GS. The second thing I noticed was a very soft whirring sound that would be completely unfamiliar to any long time GS rider, so much so that I noticed it right away. What was the source of this mystery sound you may ask? Well, of course it was the fan doing its thing keeping all 1170ccs of parallel twin air-conditioned on a sweltering summer's day.

The other thing I couldn't help but notice is that the bike is fast, like rocket ship fast. You just don't expect a motorcycle this big to move with such urgency. It may be outgunned in the horsepower war by the likes of the Ducati Multistrada and KTM 1190 Adventure, but on the road I don't think there is much between them in terms of outright speed and agility.

Engine modes

The R1200GS now comes with a ride by wire throttle which enables the rider to choose between five engine modes (Rain, Road, Dynamic, Enduro and Enduro Pro) which optimize the bike for whatever the rider needs. Combined with the new slipper clutch and the revamped Paralever and Telelever suspension set up and the GS is ready for whatever the road throws at it. With so much power on hand, the engine modes are more than a gimmick and do provide a noticeable difference in engine characteristics, they also interact with the bike's standard ABS and traction control systems to ensure maximum confidence and security. The ESA (Electronically Adjustable Suspension) can also be adjusted on the go for a wide range of preferences. My test bike did not come with the optional Dynamic ESA, a semi-active suspension that was first shown on BMW's RR1000 HP4 super sports bike, so another test ride may need to be arranged to ensure I have a clear picture of the bikes ability.

Off road

Out of respect for someone else's shiny new and very expensive motorcycle, I restrained myself and resisted the urge to explore the outer limits of the GS's off road capabilities, so other than riding around (and through and over) our campsite many, many times, my off road experience with the new R1200 was limited to a few well graded dirt roads, which it handled with supreme ease. I'm sure, like the old GS, the new model's off road manners are excellent and will exceed your expectation of what at giant motorbike will do and where it will go, especially with the Enduro or Enduro Pro setting selected. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, dropping the bike could be both heart breaking and back breaking because BMW bits tend to be expensive, and at around 240kg it is really heavy.

Exploring post flood routes

Predictably, the new R1200GS proved to be an excellent platform on which to explore the Rocky Mountains. The weather in the mountains is always unpredictable, and that day was no exception, leaving Calgary there was a very strong crosswind, we were embraced by a crazy mountain storm as we neared Banff National Park, and we arrived at our campsite bathed in glorious sunshine. Sandra had cursed the wind and rain on the ride out on her F650GS, but on the big GS I barely noticed, it was rock steady. At one point I raise the manually adjustable windshield on the go, and I may have turned on the heated grips, but that was about it, I just enjoyed the ride. Wind? What wind?

What we found once we got the mountains and began exploring was both encouraging and disappointing. There was a fair amount of devastation on hand for all to see. There was evidence of small creeks that had become raging rivers during the flood, taking out roads and bridges left right and centre. The amount of erosion that took place over just a few days was shocking, and many of our favourite roads remained closed. What was surprising was how much progress had been made in just a few weeks; the previously severed Trans Canada was as good as new, as were many of the other roads in the region. Although Highway 40 in K-Country was not open all the way through, a number of temporary bridges had already been constructed replacing the ones washed away, we were able to ride about 50km before the road finally came to a close. It was very encouraging to see so much work being done, both in the city and in the mountains.

*GS improvements I'd like to see *

As good as the new R1200GS is, like anything, it is not without its faults, there were a couple of design elements that did not quite sit right with me, and the gauges seemed set too low in the instrument panel, they were too small and they had far too many numbers written on them. Likewise, the mirrors were also set fairly low and I thought they were also too small and shaped strangely (what's wrong with round?). This particular bike also had an ever so slight, but still noticeable, shutter on a neutral throttle which I have not felt on other GS's. I haven't read about in other reports either, so I assume this test bike is just in need a slight fuelling adjustment.

The new GS is smoother, faster and more comfortable

A few days will never be enough to really get to know any bike, but what I can tell you about the new GS is all good news. Some of the so-called 'character' (i.e. weirdness and/or perceived faults) of the previous model may have been lost with the new, more 'normal' model, but it is a vastly superior piece of machinery. It is smoother, faster, more comfortable, better looking and sharper. BMW sold more than 170,000 machines of the previous GS so they really understand the market and they know what they're doing. The old GS set the standard for the Adventure Touring class, and BMW has just raised the bar with it the R1200GS. The base price of $18,850, which is a lot of money, but it really feels like a premium product. I have no doubt BMW will have little problem selling every R1200GS they build.

Special Thanks to the teams at ESR, BMW Motorrad Canada and Blackfoot Motorsports for arranging the test, and to the volunteers and to the private and public employees of Alberta who have worked so hard on flood relief and remediation - thanks for your hard work!

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