South African Launch BMW 2019 F-Range

In the past, if you referred to a BMW GS, it would have been the 1110GS, the 1150GS or the 1200 GS boxer models.

- Gavin Morton

These motorcycles have evolved over the years and continue to improve with every launch model.

The introduction of the F750GS and F850GS is so exciting and as these motorcycles are a true mid size GS in every respect. This is the perfect bike for somebody looking for perfection and precision in a motorbike.

Not only do these bikes look like GS’s, they handle like GS’s, they feel like GS’s and they even sound like GS’s – because thankfully they are! I was invited on the first journalist rotation, we were collected from Cape Town International Airport on a warm and balmy summer’s day & and transferred to the new funky Radisson Red Hotel in the Waterfront. After a short welcome from the BMW Motorrad Team, we donned our riding gear and headed out to experience the thrill of these bikes on our first loop around Cape Town.

I got to experience the F850 GS for this ride – and what a wonderful surprise, just getting onto the bike I immediately knew that I was on a GS. The dash, the handlebars, the seating position and even the shape of the fuel tank, in fact the only thing different was no pots sticking out in front of your legs. It literally feels like BMW Motorrad have taken a GS 1200 and put a parallel twin motor in it – great improvement.

Riding through the traffic was effortless and the motor produced amazing low down torque allowing minimal gear changes and simply picking up from low rpm by simply just twisting the throttle. In the slower stop & go traffic common to Cape Town, we experienced very little heat from the engine.