2019 BMW F 850 GS
FIRST IMPRESSION
P78
BMW's Gear Shift Assist Pro, the
Dynamic ESA (electronic sus-
pension) and Enduro Pro riding
modes which take the sticker
price that starts at $13,195 to just
north of $17,000—a hefty price
when you consider a 2019 Hon-
da Africa Twin starts at $13,599.
Under the GS 850's hood, you
get a brand new parallel twin-cylin-
der engine that's grown by 55cc to
853cc, and now sports a second
counterbalancer. The engineers
have also changed the firing order
dramatically: instead of firing the
pistons down the bore at 0° and
360°, the 850's firing order is now
270°/450° thanks to a crankpin
offset changed from 0° to 90°.
That helps smooth out low-end
torque, improve fuel consumption
and give the 850 a much more
raucous exhaust note although,
truth be told, it's still not as mean
as something like a big V-twin.
Inside the gearbox, the first
three gears have been shortened
to give better performance off-
road but still enable comfortable
highway cruising. As such, the last
three ratios remain unchanged.
Turning attention to the chas-
sis, BMW has done away with
the old tubular steel spaceframe
and now features the engine as
a stressed member in a mono-
coque format. They've also
moved the gas tank from under
the seat to the traditional place
behind the steering head/be-
tween your knees; and the chain
drive (now on the left) and exhaust
have swapped sides. With the
tank moved forward, it makes for
a dramatically slimmer back-end
on the 850, not to mention taking
a stack of weight off the rear of
the bike and the greater handling
characteristics that ensue.
However, the new chassis, as
well as moving the weight around
has resulted in an increase in
mass from 478 pounds to 504
pounds ready to ride.
Although the 850 comes with
road-specific tires at purchase,
if you want to go real ADV riding,
you've got the right kit underneath
you with the spoked 21-inch front
and 17-inch rear wheels, solid
items we bashed hard into rocks
with none of the journalists at the
introduction getting a bent rim—
unlike on the F 750 GS test the
previous day.
This riding is
cake for 850
GS. It's capable
of much more
than this.
