What’s new?

So, looking at the Sertao, you will notice that it still looks pretty much like the old Dakar. To be totally honest, it sort of still is. I think BMW went with the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset and you know what? It works.
Let’s look at this bike as a face lifted, more economical model.
For starters, the front facia is completely new. The front light looks like it could have been shared with the X challenge, but it suits this machine pretty well. There is a new screen and also a new instrument panel. This makes the bike feel much more like the 800 and the 1200GS. The dated feeling for the Dakar, with the analogue only clocks, are gone. ABS and heated grips are standard, but it can be ordered as an option without these from the factory, if you want to save a few bucks. Personally, I would, as it’s just an added expense and if you are going to be riding off-road more than on road, I highly suggest ditching the ABS.

Riding impressions

The 652cc engine pulls well through the rev range. The water-cooled motor seems to have a little bit of flat low-end but picks up nicely around 4-7 thousand rpm. The bike actually accelerates very well for a single. On the road the handling is pretty good. You can really ride the bike aggressively through the corners and, even though the suspension is suited to off-road, it seems to cope fine with quick turning adjustments. The brakes work very well and there is very little interference with the ABS, unless you stomp on the back brake or the road is a little sandy.

Off road is where the bike actually works. There is no other way to say it, but it really does the job tremendously well. 1st gear is low enough for technical riding and there always seems to be power available. So many people think of the 650GS as soft, and I can assure you that with the right tires, this bike would be stupidly capable. The 210mm front and rear travel is actually pretty adequate and the bike will take small jumps with ease. In stock form on our test route which included rocky and sandy single tracks with the occasional small whoop section, it felt at home, with the exception being the tires. The brakes are great off-road if you switch the ABS off. Thankfully the ABS is only on the rear wheel and can be deactivated directly from the bars, at standstill.

The wet weight of 193kg might concern you, but it seems be kept rather low, with the under seat fuel tank. It didn’t feel very top heavy and you only notice the weight when you are down steep rocky sections and you need to be on the brakes most the time. Other than that, it feels on par with the 650 class, excluding the more endure-based machines.

Open road gave us about 20km/l with most of speeds between 120-150kph. This gives you a range of about 200km to reserve and another 80km when traveling in reserve. Bmw claim 4.3l per 100km at 120km/h and 3.2l/100km at a constant 90km/h. Im pretty sure its attainable. Top speed measured at 165kph on the gps with the speedo pointing towards 170 and a bit.

Overall

You really can’t fault the GS Sertao. It’s a great dual purpose travel bike and with its relatively tame low rpm power its suited to most levels of riding. There is a low seat available for the shorter guys and girls but at 860mm it didn’t seem excessive. If you need a bike to commute with during the week and want to start out-riding on the weekends, the sertao is a great option and having the benefit of Bmw on call should something go wrong is just an added bonus. As a travel bike it makes a lot of sense. Plenty accessories from High screens to panniers to wide footpegs and then there is the delicious touratech tank that will give you a total range of over 1000km! Perfect for a round trip over the weekend.

The Gs Sertao as tested retails at R89 995, this includes Abs and heated grips

Check out www.bmwmotorrad.co.za for your nearest dealer.

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When Honda broke the news that they were bringing the 650L to South Africa, I sat up and listened with both ears. During the last quarter of 2011, it was nearly impossible to find a demo model as they were being brought in in small quantities, literally all pre-sold from the show room floor.

When I had the opportunity to snatch one for a week before most of the other journo’s got hold of it, I just had to.
I must say, I was really looking forward to the bike. When I saw it standing there waiting, I noticed something, something that might be a problem for the shorter generation. The XR650L is tall! Anybody shorter than about 1.85m will have trouble reaching the floor.

The 650L was released in ‘93 where it used the same engine as the Honda NX650 Dominator with a similar off road frame from that of the XR600R. It stayed much the same over the last 19 or so years and it’s still as dead reliable as it was back then. In fact, this is probably one of those preferred ‘around the world’ bikes, since you will more than likely find spare parts for it, anywhere.
The engine is a fairly lazy 644cc air cooled single cylinder four-stroke with a relatively low 8:3:1 compression ratio. It has a 5 speed wide ratio gearbox with a rather short 1st gear that will probably climb you straight up a wall.

The suspension on the front is 43mm air adjustable Showa cartridge fork with a 16 position compression and damping adjustability. It also has a huge 11.6 inches of travel. That’s on par with most Motor-cross bikes! The rear is a Pro-link single shock with preload and 20 position compression and 20 position rebound damping adjustability and 11 inches of travel. The suspension works very well on rough terrain. It almost seems to perform better the rougher the terrain gets. I had it in sand whoops and on mountain trails and I really could not fault it. The front was perhaps a little soft when getting on the front brakes.

The brakes are typical dirt bike. They are nowhere near those of the more exotic bikes, but they work well on both tar and off road. I personally like them a little stronger but, for a bike like this, I really can’t complain.

The only gripe I think most riders will have is the small fuel tank. It holds 12 litres and, of that, 2 litres is reserve. With my mixed testing with some highway speeds (120kph), some gravel cruising and a short stint in the dunes, I got 120km to reserve. My second stint, in the dunes only, saw me 71km to reserve. So if you are planning on using it as a light duty adventure bike, there are oversize tanks available around the R3000 mark and it would be a great investment.

Competition in this segment is rather fierce. You have the DR650, the KLR650 and the XR650L. Depending on what your riding style is like will influence your thoughts. The KLR is a better long distance bike, but lacks the suspension and crashability of Honda.It does have a bigger tank from the start and will need less modification if your purpose is to travel. The DR650 is very similar to that of the Honda; small tank, lower seat height and suspension that is not so off-road orientated. It’s a good compromise if the XR is too high. However, the XR is a great do-it-all bike. You can ride it like a dirtbike, you can use it as an adventure bike (after you fit that tank) and it’s better suited to the bigger guys. It’s a great compromise between hard enduro and light weight dual purpose bike. It will never be an enduro, but it has that minimalistic feeling to it. Best part is, it is available new, from only R49 000.
This is a no brainer.

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Put up your hand if you don’t know about the KTM990. I don’t even need to say that I’m guessing you all know about the bike and secretly want to own one. Even if you are riding a Bavarian steed; deep down, you know your blood a slight tinge of orange in it.

And rightly so! The 990 has not changed much over the last couple of years, besides some little cosmetic changes like orange crash bars and a new front facia LCD/ speedo. This was probably the biggest change in the model since the 990 came out, which, as you should also know, replaced the wonderful 950.

Previous generation 990s had a snatchy throttle. You would ride around in 1st gear and the slightest twitch of your wrist would send the bike flying forward at a relatively intimidating pace, and even if you are used to the power, it could still catch you off-guard. The snatchy throttle has been cured and, I must admit, it’s so smooth down low now that even your granny could take it to the shop to buy bread on a Sunday. So from that point, the bike can’t be faulted.
The biggest biggy in the range was the R version, which versus the regular 990. Why would you want the 990 if you can have the R with longer travel suspension and the added power? Everybody wants more power, right? Thankfully, the new bike is now identical in terms of power with the R. Yes, it uses the same fuel injection mapping and I’m told that even more power can be extracted by fitting aftermarket exhausts like the Akraprovics. So now if you are on the shorter side of things, you can buy a 990, have the same bragging rights with your mates and still not feel intimidated with only your toes touching the ground, like you would on the R.
The 990 also has ABS. Not everybody is fond of ABS on dirt but, thankfully, this time around they made it very easy to switch off. The previous generation always had me fighting with it and, right now, it’s really a simple 5 second approach, as long as the bike is standing still and in neutral. You simply hold the button for about 5 seconds and voila, ABS off and playtime can begin.

The biggest perk of something exotic is the parts. Brembo brakes and WP suspension is really in a class of their own. It handles the worst gravel roads with ease and, what may feel on the faster side on any other bike, feels rather normal, perhaps a little bland, but yet comfortable and in control. I’m sure you’ve had the ‘oh-dear-what-now, I’m going too fast and I might go down’ feeling. The simple “stand up, open up” term comes to mind and the Adventure jumps forward, breaking the tail loose, sort of like the black stallion (orange perhaps?) and it just pulls you through anything. Yes the suspension is really that good. Combined with better dual purpose tires, the bike would make any road a breeze. It’s no wonder it’s the alpha dog when it comes to aggressive adventure riding.

The nature of the LC8 motor is a little on the peaky side. It sounds great when spinning at 6000rpm+ and below that, it’s just a mountain of torque, ready to roost anything behind you! As a touring bike, I felt it handle pretty well on tar, with a cruising sweet-spot of around 150kph. Around that speed you should still see decent fuel economy as it’s no secret the LC8 can drink like a v8 if you hold the taps open. There are talks of around 19km/l around 100-110kph and an average of about 15-16km/l around 140kph. Not bad for a bike that only spells FUN.

The 990 brings out the little naughty boy in everybody who rides it. They call it “the Dark Side”… I’ll take two if you can give me some cookies with my milk, please!

Thanks to KTM Cape Town for the practically brand new 990 (800km) they loaned us! Much appreciated!

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The 600F features the same frame as the 600 Hornet from a couple of years ago. The engine is a pre-07 600RR engine which has been retuned and fitted with smaller throttle bodies, 36mm compared to 40’s on the RR. I like the 600RR, but I felt that you had to ring its neck to get anywhere. The 600F is completely different. It feels most torquey around 4000rpm; open it up some more and you will feel a great surge around 8000rpm, and when you get to 12000rpm you know you are now in serious speed fine territory. The 600F just accelerates so well and it will continue to run way past 200kph. I saw 212km/h and it was still pretty comfortable up there with plenty of rpms to spare. Flat out you should probably be able to do around 250kph. I don’t know about you, but this is plenty fast on a light 600cc.

Fuel consumption is claimed at just over 5l/100km. I can confirm that. Even when thrashing the bike in the twisties, the fuel gauge refused to budge. Eventually, after about 60km or so, it dropped one bar.

I don’t often feel comfortable on a street bike. Granted I am 6’5 there is not much out there that suits me but a 1200GSA or 990R. The low seat height and the low clip-ons of a 600RR cramp me up a little and it just gets uncomfortable. The 600F’s bars sit above the triple clamps and they just feel sp right; not too high, and not too low. The bar-to-peg ratio reminds me of the older Yamaha Thunder-cat and this means I have plenty of space for my legs.

Kerb weight is 202kg so it’s not the lightest, but it does not feel heavy and turn-in is very quick due to the steering geometry. The front forks are 41mm inverted HMAS adjustable forks and the rear is a mono-shock with adjustable pre-load.
The engine only produces 75kw. That’s around a 100hp. Plenty fast for a 600cc commuter bike which can also be used on the track. You do note a little bit of a buzz riding in the upper rpms but most 600cc have this. There aren’t many with a seat as comfortable as this though. Torque figures are 63nm @ 10500rpm and, as mentioned, in traffic the bike just works so well. The gearbox is a smooth 6 speeder driven by chain.

The brakes are 296mm front disks with 3 piston callipers and the rear is a 245mm single disk with a single piston calliper. There are no ABS models currently available in South Africa.
The 18.4l tank runs a 4l reserve and this means you should be able to do about 260km to reserve when taking it easy.
My final conclusion is this.

If you really want a 600RR, ride the 600F first. Then ride the RR and if you are sure that you want to spend the extra R35000 on the RR, be my guest. Oh, I didn’t mention, the 600F is a bargain at R85 000.

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Maddin rolled in minutes after myself on his all-black 660 Tenere. Great, we hadn’t done a single kilometer yet and I was already envying it. We filled up at the next gas station and hit the autobahn towards north. The last exit before the border was our first stop. Simply set, the ‘Bordershop’ is nothing else, but a huge liquor shop and the last possibility for the Scandinavians to benefit from Germany’s low taxes on alcohol. Exactly, what we needed.

The autobahn all through Denmark was almost uneventful. A traffic jam. We filtered through the cars until a man waved at us to stop as there had been an accident. It turned out that 2 motorbikes had crashed and both riders were severely hurt. A soldier from one of the cars had provided first aid – probably much better trained on open wounds then anybody else. We couldn’t do anything, but watch the ambulances and a helicopter. When we were finally allowed to go on, we saw the rest of the biker group standing at the side of the road. All packed up, probably as well just starting their holiday trip up north.

Getting closer to the ferry port, we saw more and more vehicles with an adventurous note: Jacked up Land Cruisers, loaded bikes, 4×4 trucks … We arrived in Hirtshals in the very north of Denmark in the evening and decided to check out the ferry port before looking for the camp site. Here, we met Ernst on his red GS and recruited him.

A disposable BBQ grill and the beer were just right to celebrate the first camp.

Read more here.

The Goldwing hits the scales at 405kg dry. Yet once moving, it handles well and turns effortlessly. It loves the open road just gliding from one turn to the other. Power is available in top gear from literally anywhere and this is thanks to the 1832cc 6 cylinder engine. And boy does that engine make the best noise when you are hanging on the throttle. It sounds just like a GT3 Porsche!  Acceleration is not earth shattering, but it does get up and go very quickly for a motorcycle that most onlookers describe as a car with 2 wheels. It makes 88kw and 167 nm from the boxer 6 and it’s driven by a smooth shaft drive.

Wind, rain and sun; it’s what riding a motorcycle is all about. The Goldwing does such a great job of protecting you from those elements; I can understand why it’s so popular in Europe and the US. We’ve had some pretty nasty south easterly winds in Cape Town recently and this bike just laughs at it. Everybody who rides knows about the slight off camber lean when it gets windy. This just holds its line and asks for more wind, and even then, all you have is a little push from the side with no wind whatsoever coming from the front, all taken care of by the huge height-adjustable screen.

The gearbox is a 5 speed with overdrive and electric reverse. I only used the reverse 2 times or so and most of the time it’s not needed. Rpms are car-like at cruising speed and the Goldwing would probably top out around 210kph, at which it should still be pretty stable.

The stopping power is taken care of by dual 296mm discs with 3 piston callipers on the front and a single 316mm disk on the rear with 3 piston callipers on the rear. Stopping power is impressive for something of this size.

The front suspension features a 45mm fork with anti-dive and a total of 140mm travel. The rear a pro-arm single sided swing arm with electronically preload adjustment with 2 memory pre-sets, controlled from the dash, has a total travel of 104mm.

Now, getting to the gadgets, which most motorcyclists aren’t used to having. Firstly, it has cruise control. Works exactly like a car, with a deactivation when you get on the brakes. Works lovely on the open road, would have been better if the throttle was fly by wire and not conventional cable. You can feel the throttle turning when the bike accelerates. It’s not a biggy, just my personal preference.  The radio is a 2 speaker unit which is controlled from either the centre area or the left handlebar, with volume control and radio station seek. It also has an intercom which is a simple plug-and-play with your headsets. There is a line in for Mp3 players sitting in the left front cubbyhole.  There are also heated seats and heated grips, both controlled from the dash, and the pillion seat heat is controlled from the rear respectively.

Luggage space is pretty impressive. The top box takes 2 full face helmets and the side panniers will take a big rucksack (or camera bag) on the one side and 2 heavy leather jackets on the other. It might be a tight squeeze, but it will fit. The topbox is also controlled via remote, so it can be conveniently unlocked with the press of a button. The sides, unfortunately, need to be pulled open from underneath the topbox.

There has always been a comparison between the Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic and the Goldwing. The Goldwing lacks the character of the Electra Glide, but makes up for it in comfort, handling and wind protection. It’s also much faster and consumes more fuel. On average we got 270km on 20liters of fuel. Not bad for a 1800cc boxer 6.

The Wing is just one of those bikes you need to ride, even if it’s just once in your life. I completely understand now why they have a huge following!

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You would be dead wrong to think that the ‘Honda Fury’ and ‘boring’ has anything in common with each other.  Raked out forks, low seat, almost convincing you that it’s a hard tail and a relatively wide (for a Honda) rear wheel.  Decked out in high gloss black with chrome everywhere, it’s hard to think that this bike can be bought just like this off the showroom floor for around R140 000.

When I threw my 6 foot 5 frame over the saddle I was surprised how low it was. The bars come back and with your feet on the pegs, it’s actually pretty comfortable and very easy to ride. It might be a little heavy for the ladies, but no impossible. The kerb weight is rated at 309kg and it certainly does not feel that heavy. The handling is very cruiser-like and will easily change direction but with the long raked out steering, its rather stable on the highway. Short shifting is the name of the game and just riding on the torque is where the bike is at its happiest. It also sounds great and meaty but just a little too quiet for my liking.

The 1312cc, 52 degree Liquid cooled V-twin is nice and torquey for a 1300. Power is not earth-shattering but, also remember, this bike is down on size compared to those American bikes which start at about 1600cc. The engine produces 42kw and 107nm and I would imagine that, with a pair of straight pipes, a little more torque can be unlocked. Who wants a quiet chopper anyways? Is it not about making a lot of noise and turning heads?

The power is transmitted to the rear via a 5 speed gearbox and a shaft drive to keep maintenance down to a minimum. It also keeps the rear end tidy and easy to clean.

The fuel tank is rather small at 12.8 litres, but with Honda claiming 20km/l, your range should be around the 200km per tank mark, which is not too bad. We ran 170km to reserve and this included some hard acceleration runs, as well as over the speed limit cruising. The bike is at home around 120km/h, but will easily sit at 140-150km/h all day. It’s just so smooth with very little vibrations for a cruiser. The wind blast is not bad either. For a naked bike, I think it’s pretty good. There is some wind on your head, but that’s about it.
The brakes are double calliper with ABS and I can assure you that its stops phenomenally. The rear tire just grips and grips and I could not get it to lock up during any braking tests with our test runs. Eventually I ended up just standing on them and even then the bike stopped so fast it was unbelievable. There was a hint of the ABS kicking in though. The front features a 3 pot and the rear a 2 potter.

I found the suspension hard, but not uncomfortable. The front fork is a 45mm telescopic fork with 130mm stroke and 102 axle-travel, where the rear is a monoshock with adjustable rebound and preload and 95mm axle travel. I guess I should have fiddled with the rear shock to get more comfort out of it.

I really enjoyed the Fury. It’s probably the only one of its kind from the land of the rising sun. There is no pretention to be a power house and it works, albeit, a little too well.

Go check it out at your local Honda dealer and if you aren’t pleasantly surprised after a test ride, mail me and tell me why!

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Back to the bike and I’m going to be honest here; The G650GS is not my kind of bike. I like my bike to have long travel suspension, big aggressive knobblies and a lot of gravel churning power. None of this has anything in common with the new little GS. So initially I was not that excited about it. Not that it’s a bad bike; it’s just not my kind of bike.

Riding out of Cape Town I was certain that I summarized this bike wrong. It had a good throttle response, good ABS brakes and with the smaller front wheel it felt a lot more stable in traffic. Getting home I had a look at the bike. I mean a real look; I noticed all the little things that you would not normally notice. For starters, the rear suspension is adjustable on the fly. This is great if you want to soften it up if the road gets bad and stiffen it up again if the road gets better. The oil filler is on top of the fuel tank and is easily manageable – now you don’t have any excuse not to check your oil. The foot pegs also have removable inserts. Remove them when you venture off road and put them back when you get back to town. It really is the little things that make an owner appreciate his bike.

Our bike came fitted with a top box, and yet, as with most BMW products, the quality is exceptional. The locking and removing of the box really is a breeze. It also fits a full face helmet with no trouble and I’m guessing a dual purpose helmet won’t be a problem either.

Let’s get to the good part: the riding. On tar this bike is phenomenal; it’s clear that the demographic is the city junkie who likes to get out over the weekends. It’s not a bike that the experienced rider will buy, but it will be enjoyed either way. This is the perfect bike for the beginner to intermediate rider. The power is not intimidating, yet there is enough to see you overtake traffic on the freeway at normal speeds. The bike cruises effortlessly at 130kph and will run to a limited 170kph on the clock. The instrument panel features a time, temp and a distance odometer with a counting range when you run into reserve. Fuel tank size is 14 liters with 4 of that being reserved, and yes, I tested it. Range is surprisingly good and with a steady hand there is no reason why you shouldn’t see 260km+ on a full tank.

The little screen does a great job keeping the wind off your chest at highway speeds. I did find when riding with a dual purpose helmet that the buffeting was a little more than that of the full face. Either way it’s a good screen, even for tall people like me at 1.94m. The bike is also fitted with optional heated grips and even on the low settings they work almost too well. I have a feeling this is meant for the guys up in Joburg!

The wheels are Mag wheels and yes most will agree that it does not work off road. Its relative to the tires fitted and the Trailwings aren’t really meant for our corrugated roads in summer. They are tubeless and this is a major benefit, when you do go off-road. Just switch them for a set of Mitas eo7‘s and you will have a super dual purpose bike to go and explore the country roads.

My conclusion is that If you are new to the dual purpose lifestyle and you are looking for a do jt all bike with little compromise, the g650gs is a great bike. it will take you to work in the week and out to the Cedarburg on weekends.  Backed with BMW on call, this surely is a good buy at R82 000.

Ride one today and tell me that I was wrong!

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Alrighty then – we arrived in Anchorage last Thursday and headed up to Fairbanks. We’re still here – waiting for our bikes to be ready at Northern Powersports in Fairbanks. Unfortunately they were a bit delayed due to the 4th. of July celebrations. The packages with the equipment from Happy-Trail didn’t arrive until yesterday, so they haven’t been able to prepare the bikes for us.

So, for the moment we just hang out at Go North, a hostel at the outskirts of Fairbanks. A really great place.
The plan is to go north to Coldfoot tomorrow – stay there one night and then go to Deadhorse on Friday.

This is my 1st. attempt to do a RR so have a little patience
Pictures and more information will follow soon. Until then, you can follow our adventure on the link below.

More here.

Check out Lars’s Website.

http://www.n69s54a.com/