For 2018, BMW has updated the platform shared by the F 750 GS and F 850 GS adventure tourers with a larger engine, new chassis and more.
When it debuted nearly a decade ago, BMW?s F 800 GS seemed like the answers to adventure riders? prayers. It had the durability and off-road prowess that had made the BMW GS a household name, but it weighed and cost less than the 1200 and had chain drive, an off-road-ready 21-inch front wheel with spoked rims front and rear. The middleweight GS impressed us so much, we named it Rider?s 2009 Motorcycle of the Year.
2018 BMW F 750 GS in Austin Yellow metallic
In the years since, there?s been a lot of competition in the middleweight adventure touring segment, and other than minor updates and the addition of the F 800 GS Adventure model for 2013, the F 800 GS was getting long in the tooth. Read our 2009 BMW F 800 GS road test review
2018 BMW F 850 GS Rallye
For 2018, BMW has thoroughly revamped the street-oriented F 750 GS and the off-road-oriented F 850 GS. Despite what would seem to be a 100cc difference in displacement given their names, the F 750 GS and F 850 GS are both powered by an 853cc parallel twin, up from 798cc on the previous models. (The confusing model names have given us fits since the beginning.) The shared engine, which makes a claimed 77 horsepower in the F 750 GS and 95 horsepower in the F 850 GS, gets a more pleasing sound and feel thanks to a 90-degree crankshaft journal offset and a 270/450-degree firing intervals instea...