1999 – BMW R1150GS
It’s often shared around a campfire – the story of how in 2003 KTM shot itself in the foot by turning down the opportunity to provide Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman with two 950 Adventures to go gallivanting up, down and around the world. An opportunity that BMW Motorrad seized with both handlebars, and the resulting success of the GS. Although rumour has it that the bikes weren’t quite as bulletproof as we were led to believe, with the pair reportedly having to swap them for new models on a couple of occasions…
That the Gelände/Straße models would have made its own fame is likely, but you can’t help but wonder if KTM had taken up the intrepid duo’s offer whether all those Chelsea tractors would today be orange and Austrian.
But speculation aside, the R1150GS was undeniably excellent. Launched in 1999 and produced through until 2004, it was the second air and oil-cooled BMW boxer, after its predecessor the R1100GS. Making 85hp and 102Nm at 5,250rpm, the 1,130cc boxer was paired to a new six-speed gearbox and alongside its high level of standard equipment – no other manufacturer specced their bikes so highly – featured an optional ABS system. Weighing 229kg dry, it was no dainty dirt bike, but the R1150GS was there to finish what the 1100 had started, and that was to convert sportsbike riders in their droves. With its dive-free Telelever wishbone front suspension, grunty engine and high riding position, it was unlike anything many had experienced.
But boy did it succeed. Over the five years that it was produced, 58,023 R1150GS models were built. An Adventure variant was produced from 2001 until 2005, with taller suspension, a larger screen, lower first gear and conventional sixth in place of the standard overdrive gear, plus the ability to run on lower quality fuel. A further 17,828 of these Adventure were produced.
The launch of the R1200GS, which is more akin to the model we know today, in 2004 marked the end of the curvy 1150. However, they still prove incredibly popular with seasoned adventurers, and it’s not unusual to see one with mileage in the hundreds-of-thousands.