The Goodwood Test: BMW R1200GS Rallye Sport

Heritage

History is key to this sportiest yet version of the huge-selling adventure bike phenomenon that is BMW’s R1200GS. The Rallye name conjures up images of the Paris-Dakar Rally (Rallye in French), in which BMW boxers gave the firm’s reputation a vital boost by taking four bike-class victories in the early Eighties. The Rallye’s blue paint and frame are also a nod to the HP2, a classy but expensive High-Performance twin that was built in small numbers a decade ago.

BMW created the large-capacity dual-purpose sector – later to become known as the adventure class – in 1980 with the R80G/S. Its descendants have been getting more powerful, sophisticated and versatile ever since, through models including the R100GS and R1150GS. A major leap came in 2004 with the lighter, more manoeuvrable R1200GS, which has since been repeatedly updated with DOHC valve operation, liquid-cooling and advanced electronics.

Design

The Rallye has been designed as the most off-road ready standard GS yet. Along with its distinctive colour scheme, the bike gets a sportier look from its lower screen, a slimmer seat designed to work better when standing up, wider enduro footrests, and plastic frame protectors. The Rallye also comes with sturdy, cross-spoke wheels that encourage fitment of knobbly off-road tyres, and radiator guards to protect against stones.

The test bike is the upmarket Rallye Sport variant, which includes dirt-friendly optional parts including an additional, off-road riding mode and a more sophisticated traction control system for the 1170cc boxer engine. The Sport’s other options include engine bars, aluminium bash-plate, longer and stiffer sports suspension, plus Dynamic ESA “Next Generation”, an evolution of BMW’s semi-active suspension system, which automatically adjusts shock preload to suit load.

Performance

For such a big bike the Rallye Sport is well suited to off-road use, not least due to its gloriously flexible and useable power delivery. Its tractable boxer engine – essentially unchanged, and producing a maximum of 125bhp – grunts out its torque and finds improbable amounts of grip on the loosest surfaces, especially when assisted by knobbly Metzeler Karoo off-road tyres as well as the superbly refined traction control system.

The Rallye Sport’s standard two-way quick-shifter makes using the six-speed box a pleasure, and the dirt-dedicated ABS allows improbably hard braking on loose surfaces. The stiff, long-travel suspension helps the BMW over ruts and bumps, and manages to make it seem improbably agile for a shaft-drive machine that weighs a hefty 250kg with fuel. Although that weight means that for most riders it’s easy to let enthusiasm overcome ability, the Rallye’s versatility and sheer off-road prowess for such a big brute is remarkable.

Passion

You could almost justify buying the Rallye Sport even if you had no intention of riding it off-road. It blue frame and gold calipers contribute to an air of refined aggression generated by its wire-spoked wheels and Akrapovic silencer, plus (in the test bike’s case) the accessory crash protection and longer-travel suspension. There’s a hint of the old HP2’s legendary madness yet this is a down-to-earth all-rounder that, if fitted with road-biased tyres, would make almost as efficient a commuter as any R1200GS.

But the Rallye Sport is one big boxer that really only makes sense if you plan to equip it with chunky off-road rubber (at least some of the time) and get it coated in dust or mud. It’s not a tuned-and-lightened warrior like the HP2. But BMW’s recent advances in engine technology, suspension and electronics mean that, with a few key extras in place, the Sport is as brilliantly controllable off-road as it is capable and comfortable on tarmac.

Price tag of our bike: £16,560 (R1200GS Rallye Sport £14,625, plus Premium Package £1645 and Sports suspension £290. The standard R1200GS Rallye costs £12,730.)