At last year’s EICMA reveal of the new BMW F850GS and its cheaper F750GS sister, there was one variant conspicuously absent. The new machines replaced the old F800GS and F700GS, but there was no version to supersede the F800GS Adventure, but this pic confirms it’s on its way.
The formula for the F800GS Adventure was simple; more rugged styling, a much bigger fuel tank, greater luggage capacity and more wind protection. And BMW isn’t messing with the recipe when it comes to the new one.
The appearance changes in relation to the F850GS mirror those of its predecessor. The beak is accentuated, the screen is taller with additional side elements, the flanks are deeper and the crash protection is more extensive.
The new F850GS has a smaller tank than the F800GS it’s replacing (15 litres instead of 16 litres), but the old Adventure version of the F800GS has a larger 24-litre unit. Its extra bulk is well hidden because the tank was under the seat. The F850GS has a conventional tank (not hidden under the seat), so the longer-range Adventure version will be much more apparent.
In technical terms, the Adventure isn’t expected to stray too far from the F850GS it is based on. That means we can expect the same 70kW (94hp) output at 8250rpm from the 853cc parallel-twin, up from 63kW (84hp), allied to 92Nm of torque at 6250rpm. The increased equipment level and larger tank will add up to a heftier bike; the old Adventure weighed an additional 15kg, with a full tank, over the base F800GS. If the same applies here, the new bike will come in at around 244kg ready-to-ride, 12kg more than its predecessor.
For a hard-core adventure style bike, the seat looks relatively low. The repositioned fuel tank has helped BMW reduce the seat height on the stock F850GS, and the Adventure appears to follow suit. That could make this a viable adventure-style option for shorter riders.
By Ben Purvis
