BMW's 1200GS gets (very) serious!

It’s now a quarter of a century since BMW released the R 80 G/S and in so doing created a new class of motorcycle – the large capacity off-roader. An ideal off-road tourer with great manners on a dirt road ithas not really had much more sporting pretence than that. Yes, it did win the Paris-Dakar Rally at different times but only through superhuman riders and massive machine development. Though the showroom machine has evolved through massive engine redesigns and a capacity increase to 1200cc, no-one in their right mind would seriously contemplate going into a harsh off-road environment on a BMW GS model for fun until now. The new BMW HP2 is a genuine large capacity, lightweight boxer-engined high performance off-road machine. How lightweight? VERY - try 175 kg dry!!!!

The new HP designation will be akin to the “M badge on BMW four-wheeled machinery, signifying focussed, high performance variants of the BMW Motorrad range. It’s all part of a major push within BMW to develop a wider following amongst younger sportier riders, illustrated by recent new machinery such as the K1200R and K1200R.

The development of the GS range began in the late 1970s with BMW’s support of various teams in off-road events such as the famous International Six Day Trial (subsequently ISDE) though off-road sports activities of this kind had been a tradition extending all the way back to the 1930s with BMW.

The final impetus came when BMWs won the unlimited class of the German Off-road Cham-pionship in 1979, with a group of enthusiasts inside BMW’s Motorcycle Division pushing upper management to develop a series machine for homologation based on the experience gained with competition models. Tests with the first prototypes were an immediate success convincing BMW Motorrad to begin the series development process.

The world’s two-cylinder large enduro entered a market in 1980, which up to that time had consisted exclusively of single-cylinder models. Displacing 800 cc and featuring both a driveshaft and a single swinging arm, the R 80 G/S was a sensation and opened up a brand-new, previously untapped market segment – the segment of large capacity, all-round touring enduros.

The R 80 G/S quickly became the ideal motorcycle for the committed globe-trotter, with enthusiasts the world over appreciating the performance reserves, the long-distance comfort and the surpris-ing off-road qualities of this touring enduro machine.

BMW off-road machines participated from the start in the long-distance Paris-Dakar Rally and French desert specialist Hubert Auriol won the motorcycle category in 1981, repeating his success in 1983. Former World Motocross Cham-pion Gaston Rahier from Belgium also brought home the title in 1984 and 1985.

Launched in 1988, the R 100 GS raised the outstanding qualities of BMW’s off-roader to an even higher standard. Indeed, this was the largest enduro in the world at its time. And with worldwide sales amounting to 69,000 units, the R 80/R 100 GS was also a huge success in the market.

A completely new machine based on the brand-new 1085cc four-valve engine was introduced in 1994, upping available horsepower from the R100GS’s 60 horses to 80 horsepower.

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