2024 F900GS ridden! BMW's mid-size adventurer comes of age | MCN Review
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2024
- #BMW #Gs #F900
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900 cc is mid size ? It now has a big bike feel? The world has gone mad
Exactly my thoughts. "How can we make a Mid Weight Bike better? We make it bigger of cause! And give it more power. Because that is precisely what you need to go off road. Oh dear, can't control that now. I know, give it ride modes to stop people crashing". We are almost where the big GS was to start with.
I suppose this way their development team is creating a new motorbike class, the Mid-Weight Adventure Bike.
Stop this lunacy, don't buy into what they tell you need, don't buy them.
Voge 300 or a Himalayan ( new or old model) will do 😏
Well, given there is a 1300...😅
@@bhok1971 I.will put some knoblies on a rocket 3
@@specialized500 turbo hayabusa anyone?
I'm constantly telling people (I'm a track instructor - I get to ride the odd bike or two every now and again!), that unless you are travelling 2 up or are chronically obese, you absolutely do not need any of the big 1200-1300cc Adventure Bikes. Any of the 'mid-range' (8-900cc) bikes are far better choices: Easier to control off road with as much power as you could ever need, while also being more fun on the road, being much easier to hussle around corners. Though I adored the Yamaha T7, my own money would go to either the Desert X (as I'm a saddo Ducati fan), or Tiger 900.
I got a 700 Ten and agree with you if you ride mostly on tarmac. A bit lacking. Needs longer gearing for that. Love it, though.
Desert x needs more money spending on it to make it better offroad, the suspesion is way to soft for any serious riding offroad especially carrying 20-30lbs or kit for a week or 2 trip or if you a bigger person and not a Italian test rider sized person the suspension is too soft .
@@Rust_valleyracing there already is a rally version with those upgrades and more
@@babyfknblu I know and the suspension is still to soft on the rally version 😂😂😂
@@Rust_valleyracing either you're pol tarres or you need to hit the gym!
Nice review as usual ❤
Good looking bike. I think they listened to owners of the 850, especially the criticism of the non adjustable front suspension. The seat might be a problem and I know the new front end looks really good, but am sure people will be looking into a bigger screen. I hear the engine mapping is still hesitant at slow revs. BMW and Triumph are going have to bite the bullet and copy KTM/Husqvana and get the fuel storage low otherwise they'll remain top heavy. It might be the best BMW in the dirt, but Its easier to lift the bigger boxer as it doesn't fall flat like the 900.
219kg for the standard model. 230+kg fully equipped.
Beautiful bike but yeah still too heavy to confidently take off road.
You forgot the Aprilia Tuareg 660.
It is probably the most (off-road) capable bike in its category (at least until the Kove 800X arrives) but the Tuareg 660 is always forgot by journalists
@@brunocarmona4958Usually they miss out the KTM790 and 890 too. If you look at most of the 'middle weight' comparisons, especially where they include the Yamaha T700 they completely ignore the KTM. Odd as the base 790 is actually cheaper
I spent most of last year pondering which bike would suit me ,50% road 40% gravel road , 10% off road .There is no perfect answer , but weight became the determinant as 150 KG or less seems to be a realistic lump to pick up or ride off road .I had a wr450 and ttr600 as last 2 bikes ,neither suitable for this brief .I have had many 200kg + bikes .So now I have an imperfect answer but the most fun I've had in years - a CRF 300 .Small is beautiful after all and I suffer no size envy .I just love riding it .
@@nigelhorrocks7592 the crf300 is heavier than the yam tt600r by 40 + lbs , crf300 has terrible suspension and is very underpowered compared to a tt600r .
Its a different price category though , i think that the only real competitor is the Desert X for someone that wants a more luxurious mid weight adventure bike but i would be extremely scared to ride such a bike off road you need to be really experienced.
I Rode my mates 2024 f900gs enduro pro equipped bike on weekend, very impressed with the ride, very nimble compared to my 2023 desert X, the enduro Pro suspension is a must have, firm and sporty feeling and will feel good offroad,(i ride alot of endro offroad) build quality is typical bmw ,well thought out and the dash is lovely and easy to use, it has very good brakes and a good seat height for shorter riders as mate is 5 foot 7 and he has no probs ,its got plenty of suspension travel, the quick shifter is very nice, heated grips work very well, I didn't like the 17' rear wheel as you limited to tyre choices for offroad and the bend on the exhaust coming out from the cat is abit of a eye sore and will take knocks offroad, the seat is felt very plush ,don't know what its like for a few hours but my mate said it's fine, it's very motor cross feeling bike with the narrow seat and the higher bars ,its deceptively quick banging up through the gears with the quick shifter, I think with the cat removed and a remap it will be alot better torque , it's very linear and it will easily cruise at 100 no probs in Europe lol , it's 100 percent a yam T7 killer ,I really liked it and it's going to be fun offroad, the hand guards will need upgrading as will the bash plate will need a upgrade for offroad and some sturdy pannier racks to give the exhaust some protection and for luggage, the mounting points for crash bar are in very good places on the engine and frame. Its going to make a good adv bike for offroad stints and fitting a taller screen for longer trips as there was some wind noise
There are not many 18" offroad tubeless tyres on the market, so 17" option rear wheel seems logical to me.
@@motolover5697 there's more 18' tyres avaliable than 17 inch lol it's a adventure/offroad bike not a sports bike, 17 inch very rarely used on offroad capable bikes, 99 percent of offroad capable bikes are a 21 front 18 rear from all mx bikes to enduro bikes and all adv bikes ,last adv bike that ran a 17 rear was the old yam tenere 660 back.in the 2000s
@@Rust_valleyracing tubeless tyres, not tubed tyres.
@@motolover5697 are you smoking drugs 😆😆
@@motolover5697 what are you on about , there's more choice for tubed or tubless for 18 inch rimmed off road tyres than a 17 inch rim offroad tyre, that's a fact !! 😆😆
I tested one a week ago. Loved it. It’s one long firework in my opinion especially with the quick shifter. Nothing cold about it. The only bike you would ever need.
Where is the sub-frame? Can you actually carry luggage with it? Does the plastic fuel tank swell when used with ethanol fuels?
Nice bike.
Neeves off roader great stuff
Please please make sure you include the base crf1100L in the upcoming group test. Yes it is in the same category ie around 100ps. Don’t forget like last time..😂
I rode the f900xr a couple of years ago, thinking I could replace my r ninet and k75 with one bike.
To your point about the engine I couldn't agree more. It's got plenty of grunt but my god is it boring somehow. Suffice to say I still own an r ninet and a k75....
Nice bike. Wouldn't swap my 2008 800gs for this one though 😅
If I trade-in my F750 GS for the new F900 GS, I'll be going from fairly boring to fairly boring. However, if I trade in my Fireblade for a Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+, I'll be going from exciting but uncomfortable to an exciting, comfortable mile muncher, and Ill still have the f750 GS for moto-camping.
Good plan, methinks. 😁
Not that I can afford either, but I'm stressed out trying to pick between this and the Tiger 900 Rally Pro. 😊
Used GT Pro is around 8.5k. Save yourself 5k and get that one.
The Rally Pro has some serious issues with vibrations through the bars. It's a fun bike and looks great, but taking it on a 3-4 hr highway trip and your hands will go numb. Oh, and the speedo is off by 6 mph, which will drive you nuts. And don't get the Triumph quick shifter wet, or it will stop working. Otherwise, nice bike. I traded mine for a Beemer.
@@mikemcmurray2506 literally £200 vibration dampener solves this... but go buy the new one that's £6000 more and is 5% better 🤣
It's a drawback that the fuel tank is just 14,5 litres spite it's low on fuel.
Tuareg? Was this left out on purpose?
👍
The engine being a bit boring or forgettable is very typical of the old F750GS and F850GS. Amazing bike to rent for touring. Everything works perfectly but never excited to get on the bike in the morning. This is BMW motorcycle to me.
Maybe I'll take a little less fireworks than -- but get a solid BMW with great build and no breakdowns... Comes from tons of experience around the world travel. Check.
So £9995 + VAT? Demo ones will be around £9-9500,more nearer my price range
I see BMW have done away with a rear position/brake light and incorporated them into the very small indicators, just like the GS1300. Probably the worst safety omission they could have done. Im amazed it passes lighting/safety regs.
Did they fix the problem with rims? Tiger rally pro has also problems with rims! Are they using the same rim manufacturer?
Wow, wow, wow, wow - what a influencer BS. Look at it, it’s a handful of Kg lighter by slimming down a gazillian things! Right? Wrong! It’s lighter just by the same method of the GS1300 - leave bits and bolts out and put them into the accessories catalog. What? Yes, for the most part, the relevant part.
But it’s so light and tight and narrow? Yes, take all the covers off the original Africa Twin and what do you see? a light, tight, narrow skeleton, just like what Ducati did on the desert-X, just leave the crap rear open as if the bike is unfinished! And BMW, not dumb, does the same.
Wowowowow! What great innovative bikes! Well, after all that influencer BS blahblah, reading from the brochures, no, not really, but saying what they have been told about the bike on a nice dinner-pool-beer-launch-4star-hotel event in the bahamas, ok, portugal or something like what else do you expect - “brochure talk”. And still the ones who’ve ridden it - guess what - found nothing new - nothing that sticks out - only, it doesn’t stink as much as the prior model.
How many have been convinced this is the kicker against the T7, the 890-R, the AT/ATS, the GS1.3, the MSV4? None! They’ll all have it forgotten by - tomorrow.
Don’t make the bike so bad. I don’t, it’s better than the prior, but that’s just it, nothing else. It’s not even worth beeing mentioned above the shop-stayer tiger900/1200. They don’t sell, sure some will buy it, but done. No more.
if they would put genuine bmw engine in it may be more fun and reliable.
But in your OWN MCN piece, you said it had No character and was NO fun !! What changed ??
5.28
Still to heavy. Rumors are BMW is going to fill the niche between 310 and 900 GS. Will see.
Boxer engines are much better due to lower center of gravity. Both on road and offroad. And are also much easier to lift when the bike is down. Which happens on offroad riding quite often.
No one takes a GS off road in the UK 🤣. If anyone drops it, they ain't picking it back up, solo anyway. They're 70+.
Package is not covincing.
What you mean package isn't convincing ?
219kg isn't middle weight, that's a heavy weight, a middle weight adv bike would be something like a dr650
What would be a light weight adv bike (not a dual sport) then?
@@nielsmeer I think the closest thing to a light weight adv bike would be the ktm 390 adventurer
@@benjy288 I’d agree the KTM 390 would be a small ADV bike, albeit with the limitation of a thumper motor. That bike is about 380 lbs. The F900 and KTM 890 are around 480 lbs, while a KTM 1290 super adv is around 598 lbs. So, the F900 is squarely in the middleweight size of ADV bikes. Dual sports are a different category. The DR650 would be a heavyweight dual sport, like the KTM 690 or Husqvarna 701 at around 350-360lbs, whereas a middleweight DS may be the Honda CRF300L at 305lbs or maybe a DRZ400 at 320lbs and lightweight would be something like a KTM 350 EXC-F at 250lbs. Big difference is a 300-500 mile day on a dual sport vs an adv bike & how you’d feel afterwards.
@@nielsmeer Personally I don't think a lightweight adv bike exists, I would call the 390 adventurer a middle weight adv bike, if you consider a modified dual sport an adv bike then I would class a ktm 500 exc with a big tank, a comfy seat, and maybe a small screen a light weight adv bike, a dr 650 with a big tank would be a middle weight adv bike.
@@benjy288 To be fair, they are somewhat arbitrary classifications. Ultimately, it’s a range between off road capability and distance comfort and carrying capacity. KTM 350/500 are awesome bikes off-road, but a seat and a small screen won’t make them a distance touring bike. I think the large dual sports could be a reasonable argument for a small adv bike. Many have used a KLR650 for exactly that purpose before. I can also see the point of the ever growing capacity of the engines being a bit strange. For example, the first BMW GS was a twin with 800cc & now the “mid size” is 900cc? Fortunately, we have a lot of options and people can find the sweet spot that works for their real world use case. I’m glad the F900 is a bit more off-road focused than the previous gen. It’s closer to a KTM 890 now & probably a good choice for a long distance ADV bike for a lot of people vs the “large” adv bikes, without the compromises than a smaller dual sport would require.
The Chinese will take care of them, just want see how much theirs market share shrink on the next 2 years.
Pretty sure this beemer is built in china…
@@mrcru53 Yup, but comes equipped with a German price, and that is exactly the problem.
@@mrcru53Pretty sure you are WRONG. It is built in Berlin. BMW Motorrad does have assembly plants now for Asian and South American markets in Asia (Thailand and India) and South America (Brazil), but they only assemble CKD (complete knock down assembly kits from Berlin) for the local markets. The G310 models are made in India. BMW does have a subcontractor arrangement for some engines/parts/scooters with Loncin in China.
Too bad that it looks like a cb500x, like exactly. Thet removed the GS look sadly.
😂not at all
@@greg-mandin not, it really does. Go look at the cb500x and then go back to the 900gs
It looks much better than the old 850. What would they need to do to convince you? Have an asymmetric light I suppose. It is not legal in the EU anymore so they cannot do it.
Idk man, only the shape is similar to the cb500x, nothing else..
@@motolover5697 the GS should have a beak, they could have kept the GS design ethos at least.
Whoooa .