by Klaus Nennewitz | www.motorcycle.com

Rallye-Comeback?

At BMW Motorrad, vehicle development has been in the hands of passionate off-road rider Christof Lischka for a number of years, and the last official two-cylinder Dakar bike from the Munich-based company, built in 2001 for Nani Roma, is displayed in his office. With such an object before your eyes, you probably can’t help but think at least once a day about how to conjure up something from the current motorbike product portfolio to make off-road sport happen again at BMW.

Perhaps, this factory racer was already the inspiration for the new F 900 GS presented in spring 2024, which suddenly revived the off-road characteristics of the mid-range model series that somehow were lost in the process. Despite being a little overweight, the engineers had succeeded in creating an excellently balanced Adventure bike with a lively and responsive engine. But Lischka wanted more.

Almost at the same time, a young man with a big name in the city of Wangen, around 160 kilometres to the west of Munich, was thinking about the same topic, providing the narrative for a story that happened in a similar way almost 50 years ago. Towards the end of the 1970s, BMW Motorrad had persuaded the German Motorcycle Sport Federation OMK to announce a new displacement class above 750cc in off-road racing. The Bavarian company wanted to get involved in this class to promote the new R 80 G/S and to underline its versatility and off-road capability. BMW took a two-pronged approach to the construction of the ‘factory bikes’: the team around chassis specialist Laszlo Peres worked on the project internally, while at the same time motorcycles were commissioned to multitime German champion and off-road legend Herbert Schek. 

In 1980, the factory riders won the German and European championships on the GS 80, laying the foundations for a success story that continues to this day, including four victories in the Paris-Dakar Rally and the leading role of the BMW GS in the touring adventure bike segment. Schek’s grandson Maxi has inherited the Rally DNA from his family: his mother Cornelia started in several rallies in Africa, and his aunt Patrizia even made it to the finish line of the Dakar Rally (occasionally together with his grandfather). On a slightly modified F 850 GS, the young motorcycle mechanic won the first edition of the German Cross Country Championship in 2023 in the big bike class. Shortly after the presentation of the F 900 GS in February 2024, a bike was ready for conversion in his workshop to prepare it for the 2024 season.

In his review, Ryan Adams said the F 900 GS “offers more performance on-road and off than any middleweight to come out of Bavaria in recent years.”

In Munich, on the other hand, after the presentation of the F 900 GS in Màlaga in February, the initial feedback from journalists regarding the off-road performance of the machine was inspiring. Reason enough for Lischka to press ahead internally with the construction of a racing machine in order to provide a toy for the extreme enduro specialist and BMW instructor Gerhard Forster.

The first task on the agenda was to reduce the weight of the machine, which settles down to 462.9 lbs. To this end, the ABS components, charcoal filter, passenger footrests and other non-essential parts were removed, a titanium exhaust system from Akrapovič was installed and the halogen headlight from the previous model (with the same external shape) replaced the current LED headlight. The wheels were converted to narrow Excel rims in sizes 21/18 with the original hubs, and a single rotor/caliper on the front wheel was kept. German company Zonenstern took care of the suspension and installed a closed cartridge in the standard Showa upside-down front fork keeping the original 9 inches of travel, while a new shock from the same manufacturer provides 9.6 inches travel at the rear wheel (1.2 inches more than standard).

As the instrument carrier is often a critical component on adventure bikes, especially when heavy road book holders and navigation devices are mounted on it, the standard part was replaced by an aluminum rally tower from the 3D printer. The footrests, handlebars, and levers have been adapted to the rider’s personal preferences, while the engine is protected by a one-piece aluminum skidplate. By using the standard body parts with white and blue motorsport graphics, Forster’s ‘works machine’ is not immediately recognizable as such from a distance.

Maxi Schek’s machine also bears the standard F 900 GS decals, but the Allgäu-based rider took a somewhat more radical approach to the conversion, as the bike was primarily intended to be ridden in the German Cross Country Championship and only incidentally as a rally machine. The most obvious change is at the front: the standard Showa fork has been replaced by a 48mm WP fork with a closed cartridge setup offering 10.6 inches suspension travel.

The two bikes meet for their first duel on a Sicilian beach. With a seat height of around 35.4-inches, the Schek-bike has to be climbed first, and as the sporty, firm suspension hardly gives way, a good balance on the tip of your toes is the order of the day. A throaty and pleasant sound from the rear silencer accompanies the first miles on the beach, while the powerful engine easily pulls the 440-pound machine out of the sand. For my height of 5 foot 7 inches, the ergonomics with the relatively flat handlebars are pretty good, you can tell that the machine is designed more for enduro-type action, where the berms are ridden in a seated position and direct contact with the front end is immensely important. To give the machine the best agility in tough terrain, the steering damper has been removed, which causes a brief moment of shock when braking hard after a fast run on the beach; set-up and terrain are not necessarily compatible in this case. 

On the other hand, the engine is very powerful, even at the slightest opening of the throttle. The two-cylinder bike can be easily controlled with just the rear wheel and precise drifts are incredible fun. The enduro test track in the mountains reveals the real character of the bike: on a bombed-out jeep trails with deep ruts and cross-cuts, peppered with stones and banked corners, the F 900 GS flies over all kinds of obstacles, which are ironed out by the exceptionally good, firm suspension. Confidence grows, a feeling of invulnerability spreads as you constantly ride way too fast over this terrain for an adventure bike and inwardly expect the suspension to bottom out. But instead, nothing happens at all, one gets used to riding the same lines as on a smaller enduro bike, it’s not really necessary to avoid the obstacles any more.

If you spend a lot of time standing up on this bike and want to bring your weight forwards to let it dance between your knees, the two stylistic bulges on the top of the petrol tank unfortunately get in the way, as they also do on the standard version. It is not easy to clamp the knees around the fuel tank, so it’s better to be careful when accelerating standing up, because when the F 900 GS starts to push, she does so with great vehemence!

Gerhard Forster’s rally bike follows a different philosophy, the bike is tuned for long and fatigue-free rally riding. There are major differences in the ergonomics: the footrests are lowered and, together with the standard seat, allow a comfortable knee angle, making it less difficult to repeatedly stand up on a rally stage. The handlebars are significantly higher and thick rubber grips are intended to provide more comfort for the hands. The suspension is softer overall, which should be suitable for long daily stages. This makes the Forster bike feel a little more sluggish on the jeep trail, which is probably also due to the steering damper, which gives this F 900 GS significantly more stability on the front wheel, making it safer on fast gravel tracks. However, it also appears more front-heavy than the Schek machine, which almost feels like a Motocross bike in direct comparison. But as I said, the two machines are intended for different motorsport disciplines, and for these, the two transformations of the F 900 GS are each outstandingly successful.

The weighing of the machines after the test underpins the riding impressions with figures: with a full tank, Gerhard Forster’s rally bike weighs 465 pounds, with a partial wheel load of 232.6 lbs. each. Maxi Schek’s racer is significantly lighter at 445 lbs., but the low front wheel load of just 198.4 lbs. (rear: 224.8 lbs) catches the eye and is probably the cause for the sensational light feeling of the front end (the stock F 900 GS’ total weight with full tank is rated at 496 lbs., 251 pounds at the front and 244.7 lbs. at the rear).

Compared to the Aprilia Tuareg, which recently won the Africa Eco Race for the second time in a row, the weight disadvantage of even the light Schek machine is probably still around 44 pounds, which could make it a little more difficult to be competitive in Rally Racing at the moment. But ‘there’s magic in every beginning.’ Who knows what consequences the background commitment of privateer Schek and R&D manager Lischka will have…. We are looking forward to the action!

BMW F 900 GS Rally Prototype Gallery

Credit: Photos by Daniele Onorato.