How Baja Came Along. Part 1: BMW

What do all the motorcycle adventures have in common? That’s right, an adventure motorcycle. So this is the story of how my adventure motorcycle came to be.

So Lucy and I moved to America, and we were like — “We’re not gonna spend money on anything significant until we become filthy rich, so that we remain laser focused.” We lived that way for a few months, and then that slowly transformed into “We’re not gonna spend money on anything significant until we buy a house, so that we remain laser focused.” Then a few months after that, we were like “OK fuck, let’s get the best motorcycle money can buy.”

Which motorcycle is that? But of course. The one on my Facebook cover picture.

red_f800gs

The problem with America is that everything is so accessible it’s ridiculous. So we went to the BMW Motorcycle dealership in Austin, test rode an F800GS and an F800GS Adventure, went like “naaah we’re not gonna buy a bike, gotta stay focused on buying a house, man”, and forgot about it. By saying “forgot” I of course mean started watching every-single-F800GS-video-on-youtube-every-free-hour-of-every-day. That’s a hell lot of videos.

A few short months later, my colleague Brian goes like “Hey dude I’ve saved up a ton of money, and I don’t have anything good to do with it, so I just wanna waste it on buying one of those Slingshot cars. They carry them at the BMW dealership, wanna come along for a test drive?” “Sure,” I say. Who would mind test driving a Slingshot?

Myself and Brian, under some kind of an influence.
Myself and Brian, under some kind of an influence.
Polaris Slingshot. I know, right?
Polaris Slingshot. I know, right?

So back to the dealership, Brian is checking out the Slingshot, but I’m just glued to the BMW motorcycles section. The salesman, Sean, is the same guy that gave me the bikes for test riding the previous time. He goes “Hey you seem to be really into this bike, why did you decide against buying it the last time?” and I go “Well dude, we’re trying to buy a house, so stop tempting me” and he goes “Guess what, if you buy it today, I’ll give you $3000 off.”

Holy fuck.

Fast forward 1 hour, Brian and I are going back home. Me having just bought a brand new BMW F800GS Adventure. Brian being like “the Slingshot was meh.”

Fresh off the showroom
Fresh off the showroom

BMW F800GS

Motorcycling for some is about the speed. For some others it is about the acceleration. Some love the chrome, some love the sound, and some are thrilled with the danger. For some it is about the agility and many miles per gallon, while some others are excited with the mechanics of the vehicle.

For a specific group of people, and that includes myself, motorcycling is about the adventure. It is about what comes after the next curve, what’s behind the next hill and what’s that spill on the tarmac ahead. We think rain, and we think unexplored roads, and we think places we’ve never been to before. And for us there is the BMW F800GS, the young brother of BMW’s flagship R1200GS Adventure. Sexy, aggressive and stylish as all hell.

 

BMW F800GS
BMW F800GS
BMW F800GS
BMW F800GS
BMW F800GS
BMW F800GS