BMW F850 GS Adventure Rallye X 

In my opinion BMW nailed it with the looks on this bike. Colors are stunning, Gold rims, perfect. Interesting to know the engines are made in China. As far as I am aware there are no issues.

Suddently strikes me looking at you going around the proving ground at that bike. I do remember you, first time on Max, puffing around all nervous and careful. Look at you now handling that heavy bike with ease and confidence. 👍🏻🇳🇴☕

Put the bike in "Enduro Pro" and the throttle response will be instantaneous. Dynamic mode is not for what you are doing in the video.

To use the quick shifter properly don’t back the throttle off when going up gears, just shift and it cuts the ignition and away you go. When shifting down, use zero throttle and same thing, it’ll match the revs to allow for you to shift. Try the Road mode and the enduro mode, they will make a difference to the way the bike feels. Enjoy!

Kudos for taking it where most BMW riders fear to roll.

You nailed it with the title. I had one in the UK, filled her up, pulled out of the petrol stn, stopped at the first give way and she fell over. Got me off balance and I couldn’t hold her up. But on the move…tour all day and handled brilliantly. 😁👍🏻

Mark, I'd be interested if the "throttle lag" changed in a different mode. Also, it may change the ABS issue you experianced. Hal, what a great Lad he is, allowing you to experience that great looking BMW. Personally, by keeping Max, you put yourself into bikes 200+ kilos. All above 200+ are heavy and problematic in their ways. AT looking the goods ATM? 👍😁

Hello Mark, so good to see you trying out different bikes for your Touring Duty/Rides; BMW do make a bloody good bike, yes service and repairs are expensive. This is the basic person of the F850GS.....then there is also the Triumph Tiger 900GT which has some gadgets but simple, you rode my bike and if you use the Off road program its blood great on dirt roads...I do not do single track....LOL....OK thanks for sharing and I hope our keep trying different bikes...so far I put my money on you getting the Honda AT.... David...Adelaide...Tiger900GT....

🎩-TIP to Hal for the lending that beautiful bike to Mark 👍🏼. Watching these test rides makes me think the Africa Twin is the “fit”, for you & Nay. BTW the rider modes would’ve resolved those off-road issues. The 850 GSA is mighty fancy indeed. My dream bike is a 🙏 2022 1250 GSA triple black and gold rims, yep high dollar and most likely a pipe dream. (still 🙏’ing)

I wonder if the throttle delay was because you were in a road mode and the traction control was kicking in.

Appreciate you Sir just replaced my 2012 BMW G 650 GS Sertao with this bike. Seriously cool upgrade at almost twice the HP.

G`day Mark, Nice bike , Nice video, as you say the bike is very heavy and the upkeep maybe expensive, have to say if I had a choice between this and the AT, I would go with the AT, interesting to see how Nay feels on the back and how you feel the bike handles when it is even more top heavy.

Try the Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro if you can get hold of one mate, would like to see what you think. Yeh they have a little bit of the wizardry going on but not near as much as those beemers, not hard to work out, (shit, if i can do it you can🤣), also i recon you can do all the basic service stuff on them yourself, would only need the shop if you are having "wizardy" problems i recon.😉

THIS A BEAST MATE

Mark great review, we all know the Africa twin is the one, with runner up being the T700. bang for the buck I think the T-700 edges out the Africa twin, both are good bikes!

That pulsing is the abs applying and releasing the brake so it doesn't lock up

You know, that "wizardry" could help you a lot if you tune it to the road condition that you are on. But, no worries, we in Bosnia are doing exactly like you - when fail at everything - read the manual. Being in dynamic mode while on dirt road is our stuff too. Wizardry is not your thing, but you are very good rider. Cheers mate.

Beautiful one..

Great looking bike , heaps of accessories you can tell Hal is very fussy owner

You can turn the throttle response up in the settings, but still nowhere near as instant as a dr650. Best feature for me it the cruise control on the long runs.

Love that bike

Ok, so need your advice. I own a 2019 GS Adventure. I took it from Miami to Thailand -- 6 months -- 17 countries in some shit places. I am only 5'9" so I feel the weight but you nailed it 100%. Riding it on highways, B roads, A roads its a dream. I also own a 2018 R1200GSA so I know comfort. I totally love my F850. Issue is that on my next trip which will be 20,000 miles and another 6 months -- I wanted to lighten up. Every time I look for something new -- I go back to the F850. The KTMs are junk and break and are unreliable... Cant take that. Japanese bikes are super reliable. But by the time you protect them, add the extra for the difference in fuel (6lbs per gallon) the weight difference gets small.. T7 weights 507 lbs but a small tank and no crash bars... F850 weights 538 lbs but big tank and crash bars already. So so confused... Any great bikes you suggest for a smaller guy for a long trip and reliable most important... I ride 70-30 road/off-road.

Nice work on the ride. The Enduro or Endro.Pro mode is a must off road. The ABS should not be engaging while idling around like that, and the modes change the throttle response too. Not sure if you actually were but you looked as though you were going a lot faster on the road without realising.

I have one..the exact same one...you should of been in the right mood when you were in the proving ground...and I ride two up and I find it awesome.

Thanks Mark. Please link the accessories your friend has added to this bike. Clutch/alternator covers and other covers and guards. I am on a 2022 F850GSA.

Nice looking bike, but like you said the dollars can be a bit much. Yeah, that African Twin man what a sexy bike. All the best Mark..

I went through many bikes to find one comfortable for 2 up riding and I found the perfect machine GS1250 the Gs850 Adventure is not much smaller than the GS1250,

Nice looking bike 🤓

I'm currently waiting on a 2022 honda cb500x to arrive.Keep ya posted for you to review if ya want.

What Gear are you using? Looks good. Really nice jacket.

It’s amazing that this 850 weighs about the same weight as my R1200GS. They are a handful but can be lifted without too much pain using the right techniques. As for long range comfort, they are fantastic. For the pillion, my Mrs recons she sits a bit too high on mine and head is in the wind too much other than that she loves it. This one has the same sort of configuration so it will be interesting to see what Nay thinks. Off road, Dynamic is not the right mode. Enduro Pro is the best, it turns ABS off on the rear, traction control is way less intrusive and it allows for some power sliding and wheelie fun.

BMWs are great bikes ,but the service ain't cheap.

Second best looking beemer after the hex/cam head gsa

Bike fit and picking them up is a problem for us tall older riders so it'll be interesting to see what you choose.

Great bike👍. You should have been able to turn abs off. I bet she's super comfy too👌. Cheers, Stace.👍👍

A great option is the Vstrom 1000. 20 kg lighter, best basic dirt traction control around, 100% reliable, 19/17 wheels, 20 l tank, many come with luggage, very cheap to maintain. Watch some YT reviews to see how capable they are, all owners swear by them. Final point, $10,000+ cheaper than the 850GS. Everything on the market will be over 200kg and a handful in the dirt compared to your DR.

The 850 is a great bike but the price puts it out of reach for many riders. Mark, if you had tried the various riding modes - the Enduro & Enduro Pro are designed for off road riding - you may have enjoyed the ride more. Did you try the quickshifter out? Clutch less gear change is fun on-road and helpful off road. So many great bikes these days, there is something for everybody.

Should have used the “Riding Modes” and the quick shifter.

Can you please test ride a CFMOTO 800MT Touring, when they are available in Oz. Has the KTM790 engine and has a lot of tech at a budget price. But Chyna ?!

The sad thing about all the ride modes and settings having to change them for every surface or terrain change. Is the same mode used for gravel and dirt, what about mud or wet clay, are they the same mode, do I set up the suspension in a different mode for mud as opposed to sand or gravel. One thing to be wary of Mark, don’t get used to ABS, as soon as you jump on a bike without it you will end up locking the brakes at just the wrong time.

Africa Twin any day - cheaper to buy, same cost to fit out, cheaper maintenance, more reliable and not made in China. The AT CRF1100L (that you tested) has plenty of grunt (100HP) and is a comfortable long distance ride. What are you waiting for!? Cheers, Simon

Don’t think there would be a big difference in running costs between the AT and the BMW both are premium brands Mark. Hopefully you’ll have had a chance to take it to the proving ground using the endurance and endurance Pro gearing that would affect your acceleration

Could i get a list of upgrades?

What are those black bits on the crash bars? Extra protection or some sort of spacers?

The throttle needs to be looked at tell your friend to take it back to bmw to get it set if he had it from brand new still should be under warranty they give you 3 years the mode switch is easy to use right hand side just flick the mode button until you get to the mode you want I’ve had mine brand this year within 3 months the clutch went bmw done it all not cost me a penny I’ve done 5700 miles on mine now brilliant bikes 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I would like to know your opinion on the new 2022 Kawasaki klr 650 gen 3?

Once you ride the GS you'll Never want to ride your DR again. The DR will be like riding a Lawnmower slash Washing Machine. 🤣

Id love to have a BMW but they are to costly to purchase, repair and maintenance. If you want the best bang for you buck. Two up riding? Africa Twin , I have a 2016, My wife claims its the most comfortable machine I've ever had we are both over 65. The 850 BMW is actually 4 lbs heaver than the AT. I guess all them extra gizmos are heavy.

You can try my 2020 klr650 no wizards and it can do all that and more for half the price

Nice bike but if you get a problem, and you will, you just know it will be the electrics playing up, big bucks to fix.

Re Throttle delay - I think each mode ‘smooths’ out the throttle slightly differently. To get the full experience, I think you should ride it in each mode. Disclaimer - BMW 650GS rider. (No onboard wizardry )

Normal service costs as any other bike. You are talking yourself down and not even trying the other modes offered. Testing mainly offroad and not using any of the offroad settings, Dynamic is mainly for on-road dry to snow.

What do you think if the seat height? Is it doable for someone of 178 cm

Everyone can see you will choose the at :)

Mark just stay with max and put a nice comfortable seat for your supervisor on the back. If you in the bush and all that magic wire flyby things go wrong at least on max you can kick him or use a hammer simple

Please test the new Adventure 2022 Kawasaki KLR 650...starting price $10,200 👍

Jiggidy jaggardy waggadies 👍

A mon humble avis, le mode enduro aurait mieux convenu en off road ? 😂

Check out repair cost.🥵

First things first, boil the kettle. Make a nice cup of tea and sit down and read the instruction manual.

Check out itchy boots utube she just got a new 300rally to go to Alaska would suite nay I think cheers

Just buy the one you want and get Nay a sheep skin

were you sitting all the time on those whoopsies?

It’s pronounced ack-rah-poe-vitch. Something like that.

Eventually a bmw

Buy nay a crf300 rally and you keep your 650

Seems to be more of a touring bike.

i wouldnt swap a dr650 for one

They are a beautiful engineer & smooth bike to ride & to do some serious great k’s, would be A great investment if the dollar’s allow,

1st 🥇

For two up with gear go bigger than a 850. Although… Two up on adventure bikes really suck. Better off riding ya own bikes.

A single bloke? …..LOL