BMW G-Force
Published: 15th March 2007
Author: Jon Pearson, Pic: Doublered
I HAVE to admit I was sceptical, herding into the Easyjet flight to the Algarve for this launch. Not because I had more than twice the luggage of every other passenger but because I know full-well road bike manufacturers have a habit of producing psuedo off-road bikes - bikes which look like they’ll work off-road but actually, when you ask for something serious, they shy away.
The other thing plaguing me was BMWs are not normally built like ballet dancers, more like darts players. I figured this new model launch was possibly going to be disappointing and bloody hard work!
Not for the first time in my life I was completely wrong. What’s clear from the off is a further shift for BMW away from the fuddy-duddy old man image to something a bit more broadly appealing. We know BMW can make an off-road bike work, it’s rally raid bikes have been successful in the Dakar for years. The great John Deacon muscled the 1100GS across the deserts to good effect. But what BMW rarely does is make a smart, compact and normal-looking bike. Enter stage right the G-series range which are about as un-quirky and straight forward as you’ll find a BMW.
All three G-series models (the off-road Xchallenge, the supermoto inspired Xmoto and the one I can’t think of a category for the Xcountry) are based on the same basic chassis and 650 single engine which gives them a similar character. At around 144 kilos (claimed dry weight) the Xchallenge is significantly lighter and easier to ride than you might imagine. That doesn’t make it as agile as a 200 EXC but neither is it the bucket of lard I’d expected.
What hits you first are the tall proportions. I take it that if I have to stand on tip-toe, that makes a bike too tall (I’m six foot tall). This doesn’t happen very often. The under-seat fuel tank and 270mm of suspension travel are mostly responsible but that lack of ground when you need it caught out more than one of the shorter legged journalists on this launch.
The rest of the Xchallenge’s character feels very novice-friendly, the standard forks and air-assisted shock work well enough to be usable at hare and hound level events. The brakes too are powerful and have good feel, throttle response is subtle and responsive and the chassis is solid and agile enough to be usable when you get a lick on. A 21 inch front Pirelli fitted for this launch helps it hold the long, dusty and rocky Portuguese trails. Get yourself up on the pegs and give it some wellie and you don’t find too many protests from any area of the bike.
It’s easy for a former trials rider like me to look out of place (or look like some sort of show off!) on launches like this when everyone else is sticking to the flat stuff and I start trying to ride up banks around trees, or go off a trail to plod through a rock stream. But it’s important to me if a bike claims off-road capabilities that it can cope with it. If the engine doesn’t respond crisply when I clutch it and ask for power to get me up a three foot step they haven’t got the fuelling right, if the suspension throws me 12 feet in the air off that small step then the suspension isn’t right, if you need muscles like Arnie to keep the thing going where you want it to the chassis is too heavy or has crap weight distribution.
On the BMW you have to catch it from stalling sometimes when you attempt really slow speed but no more than most large capacity enduro bikes would need.
The only area of doubt would be where the hell do you ride it? Portuguese launches are all well and good, but in the UK? A forest ranger in the Scottish highlands or a sheep farmer bored of his quad bike could definitely find a use for it. But with less and less green-laning available on this over-crowded island the only real opportunities will be proper off-road facilities. It’s a little hard to imagine anyone taking it to an enduro and taking the event seriously. You could, and in the right hands it’d probably surprise a few people but alongside proper enduro bikes you’ll be putting in a lot more effort to haul this thing out of a bog or claggy ditch, perfectly fuel injected slow-speed throttle response or not.
Its true colours are a lot like an old fashioned trail bike - with suspension and brakes that work. A bike which falls somewhere between enduro and road bike. It’s a BMW with attitude, not KTM levels of attitude, but something other than the boring old man image you might have in your head.
There’s a place for that in this world I think, maybe for riders who want car dealer-like levels of customer servicing and reliability. Throw in a bullet-proof engine, dealer network, plus damn competitive insurance rates, and, at least, it’s worth a think.
IT’S almost unbelievable that BMW would make a supermoto bike. It’s too outrageous an idea for this most serious of motorcycle manufacturers.
Like the Xchallenge the Xmoto falls just the right side of useful in its chosen field to not be labelled a pretend supermoto. A novice could race this in a supermoto, with a good rider aboard you might find it would do quite well but alongside a pukka SM machine it’s under-powered, heavier and not sharp enough.
But it is not meant to be. The braking system is more powerful (four piston caliper and 320mm discs), taller gearing makes it fastest of the three on the road and you have a wide range of road tyre options for it thanks to regular, road-tyre-sized rims. The standard Pirelli Diablo tyres are a perfect match and so peg-scraping idiocy was quickly the order of the day, grabbing hot cornering road pictures.
In a German kind of way (German design is traditionally simplistic, functional but rarely flamboyant) it doesn’t look too bad either.
THE third and final model in the line-up is the Xcountry.
It’s hard to categorise but you’d have to place it alongside beginner or learner bikes, with scooters and city commuters well within its catchment zone.
Relatively cheap and cheerful it is by far the most user-friendly of the trio with a significantly lower seat height (and a far comfier one at that), plus better luggage options in the BMW parts catalogue. Which all sounds a bit boring but I’m fully aware not everyone needs a bike to do all the things I ask of it.
You can find other similarly easy to ride bikes about but I can’t think of one with 50-odd horsepower, with the same build reputation and one still capable of scaling flights of stairs at Portuguese football stadiums with relative ease.
All three models feature the same five speed gearbox but the Xmoto has
a higher ratio for better road use (and less requirement for the slow
speed off-road ratios).
nXchallenge is the tallest of the three with 270mm front and rear suspension travel, a 930mm tall, narrow seat for better grip and control off-road and a 21 inch front and 18 inch rear wheel. It’s good off-road but not good if you’re nervous and short in the leg.
Xmoto has the same grippy, narrow seat but is 10mm lower than the Xchallenge. The Xcountry 240/210mm suspension travel and a seat height adjustable to a more user-friendly 840mm.
nSteel braded hoses and optional ABS systems (£510 extra) are common across the models but the Xmoto has the bonus of a four piston caliper and 320mm discs (opposed to two piston calipers and 300mm discs).
nBMW Motorrad offer discounted insurance for the G Series. For example if you’re between 21 and 25 fully comprehensive insurance cover is available for £500, if aged 26 or over, the cost is a very reasonable £250 (subject to terms and conditions).
SPECIFICATIONS
2007 BMW Xchallenge/ Xcountry/ Xmoto
ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC four-stroke single
Capacity: 652cc
Bore x Stroke: 100 x 83 mm
Power: 53 bhp @ 7,000 rpm (claimed)
Torque: 44 lbf ft @ 5,250 rpm (claimed)
Compression: 11.5 : 1
Carburettor: 43mm throttle bodies
Gearbox: 5-speed
Transmission: Chain
CHASSIS
Type: Steel tubular and cast aluminium with aluminium sub frame
SUSPENSION
Front: 45mm USD telescopic fork, adjustable compression & rebound
Rear: Air damped monoshock/Monoshock/ Air damped monoshock
BRAKES
Front: Dual-piston caliper, single 300mm disc/ 4-piston caliper, 320mm disc (Xmoto only)
Rear: Single-piston caliper, single 240mm disc
Wheels: Spoke wheels/ Cast wheels (Xmoto only)
TYRES
Front: 90/90-21 / 100/90-19/ 120/70-17
Rear: 140/80-18/ 130/80-17/ 160/60-17
DIMENSIONS
Seat height: 950 mm/ 840-870 mm/ 920 mm
Wheelbase: 1,500 mm/ 1,498 mm/ 1,500 mm
Weight (claimed): 144 kg/ 148 kg/ 147 kg
Tank capacity 9.5 litre (2.1gal)
Price (otr): £5,995/ £5,795/ £6,195
Dealers:
BVM Trialsport, BVM Moto, London road, Stroud GL5 2DA.
Tel: 01453 762743
www.bvm-moto.co.uk
BMW Motorrard Park Lane
68 Park Lane, London W1K 7TT
020 7514 3594
www.bmwmotorradparklane.co.uk