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Dave Blendell has a brief Encounter with BMW's R1100GS super-trailbike

Tall bike... or short riders? Either way, the R1100GS certainly has presence The plan was simple, 3 weeks in New Zealand to meet up with some mates and a bit of sightseeing on the lightweight runabout I'd hired. Fate however had other ideas and I found myself more than a little bemused as Darren from Te Waipounamu Motorcycle tours showed me around the big red Boxer twin.

Having never taken a lot of notice of anything with a BMW logo on the tank before the sheer bulk of the thing was more than a little intimidating. It looked every one of the 536 lbs that a fully-fuelled GS weighs in at, a full set of Nonfango luggage adding yet more to it`s weight and size.

"Any questions?" asked Darren," just one" I replied," how do I get on it?" Before you laugh bear in mind that on its' centre stand this thing came up to almost waist height and the thought of it toppling over wasn't particularly appealing. The answer, you mount it like a horse. On the centre stand, one foot on the foot peg, grab the bars and swing your other leg over, the battle scars on the top box proved that I wasn't the only one who took a while to get used to this.

First impression once on the move was of how well balanced the bike is, within a few hundred yards all that weight seemed to melt away, the light single-plate clutch, smoother than expected gearbox and pleasant snarl from the 2-1 exhaust had me tackling the Auckland rush hour with a grin despite chronic jet-lag.

Every ride brought out a new side of the big Beemer and blew my prejudices into the weeds. There's no other word for the Telever/Paralever suspension than fantastic, armchair comfort while being totally un-fazed by keeping 900lbs of bike/rider/pillion/luggage safely on-line while hurtling through twisty mountain passes in pursuit of a manically ridden V-Max.

Beemer and friend stop to admire the New Zealand scenery... and can you blame them? On one memorable occasion I rounded a sharp corner out in the sticks to be confronted by a car bonnet in the middle of the road and I had to brake hard while leaned over and throw the bike around the obstacle. Most bikes would have thrown a total wobbler and I'd have been lucky to stay on, but the big BM took it all in it's stride

My pillion reported the BM to be "like an armchair". She could stick a cushion in front of the top box and relax while from the rider's point of view fully loaded luggage or a passenger was pretty much irrelevant as the torquey 1085 cc motor and techno-marvel suspension soaked up everything thrown at it.

One thing the GS range have in common is presence, ride something this big and odd-looking and you'd better not be the shy retiring type, I lost count of the stares, the questions from passers-by and the double-takes from FWD drivers not used to being looked down on.

My over-riding memory of the R1100GS is of its' sheer ability. I did a 400 mile round trip on a truly horrific day to see some volcanoes, despite roads carrying "Slippery when wet" signs, by then I had total confidence in the GS and was happily negotiating roads that appeared to be more like shallow rivers. I've yet to ride another bike that I would have left home on in those conditions. Got back to base as fresh as when I'd left, showered and went out for a meal, no aches and pains, no stress after 10 hours in the saddle in diabolical conditions, brilliant.

Still hypotised by that NZ skyline, the Beemer continues to ignore the pleas of the cameraman to play nice Of course nothings perfect. While on the move feet-up U-turns and low-speed manoeuvres were as easy as on a CB500, paddling it around at a standstill was a major pain, particularly when the 5.3 gallon tank was full with the feeling of impending doom/hernia never being totally out of mind.

I also needed help on more than one occasion getting it off the centre stand while parked on a slope. And the worrying trickle of premium grade unleaded from the overflow when using the side stand shortly after filling up was a big enough hint for even me not to do it more than once.

Apart from that I was impressed… very impressed and went from not seeing what all the fuss was about to being sorry that I had to give it back.

With special thanks to John and Te Waipounamou for the hire of the bike. If you want to tour New Zealand by bike, then click here for their website

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