Adventure Magazine Issue 15 by adventure magazine

Industry News Gear Review 40 Years of Baja Hamman Motorrad Training 30 Years of BMW Gs

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Contents

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Issue FiFt33n The best thing about the internet is that you can read, read and read some more.

them over the last couple of decades.

The new limited edition GS30 has also There are so many nice forums out there, but recently been released. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t test it, but we also look at the history of the BMW you have to look carefully as a lot of them GS and how the models changed over the just turn into banter places for people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have anything better to do. years. Advrider.com, has to be the best adventure biker forum out there. Its where the world of adventure riders unite! This month we have a look at the incredible race history of the BAJA 1000 and how Honda has dominated

I would like you guys to support our advertisers because without them, we wont be here. Till next month! Please submit your stories to

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Forum thread 10

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New Rides

40 years of Baja By Ryan Dudek

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In March, 1962, Dave Ekins and Bill Robertson Jr. made a daring run down the Baja peninsula to prove the durability of a pair of Honda 250cc CL72 Scramblers. Conventional wisdom afforded the better part of a week for the duo to cover the difficult 963 miles from Tijuana to La Paz. Ekins made it in 39 hours and 56 minutes; Robertson finished two hours later. That seminal ride provoked others to attempt the same feat and ultimately inspired the 1967 NORRAsanctioned Mexican 1000. Six years later, when SCORE took over the reins, the race was renamed the Baja 1000. In the years that followed, Honda has continued to use the Mexican peninsula as its proving grounds. The course for the most recent running was the second-longest in the event’s history—1296 miles—and only the second time the race ended in Cabo San Lucas at peninsula’s end.

air-cooled 600s and later liquidcooled 650s had a nine-year Baja win streak. Yet Steve Hengeveld, Mike Childress and Quinn Cody scored the win on the 450; a like-mounted Johnny Campbell-led effort finished second. When it came to choosing the CRF450X over the XR650R, there were no disadvantages, only benefits. The X is lighter, accelerates more quickly, handles better and stops faster. Even in top speed, the X is comparable to the 650, reaching 113 mph on the street and 108 mph on the dirt. More importantly, with the X, the riders are able to push harder with greater confidence. “You can be more aggressive, go at things harder and come out at the same speed as on the 650,” notes Campbell, who spent most of his career on large displacement XRs. “The X has a really good balance of stability, tracking and weight.”

Two years ago, Honda switched For the 40th-anniversary effort from the legendary XR to the last November, Honda gave modern CRF450X. The early its 450X full factory treatment

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show us nor shed light upon. This we know: The stator is able to pump out more than 200 watts, with each light requiring 100 watts and the ignition absorbing the rest. Stock X output is about 70 watts. Because of the power needed by the dual headlights, the factory X does not have a battery or an electric starter. Lights are important in Baja because a significant porusing a blend of CRF450X and tion of the race is run during CRF450R components. The the night, Honda would neither liquid-cooled single-cylinder show us nor shed light upon. engine was built in Japan and This we know: The stator is able housed in a special chassis. to pump out more than 200 Most of the modifications to watts, with each light requiring the aluminum frame were done 100 watts and the ignition abaround the headlight mount sorbing the rest. Stock X output in an effort to secure the two is about 70 watts. Because of massive halogens in a way the power needed by the dual that didn’t alter overall balance headlights, the factory X does and rigidity. The bike was then not have a battery or an electric shipped to American Honda, starter. Lights are important in where team manager Bruce Baja because a significant porOgilvie took charge. For final tion of the race is run during the prep, he worked closely with night, and for high speeds the Precision Concepts, an impor- big halogens work better than tant player in Honda’s SCORE HIDs. success. I was able to ride the race-winArguably, the most top-secret ning Honda immediately followcomponent is the stator. Housed ing last year’s event. The bike inside a fancy machined cover is was still in the exact condition something Honda would neither it was in when it finished the

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race—dirty and with only one functioning headlight. Despite the engine’s ability to generate serious speed in short order, power delivery was smooth—it has to be or the riders will wear out quickly. Even in fifth gear, the engine pulled hard.

quired, but keeping the throttle pinned was not a problem, even when the sizes of the bumps changed. The suspension bottomed on g-outs harder than I expected, but taking into consideration that the oil in the fork and shock had already been subjected to 24 hours of abuse, performance The chassis felt to me like an off-roader that had been turned was far beyond the norm. into a motocrosser. The suspension is tuned specifically for Baja Ergonomics are similar to those of the CRF450R; the oversized and its rough desert terrain. No surprise, then, that the bike fuel tank didn’t feel much larger glided flawlessly over whoops. than a stock X tank. Those big headlights are odd in that they Okay, some control was re-

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credited with “First Motorcycle” in 1967 on a Husqvarna 360 and a veteran of 35 1000s in multiple classes, including trucks—the major difference between Baja then and now don’t move with the handleis speed. “I just rode my old bars. And, yes, they do add Husky around, and it hardly has some weight, but the increased any brakes, the clutch doesn’t pounds are well worth it for the work very well, shifting is terbrightest lights at night. If you rible, suspension is bad. Riders can’t see, you can’t go fast. are going so much faster now because the bikes are so much In terms of cost and parts avail- better. I’d hate to ride an Openability, a factory off-road racer is class bike at the speeds Campnot the equivalent of a factory bell or Robby Bell rides it. Now, motocrosser; it’s simply not pos- it’s like an off-road motocross sible for a consumer to recreate race.” a works MXer. That being said, a successful Baja program doesn’t That’s a far cry from what Ekins come cheaply. “Our costs in and Robertson Jr. envisioned Mexico are pretty high,” admits when they set out to conquer 10-time race-winner Campbell. Baja in 1962. Then again, their “A set of tires will last a long CL72 250cc Twins were a far time on a motocross track. We’ll cry from the CRF450X that go through three or four sets, Honda now campaigns in what and the wheels are going to be has become over the past four trashed, too. Also, the entry fee decades one of the best-known for the Baja 1000 is $1200. Then off-road races in the world. you have a transponder, gas— each team will go through 50 to 60 gallons of fuel—food, hotels, transportation, pit crews, Mexican insurance…” According to Malcolm Smith– 16

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30 Years of GS Adventure Magazine

New Rides When BMW produced the first GS in 1980, I’m sure they didn’t know how popular this range of motorcycles would have been 30 years down the line. extremely sought after by GS The GS range has been extremely popular with all travel- enthusiasts around the world. lers and dual sport riders, and The R80GS was eventually replaced by the R100GS, but as many of you know, there there were also different ediis very little out there that can give you the same kind of tions made available in different comfort in the saddle as a well parts of the world, including the Kalahari and basic models. equipped BMW. The 1st shaft driven GS was the Production was ended in 1995 R80GS, featuring a 797.5cc air- with the unofficial R100GSPD. cooled, flat twin boxer engine. The oil head production line This was known as an airhead. started with the R850GS. This was BMW’s key engine to the This model was also released modern adventure bike. The as a R80GS/PD to celebrate current 1200GS has been reBMW’s success in the ParisDakar rally. This bike featured a ported to be 30kg’s lighter than long range tank and has been that of the 1st R850GS. The

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850GS was succeeded by the Boorman around the world. I’m R1100Gs that made 80hp and sure that they weren’t the first. weighed 243kg dry. This bike The latest R1200GS produces in has been thought of as one of excess of 110hp and replaced the most bullet proof motors to the R1150GS in 2004. They also be found in BMW’s stable. I’ve feature a unique front suspenpersonally seen engines with sion called a Telever system that mileage close to the 1million uses a control arm setup that’s km mark. BMW released the Adventure model with the R1150GS featuring a 30l fuel tank as opposed to the 22l from the base model R1150GS. It also had a 6th gear instead of the normal “overdrive” gear. Common options were available, such as heated grips and ABS. This was the model that initially took Ewan McGregor and Charley Adventure Magazine

main purpose is to eliminate nose dive under hard braking. The R1200GS Adventure was produced in 2006 featured a 33l fuel tank 110hp and weighing in at 253kg dry.

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