Pros
| Cons & Annoyances
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What can I say about the BMW GS family? They are certainly capable bikes for their respective ends of the dual-sport spectrum, but I wouldn’t feel happy paying a premium for any of the electronic ‘features’ -- with the exception of ABS, and only then if it could be turned off and stayed off until it was turned back on. I found the others were mainly distractions which contributed little, nothing, or less than nothing to the riding experience.
Even the de-tuned 800cc motor was more than powerful for all riding and, though the bikes were unladen with real luggage, it reinforced again that there’s no sense stepping up to the heavyweight ADV class for reasons of power. For my alley, the F800GS Adventure would be BMW’s offering of choice, although BMW's mediocre execution of the technology would keep me from spending > $15,000 on that prospect. For a lottery upgrade, I'd be much more tempted by KTM's 1190 Adventure R at just $3,600 and 15 lbs. more than the 800GSA, with reportedly awesome execution of off-road traction control and ABS, until such time as internet rumours materialize and KTM returns to the middleweight class with a ~690 (890?), tall, travel-oriented enduro.