BMW F 900 GS Adventure (2024) - Review

Technical Review: Ben Purvis – 7th Sept 23
Geek Test: Simon Hargreaves – 3rd September 2024

Price: £12,350 | Power: 105bhp | Weight: 246kg | Overall BikeSocial Rating: 4/5

The ‘Adventure’ version of BMW’s F-series GS differs substantially to the standard model and for 2024 the gap between the two grows even further as both machines get styling updates to accompany the adoption of the bigger 895cc parallel twin engine. That change means the old F 850 GS Adventure is gone, replaced for 2024 by the F 900 GS Adventure, and while its revisions aren’t as substantial as those applied to the base version of the F 900 GS it’s still a significant step forward compared to its predecessor.

But first, a little history lesson: the F800 GS was launched in 2008 as a sort of entry level GS, it had a 21in front wheel, long travel suspension, chain drive, and it was lighter and less cumbersome, less powerful but kind of easier to manage off-road than the 1200. The engine was a 798cc water-cooled four valve parallel twin. BMW used a 360° crank with both pistons rising and falling as a pair, so this design generates a fair bit of primary and secondary vibration, so BMW used a dummy conrod as a counterbalance sitting just below the crank. The first F800 GS made a claimed 85 horsepower at 7,500rpm and 59 lb-ft of torque at 5,750rpm. The 800 GS was also notable because the 16-litre fuel tank was at the rear of the bike. It took a surprising five years for the F800 GS Adventure to arrive considering it was basically the same bike with a beefier subframe to carry the now 24-litre fuel tank. And then in 2019 we got the F850 GS Adventure only a year after the F850 GS - the motor was bored and stroked to 853cc but also switched to what was then a more conventional 270° crank design - less vibration, counterbalance gears instead of a dummy conrod and a more compact shape. Power was up 9 horsepower to a claimed 94bhp at 8,250rpm and torque was up to 68 lb-ft at 6,250rpm so it was a much higher revving engine as well as pokier. The 23-litre fuel tank was now moved into a conventional position just behind the headstock and everything else was new - frame, brakes, suspension, styling, and the 850 had more benefits of technology such as multiple riding modes, traction control, cruise control. I ran one out of fuel once for a test and it did 205 miles with a litre of fuel left. And so here we are in 2024 with a new F900 GS Adventure - this particular bike has a few extras, of course it's a BMW, which I'll get to when it matters obviously this is the F900 GS Adventure not the standard GS so there are differences between the two bikes but I'll get to them as they occur. In the meantime let's start with the motor because it's the same between the two bikes if you're familiar with the existing F 900 R and the XR then you're going to recognize a lot of this.

BMW F900GS Adventure (2024) Review | Geek Test

Road test hero and long-time BikeSocial contributor, Simon Hargreaves, get properly nerdy with the 2024 BMW F 900 GSA. We don't rely on manufacturer's claims, we measure, weigh, ride, and performance test it ourselves.

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Price

BMW will be launching the all-new R 1300 GS later this month (September 28th 2023 is its due-date) and with it we can expect the big daddy of BMW’s adventure line-up to become even more powerful and pricy than the current R 1250 GS. That means the F 900 GS Adventure, despite costing more than the base F 900 GS, should be well positioned to pick up customers who find the cost of the bigger R-series boxer to be a little too much to bear.

Although the ‘Adventure’ name suggests better off-road chops than the standard F-series GS, that’s not really the case anymore – both share the same suspension – and for 2024 the price gap between the two models has been slashed to just £355. The difference between the 2023 F 850 GS and the F 850 GS Adventure was £1000. The extra money gets you a much larger fuel tank and longer range than the F 900 GS, but the 2024 F 900 GS Adventure misses out on other upgrades applied to the standard machine, including its much-reduced weight.

For 2024, there’s the choice of the base model in ‘Blackstorm Metallic’ paint or a ‘Ride Pro’ version in ‘White Aluminium’ paint that includes the optional Ride Pro package of extras, made up of electronic suspension adjustment, a quickshifter, cruise control, keyless start and additional riding modes.

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Engine & Performance

The ‘900’ in its name is the clue to the biggest change to the F 900 GS in 2024. Gone is the old 853cc parallel twin, which made 95hp, and in its place comes an 895cc version with 105hp on tap.

Based on the engine already used in the F 900 R and F 900 XR, the new version has a 2mm bigger bore than the old 850, filled with forged alloy pistons where there used to be cast ones, and a higher compression ratio of 13.1:1. The result is an extra 10hp at its 8,500rpm peak and a fatter torque curve, now maxing out at 68.6 lb-ft and 6.750rpm.

A lower final drive ratio than the base F 900 GS means that the Adventure’s top speed is reduced, but also that despite being a substantially heavier bike it actually gets off the line faster – hitting 62mph in 3.7 seconds, compared to 3.8 seconds for the standard model. BMW will only say the top speed is ‘over’ 124mph, and that’s probably more than enough for anyone on a bike this size and weight.

‘Rain’ and ‘Road’ modes come as standard, along with BMW’s Dynamic Traction Control system, but you can also add the Riding Modes Pro package that includes a trio of additional settings (Dynamic, Enduro and Enduro Pro) and lets you pre-select up to four modes and assign them to a button on the bars.

It has forged pistons instead of cast, it has compression raised, with a new cylinder head shape, and revised cam timing and fueling although the valve sizes stay the same. The 900 Adventure keeps the same gearing as the old 850 Adventure as well but also has shorter final drive gearing compared to the standard 900 GS, presumably to compensate for acceleration lugging that extra fuel around. The exhaust is the same three-way catalytic converter setup as the 850 but the GS Adventure doesn't get the standard 900 GS's weight-saving Akrapovic end can. The old 850 was euro4, the 900 is now Euro 5 plus spec which goes to show if you want to make an engine cleaner making it bigger is a good place to start. The result of all this is a claimed 103 horsepower at 8,500rpm and 69 lb-ft of torque at 6,750rpm so that's up 9 horsepower and 250rpm and up 1 lb-ft and 500rpm on the 850, but we don't want to rely on manufacturers claimed figures here on the BikeSocial Geek Test, so we headed off to BSD's dyno in deepest darkest Eye Green near Peterborough where Andy strapped the 900 GSA down and put it through its paces. And the results are: the new F 900 GSA makes a measured 95.5 horsepower at 8,100rpm and 65.7 lb-ft of torque at 6,500rpm which compares to BMW's claimed figures of 103bhp and 69 lb-ft - what a linear pair of curves.

In power delivery terms that's about as unremarkable as it gets, the power is almost a straight line from 3,000rpm up to 5,500rpm if you were a fuelling engineer you'd be well happy with your work! A modern parallel twin is in a comparatively mild state of tune like the F 900 GS Adventure and it can be an incredibly efficient unit but on this evidence it might not be the most entertaining power plant in production. Comparing the F 900 motor with a 2015 R1200 GS (the first of the liquid cooled 1200s) and it’s a more interesting power delivery - a big dipping torque at 5,000rpm where the motor actually flatlines in power but the curve becomes very steep once it comes ‘on cam’, as a rider you'd notice that as the motor pulling strongly from 5500rpm to 6000rpm - I mean it piles on 16bhp in just 500rpm. That is what many riders would call engine character. Also, the 2024 F 900 GSA makes near as damn it the same peak power as an R1200 GS did a decade ago, so I'm sorry which one's the middleweight again?! What does that mean for performance? I'm not the best at doing standing starts but on a full tank I managed a 0-60mph time of 3.84 seconds. BMW's claimed time is 3.7 seconds. A roll-on in top gear from 40mph to 60mph takes 4 seconds, or 47.3 metres - that's the length of about 10 cars, give or take, so that's a pretty decent rate of overtake. So, it's no surprise that in town the GS nips away off the lights really easily punching through the optional extra quick shifter short shifting away from traffic with a cheery wave. But its main characteristic is so flexible and easy to manage it'll pull 30 mph in top with a bit of lumpiness but throttle response is even and reasonably tidy never catches you out and there's always power on tap so it's hard to get caught in the wrong gear it's not the most exciting power delivery it's not exactly feisty but it is a very forgiving motor. There's a definite absence of rortiness or zasp or snap... that feeling you get when you tap the throttle and the bike sort of sits up, this is not a vivacious engine but on B roads and A roads it's almost deceptively quick. If you want to get a boogie on you have to rev it, up in the upper revs the engine starts to feel a bit thrashy and it sounds pretty horrible up there too as if it doesn't really appreciate the effort. But it's quick enough, you can cover ground more rapidly than it feels like it's doing and it's much happier scudding around at mid speeds using its mid-range shifting between fourth and fifth keeping just enough power at hand to fire out of corners but not overloading the senses. On the motorway the GSA cruises at just under 5,000rpm at 80mph where it feels relaxed and reasonably vibe free. In fact you could say it feels less stressy than the old R1200 GS motor which I always thought felt a bit breathless at cruising speeds. There's plenty of headroom left at that speed for Autobahn speeds I think you might find it topping out somewhere around 136 mph if you take it to Germany...

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight & Brakes)

The F 900 GSA has the same steel frame as the 850 GSA, the engine is outwardly the same and there's nothing wrong with the existing frame and the aluminium swing arm and bolted on steel subframe are also the same as the 850, and they're not the lighter redesigned items on the base F 900 GS. Brakes are as before twin axial four pot Brembos on 305 mm disc now with BMW's ABS Pro for cornering anti-lock braking. Suspension is managed by new uprated 43mm Showa forks now with adjustable preload rebound and compression damping with a Sachs shock at the back which on this bike with its ride pro pack has damping control by Dynamic ESA and adjusts damping according to conditions although BMW specifically avoid the 'semi-active' word. To assess the ride quality we ride the GSA over the bumpiest road I can find in the UK. It's unofficial but it's the bumpiest anywhere this side of cobbles, and the suspension copes admirably... you wouldn't be able to drink a cup of tea but it doesn't batter your eyeballs out. We then tested the GSA's braking in dry conditions on good tarmac with a full tank we get the F 900 GSA to stop in 47.3 metres which is about right for the class. In town the main consideration is the F 900 GSA's weight so we filled that big tank up again and plonked the BM on the Geek Test scales where it came in at 250.4kg, that's just over 4 kilos more than BMW claim at 246 kilos. On the road the 900 GSA doesn't feel heavy, not in the way a 1250 GS Adventure is heavy compared to a standard GS, yes when the tank is full from empty you can really feel you've topped it up, you can't strap a sack of spuds on the top of the motor and not expect a reaction. But even fully loaded around town the GSA is agile enough to nip between cars happy enough to hold a line through a corner. Its riding dynamic is very 21in front adventure bike, although mid corner the Bridgestone A41s feel pretty planted, and the suspension does an amazing job of managing weight transfer on a 230 mm wheel travel at the front and 215 at the back. The dynamic distinction between 21in front and 19in front handling is kind of shrinking all the time but the F 900 GSA still works best with a point-and-squirt cornering style - you pin it on the brakes, you get off the brakes (no trail braking) you flick it in and then bang it out on the gas. Top tip: I generally find dragging the rear brake through the corner gives more confidence in front tyre feel especially on adventure bikes. On A roads and B roads the GSA is stable and composed even in Dynamic mode there's a gentle waftiness to the suspension which never gets out of control but actually adds to a sort of feeling of confidence, there's nothing harsh or crashy, if anything the suspension is a little bit too soft, but anything stiffer wouldn't really suit a bike

like this on tarmac at middle-of-the-road pace it's a well-balanced setup and on the motorway

the ride comfort feels deliciously smooth.

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Comfort & Economy

The bare BMW fact is an 875 mm seat height on a one-piece seat with a fairly narrow taper, big BMW Enduro style foot pegs, typical wide tapered bars, and a fairly stubby little adjustable screen. BMW say the riding position has been modified over the old 850 for better off-road control they say the bars are 15 mm higher than before and the footrests are 20 mm lower, and the tank has been reprofiled all for better standup ergonomics off-road. This isn't an off-road test, but those changes make a difference on the road and nowhere is the road/off-road compromise more obvious than the GSA's tapered seat it's not hugely uncomfortable and it's supportively padded but after a couple of hours of riding I'm ready for a half hour coffee stop because it's just not as wide as a road seat, and that's one of the odd things about bikes like the GSA, on the one hand you have an enormous tank which encourages you to sit on the bike for hours at a time and you think 'great, let's go touring Scotland' but on the other they fitted an off-road flavoured seat when what you really want is something plusher than standard and the screen is another example you want something short and stubby for off-road but on the road the two-way adjustable screen is basically low and lower. Buffeting is subjective but for a long-distance bike a bit more range of adjustment would be helpful. Another compromise is seat height you want good ground clearance and tall suspension but for touring it's nice not to have to take a step ladder to get on the bike the GSA's 875 mm seat height is only 5 mm more than the base GS and because the bike is so slim it doesn't feel as tall as it sounds and it's certainly more manageable than the big GS but it's still up there. I'm 6ft and I'm both tiptoes on the floor you can get a lower seat down to 825 mm and lowered suspension which brings it down to a mere 805 mm. There are some minor adjustments to the ergonomics on tap the gear lever tip is adjustable for foot size and the rear brake lever flips over to change in height. The GSA has a reshaped tank too capacity is down to a claim 23-litres now this is a Geek Test so we had to check it. From a full tank the trip came on almost exactly 200 miles at which point the GSA was claiming it had 39 miles left. I carried on with the remaining range hitting 0 miles at 229 miles and then finally the tank ran dry at 245 miles so that's 40 miles on reserve to empty and then 15 miles after it says no miles left the tank. It took almost exactly 20 litres to fill plus the 5 litres from a Jerry can to get to the petrol station, it was half a mile from where I ran out. So the tank is actually 2 litres bigger than BMW claim it's a 25 litre tank so maybe they measure theirs when it's on the side stand. Anyway after all that I measured 44.4 mpg against the bike's measured 41.5 mpg.

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Equipment

In terms of kit, the 2024 F 900 GS Adventure’s features are much the same as its predecessor’s – but that’s no bad thing as it was already loaded with features including a 6.5in TFT dash, LED lights and phone connectivity. BMW’s options range is also stacked with extra-cost components and packs to tailor the bike to your tastes and needs.

Does anyone ever buy a bog basic BMW with no factory accessories? As usual BMW the test GSA is fitted with some goodies in this case it's got BMW's Ride Pro Pack which adds white aluminium metallic paint, riding mode pro, which adds Dynamic and Enduro pro to Road and Rain, the quick shifter, BMW's endurance chain which is now called low maintenance not no maintenance, a centre stand, fog lights, a GPS mount - that's why I've had that ancient Garmin strapped in while I've been doing the test - it looks marginally better in the video than the bare mounting plate, keyless ignition, Dynamic ESA, and panier rails but not the actual paniers - that's a total of £14,690 or £2,340 more than a base GSA which is £12,350.

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Rivals

In terms of rival to the GSA well with that big tank it's a class of one. The nearest bike in terms of spec and price is Triumph's Tiger 900 Rally Pro, that's £14,495 in the nice grey and orange colour which is about the same as the BMW and it's the same sort of peak power but very different engine character, it's a more direct physical visceral engaging motor and it certainly feels faster even if it's not that much more powerful. On the plus side the Tiger comes with the same level of extras as the GSA with the ride pro pack it's got heated grips, it's got centre stand, it's got cruise, adjustable screen, hasn't got semi-active but you don't miss it, and as a plus it comes with heated seats and they're wider, and it weighs less. On the downside it doesn't come with panier rails or a 25-litre tank. Other sub-1000cc 21in front wheeled bikes include Suzuki's V-Strom 1050 DE, that's £14,000, some £700 less than the F 900 GSA - same power, has a 6 axis IMU, comes with cruise and cornering ABS, has a quick shifter and has a 20-litre tank, and weighs a chunky 252 kilos. And over in the red, or the white, corner is Ducati's Desert X - same power-ish, again comes with a quick shifter, cruise control, 21 litre tank and it only weighs 210 kilos claimed, but it's £15,195 on the road and if you spec it close to the GSA's standard spec with heated grips and a centre stand you're looking at £16,500, and you can't adjust the screen.

Triumph's Tiger 900 Rally Pro | Price: £14,495

Read more

Power/Torque

106.5bhp / 66.4lb-ft

Weight

228kg

Ducati Desert X | Price: £15,195

Read more

Power/Torque

108.5bhp / 68lb-ft

Weight

210kg

Suzuki V-Strom 1050DE | Price: £13,699 £13,999

Read more

Power/Torque

106bhp / 74lb-ft

Weight

252kg

2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Verdict

There are plenty more F 900 GSA rivals in this crowded market, probably because there's no dominant bike in the class. The 1250, now 1300, GS Adventure might have the lion's share of the big tank big adventure bike market but the smaller GSA never enjoyed the same kind of popularity. Will that change with the F 900 GS Adventure? I suspect not, unlike the big boxer GS the F 900 is a rather generic 270° parallel twin which plenty of other people make and there's a lot more choice it hasn't got 1300cc of bottom-end and the motor won't blow your socks off and seat comfort is compromised by its need to stay slim between the legs. But there are lots of reasons to love the F 900 GSA - it's much more convenient to use than the big GS Adventure, it weighs less, it's less mass to lug around it's a bit more involving when you're threading it down a country lane, and this is important it's less hassle to pull out of the garage and nip off for a quick ride. It's also a lot cheaper spec-for-spec.

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2024 BMW F 900 GS Adventure - Technical Specification

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