3. The BMW F800GS

At home I ride a BMW R850R, great for riding around Sydney but no good for the off-road adventures ahead.

My original choice was the R1200GS, the all conquering giant from BMW. But after doing some research decided that its weight will cause real problems firstly bogging down in mud and secondly having to lift it off the ground, which on the pot-holed 'roads' of Mongolia will be frequent and miserable.

So the next obvious choice at the time was the R1200GS's smaller brother the BMW F650GS, although a proven bike for this kind of trip it still seemed a bit of a compromise from the power of the 1200.

However, last year a new bike from BMW arrived on the scene - the F800GS. Lighter than the R1200GS, yet more powerful than the F650GS, problem solved! Here is a picture of a one without any mud on it.

F800GS
Engine: Water-cooled, 2-cyl, 4-stroke, 4 valves per cyl, 2 ohd cams.
Capacity: 798 cc.
Power: 63 kW (85 hp) at 7,500 rpm
Torque: 83 Nm at 5,750 rpm
Max speed: Over 200 km/h
Dry weight: 185 kg

trivia: "GS" is short for Gelände/Straße meaning Off-road/On-road