Riding Impression: 2010 BMW 1200 GSA - Dirt Rider Magazine

Weighing in at over a quarter ton (598 pounds, to be exact), the Beemer is by no means light. However, she is incredibly well balanced. Even with a full tank, the weight feels low and settled rather than high and tippy, providing a surprisingly excellent center of gravity. There is a slight bit of Boxer crankshaft-induced, side-to-side gyro wobble when you rev this bike at a stop, but if you're the kind of rider who revs his bike at stoplights or at splits in the trail, you probably deserve to almost tip over.

I am literally astonished at how much torque this motorcycle produces. At any rpm, in any gear, at any speed, twisting the throttle will unweight the front end and cause the bike to rapidly accelerate with a robust, consistent hit. I suspect that, in addition to the second camshaft and bigger valves, a lot of this torque can be credited to the dialed-in EFI system, as well as the shaft drive, both of which deliver power with zero hesitation. On dirt, this translates into a strong delivery of power that can break the rear wheel loose in low-traction scenarios with almost no warning. If you're going to take this bike off-road, take it e-a-s-y until you get the hang of it!

The BMW shifts well, but much like a car it won't let you cheat one bit with the clutch-you have to pull that sucker in to the grip, or back off if you want to change gears. This isn't a 125cc two-stroke!

Previously, my only experience with ABS on a motorcycle has been when I've bent rotors at EnduroCross races. Thankfully, BMW Motorrad's optional integral ABS system works better than that. On the street, it kicks in a bit earlier than I like (sometimes on rapid engine deceleration with minor manual braking), but it never bothered me enough on-road to want to turn it off completely. Off-road is a different story!

I'll admit: Many of the accoutrements that I first scoffed at on this machine have really grown on me. The grip heaters really did help keep me warm. The digital display with more functions than a graphing calculator became pretty useful once I figured it out. And despite the high number of revenge flashes that I've received from opposing cars, the plethora of headlights is incredible; I felt super safe ripping around on this bike after the sun had gone down.

What is ESA? It stands for Electronic Suspension Adjust, and it's a revolutionary new BMW technology that allows the rider to change the suspension's ride height and damping, on the fly, in three different settings. On the GSA, this feature proved to have actual effects on the handling of the motorcycle, as you could raise the suspension in the stroke and get more damping, or stiffen the whole setup to accommodate a passenger. I found that playing with the ESA on the street altered the bike's ability to absorb harsher bumps in the road, while tinkering with the settings on dirt helped the bike find a happy (though deceptively lightweight) feel to it. BMW has a habit of pioneering bold, new components and then pushing through the flaws to make them commonplace. We'll see ESA on dirt bikes some day!