New 2017 R1200GS Rallye off road and on snow!

[@LookattheBiggerPic]

...fun to see a Rallye in the snow! Thank goodness for heated grips! Thanks for sharing your ride!

[@texnorthman]

Heated grips are amazing for extending the season ;) I even had a set mounted on my old KTM 500 EXC! Thanks for commenting :)

[@jimthompson717]

I just bought the identical bike. But I got the passenger package and a set of on road, and a set of off road, tires. I would not ride in an area like that alone. You are braver than I-awesome video.

[@texnorthman]

Thanks for the comment! When riding alone I stick to one rule: never go down something I don't know if I can get up. I can try all sorts of gnarly uphill sections, but if there is a dodgy looking downhill I will stay clear unless I can clearly see where it goes and that I can keep on going through :) That said I am amazed at what this bike can get through. I have even tried a short (150m) section of proper single track with a steep climb at the end, basically a shortcut on the way to work. It is not as easy to manhandle as my old 500 EXC was, but it is amazingly stable and will tractor up almost anything if you can remain balanced :)

[@erronius1]

looks great congrats on the killer bike

[@mateomongelli9452]

That is a nice snowmobile!

[@texnorthman]

Thanks, it works surprisingly well ;) Looking forward to the weather warming up a little though!

[@TheJerseyBiker]

It would be great to hear what your thoughts are as you are riding, rather than text on the screen... Thanks for the video

[@markorebernik3760]

Hey! Nice bike, great video. Can you please tell me, what is the make and model of that smartphone holder? Thanks and ride safe!

[@texnorthman]

Hi! It is the Perfect Squeeze mount, made by Hondo Garage. I have been very impressed with it, had it for a year on my 500EXC, numerous crashes and the phone stayed in place without fail. Not sure I will keep it on the BMW though as the Nav system does pretty much all I need :)

[@brianbrooking496]

What tyres were you running in this video?

[@texnorthman]

TKC 80's :) Good tires, but I do get through one rear every 5000 km's!

[@brianbrooking496]

Viking84 appreciated , thank you..

[@sulos4646]

I love the TKC, but i can tell that the Metzler Karoo3 is better for such a heavy bike. Just sayin. Give it a try youll love it.

[@daneav8]

What pannier rack do you have on the bike? Also, how tall are you and can you flat foot the ground with the Sport Suspension? Close to pulling the trigger on buying one! Thanks

[@texnorthman]

daneav8 Hi! The panniers and rack are from Bumot, really pleased with the setup. Top quality and great service :) I'm 6'1", 185cm, with a 33 inch inseam, and I can flatfoot the bike in min and auto preload settings, and I'm up on my toes in the max setting. The narrow Rallye seat really helps in that respect, makes the bike feel very slim!

[@daneav8]

Viking84,thanks! Do you have the Sport/taller/longer suspension?

[@texnorthman]

daneav8 I've got the sports suspension :) Very happy with the choice, it rides like a big dirt bike!

[@brianbrooking496]

Did you buy one?

[@ttjafi]

Nice, bike and it looks just like Norway :)

[@texnorthman]

Thanks! It is Norway ;) Close to Sylling, in Lier. It is a private road but you can pay to enter and ride around :)

[@Fab24hdumans]

And where are you riding exactly??

[@texnorthman]

A rural area just west of Oslo :) There are quite a few small areas here where you can pay a toll to go in and drive/ride on the roads. I'm sure they are intended to allow people to get to their cottages and fishing waters, but they make for some fun riding :)

[@vanomaden]

kult ... hvor mange kilometer fikk du kjørt på TKC80 bakdekken?

[@texnorthman]

Hei! Jeg har 5600km på de nå, de er nok snart ferdige men vil tro jeg har 5-600km igjen. Har kjørt en bra mix av asfalt og grus/terreng, vil si antakelig 50/50 split. Veldig fornøyd med dekkene, de kunne godt vart lenger men de fungerer veldig bra både på veien og i skogen :)

[@vanomaden]

Takk for svar. Jeg har brukt Heidenau Scout på GSAen min og fikk kjørt 7400 med bakdekken. Front er fortsatt bra etter 1000 mil. Siden Heidenau ikke var tilgjengelig da jeg måtte bytte bakdekk fikk jeg en Michelin Anakee wild. den er ikke bra. 300 nå og nesten ferdig. Hvor holder du til?

[@texnorthman]

Tror mye kommer ann på kjørestil. Jeg kjører forholdsvis friskt på grus i blandt, men relativt pent på asfalt. Hadde jeg vært hardere på gass og brems på asfalt så tror jeg TKC'en hadde takket for seg for en stund siden. Fordekket mitt varer nok ut neste bakdekk også. Etter det så har jeg planer om å teste Pirelli Rally STR, og se om det kan være en litt mer langvarig løsning enn TKC 80'ene, uten å ofre for mye på offroad egenskapene. Jeg bor rett vest for Oslo :) Ikke verdens beste sted for kjøring grunnet voldsomt mye bærplukkere og naturvernere overalt, men noe får man jo til!

[@vanomaden]

Jeg bor på Ammerud ... høres ut som vi skulle ta noen turer sammen :-) Gjerne ta med fiskestangen og ... du kan finne meg på face her - facebook.com/tz2acoustic

[@texnorthman]

Husk å bli medlem av OTC - Offroad Touring Club på facebook om du ikke allerede er medlem, er vel snart på tide med et lite østlands-treff organisert gjennom der!

[@jasongardner9539]

Hey Viking, nice video! Love the bike and the landscape, thanks for sharing. What camera are you using?

[@texnorthman]

Thanks! The helmet cam is an older GoPro 3+. Considering upgrading to the Sony X3000 but the mounting options are a bit limiting - the GoPro sits very nicely under the peak on a motocross helmet giving a good eye-level view :) The thumbnail pic is taken with a Sony A7II, planning to use that camera for exterior shots in future videos!

[@Gomoca69]

Great!! But never ride alone when you're on off road !!

[@texnorthman]

Thanks for the comment Gomoca :) I must admit I like the peace and solitude from riding alone, my personal meditation if you like. I do try to avoid the most challenging stuff if I am not riding with someone though, partially for safety and partially because getting this big beast un-stuck on your own can be damn near impossible ;)

[@SuperBardley]

Viking84 Understood Viking, I like to use my bike to explore and camp and fish solo, but the very 1st time I took my old GS off-road after an absolutely delicious >80 mph canyon carving approach to Sonora Pass, I managed to pull every rookie dirt biking mistake and about 4 miles up a very nice technical Jeep road I managed to get myself stuck in a water crossing. 45 minutes later, I was free, but I was wet, the temperature was 45° F, it was dusk, and I was completely spent after my brute force muscling of the bike; thankfully, this was a camping trip so I immediately set up camp at the closest dry spot and called it a night. This was the first and ONLY time I will venture solo into the back country where there’s significant risk of getting stuck or tipping over, LOL.

[@SnikkerenMC]

Så kaldt ut dette også, ja. 👍

[@texnorthman]

Ingen tvil om det! Varmeholker var redningen, men jeg orket ikke mer enn halvannen time ;)

[@jackyred6767]

How much is it？＄

[@texnorthman]

Here in Norway it costs around 36k USD with all the stuff I have added to it, but a fair bit of that is tax :)

[@jackyred6767]

+Viking84 great，ty！

[@SleipnirADV]

NIce bike!

[@2tpilot]

Nice bike! I test rode one last week and the GS Rallye is amazing. It's almost like cheating! One day maybe...$$

[@texnorthman]

It is a great bike, so much more capable than most people think. If you use the weight to your advantage (keep a little bit of momentum going) then you can get through terrain that most people assume is limited to enduro bikes :)