Trail Bike Adventure Magazine

30 Years Of GS Rally

Friday, 27 August 2010 07:42

The year 1980 saw the release of the iconic BMW R 80 GS, a bike that could well have been created specifically with Australia in mind. The rough outback tracks of our landscape have helped shape the GS in reaching the success that is enjoys today. The weekend of July 23-25 saw the Monkerai Valley, just out of Dungog in New South Wales, alive with BMW motorcycles as riders from all around Australia celebrated 30 years of the GS phenomenon.

Riverwood Downs Station Resort was playing host to the GS Rally, held to celebrate 30 years of BMW Motorrad's iconic 'Gelände/Strasse' machine. The quiet bush resort on the edge of the Barrington Tops National Park was taken over by more than 300 GS riders, as fans and owners of the legendary model series rode from almost every corner of the country to be a part of this big celebration. Surpassing all attendance expectations, the event was a sell-out, with keen GS fans not wanting to miss out on this huge occasion.

Newcastle based BMW Dealer, Brisan Motorcycles, displayed all the latest 30th Anniversary special edition models, while at the other end of the spectrum one enthusiastic Queensland couple arrived on an original R 80 G/S with over 500,000 km on the clock.

There were some incredible examples of the iconic GS on show. One R 80 GS was celebrating 30 years of the same original owner, who said he had lost count of how many people had offered - even begged - to buy the bike, although he would never consider selling it, as it was "part of the family". As well as all the classics, there was also a great mix of standard and customized models covering all three decades of development, including a large percentage of current model machinery.

The afternoon's activities included a bike show, GS obstacle course and skills riding demonstration as well as a G 450 X grass-track demonstration by Motorrad Marketing Manager Miles Davis and BMW G 450 X racer Trent Lean.

The unanimous highlight of the weekend was the dinner on Saturday night, which was a chance for everyone to enjoy presentations, and for the lucky to receive a trophy or prize for their GS. The room was dominated by five GS banners depicting the history of the model series from the very beginning to the present. These banners were produced as part of BMW Clubs Australia's support for this event, and were subsequently auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charity.

As part of the overall support for the event, BMW Motorrad Australia provided a Rallye3 suit, as well as a host of Anniversary lanyards, key rings and other special memorabilia.

Unfortunately all good things had to come to an end, and many riders were up early the following morning as some had to cover more than 1,000km to travel home again.

Five years ago, the club had hosted a smaller '25 Years of GS' rally, so staging this latest event was a huge challenge for all the club members, but driven by self-confessed GS addict Rob Tiedeman, they made the special anniversary celebrations into a great weekend for all who attended, and a truly memorable 30th birthday party.

"A great weekend was the result of a lot of work by a dedicated group of club members and of course all those who joined in from around Australia. Lots of thanks to BMW Clubs Australia and BMW Motorrad Australia for their on-going support - it was a great team effort," said Rob at the conclusion of the rally.