2019 BMW F750GS

Brett C

Adventurist
Senior Staff
Moderator
Ive been on bikes my whole life. I grew up riding dirt bikes and enduros. I had trail 50s as a kid and 2 stroke moto 125s and 250s as a teen, then got into old school 80s era heavy Honda thumpers when I was a young man. For street bikes Ive had everything from crotch rockets to Harley’s up until we had my second son, who is now turning 8. This is in fact the first time in my life I have not owned a motorcycle. I sold my last Harley so we could move into our new house 7 years ago. That bike was 2 years old and had 45,000 miles on it when I sold it, I commuted daily, rain or shine, to LA. I sold it, partly because I got tired of the battle with LA drivers and relished that comfortable commute in a car with a cup of coffee not freezing my ass off in the winter rainy months.

Now I am retired and while I am working again I drive a short distance to work. The trucks going under the knife soon for a SAS and I don’t want to keep building up massive miles on my favorite toy so I got me a bike mostly for commuting. Honestly, I have no desire to ride it in the dirt, I have my truck for that. So the search began.

I sat on everything, keeping an open mind. I wanted to be able to comfortably flat foot or near flat foot it. In all the bikes I’ve ever owned my Harley’s were the most agile, believe it or not. I could drag floorboards around turns throwing sparks the whole way. I could do slow full lock turns with ease. I enjoyed the upright seated position. So I looked at cruisers. Nope, hated them all and a new Harley wasn’t in my budget. I had a 12-14k budget. I shifted gears to adventure bikes simply because of the riding position. I was apprehensive of the taller stance and how they would handle. Most of the Japanese dealers laughed when I asked for a test ride. BMW said we’ve got them all to test ride, take them out for a half hour and play.

Of the bikes I sat on, I was only comfortable on a few, I was surprised how tall so many of the bikes were, even the standard naked bikes seemed tall. Price wise the BMWs were the best bang for their buck, they were a bit more than the Japanese bikes actual price (price in the dealer over what the inter webs machine said) but absolutely packed with options and accessories.

I bought the BMW F750GS with Premium package. I found a corporate event bike which means they used it for one event and then sold as new with a deep discount because it had a whopping 140 miles on it. Perfect!

BA582A2C-3DB7-40BC-A5B6-91ACDD2C7DEE.jpeg
83F15485-5938-4C3E-8F95-C2390D717346.jpeg
487DB729-70D9-450A-8A2D-D9DDECD58013.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Because the BMW has the TFT system I can link Bluetooth to it, either through my helmet or phone or both. Which means I didn’t need BMW nav as I can use their connected app on my phone and put my phone in my pocket and read the navigation on my TFT display.

I bought the Shoei GT-AIR 2 helmet in matte black because it was able to accept the Sena SRL2 Bluetooth system without looking like I had a growth out the side my helmet.

https://www.shoei-helmets.com/gt-air-ii-features-detail

This helmet is packed with features. It’s Pin Lock enables, has a drop down smoked visor, phenomenal air flow and has emergency removable cheek pieces.

The Sena SRL2 is the Bluetooth setup specific to this helmet.

https://www.sena.com/product/SRL2
 
After putting the first few hundred miles on the bike I decided an absolute must upgrade is to upgrade the complete lack of windscreen. I mean there is one but it’s so small it only protects the TFT.

Puig makes a touring windscreen. It’s very reasonably priced and easy to install. Pull the 4 bolts off that holds the OEM windscreen on. Use the newly supplied hardware to mount the Puig mounting bracket where those 4 bolts where, then 4 more bolts to mount the new windscreen.

The difference was phenomenal and worth every penny for rider comfort.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/puig-touring-windscreen-bmw-f750gs-2018-2019

D2E265CB-F810-467C-917F-AFABEE218E78.jpeg
081D643D-B2AA-4698-8D70-6B188B3DFDD1.jpeg
4079E2C7-A9A3-4B26-900E-9BE5E5F664AC.jpeg
 
I've got over 30,000 miles on my 2016 f700GS now and couldn't be happier. ONE OF US... ONE OF US...
 
I'm on the same boat.... First change is a taller windscreen to combat the constant wind punching to the noggin and save my ears from the turbulence.

That Bluetooth connectivity to the TFT is a nice feature, but wouldn't you only be able to connect to either the TFT or the Shoei Bluetooth?
 
I'm on the same boat.... First change is a taller windscreen to combat the constant wind punching to the noggin and save my ears from the turbulence.

That Bluetooth connectivity to the TFT is a nice feature, but wouldn't you only be able to connect to either the TFT or the Shoei Bluetooth?
So you connect the helmet to the TFT and the phone to the TFT then the TFT acts as a hub so all three communicate to each other. I can even link other helmets like a passengars helmet to the TFT as well.
 
One of the things about this bike I’ve never liked is the brake pedal. It’s low and it’s far inboard. When riding normal that’s not a big deal but when needing to jump on it in a “panic” situation you have to remember it’s far inboard. Also when standing it’s entirely to low to be comfortable to reach.

So I bought a Touratech pedal extension. It’s straight forward, top pedal and bottom plate that clamp onto the costing pedal increasing its size and height. By its design the plates won’t slide around, they are captured well by the gnurling and the shape of the existing pedal.

D506896D-E3A2-4F48-A221-59DB0F4DDF47.jpeg
457A28B8-85EB-4082-94C3-EDFF8AD4DA99.jpeg

03B37638-AD7D-4880-B43B-D728A2D10BF1.jpeg
 
Gear.

In the past when I rode dirt bikes I wore all the gear all the time. On the crotch rockets it was a full face helmet, gloves and jacket with elbow and shoulder armor. On the harleys I was foolish but young so didnt even realize i was foolish, I wore a leather riding jacket but no armor, also novelty half helmet that cost $15. Im older and i guess wiser, at least less foolish now so it was time to research and invest in the right gear for the daily commute.

I researched what was going to be the best in the hottest of days, since we have triple digit days in the summer. Bundling up is easy, cooling down is not. I tried mesh pants and my leather jacket I already had. The pants made me feel naked and the hot air running through them was not cooling it was just dehydrating. I also felt there was no actual abrasion protection. Took them back right away.

I ended up with the Alpinestars Valparaiso 2 Drystar Jacket and Pants. I purchased all the armor except the chest pieces at this time as well (ran out of cash, lol). Its a true 4 season set, the shell has large flaps to open and vent in the afternoon and close in the morning. The whole suit breaths really well so deals with the triple digits great when moving of course. The gear comes with 2 liners to make it a true 4 season system, a drystar liner which is Alpinestars version of a breathable goretex type water proof shell and a second liner that is a quilted warm liner for cold weather. The entire system can be mixed and matched as well as zips into the suit how needed. Also its incredibly comfortable just to wear.

alpinestars_jacket_val2_gbr_light_grey_black_red_750x750.jpg

alpinestars_valparaiso2_drystar_pants_750x750.jpg


For boots I chose the TCX Explorer EVO Gore Tex Boots.
tcx_boots_explorer_evo_gore_tex_black_750x750.jpg


Last piece to the puzzle is a better set of gloves.
 
I've got some gear you may be interested in. Cruz tools set, tire spoons, BMW Rally suit Gray/red/black.
 
Back
Top Bottom