In 2010, my friend and former colleague, Iain Glynn, qualified for and competed in the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy as a member of Team USA. That same year, I was hired as the Marketing Manager for Touratech-USA and knew little to nothing of this skills-based, off-road riding competition, aside from the fact that one of my new co-workers had just returned from South Africa, where he and Team USA managed a fifth-place finish.

The 2010 iteration of the GS Trophy had spanned some 2,000 kilometers across South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique, with riders tackling extreme endurance challenges on BMW R 1200 GS motorcycles. And while I didn’t know much about the GS Trophy, or riding adventure motorcycles for that matter, I was intrigued by the Camel Trophy-like competition.

The GS Trophy is an annual event that’s been hosted by BMW Motorrad since 2008. It combines navigational skills, off-road riding prowess, and team-focused challenges that test riders’ ability to, well, not only ride, but complete difficult tasks and collect points along the way. The competition typically puts riders on large, Gelände/Straße motorcycles, the German term for "Off-Road/Road." In years past, this was the R 1200 GS, R 1200 GS Rallye, R 1250 GS Trophy Competition, and most recently, the R 1300 GS Trophy.

Photo by: BMW Motorrad

Need More ADV?

But later this year, when the GS Trophy returns to Europe, teams will encounter Romania’s spectacular landscapes and rugged terrain, this time competing on something a bit smaller.

The BMW R 12 G/S GS Trophy Competition Bike was designed exclusively for this competition and is based on the BMW R 12 G/S motorcycle. To prepare the bike for the harsh terrain that competitors will encounter in Romania, BMW outfitted the R 12 G/S with the company’s “Comfort Package,” which includes Hill Start Control, Gear Shift Assist Pro, heated grips and cruise control. Additionally, the GS Trophy spec bike will include an adaptive cornering headlight, Riding Modes Pro, and the Enduro Package Pro, which fits the G/S with an 18-inch rear wheel and handlebar risers.

So much Pro, so many Packages…

The GS Trophy Competition Bike will also come equipped with engine protection bars, cylinder head covers, a Rally-style fairing, as well as an Akrapovič exhaust silencer, among other bits and pieces. And while you can’t buy this iteration of the R 12 G/S directly from your local BMW Motorrad dealer, you can replicate the build.

Photo by: BMW Motorrad

Starting with a standard R 12 G/S in the “Lightwhite uni” colorway, you can order the same catalog parts to match the GS Trophy machine, save for the exclusive GS Trophy graphics and decals.

In the fifteen years since my friend Iain competed in the GS Trophy, I’ve watched the competition grow in popularity. A lot of this has to do with the popularity of adventure motorcycles themselves. For a lot of riders, the ADV machine has replaced the traditional touring bike, giving them the option to go further and explore places a street-oriented machine couldn’t get to safely.

But over the years, the size of ADV bikes has swelled. 1100 became 1200 became 1300, with the wet weight of some adventure motorcycles exceeding 600-lbs. So, it’s nice to see BMW Motorrad giving us a sort of throwback to the simpler times, when an adventure motorcycle was just a motorcycle you were willing to ride off-road.

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- The RideApart Team