The rise of adventure bike sales in the UK seems as unstoppable as the rugged, knobby-tyred bikes themselves: latest figures show this segment rising by just over 20 per cent in June 2026, compared to the same month last year. It must be the call of the wild - even when the road runs out, you can keep on riding.
In June 2025 2,389 new adventure bikes were registered, rising to 2,871 this year, according to the MCIA (Motorcycle Industry Association). It was a good month all-round; ‘modern classics’ sales rose just over 23 per cent, ‘road sports’ by over 22 per cent.
By contrast, ‘touring’ model sales were down nearly 40 per cent. I had plenty of time to ponder this - and wonder whether I was on the ‘right’ bike - when I spent hours in the saddle of BMW’s F900 GS Adventure model, on a 700-mile tour from London to the pretty Gwynedd coast and back. In the heatwave.
The ride included hours of boring M4 to reach the Severn Crossing, then beautifully sinuous, undulating roads but, on this trip, no off-road sections which, with its 21-inch front wheel, 230mm of fork and 215 mm rear suspension travel, 230mm of ground clearance, optional Enduro Pro riding mode and off-road swagger, the F900 looked cut out for.
Strange, then, that in BMW Motorrad’s UK sales blurb, there are no images of the F900 braving deserts, mountains, river crossings; the closest it gets is when it’s parked artistically in a summer meadow. Instead, the marketing material stresses the bike’s suitability for ‘adventure’, ‘touring’, its readiness for ‘all short and long trips’, even, with the Ride Pro package, its compatibility with ‘extensive touring’.
Rocky ride
Given that BMW has plenty of ‘proper’ tourers and that it also pitches the bigger, far costlier, heavier R 1300 GS, along with the F900 GS (non-Adventure model) very much as off-road machines, pictured being ridden in rocky streams, desert sand and on forest trails, it’s hard to see exactly what kind of riding the F900 is aimed at.
Replacing the F850 GS Adventure, the newcomer weighs just two kgs more, has more power (up from 95hp to 105hp), marginally more torque and is claimed to have snappier power delivery. The new bike has beefier, adjustable forks and enduro-style footpegs, perhaps suggesting more aptitude for the rough stuff. More goodies (heated grips, cruise control) now come as standard on the base model. Visually the new bike looks quite different; despite its engine crash bars and sump guard, it appears slightly less off-roady, more tour-y, especially with its ‘blocky’ panels flanking the tank.
So how’s it go? The first thing you notice is how heavy it is to heave off the side-stand. Park it carelessly on a camber so that it leans (its stand presents a steep angle anyway) and it can be a struggle getting vertical. It feels tall too, the standard seat height of 875mm leaving me (I measure up at around 5’ 10 inches) on tip-toes, not great for tight manoeuvring. (The BMW lower seat option takes it to 825mm, with a further suspension mod taking it down as far as 805mm.)
Once rolling, that sensation of top-heavy weight quickly disappears, although it never feels like a lightweight at low speeds. It filters well enough in London traffic however, the lofty seating position giving excellent views over and through traffic, the steering very nice and fluid.
The review model came with large, extremely practical, official BMW ‘tin’ panniers and top box (same key as the huge 23-litre petrol tank, offering tons of space for a week’s touring essentials, even if the right-hand-side pannier is slightly tighter to accommodate the high-rise (another nod to off-roading) exhaust.
Good vibrations
On the M4, the relaxed, low-revving nature of the parallel twin engine was welcome. Some critics say it’s an unexciting engine with linear power delivery instead of - presumably more exciting - power ‘bands’. I liked it. It pulled beautifully and sonorously from low revs, delivering nice big dollops of torque, vibey character and very usable acceleration for overtaking, even in high gears.
It was reasonably comfortable, too, for an hour and a half or so, anyway, before contact points below the hips - and aches in my knees - made stopping for a cuppa enticing. There’s an easy-to-operate manual screen that can be adjusted on the fly. With the dash reading 36 degrees I kept the screen down for more cooling and the air felt reasonably ‘clean’, with little buffeting. On the highest setting my crash helmet was quieter, with less wind rush, slightly less pressure on the chest.
The seating ‘triangle’ - as everyone now calls it - was relaxed; no wrist or arm strain, no backache either. In traffic (possibly because I was activating the clutch lever with just two fingers, making it impossible to pull it all the way in), neutral was sometimes tricky to locate. Only by taking a fistful of clutch, lever right into the bar, could I coax the green light into action; irritating while parking in the burning sun.
In Wales, on swooping mountain passes the F900 was highly enjoyable; fun to swing through bends, then open up the throttle to bring the pleasing, relaxing water-cooled motor on-song. I found no issue, on tighter, faster bends, or long sweeping ones, with the 21-inch front wheel. It’s a fast enough bike, and the engine is very flexible indeed. The supple ride quality was a thing of beauty.
On narrow back-country roads, with grass and gravel creating a loose ridge along the centre of the lanes, the bike remained poised, in its element. It’s worth noting that the standard bike comes with traction control and two ride modes; rain and road. Buyers can add the Riding Modes Pro package that includes additional settings (Dynamic, Enduro and Enduro Pro) and that lets you pre-select up to four modes and assign them to a button on the handlebars. Would I have taken it off-road? Not a chance; I like a green lane as much as the next rider but when (not if), it went down, there’s no way I could have hoisted the 246kg bike up again, not on my own.
Right angle
This was underlined on-tour twice when, unable to find the ‘right’ angle in tight mountain pull-in parking spots, my riding companion had to help me push it up off the side stand. I now weigh only 70kgs after recently completing four years of intensive cancer treatment but I’m fairly fit and work out in the gym. I’m not that feeble. A couple of stronger, ‘sitter-onners’ had the same trouble.
So, a highly enjoyable bike on the move but beware if you want to wheel it in and out of a garage or slopey tight spot, if you have short legs or are prone to toppling when parking.
I also found it too damn hot. Sure, the effective screen and the see-through ‘aerofoils’ above and to the side of the tank would be great in rain and winter, and we don’t often get 36 degrees (or do we now?). But when the mercury rose, they created a superheated bubble of air from the engine which - when I hit central London after hours boiling up on the M4 - did me in. I think I had mild heat stroke; that’s the trouble with layers of biking gear, including airbag ‘vest’ and long touring boots.
I find it a hard bike to categorise. If you just want a tourer, you don’t need the height. If you want to go off-road, you won't want that top-heavy tippy feeling - unless you’re very good indeed. My guess is that - coming in at just £12,420 for the base F900 GS Adventure (lots more if you want various goodies such as extra riding modes added on), it must be aimed at temping those who can’t or won’t spend £18,890 on the grander 1300 model.
But that bigger bike has tricks up its sleeve including a lower centre of gravity (with that low-down ‘boxer’ engine) and ‘adaptive vehicle height control’ that automatically drops the height by 30mm shortly before a stop.
If its bigger shaft-drive 1300 brother doesn’t appeal however and you swivel back to the chain-drive F900 GSA, it faces very stiff competition from the likes of Triumph’s 900 Rally Pro, Suzuki’s V-Strom 1050 DE, Honda’s Africa Twin, KTM’s 890 and a clutch of new Chinese offerings, at substantially less money. Possibly the more practical choice would be the non-Adventure F900 GS, which I’ve not yet ridden, but which is substantially different from the Adventure model, and has been well received by critics.
I wanted to like this bike and did in the bends and to some extent on the m-way. I liked the high build quality and general comfort. But there was always the knowledge that - at some point - I’d have to stop, and plan carefully ahead - or start sweating - just to park and move off again. It’s probably one for hard-core, tall, long-legged BMW enthusiasts who don’t mind people asking ‘why didn’t you go for the 1300...’
The facts
Price: From £12,420
Capacity: 895ccs
Max BHP: 105HP @ 8,500rpm
Max torque: 93Nm of torque at 6,500rpm
Top speed: Over 124 mph
Seat height: 875 mm
Claimed MPG: 64
Weight: 246 kgs
