If you're unaware of my penchant for getting dirty, I suggest you scroll through my articles, as you'll quickly find a man obsessed with all things related to ripping across the world sans pavement. Dirt bikes, adventure bikes, UTVs and ATVs, and even my own two feet, I'm a lover of off-road. And my heart, my soul, my very being, is wrapped up in it.
I also have a very specific aesthetic I love, i.e., '80s and '90s off-road racing, one that was dominated by bright colors, bold graphics, and no-nonsense parts. So when I laid eyes on WalzWerks' X-Plorer BMW GS series, I nearly keeled over. Hot damn, does this motorcycle look amazing, and exactly what I'd want in my garage.
Can someone please call my bank and see if I can leverage my house so I can buy one today?
"For those who find the new BMW GS models too modern and not quite purist enough, but consider the older GS models too outdated from a technical standpoint, we’ve created the perfect motorcycle: the WalzWerk X-Plorer," states the builder's site, adding, "It’s the world’s first handcrafted small-series classic motorcycle built to be fully capable both off-road and for long-distance travel and it just so happens to look incredibly good while doing it."
But what actually is it?
Well, the basis for the X-Plorer is BMW's R100GS, with its air-cooled 1,000cc boxer motor. From there, the shop takes everything off and basically throws it away for all-new parts. According to the outfit, the engine, transmission, brakes, and suspension are all removed and rebuilt in-house, with many of the components then used in the final bike being proprietary to WalzWerks for the X-Plorer series. And what you're left with is a motorcycle that looks straight out of the Dakar Rally when it was still traveling through Africa and not Saudi Arabia. It looks tough as nails, but incredibly good-looking, too.
As for when you'd get one of these gorgeous motorcycles, you're at least a year out. I scoured the brand's site and looked through its build slot timeline pages, and nothing is currently available for this year and into next.
Now, the price isn't that much more than your new BMW GS, as the X-Plorer starts at around $35,000 before shipping to the United States. Likewise, there's a laundry list of optional extras that can balloon the price to well over $50,000. But come on, if you have a chance to buy that motorcycle, wouldn't you? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to weirdly search "how to rob a bank and get away with it" for no particular reason...
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