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BMW R1200GS Wants to Be a KTM 990 Adventure

Even though the BMW R1200GS and the KTM 990 Adventure are sworn enemies, customers who decide for either bike are surely in for quite fun times aboard these bikes. While an R1200GS vs 990 Adventure could go on forever, we’ll just retain the obvious truth: in their stock state, the KTM blows the BMW out of the water when serious off-road is on the day’s menu.
BMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der Bogaard 11 photos
Photo: Bart van der Bogaard
BMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der BogaardBMW R1200GS Dakar by Bart van der Bogaard
Still, the fight is far from being over, and taking a look at this amazing BMW concept shows how cool things can sometimes become. Tpouratech boss Jochen Schanz, asked designer Bart van der Bogaard to create a completely new shape for his 2013 liquid-cooled R1200GS. New looks and ergonomics were the top items in the creation brief, so stripping the bike down to the frame was the first thing to do.

Schanz wanted a bike with an obvious Dakar purpose, so taller suspensions and laced wheels shod with knobbies were the next natural move. The bike was about to be changed completely as the new shape was clearly in need of a totally different tank and a different base for the seat. The whole upper structure had to be redesigned from scratch, and a new rear subframe was designed.

The whole build follows Touratech’s traditional edgy looks, and the resulting bike looks really cool, with a lot more endure-adventure DNA to it than the new R1200GS could ever dream of. The bodywork was conceptualized in cardboard panels first, and with the final revisions in place, the definitive design of the panels has been transformed into actual bolt-on parts.

And it’s nothing wrong with so many people saying that it oozes KTM 990 Adventure styling. A higher exhaust would have been even better, maybe. Am I the only one who thinks this bikes is many times cooler than the stock GS?
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