Bike Stuff

To some, the Sertao is a poor man’s BMW GS. It’s not even a twin for god’s sake. It lacks the towering Tonka toy road presence of its big brothers. And it’s assembled in China. “That’s not a real BMW”. But for those who know, this bike kicks sand in the face of its beefy brethren. Off the shelf its hardy (no silly cylinders poking out), its handy off road (its thinish, tallish, has a 21 inch front wheel & fuel at the back), its frugal & will do 350KM on 14 ltrs (being a single means its sips fuel which means less weight) & it’s all day comfortable. Yes, it lacks top end speed but why do you need to do more than 80mph when you’ve got wildlife & wild people on the road. Yes, the only nod to modern equipment is ABS & heated grips but so what?  Simple is better. This is a bike that was discontinued (in Europe anyway) & brought back. There’s a reason for that.

This is the cape buffalo of biking in africa. Of the big “five”, I’d guess the buffalo is the least revered. It’s just a cow with funny horns isn’t it? It doesn’t roar, run, attack or kill anything. Boring really. The Sertao is under the radar “boring”, it just gets on with its business quietly munching miles. And in a country where extremes stand out, boring is good.

Boring normally means predictable which this Sertao hasn’t been. Ignore the oil & puncture interludes. The electrical problem should not have happened on a 3 year old bike. As the buffalo is overlooked by poachers & selfie stick waving tourists, has the Chinese assembled G650 Sertao been overlooked for development by BMW?  

Are you saying I've got a fat ass?

If the Sertao is the Cape Buffalo of bikes, the R12 Advenure is the Hippopotamus. Always attracts lots of attention. Looks the business. Podgy but revered. And like the hippo, the R12 can run -  fast. The hippo loves water, the R12 loves tarmac. Both can move on the rough stuff – but not for too long. Apparently, if you come across a hippo on land you should never walk between it & water. Same applies to the big R12. If you come across one in the sand, don’t block its access to tarmac,. It could kill you.

Great bike but the final word is cost. The R12 would have cost me three times the amount of the Sertao.

Sadly, the Cape Buffalo Sertao is no longer in production so I will have to find a new best friend. F800 ?

Tomorrow's choice?