Gelandesport??

[Mud Pooh-bah]

Bucc I though GS stood for Gelandestrasse meaning on and off road? Is Gelandesport correct???
In any case I like this new set-up where the people with similar bikes can exchange notes. Thanks

[Buccaneer]

Hi Muddy

It took ages to find a list of the meanings of the various designations - you would have thought it was common information.

I finally found a list here:
www.bmbikes.co.uk/bmwmodels.htm

It may not be definitive, but is the best I can find. If you have evidence of other wordings, please let me have them!

[Mud Pooh-bah]

Hi Bucc

I got this

"Every BMW motorcycle model name starts with a letter designating the engine family, then a number for the engine displacement, then letters describing the model type.

BMW currently has three engine families:

K "Brick"
A liquid-cooled, inline engine. Originally there were three- and four-cylinder versions; now only the four-cylinder remains. Older bikes with this engine get called "flying bricks". It makes a distinctive whining sound when running.
R "Boxer"
BMW's renowned horizonally opposed air cooled twin started its life as an aircraft engine. After World War I, Germany was banned from producing aircraft, so BMW, started building motorcycles around its existing airplane engines. This heritage should give the reader some idea of the level of stamina and reliability BMW riders expect from their machines. The current R engine is air- and oil-cooled and is available in various states of tune, depending on the application.
F "Thumper"
A liquid cooled single. Unlike the R and K, the F engine and transmission use a shared oil bath and a wet plate clutch. With this layout, the traditional shaft drive layout BMWs have had since 1923 had to be abandoned: F bikes use either a chain or a belt for the final drive.
Current model types include:

C
Cruiser. Low-slung, grunty, sexily styled, with a laid-back riding position.
GS
Gelandestrasse, meaning roughly "on the land or street." Rugged, enduro-style motorcycles designed to handle both pavement and rough, unimproved roads. The R1150GS has been described as the Swiss Army knife of motorcycles.
R
The Roadster is BMW's standard.
RS
Rally Sport. A sport touring bike with the emphasis on sport.
RT
Rally Tour. A sport touring bike with the emphasis on motorcycle touring.
LT
Luxury Touring. BMW's K1200LT is a serious competitor to Honda's GoldWing.
BMW motorcycles have an excellent reputation among serious motorcyclists. Their owners tend to be safety-conscious, experienced riders. The most seasoned BMW pilots think nothing of riding two hundred miles to some remote mountain road, dragging the pegs through the twisties (humiliating the wannabes while the wife dozes on the pillion seat), breaking for lunch, then heading back home"

from www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=BMW

I also got this "With more power, less weight and a claimed top speed of 208km/h, the R1200 GelandeStrasse (what did you think GS stands for, Cyril?) should be less of an expert's weapon and even more fun than its predecessors." from www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=322610&fSectionId=882&fSetId=381 which is an article by Dave Abrahams

[Buccaneer]

Hmmm. I suspect the Mr Keebler might be wrong, as he gets several of the others wrong - they're German terms, and he has translated them rather loosely.

But I'll phone BMW today..... :-)

[Buccaneer]

You were right and I was wrong.

I spoke with Rob barnes at BMW SA, and he confirmed that it is "GelandeStrasse".

Duly altered. Thanks, Muddy.

[Mud Pooh-bah]

No Problem Bucc.

Tell me is the RT for Rallye Tour or Reise Tour. Just for interest sake???

[Buccaneer]

Oh, boy. I don't want to call Rob again.

That's what I got from the website mentioned, but I have also heard RenTourer.

[GSer]

Verskeie motorfietsvervaardigers het die afkorting GS gebruik. Dit is onder andere KTM, DKW, Hercules en verskeie ander kleiner vervaardigers uit die Duitse, Oostenrykse en destyds Oos Duitsland omgewings. Die afkorting GS is deur almal gebruik as Gelandestrasse. In ons omgewing beteken dit nie GeSloeg nie. Altans ek hoop nie so nie! GSer.

[Dave S]

This forum is beginning to become like 702 Radio - pose a question and somewhere someone will find the correct answer. This is becoming a great place to get info.

Perhaps a list as per the info Muddy gave above should be put on the club notice board.

I am sure a lot of members will find it interesting to know what the different lettering in the bike models stand for.