Geoff Ballard’s BMW R1200GSA

This entry is part 5 of 18 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #52

wp-content/uploads/2023/10/main-series-img-6.png

A hard-workin’ one-off. And a crazy BMW he built.

Geoff Ballard and his one-of-a-kind 2014 GSA hybrid creation. He calls the bike ‘Max’

Geoff Ballard is one of Australia’s most successful off-road riders. Enduro has been his main pursuit, but he’s been a factory test rider and ridden everything from show-ground stunts to Grand Prix moto-cross in his long career. Geoff has very clear ideas about what works on a motorcycle and was influential in the design of the WR250F which took the enduro world by storm in 2006.

The build seen here is the ongoing refinement of the bike which inspired BMW’s awesome Rally X in 2014.

Hang onto your roadbooks. This is a wild one.

No show pony. The bike is built to ride.

Front up

The bike started out as a 2014 R1200GSA, and Geoff had a very clear notion of what would be the basis of the build.

“I specifically wanted to not change the footpeg/seat/handle-bar measurements. I’ve always thought, with a BMW, whether you stand or sit, it’s perfect. It’s comfortable. It’s like, ‘Man, they got that right!’

“I said to the engineer, “That can’t change.”

Small measurements make a big difference, and Geoff liked the basis of the GSA rear suspension that offers a bit more travel over the GS. The Telelever front end was replaced with a very interestingset up.

“They’re resprung ’98 RM250 forks,” said Geoff in his usual quiet way.

“There’s followings for different forks throughout the world, and the ’98-’99 RM’s Showa fork is definitely one of them.

It’s the 49mm tubes. For conventional forks that’s up there with about as big as you can get.”

The front guard is a Yamaha item, but, as Geoff pointed out, “…you can pretty much adapt anything to go on there”.

The 21-inch front wheel replaces the BMW 19-inch twin-disc set up and carries a large single disc with no ABS at present (there are plans to add that soon). The headlight is what Geoff calls a ‘Baja-type’, and the RM handlebar mount holds a set of 28.6mm ’bars of the type Geoff used in his Australian race team.

Instruments, brake and clutch levers, and master cylinders are standard BMW items, and Barkbusters are the choice for handguards.

“These ’bars are about 30mm narrower overall than BMW ’bars,” he pointed out.

“It’s quite significant, but you’re dealing with a different front end. It’s not like this thing does anything weird. It doesn’t headshake, it’s not hard to turn and it’s not heavy steering.”

The windscreen was an important part of the bike’s presentation. After initially riding without a screen Geoff realised the advantages on a bike like this one.

“I’ve always been disappointed with a lot of people’s attempts at keeping wind off the rider,” he breezed, “even to the point where I don’t like the GS screen.

But I really like the GSA screen.

“I used a GSA windscreen and made a pivot for the bottom mount. Then I went down the road, doing about 100kph, and just kept moving the screen until I went, ‘There!’ It was the best spot. I could feel it.

“So there’s a bit of adjustment, but I don’t want to change it from there. If you stand up you can look over it…all the usual stuff. I wanted it to be quite a long way forward too, because if you hang over the bike it’s something that can hit you.”

Everything is rubber mounted and has a bit of flex.

1998 RM fork legs, a 21-inch front wheel and a large, single disc. No headshake, not hard to turn and doesn’t steer heavy.

Tank

The tank is undoubtedly the eye-catching feature of the bike, with its brushed-metal fin-ish and strange shape. As with everything on a Ballard bike, it’s been carefully thought out, and simplicity is high on the list of priorities, especially airfilter access. It’s as simple as flipping up the ‘lid’ on top of the tank.

“It just sort of evolved,” pondered Geoff.

“A guy called Craig was the crazy fabricator, and he modified the tank. It started as 31-litres and now it’s 24 litres. It got cut and shut and dragged in and narrowed off, and then the air-filter system was continued.

“There’s a lot less stuff and a lot less weight.”

We thought the placement of the mirrors was interesting,but, as always, Geoff had thought it through.

“That’s the only place to really run your mirrors. There’s less vibration because they’re short, and they’re under your arms.

When you have them up on the ’bars they get turned around and it becomes dangerous. They pivot as you’re trying to ride. I’ve seen plenty of people who’ve crashed because of that.”

Geoff was surprised at the weight of the ignition-key set up and wanted it off the top triple clamp, so it’s now under the tank on the right-hand side, protected, but easy to operate.

A ‘Baja-type’ headlight with a GSA screen set at just the right angle.

Standard rear

The rear suspension is standard 2014 GSA.

“The bike’s not soft in the rear because it has the longer travel of the GSA,” rebounded GB. “But it’s also had weight taken off the bike, and that makes the suspension firmer.

“It’s very balanced. I didn’t expect it to work that well, but it does. It’s really good.”

There’s a fair amount of gear cunningly stored around the bike. Under a BMW seat, held in place with straps, is a tyre-changing kit and a three-and-a-half-litre fuel bladder.

There’s an old SW-Motech Jetpack tailbag where the pillion seat would normally be, under which is some of the gear running back from under the front seat and some other small bits and pieces. There’s a space there ideal for a bottle of water, too.

Other small tool and accessory bags are strapped in tidy, out-of-the-way areas around the bike, all aimed at managing weight distribution.

“Having the weight low is everything,” said Geoff, looking pointedly at the editor’s waistline.

Tyre choice is the result of a great deal of ongoing product evaluation, and when we saw the bike it was wearing a Pirelli Rallycross on the front and a Bridgestone AX41 on the rear. Geoff is pretty happy with both.

“The Rallycross on the front is an amazing one. It works quite well,” he said, treading carefully. “I’m experimenting with rear tyres. The one on there is a Bridgestone AX41 and it’s going fine.

I’ve thought of trying an 18-inch wheel on the rear, just for tyre selection, not for really any other reason, but there’s a bit of an issue with swingarm clearanceat the front of the wheel. Mainly though, I think I’ll end up with the narrower-than-stock 150 size rear. That should work best.

Less vibration because the mirror stems are short, and the mirrors don’t get knocked and pivot while riding.
The ignition-key set up is now under the tank on the right-hand side, protected, but easy to operate.

Details

There are a few neat little detail items around the Beemer.

The GPS mount is nearly as crazy looking as the rest of the bike. Geoff took individual pieces from various mounts and bolted them together to end up with the placement and angle he wanted. He also fashioned his own sidestand-switch protector, and the GT stripes on the tank are an interesting touch. Geoff admits the cosmetic value.

“People were saying, ‘It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen,’ he laughed. “Well, some did. And I say, ‘Oh, yeah. I haven’t tried hard. But the racing stripe…three racing stripes! She’s fast.

“It’s amazing.”

A collection of parts from other mounts assembled to give the correct and angle and placement.

Always developing

Geoff’s been refining BMWs for off-road riding for a few years now, and it stems from a big impression made on him in his racing past.

“I guess you could go back as far as when I first started going to the International Six Days Enduro,” he remembered. “There was a BMW factory team and I was always a little passionate about the fact they rode those dirt bikes. I thought, ‘I could build one of those’. I still might, just for fun and nostalgia.

“I also grew to love a lot of the newer stuff – technology, power and everything. I thought maybe I’d do it to my 2014 GSA.

It’s like the next level of where I can go. I just wanted to try it.’

Brilliant airfilter access.

“But I got so far through the project and then it was over, because of different things. And then I went, ‘I have a lot more ideas, but I’m not going further with those ideas until I’ve ridden this thing.’ I didn’t know whether I’d go, ‘Okay. It’s not that good.

It’ll be something I can ride to the pub occasionally, just for a bit of fun.’

“But it felt really good.

“So then I went, ‘Okay. Let’s continue.’

“It’s still quite amazing on the road. A lot of the time it depends on your attitude. We take these ‘supertankers’ – let’s call them – through the bush, and we love the fact they’re big and heavy and it’s like a challenge to get them through. Then, at the end of the day, there’s this great reward of having an awesome road bike.

“Anyway, I just wanted to build something that was a little bit more off-road, and that’s how this thing came about.”

Simpler the better. The SW-Motech tail bag replaces the pillion seat and sits on top of some good storage space.
Geoff made the sidestand-switch protector and folding gearshift lever himself.