Gearing up for the 2024 GS Trophy

Aside from a few fleeting social media posts, this will serve as the first announcement that myself and Motorcycle.com were invited by BMW Motorrad North America to serve as the “embedded journalist” to ride alongside and report on the 2024 GS Trophy and Team USA’s progress as they navigate the challenges that BMW Motorrad and Namibia will have on offer. To say that I’m excited and humbled to receive the invite would be putting it lightly. Not only do I see it as an honor to receive the personal invite, but it carries more weight knowing that this is the first time Motorcycle.com as a publication has been invited.

To be fair, despite the non denominational title of our little slice of the internet, MO has always been a street-first outlet. It wasn’t until the rise in adventure bikes (and the fact that some dirty little snot-nosed kid came around) that MO really had much of a focus on anything that dared to get its tires dirty. I’m passionate about ADV and off-road riding and to that point, it’s become a bit of a niche for me to fill here on these digital pages. This role has landed me opportunities that I would have never considered possible, and many of the fondest have been on adventure bikes, whether that be struggling alongside each other on our staff, or riding in far off lands. Now the journey continues with a proper adventure with BMW to southern Africa for the 2024 GS Trophy in Namibia.

The GS Trophy

For those unaware, the GS Trophy is a biennial event that pits teams from around the globe against one another in a variety of on-bike technical challenges – and even some off-bike. Since 2008 in Tunisia, BMW has toured the world with challenges taking place on nearly every continent. The event is designed to showcase what’s possible on BMW’s adventure motorcycles. From only five teams in the beginning, that number has swollen to 22 teams participating in the last GS Trophy in Albania.

For 2024, both men’s and women’s teams will represent 16 regions with 22 teams. Men’s teams include three competitors and perhaps an embedded journalist, while the women’s teams are made up of two riders. Unfortunately, the women’s team from the States did not make it through the final qualifier. BMW Motorrad North America has created a video series in the lead up to this year’s trophy that gives a behind-the-scenes look at how competitors Scott, Kirk, and Billy get prepared to face the challenges in Namibia. Meet the team and check out episode one of the four videos released so far below.

Being that this is a fully supported event from BMW Motorrad Global, obviously BMW wants to curate and present this special challenge in a specific way. With various sponsors coming on board to be a part, I received a massive luggage bag with gear specific to this year’s Trophy – which is pretty cool. So cool in fact, I thought I’d give you all a glimpse into that bag to see what all of the competitors and journalists were sent in order to be prepared for Namibia.

Custom Jacket and Pants

As mentioned above, there is a lot of work and a lot of partnerships that go into creating an event of this scale. BMW has certain sponsors featured on the custom jacket and pants that competitors and journalists wear during the Trophy. Many of these sponsors have also had a hand in helping to create unique challenges that somehow incorporate the brand. I think I once saw a challenge in which the teams had to pull a Ineos Grenadier through sand.

The GS Trophy gear is based on the BMW GS Rallye GTX jacket and pants, but with colors unique to this year’s Trophy – and of course the sponsor logos. The jacket uses a Gore-Tex outer with ample venting options – which we’ll probably need more of than protection from rain. Armor is integrated throughout and the polyamide-cotton construction has built in stretch for added mobility. It also features an integrated hydration bladder. Of course, I’ve only used it a handful of times at this point to get used to it, but we will see very soon how it holds up to some heavy wear.

Gloves

BMW also sent its GS Rallye gloves which combine a mixture of leather and textile as well as a hard knuckle slider for added protection. I’ve probably used these the most so far to ensure they’re properly broken in before I need to wear them in tough conditions for two weeks. I’ve done everything from soaking them in water, then using them and also conditioning them once they dried. At this point, they fit, well… like a glove.

Neck brace

This one, to be honest, I’m not terribly sure about. I’ve never used a neck brace and am not sold on the inherent lack of mobility caused by it. Of course, I would want it should I have an accident in which it saves my bacon, but I also don’t want it to cause an accident.

The custom GS Trophy neck brace is made by Leatt. The neck braces I’ve found on Leatt’s website that looks close to the one above are the STX Road, which is said to be for adventure, street, and commuting, and the SNX Trophy which is listed for snowmobiles, but hey, I suppose many of the same things can happen on a snowmobile.

Swag

BMW provided a rather large, backpack-sized tailbag that actually can be used as a backpack for on-bike storage during the event. I’ve been told small tailbags have been offered in the past, but this one actually has some decent storage capacity. Although it can be worn as a backpack, BMW has asked that it only be used as a tailbag citing the safety concerns of wearing backpacks during the event… oh, and it would cover all of those nice sponsor logos.

Drinking vessel

This isn’t going to be like the typical press event that we attend which typically include nice meals and bougie accommodations. Nope, for my two weeks in Namibia, I’ll be pitching a tent each evening and breaking it down each morning to toss into that big gear bag and have it hauled to the next destination. BMW provided a Rejka Hamra Light two-person tent, a Thermarest Trail Lite self-inflating sleeping pad, and a lightweight Rab Solar Eco 3 sleeping bag that’s rated to 20 degrees fahrenheit, which should be plenty.

Helmet House

While BMW nearly had me fully kitted, there were a few key items missing to ensure I stay as safe and protected as possible. The nice folks at Helmet House filled in the blanks with the gear below and we’re grateful for it.

Shoei VFX-EVO Jammer helmet

I’ve used 100% almost exclusively in the past. Not for any particular reason other than they’ve worked well and looked good. I’ve been curious about the Armega since it came out a few years ago, but I never had a reason to seek out a pair. The version Helmet House sent feature 100%’s proprietary HiPER lens that is supposed to increase contrast and offer “ultra HD” lens clarity – all things that sound like a good idea to use in the Namibian desert.

Sidi Crossfire 3 boots

After putting myself out of commission for a few months last year with an ankle injury, I’m taking my boot choices a little more seriously when it comes to riding big bikes off-road. I had always preached that folks looking to push the limits of their own, or their machines, should wear moto boots. Then I didn’t take my own advice, let my guard down, and ended up having ankle surgery after crashing an adventure bike in adventure boots. Well, we’re not risking it this time. I’ve been a fan of the Crossfire 3 for some time now as it’s a relatively lightweight and comfortable (once broken in) moto boot that offers race-level protection. I’ve been doing my darndest to get these as broken in as possible which has included riding in them, wearing them around the house, and walking my dog over a mile while wearing them.

Gear’s set, let’s go!

Well, that wraps up the kit that I’ll be schlepping around airports on two different continents. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a peek into the bag that all of the participants of the GS Trophy received and I hope you’ll follow along as we provide daily updates here on MO and (try) social media. I hear the internet isn’t great out there, so we’ll do what we can. Wish me and the guys luck! We’re certainly in for an adventure.

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