First thing, take a look at the design of the XChallenge. We’d like to put this bike on display as an art piece rather than go out and get it dirty. But that isn’t why we’re here is it? We would not be doing our job if we did that. Kudos to BMW for bringing such a beautifully crafted motorcycle to market.

This story came into being as a result of a quick stop for a bite to eat in the small town of Chester, South Carolina. I was looking for places to shoot a story when I happened on a local pub. Being a huge fan of greasy bar cuisine I ventured in, ordered a Philly Cheese steak with fries and a beer to wash it down. While waiting for my plate of impending indigestion, a local came to me and said he noticed me taking photos and was wondering what I was up to.(It’s one of the nice things about small towns, people are friendly). We got to talking and as I explained to him what I was doing he said I should talk to his cousin Marvin Grant. Turns out my new friend Andy is a descendant of the legendary Ulysses S Grant. Andy had lots of great stories, as most southerners do. His cousin, as it turns out, hosts a Dual Sport ride once a year to benefit the Armenia Church. It covers almost 90 miles of terra firma zigzagging through trees on tight twisty single track and meanders through the wide open cow pastures of his neighbors land.

As a MX/ woods rider I don’t own a Dual Sport bike and since we didn't have one in the EDM garage I needed to get hold of a ride worthy of such an epic event. A few emails later and we had a tentative yes from BMW of North America saying they would send us their latest entry to the off-road motorcycle world, the 650 XChallenge. The off-road version of the 3 bike series built around the 650 motor, inspired by the single powering the F650GS models. In addition to the XChallenge there is the XMoto and the XCountry.