BMW GS's

[Chipchap]

Renn Sport said:

When your right you're right... I do know everything! So does my 7 year old.

You are both wrong. Everyone knows that it is a fact that the wife knows everything !!!

[moanthebairns]

Prof Prolapse said:

moanthebairns said:

Prof Prolapse said:

You must admit MTB, if you're doing a run over a few days a sports bike can be a burden. If I was 20 years older, and only could afford one bike. I'd want something comfier.

no, I go to work on a sportsbike, I use one every time I go out a run, be it on the shops or to somewhere and I've never thought I wish I had just a thimble more of practicality or comfort, as if its that bad I take the car.

Wtf is the point in having a bike that is ruined by being slightly more practical, all you need is fuel, and someplace to put your mastercard.

I think in the comfort stakes there's a world of difference between being a bloke in his late 20s going twenty miles to work, and being a bloke in his late 40s going riding for five days solid.

You'd never take a car for that sort of journey either, that's the whole point.

I done 700 miles, in 24 hours, in the pissing rain, after 2 hours kip on a fireblade. Any discomfort I had was instantly gone by the time I had a fag.

[fergus]

moanthebairns said:

Prof Prolapse said:

moanthebairns said:

Prof Prolapse said:

You must admit MTB, if you're doing a run over a few days a sports bike can be a burden. If I was 20 years older, and only could afford one bike. I'd want something comfier.

no, I go to work on a sportsbike, I use one every time I go out a run, be it on the shops or to somewhere and I've never thought I wish I had just a thimble more of practicality or comfort, as if its that bad I take the car.

Wtf is the point in having a bike that is ruined by being slightly more practical, all you need is fuel, and someplace to put your mastercard.

I think in the comfort stakes there's a world of difference between being a bloke in his late 20s going twenty miles to work, and being a bloke in his late 40s going riding for five days solid.

You'd never take a car for that sort of journey either, that's the whole point.

I done 700 miles, in 24 hours, in the pissing rain, after 2 hours kip on a fireblade. Any discomfort I had was instantly gone by the time I had a fag.

Fireblades are great sports tourers ^

PS how do you sleep on a bike? Especially for 2 hours? Where did you put your head?

[moanthebairns]

woowahwoo said:

fergus said:

moanthebairns said:

Prof Prolapse said:

moanthebairns said:

Prof Prolapse said:

You must admit MTB, if you're doing a run over a few days a sports bike can be a burden. If I was 20 years older, and only could afford one bike. I'd want something comfier.

no, I go to work on a sportsbike, I use one every time I go out a run, be it on the shops or to somewhere and I've never thought I wish I had just a thimble more of practicality or comfort, as if its that bad I take the car.

Wtf is the point in having a bike that is ruined by being slightly more practical, all you need is fuel, and someplace to put your mastercard.

I think in the comfort stakes there's a world of difference between being a bloke in his late 20s going twenty miles to work, and being a bloke in his late 40s going riding for five days solid.

You'd never take a car for that sort of journey either, that's the whole point.

I done 700 miles, in 24 hours, in the pissing rain, after 2 hours kip on a fireblade. Any discomfort I had was instantly gone by the time I had a fag.

Fireblades are great sports tourers ^

PS how do you sleep on a bike? Especially for 2 hours? Where did you put your head?

He was riding it, I expect. A testament to just how boring Hondas are.

my engerlish is piss poor

[spareparts]

Renn Sport said:

spareparts said:

I'm happy to let others discover. Besides, RennSport clearly knows it all

Go for a test ride of the GS, and don't look back.

I am flattered you still hold a candle for me.

Don't push it. I might change my mind.

Chipchap said:

You are both wrong. Everyone knows that it is a fact that the wife knows everything !!!

And she said the GS is better than the Multi!

[Esceptico]

moanthebairns said:

I've never ridden one. I've never probably got through an entire article about one without yawning. I've never actually looked at one and developed the urge to grown a beard, a pot belly, suddenly a need for glasses, a flip-up helmet and a hi-vis jacket. To discover I now find Alan Titchmarsh zany yet funny and the only thing better than my GS is talking about my GS or wife swapping, in a caravan, in Skegness of a weekend.

I don't need to take a test ride of a motorbike that's seating position resembles that of a trendy bar stool. Why don't I, because its built for comfort and long distances and a perfect all rounder. These to me defeat the purpose of a motorcycle, its a toy, to experience the sensation of speed, any wker that says they are as quick on a GS as they are a sportsbike is riding over grass, has a fked back or isn't very good.

On a ride out last week I came across a middle aged guy on a Fireblade with lots of carbon, he had expensive leathers and all the gear (and pristine knee sliders). He rode deathly slow. God those Fireblades (and therefore all sports bikes) are a pile of st....

[Killboy]

moanthebairns said:

I done 700 miles, in 24 hours, in the pissing rain, after 2 hours kip on a fireblade. Any discomfort I had was instantly gone by the time I had a fag.

[moanthebairns]

Esceptico said:

moanthebairns said:

I've never ridden one. I've never probably got through an entire article about one without yawning. I've never actually looked at one and developed the urge to grown a beard, a pot belly, suddenly a need for glasses, a flip-up helmet and a hi-vis jacket. To discover I now find Alan Titchmarsh zany yet funny and the only thing better than my GS is talking about my GS or wife swapping, in a caravan, in Skegness of a weekend.

I don't need to take a test ride of a motorbike that's seating position resembles that of a trendy bar stool. Why don't I, because its built for comfort and long distances and a perfect all rounder. These to me defeat the purpose of a motorcycle, its a toy, to experience the sensation of speed, any wker that says they are as quick on a GS as they are a sportsbike is riding over grass, has a fked back or isn't very good.

On a ride out last week I came across a middle aged guy on a Fireblade with lots of carbon, he had expensive leathers and all the gear (and pristine knee sliders). He rode deathly slow. God those Fireblades (and therefore all sports bikes) are a pile of st....

My humour and taking the piss doesn't translate very well on here, or people are as thick as st in the neck of a bottle.

[nightflight]

I wanted an adventure bike for the riding position etc, so went for a Triumph Explorer 1200. I had ridden a few GS's, and just found them very agricultural. The Triumph just felt a lot more modern, with what feels like a sports bike engine, in an adventure style bike, and I can always find it in the car park when in Europe amongst all the GS's

[Prof Prolapse]

moanthebairns said:

I done 700 miles, in 24 hours, in the pissing rain, after 2 hours kip on a fireblade. Any discomfort I had was instantly gone by the time I had a fag.

Yes, I can see now why bikes universally recognised as comfortable are a waste of time for long distance based on that anecdote.

Wally.

[Reardy Mister]

nightflight said:

I wanted an adventure bike for the riding position etc, so went for a Triumph Explorer 1200. I had ridden a few GS's, and just found them very agricultural. The Triumph just felt a lot more modern, with what feels like a sports bike engine, in an adventure style bike, and I can always find it in the car park when in Europe amongst all the GS's

If the gearbox is anything like the one on my '10 RT, agricultural is right. Feels and shifts like it came from an early 70s Massey Ferguson.

[croyde]

nightflight said:

I wanted an adventure bike for the riding position etc, so went for a Triumph Explorer 1200. I had ridden a few GS's, and just found them very agricultural. The Triumph just felt a lot more modern, with what feels like a sports bike engine, in an adventure style bike, and I can always find it in the car park when in Europe amongst all the GS's

Agricultural is the word I used. I was very impressed by the A/C and W/C GS and almost bought the newer model. It was fast, comfy, handled well, protected me from the elements and had all the toys ie the ride modes and the essential heated grips but £14,000+ for something that sounded like a bag of nails in a washing machine.

That didn't wash right with me.

[Esceptico]

moanthebairns said:

My humour and taking the piss doesn't translate very well on here, or people are as thick as st in the neck of a bottle.

Apologies if I got the wrong end of the stick.

Nope, not clear sometimes if you are saying something you mean in a funny way or saying something you don't believe just to be contentious. Would probably be obvious if you were saying it in the pub over a pint because we could see and hear you.

[moanthebairns]

Esceptico said:

moanthebairns said:

My humour and taking the piss doesn't translate very well on here, or people are as thick as st in the neck of a bottle.

Apologies if I got the wrong end of the stick.

Nope, not clear sometimes if you are saying something you mean in a funny way or saying something you don't believe just to be contentious. Would probably be obvious if you were saying it in the pub over a pint because we could see and hear you.

I don't actually firmly believe in anything I say. If you offered me a fiver I would probably change my mind if I hadn't already forgot if I hate it or not.

[neelyp]

Whilst everybody continues to talk pish and not appreciate that some people might just want different things from other people one fact does remain, folk on these BMW adventure bikes don't like waving at us mere mortals on our normal bikes.
They're very similar to Harley riders in that respect, they do their best to ignore other bikers.

[Andybow]

Right then who do you think would be faster on a track Marquez on a GS or you on a fireblade?
To say something that is comfortable for long distances and a perfect all rounder defeats the purpose of a motorcycle is fking stupid, travelling on a motorbike for long distances is the essence of motorcycling!
Have you ever been on a decent tour? Going around Europe is a million times better than riding on the UK's stty roads.theres no way at my age that I want to go on a fireblade for 3 weeks doing lots of miles a day and in pain.

moanthebairns said:

I've never ridden one. I've never probably got through an entire article about one without yawning. I've never actually looked at one and developed the urge to grown a beard, a pot belly, suddenly a need for glasses, a flip-up helmet and a hi-vis jacket. To discover I now find Alan Titchmarsh zany yet funny and the only thing better than my GS is talking about my GS or wife swapping, in a caravan, in Skegness of a weekend.

I don't need to take a test ride of a motorbike that's seating position resembles that of a trendy bar stool. Why don't I, because its built for comfort and long distances and a perfect all rounder. These to me defeat the purpose of a motorcycle, its a toy, to experience the sensation of speed, any wker that says they are as quick on a GS as they are a sportsbike is riding over grass, has a fked back or isn't very good.

[fergus]

Reardy Mister said:

nightflight said:

I wanted an adventure bike for the riding position etc, so went for a Triumph Explorer 1200. I had ridden a few GS's, and just found them very agricultural. The Triumph just felt a lot more modern, with what feels like a sports bike engine, in an adventure style bike, and I can always find it in the car park when in Europe amongst all the GS's

If the gearbox is anything like the one on my '10 RT, agricultural is right. Feels and shifts like it came from an early 70s Massey Ferguson.

I had a '13 plate LC GS for a while, but even with 3500 miles on, it had to have a new gearbox under warranty, as the shift quality was very poor. The final drive also had a graunching sound coming out of it after riding hard and unless the preload on the rear ESA was adjusted only for a solo rider (still too wallowy for me) the front UJ on the driveshaft also protested a lot.

The "lean cruise" fuelling to meet EURO XYZ (whatever we're up to now) was also ste. Even with the lambdas disconnected, it kept surging on a constant throttle (not quite sure how it knew how lean it was?).

Even in "dynamic" mode, the FBW throttle didn't feel that well connected with the engine (despite having 3 different software "upgrades" in it's short lifetime).

Needless to say, it got sold and I went back to using my old 05 model, which is properly agricultural, but it doesn't pretend to be otherwise.

Not sure of the quality of a lot of the fixtures, etc. on the newer bikes (not that the bolts on the old bike are made of anything much harder than cheese to be fair).

However, the BMW Assistance scheme is superb and they are very forthcoming with 330d's to smoke around in (x3).

I really want to try either the 1190 or 1290 to see how their FBW, "active" suspension, etc. compares. Silver993tt - where did you purchase your bike from for the price you quoted? Andorra?

[Silver993tt]

fergus said:

I really want to try either the 1190 or 1290 to see how their FBW, "active" suspension, etc. compares. Silver993tt - where did you purchase your bike from for the price you quoted? Andorra?

I bought it in Germany, was the last one of a batch they had sold and wanted to clear the stock for the rest of the year. Semi- Active suspension is fantastic but only available on the 1290 SA. 1190 has electronic suspension but not semi-active.

[spareparts]

fergus said:

I had a '13 plate LC GS for a while...

The LC GS had a minor upgrade for MY2015 - gearbox changes, GSA-Pro, flywheel, grips, etc... There is a noticeable difference in the way a '15 rides vs '13 - and for the better.

[bass gt3]

fergus said:

I had a '13 plate LC GS for a while, but even with 3500 miles on, it had to have a new gearbox under warranty, as the shift quality was very poor. The final drive also had a graunching sound coming out of it after riding hard and unless the preload on the rear ESA was adjusted only for a solo rider (still too wallowy for me) the front UJ on the driveshaft also protested a lot.

The "lean cruise" fuelling to meet EURO XYZ (whatever we're up to now) was also ste. Even with the lambdas disconnected, it kept surging on a constant throttle (not quite sure how it knew how lean it was?).

Even in "dynamic" mode, the FBW throttle didn't feel that well connected with the engine (despite having 3 different software "upgrades" in it's short lifetime).

Needless to say, it got sold and I went back to using my old 05 model, which is properly agricultural, but it doesn't pretend to be otherwise.

Not sure of the quality of a lot of the fixtures, etc. on the newer bikes (not that the bolts on the old bike are made of anything much harder than cheese to be fair).

However, the BMW Assistance scheme is superb and they are very forthcoming with 330d's to smoke around in (x3).

I really want to try either the 1190 or 1290 to see how their FBW, "active" suspension, etc. compares. Silver993tt - where did you purchase your bike from for the price you quoted? Andorra?

This is my gripe.
The original GS was honest. It was a rugged, no frills well built machine that worked. The new bike seems to be pitched in a very aspirational market now, premium pricing etc yet the refinement hasn't improved much and the quality is definitely worse based on where the bike is now positioned. A friend who's the chief mech at the local Motorrad reckons they're seeing lots of LC models with blown 5th gears amongst other things.
As for the KTM bikes, I loved my 1190 but with a couple of caveats. These seem to be resolved with the 1290 but I'm not too keen on this new electronic suspension. I'd prefer the KTM equivalent of the BMW ESA which I had on the 1190 as suspension failures are an ever present worry for me on the new systems.
I suspect I'll go for the 1290 as I want a bike that can eat up serious mileages then happily bounce along the dirt in Mozambique, Namibia or Malawi come rain or shine with ease.