Anyone own a watercooled BMW R1200GS?

[croyde]

Just wondered what you think as an owner. Test drove one when they came out and I was impressed, except not £14k impressed but now they have dropped in price a bit, I might be tempted.

[croyde]

Thanks mate. I did long test rides on both the air-cooled and the water-cooled and yes, the new one felt a lot sportier. Much to the surprise of the K1300S rider that I overtook

My nearest dealer (20 miles away) has a couple in at around £11k so I'm going to have a look in the week and see what they might give me for my old 2009 Street Triple.

[croyde]

Thanks.

The only thing I wasn't sure about on both versions was how slow I was in London traffic compared to my little Street Triple. Again I'm sure it's something you get used to and better at but I just kept thinking I was going to bash the cylinder heads going through gaps

Bought a massive US Ford sedan a few months ago and now I'm just as fast thru the London traffic as I am in my BMW E36

[croyde]

I hired one for 24 hours to see how it would be on my common commute from SW London to E London and back. Apart from not being able to get through some of the gaps in grid locked traffic in central London, it impressed me apart from one big thing, annoying for such an expensive machine.

It looks like a starship, goes like a starship and has all the bells, whistles and buttons like a starship but sounds like an old tractor. It's like a bag of nails in a tumble dryer.

I never noticed this on previous test rides as they had been out in the country going everywhere at a fair lick but in the slow stop start traffic in the city it was really obvious and made the bike seem cheap, although it's not.

Maybe I have got to used to the turbine whistling of the various 4s and triples that I have owned but saying that the twins of the modern Triumph don't feel so archaic.

Anyhow the next morning it was raining and grey so I made myself use the last 4 hours of ownership riding in the crap conditions through the rush hour traffic of S London and out into Surrey.

I have to say that with the suspension set to soft and the mode to rain the machine flattered my wet weather abilities. I wonder if the confidence in the electronics made me ride more normally and less cautiously than I would in similar conditions on my Street Triple, for I still treat a modern non TC/ABS/ESA bike's ability in the rain the same as I would with the bikes that I rode in the 80s with their teflon tyres and lard covered discs.

So I was hoping that the £190 spent on a days hire would be saving me the 1000s that a BMW would cost by putting me off but I'm still undecided.

Suggestions for others to try on a postcard please.

[croyde]

Damn! Why did you show me that I was only thinking a GS with a turbine smooth 4 pot would be the dogs......

Oh and I agree about the Neutral and this on a well worn in 37k mile bike and I kept having to really look for my speed even with the digital display turned on. The Speed Display would be better where the gears are shown, in that size font. (I wouldn't have to keep looking at how fast/slow I was going if London wasn't festooned with different limit speed cameras as I would actually prefer to look at where I am going and keep a look out for all the other numpties on the road)

They do realise that these bikes are for the older more myopic gentleman

Edited by croyde on Thursday 25th September 17:47

[croyde]

Reminiscent of my commute from leafy SW London to the Badlands of Stratford in East London

Thanks mate, looks like a great adventure.