My New Ride

[Steve in Golden]

My R1200R is a great bike but I can't ride it for more than an hour. It just does not have enough legroom for a tall guy like me, even with the factory high seat and peg extenders. Plus I didn't like having the peg extenders on; I was always scraping the pegs or my foot, and they put my feet in an odd position. And I was always hitting the centerstand with the back of my left foot. I took the peg extenders off the R1200R so now it is truly cramped.

So I needed to do something. I thought I should get a dual-sport bike, maybe learn to ride better in the dirt. What to do, should I get a Japanese bike? They are much more cost-effective, that's for sure. I shopped around on Craigslist for a while. Maybe I should get a V-Strom?

But for some reason the Japanese bikes just don't do it for me, at least not for my primary ride. But who knows, maybe someday I will get something like an FZ1 or a Bandit for street riding.

I must have suffered a bout of temporary insanity. After much soul-searching, research, and shopping around, I went to my local BMW boutique a couple of weeks ago and put down a deposit on a brand-new R1200GS. I picked it up a couple of days ago. So far I have only ridden it to work and back a couple of times, and around the 'hood a bit. It turned over 100 miles this morning on the way in. It is the first time, and probably the last, I have ever purchased a new vehicle. This time around, I wanted something that I know the history of from the get-go, something I've put all the miles on, something I can break in the way I think it should be done (which is not baby it, run it hard but not too hard).

My impressions so far:

It is bigger and more top-heavy and does not seem to accelerate as fast as my R1200R. But the engine is not broken in, of course, and I have not been romping on it the way I would if it was fully broken in. Engine braking is not as pronounced as the R either for some reason. It is considerably more comfortable but I will probably need a slightly higher custom seat. It is pretty smooth but has a bit of engine vibration around 4500 RPM; I'm hoping it will go away when it's broken in more. The mirrors don't vibrate as much as the R so I can actually see if cars behind me are cops or not. It feels very stable and corners well, once you get used to how it handles.

I'm starting to "come to oneness" with it and the more I ride it, the more I like it. In fact I could even grow to love it and call it the best bike I've ever owned.



She's a beaut ain't she!

[bbelk]

Thats a purdy bike.. Veg will be envious. I am too, but I am too short for the GS.

[enigmaT120]

How take are you,
Steve?

I think an
R100gspd is bigger than I like.

[Zombie Master]

Congratulations! You can't go wrong with that one. Might also be the last of the Air/oil cooled GS's.

It's the Swiss army knife of motorcycles!

It's always on my list of possibilities.

I bought the 1200 Bandit 5 years ago and it is a very good sport touring bike. Throttle response it the great thing on the GS1200S Bandit. It has never givin' any running reliability issues. When my cams started to show fatigue spalling, and Suzuki didn't take care of me, I was able to get cams with matched rockers out of a crashed bike for $150. Try that with a BMW. Years down the line the new cams look perfect. But no doubt the GS1200 is a great machine. When riding the Alps last summer GS1200's were nearly 10 to 1 over any other machine. Now can I resist the Multi Strada 1200, a GS slayer if ever there was one. But none of these bikes look good to me in the least. But they are eons ahead of the old bikes in performance and safety. Again Congratz!!!!!

[Steve in Golden]

Thanks ZM & Brad!

Ed, I am 6' 1" with a 32" inseam.

Here's a couple of photos from a little spin I took today. Just off Rollins Pass Rd:



Along the Peak to Peak highway:





The weather was perfect for a ride today. It is a very nice machine.

[Sibbo]

I know two really tall blokes , both around 6'5". Both have bought KTM 990s for the leg room and both love them, heaps of power , highway capable and certainly rough stuff capable. Lighter than you 1200 but needing more "involvement".

[Airbear]

I've noticed how common big grins are on the faces of people who ride R1200GSs. Congrats, Steve. I'm sure you'll have fun testing its limits.

[ME 109]

Nice acquisition Steve, you'll be in for a lot of fun.
The GS is great for stacking luggage on.

[dougie]

Steve - a friend of mine has a modern GS and is also over 6ft.
He loves it. Calls it his "anything/everything" bike.