| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_grumpy |
Well, one of my best mates, a former X1 owner who now rides an Electra-Barge, called me yesterday to tell me of a BMW open day today, as a mutual friend had his old Beemer on show. So we tooled on down & were pleasantly surprised to find no less than 5 Buells in the parking. I wandered around chatted to some of the Buell owners & went to watch the riding display. Only a BMW dealer would put on a SLOW riding show. They had a test fleet there too & I liked the look of the F 800 R & thought I might see how it stacked up against the TT. Sadly it was fully booked but there were a couple of 1200 GS models just sitting there waiting to be ridden on the next ride out, so I thought why not, I'll see what all the fuss is about & put my name down. First impression when I sat on it was the size, & the amount of bike that was sticking out in front of me, also the wide bars & switches bloody everywhere. I was agreeably surprised at how everything fell just in place for me though, nice light clutch as well but a bit on the sharp side, I nearly mowed down one of the dealer blokes as I pulled away but it hoiked round nicely & I grinned past him. Out on the road I was blown away by how light & nimble it feels, totally planted, plenty of grunt very confidence inspiring. Pretty good wind protection but noisy around the helmet, the screen's adjustable & was in the lowest position, so can probably get rid of the worst. I got used to the bloody stupid indicator system fairly quickly & there's plenty of info on the dash too. About the only thing I didn't like about it was the clunking & shunting from the driveline which was hugely noticeable after a smooth belt. All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised by how allround capable it is, it's the sort of bike you can ride like a hooligan when you want & cover a lot of ground comfortably when you need to go somewhere. I may just have to get one. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>Electra-Barge, << You haven't ridden a new touring chassis Harley either huh. The shaft drive thing goes away after about an hour or two on the bike. You learn the clutch. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I've ridden his Electra, it's more comfortable than my living room couch & the sound system is better than I have in my car. I also took out a Road Thing a few years back, it went & handled surprisingly well within it's evident limits of lean. However I have a bench grinder in the garage if I feel like reducing expensive bits of metal to dust on a regular basis. I'll have to start saving my pennies for the GS. Shit, I can't believe I just wrote all that! F*** I must be getting old! (Message edited by mr_grumpy on March 14, 2010) | ||
| Danger_dave |
Any schmuck can grind 'em. The skill is to ride them so it just kisses the deck. For a large touring bike I think they are outstanding. A 2001 Wide glide was a barge. New ones I can back in slightly. | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
We were actually thinking of getting a couple of BMW's. The F650GS for me and the F800GS for the hubby. Would love to start going off road for some adventure. Like you, will need to start saving the $$$$$ | ||
| Iamike |
Jewels, A former Bueller buddy of mine (stolen in Mexico last year) has an F650gs. He really likes it but mentions the lack of torque, same as my VFR. Another buddy just bought the F800gs and has been riding around the Phoenix area and just loves it. I'm not sure all the differences between the 2 but the guy with the 800 bought his as a demo for $11,000. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>Would love to start going off road for some adventure.<< Without knowing your skill level I would offer that an expensive BMW may not be the best place to start. | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
I have a Kawasaki 140L for actual dirt biking/single track stuff. The BMW would be for dirt roads, fire roads, mountain passes. Nothing real radical but off the beaten path. I'd have no problem. The 800gs is way too tall for me. The 600gs with the standard frame with the low seat fit me perfectly. Unfortunately this is just a dream right now. But maybe down the road. As the weather warms up there's a dealer near here that will let you take the bikes out for demo rides. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Cool. you gots it. I'm covering an ADV ride this weekend. Taking a new Katoom along. | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
This is making me look forward to getting out in the woods to go riding. We purchased a small toy hauler so we can get out there, I'm hoping, at least twice a month during the summer here. Here's some pic's from last year. They were taken in an area that burned, about 230,000 acres.     | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Found this review which says it all far better than I can. http://www.visordown.com/reviews/motorcycles/adven ture/bmw-r1200gs/review/31.html Probably why I'm a truck driver not a bike journo. I'll shut up now, after all this is supposed to be a Buell site.  | ||
| Danger_dave |
Not as though you are costing them business. | ||
| Road_thing |
I also took out a Road Thing a few years back, I've been heartbroken ever since--you never called, never wrote, never even sent flowers!  rt | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I'm sorry about that, I must have been very drunk & lost your number.  | ||
| Drkside79 |
I live most BMW's to be honest. My dad rides a 1200LT and loves it. I like the GS quite a bit as well. |
