I've owned my 1150GS (x plate 2000) for 6 years now and still say it's the best thing I've ever bought. When I bought it I'd toyed with the idea of a harley having ridden one but opted for the gs. Now I'm getting drawn to the idea of buying one again (fatboy) but it would mean selling the gs.
A chap I know who's harley through and through owned a 1150 gs for 12 months but swopped back but says the gs is a far better bike ?
So whos taken to the darkside? was it worth it? will I regret selling the gs?
Dave
I've had 5 Harleys - Sportster, Softail Standard, 2 Heritage Classic's and an Ultra Glide.
With the exception of the Sporty I've covered loads of miles, and toured all of Europe many times. A Harley is a worldwide touring machine for sure.
But I got a Dakar couple of years ago and started to play in the mountains - and that was a revelation
. My missus called it the 'toy' initially cause she thought it felt light and insubstantial. But after a couple of rides / miles she liked that one better than my last Heritage (more comfortable too according to her).
The Harley just was no pleasure up in the twisties and anyplace in Europe other than UK I was longing for something more agile and faster. Even the Ultra was better at roadholding and had more ground clearance than the Heritage (which is the same as the Fatboy in these respects). Forget tight hairpins or fast bendies unless you like the sound of floorboards grinding down and are happy to risk a bracket digging in and hurling you off!
Then I took a test on a 12GS a year gone February, and WOW!
Anything I could do with the Harley I can do faster, better, with more luggage, more control and bags more fun wth the GS. Plus I get to mix it with the plastic rockets occassionally. Its a hell of a lot easier to move around the garage too - and cleaning... forget it!
I sold my Heritage just after my first trip to through France and down to Spain!