New GS Owner - Waiting with baited breath

Geordietraveller

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Hello All! - just thought I'd introduce myself on the (almost) eve of delivery day.

The GS12 is at the dealer now and SHOULD be ready to pick up on Friday.......

Now I have come to terms with parting with the best part of 10 grand for a bike:cockeye , I find myself in a position where I have to come terms with the fact that I am getting rid of a bike I have thoroughly enjoyed for 2 1/2 years. My head has decided it's the right thing to do but my heart still belongs to the Blackbird.

The way I've been using the 'bird just didn't justify keeping it - commuting, afternoon / weekend b-road blasts and touring (mainly) the West of Scotland on either heavily policed or narrow bumpy lanes doesn't really fit the 'bird's design brief but it's still a hell of a bike. I'm all for 'making progress' but I found more and more that the opportunities to use 160bhp just don't appear often enough to justify the day to day inconveniences of a 'Hyperbike'

I took the GS out for 2 test rides - first one was so windy I 50p'd all the bends just trying to hold on but the second really made me feel like I could cover the ground quicker and in a lot more comfort on a GS (which was a shock).

I've read with interest posts from people who have either changed from sportsbikes or have both so what I want to know is - I'm over doing 120+ everywhere but will I still be able to lose sportsbikes in the twisties and will I ever get used to losing 2 cylinders and having this thing called 'vibration'? (whatever that is!)

Let the piss taking commence.:thumb

Si
 
I think it's a different paradigm. The Jap inline fours are without doubt technically almost perfect. However they're (in the real world) overpowered and really are generally characterless.

The GS12 has more or less all the power you need on a public road whilst giving superb handling and buckets full of character.

As for losing other bikes in the twisties, well I suggest it's more a question of rider ability than any one machine once bikes get above a certain technical mechanical ability.

To sum up, you'll have a smile on your face and won't in any way be embarrassed in any company.


.
 
Good luck Si

Picked mine up this afternoon! Arrived a week and a bit earlier than expected ending 5 months wait!

It's great, absolutely fabulous ~ loved riding it so far and although it feels a bit tight (everyone says they loosen quickly especially if 'used') I'm going to have to ration my riding 'til Oct 7th as my dealer can't fit the 600 mile check up in before. So instead of doing 250+ miles tomorrow I'm gonna have to be boring and sensible!

david
 
When you ride your new 1200 out of the showroom you'll think "Oh my, what have I done!".

It will be very un-Honda-like. They are very tight when brand new. Mine juddered like a juddery thing when pulling away initially and was generally juddery when trickling through traffic. My first impression was "my, what a juddery thing this is".

However, it all goes away as it loosens up, and you'll find you have simply the best bike you can get hold of. Mine if totally superb - never had a "hyperbike" but I have an RSV Mille which is quick enough, but never gets ridden now.

The 1200 is well quick enough, handles superbly, and you'll certainly lose the sportsbikes down the green lanes :D

You will not be disappointed, just get it run in pronto and dont pansy about with it.
 
I also went for a GS but was fortunate enough to keep the blackbird as well. My advice would be to give the GS time to grow on you, after the bird it's rough and short on high end rush. It does have the same torque figures as the bird which gives it bags of grunt. It makes this grunt from 4000RPM whilst the bird only gets really going over 7000 RPM so it's a very diffrent bike which is why I bought it.
The GS is a fabously quick bike at sub 100MPH, and anything above this is licence loosing teritory. At these speeds it will surprise many sports bike riders and it's great fun to loose them in the twisties which is easy if it's slightly damp and a bit slippy.
The blackbird is a fabulous bit of high tech engineering, so smooth and so powerful with reasonable handling, the GS is more wacky and can be just as quick in the real world and has great handling.
Comfort wise I don't find there's much between the two, wrist ache on the bird when going slow but slight back ache on the GS with its very upright seating position.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do (mine improved loads after the first service and I began to ring its neck, so be patient it WILL grow on you).
Cheers JG
 
Hondas.love em

well GS or G/S are just blasts.but well, you live up north!!!!
Scheesh my VFR did 307 miles a few weeks ago with average speed of 82mph .oh the roads .................. all those unspoilt and unpoliced roads far north west...........I bet you know the routes too !!!!! Dont spill the beans, we can keep our GS's for the slower (but shock the average sports bike riders) and fun trips........roll on the Blackbird V5.my STX1300A will be swopped for one of them
Dood'
 
lose sports bikes !!!!!

surely you cant be serious!!! after all there are good riders and average riders and better riders...........a good sports bike rider will lose a GS ...................but a good GS rider could lose a good sports bike rider........down a forest track............they are all good bikes................................best plan is to have a FEW.............then you can blow everyone off !!!

Dood'

Honda STX 1300a
VFR (customized)
100GS
80G/S (sibenrock)
80/7
80/7 plus chair !!
 
Si,

I can but echo what most people, and indeed yourself, have written. I've owned some fast sporty tackle (R1, ThunderAce, brace of CBR's etc) which I enjoyed track days on etc. But, like you, I found tooling about in the 100 mph plus midrange power feels a waste of machine - and using it properly threatens both life and licence.

I can't play nicely and have to use 80% of a machines ability on the road to make it feel rewarding. I want to get to the national speed limit quickly, use most of the power available to me, enjoy the handling along the way and be able to stop fast in an emergency.

The GS is absolutely perfect for all of this - with everything happening from the off to the ton and with suffice speed not to bore. Two up touring comfort is great and it certainly has handling to surprise most.

Of course a well ridden R1 is going to be quicker than the GS on most occasions, but if speed were the only buying criteria we'd all have one or a Bird! BMW's are more about emotive factors, such as fun character, great dealers, good build, social scene, low maint, long service intervals, incredible (GS) residuals, etc.

Travelling is better than arriving (in a milli-second) and speed is the enemy of reflection. To cool thing about the GS is, that it makes sub-ton speeds feel fun again. It's as happy two up at 10 mph gliding over sleeping-policeman as it is at 80 mph through a sweeping bend knee kissing tarmac. Heck with knobbly tyres it can even trundle off-road reasonably smartly too - try that on your <insert 'any' other bike name here>!

Of course it does feel tall and a long way over at first, but once you put your full trust in it, the bike can 'really' handle. I've tried to deliberatly get it to spin up in the wet exiting bends to no avail - not that I recommend trying it! It's just an example whereby the bike appaears to easily outperform it's quirky yet endearing looks.

You will undoubtedly suprise many a sports bike, particularly in areas where the surface is not race track smooth and you're able to hold the correct line over bumps that on a sports bike you'd sooner avoid.

The Blackbird is fabulously efficient but if you want engaging fun, that will stand the test of time, and make you want to ride it because it's simply there, then the GS is definetly the bike to have.

Engine rumble simply reminds you that you're riding a real bike - and not a bike which is doing all the work for you. They do smooth out in time, you do feel at one with the power pulses (like a gentle galloping horse) and the ruthesly efficient efi will improve your throttle control too.

As for back ache, well I had too many crashes in my youth and back pain has regularly tortured me when riding sports bikes and even sports tourers like the Sprint and VFR800 I owned. Being in an out of an osteopath's clinic is no fun. However, after not riding this summer I collected mine this month and last weekend I clocked up 600 miles without a single ache - a first! Anyone who suffers back ache on the GS should try to relax on the bike more and wear a kidney belt for extra support. If it's still a problem buy a car!

Hope you love the bike, the vast majority of us seem to :)

As some overpaid Australian actor once said whilst braving his heart in Scotland "Ya kin tak ma Bird - but y'all ne'er tak ma GS"!
 
Captain Scarlet said:
Si,

...As for back ache...Anyone who suffers back ache on the GS should try to relax on the bike more and wear a kidney belt for extra support. If it's still a problem buy a car!
Steady on Captain, telling me to relax and drive a car is the worst profanities I've heard in ages! :))
Actually I get more back ache in the car than on the bike. The very upright GS riding position does put more strain on the lower back than the more leaning forward position of the blackbird but overall it is a much more comfortable bike.
But there again comfort is not what I ride a bike for, fun and excitement is why I ride a bike and the GS provides that by the bucket full.
I've had the GS since July and I've hardly used the Blackbird since then and people I ride with say I'm faster (through the twisties) on the GS anyway. This is probably because bumps mid corner don't worry the GS and whatever you do mid corner doesn't seem to worry the GS.
Cheers JG
 
Cheers guys, and barely a drop of urine spilt!

I have actually been a fan of the GS since the 1100 days. Always loved the design integrity / funtionality of it as a piece of fantastic Industrial Design, (even twisted Sandbaggerone's arm to get an 1150!) but just coundn't bring myself to buy one - UNTIL NOW!

I realise I'm on a GS forum (paradigm??! - never heard that on the BB forum! :p ) but those comments have allayed the worst of my fears. To be truthful, I'm picking the bike up at 4 tomorrow so I guess you could put it down to pre-wedding night gitters!

After re-reading my original post I think I may have appeared a bit of a nutter in regards to other bikes. Honestly, I'm just not into racing people at all plus I'm nearly always 2 up, I just happen to worship before the 'Good Book' (Roadcraft) and on real back roads my average speed is nearly always higher than other bikes I meet. And that's not 'cos I think I am a riding God it's that I prefer going round corners than going fast in a straight line and emergency stopping for the bends!. I can honestly say that I can't think of a single occasion where the power (as opposed to torque) of the bird has caused me to leave another bike behind. On bumpy back roads doing more than 120 is insane anyway and on A roads it's just not something I enjoy in this country for more than a few seconds. (must be getting old! not doing over 120? Buying a BMW? ;) )

The main factor which spoilt my enjoyment of the bird is like the good Captain said - bumps knock the bike (and girlfriend) off line and it is the ability to avoid this that the GS seems to have in spades. I travelled down some right nadgery roads on the bird that I enjoy but had to slow for just to stay on the road whereas on the GS I could give my full attention to the limit point and pretty much forget about the road surface.

My other priority is having the 'grunt' to pull out of bends (up to 80-90). This is something the 'bird excelled at and the GS seemed to have this nailed as well on the test. I'm with you Captain - I like to feel like I'm getting the most I can from a bike.

As for comfort, well it seemed like an armchair compaired to the bird but I have heard more than on complaint - like yourself JayGee - that it can get you in the base of the back. Only time will tell I guess.

And the K1200S - well, that's the reason I went into the BMW showroom in the first place. My 2 bike replacement list was that and the '06 VFR 1200. All I can say is that I've been there already and after riding it the GS seems like it will do everything and more that I did on the bird. (Just a pity everybody else thinks I'm mad for doing it - the poor deluded fools!)

Cheers again!

Si

:beerjug:
 
See the Good Captain doesn't always talk bollix! :thumb

I saw my osteopath last week (too much DIY, gardening, heavy lifting milarky) for lower back pain (laser and ultrasound treatment) and will be seeing him again on Monday too. Yet in between I managed 600 miles in three days without complaint - so I'll be okay as long as I stick with the GS :)

I think a kidney belt really does help on long trips as does not scoffing the innoculous pork pie from the fridge last night :rolleyes:

I got excited when I saw the VFR12. I got excited when I got short-listed for the K1200S launch (till I found out I'd be on holiday then - doh!). Heck my eyes even popped out on storks when I saw the paint-the-b'stard-black compact-muscular-fighter that is the 1050 cc '05 Speed Triple in this weeks monkey-spanker-weekly....

....But I got my 'wallet' out for the GS! :D
 


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