The airheads are wonderful but IMHO they are not in the same league as the 1100/1150's
Not in my experience. Had my 100gs since 1990, had an 1150 for 3 years but never really got on with it.
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Not in my experience. Had my 100gs since 1990, had an 1150 for 3 years but never really got on with it.
Oil heads have brakes, chassis and suspension in spades
All expensive to correct in an Airhead
I remember back in 1996 when I bought my first new 1100 GS - the main dealer gave me their demo R100R Mystic as a loan bike at the 600 mile service
Fuck me it was a slug and so dated after coming off Fireblades and Hinckley Triumphs, so much I took back after 3-4 miles
Depends on what you want. I have a g/s and an 1150. Different tools for different jobs.
I can more or less guarantee, when Mikeyboy has finished with this engine it won't be a slug.
I can more or less guarantee, when Mikeyboy has finished with this engine it won't be a slug.
The airheads are wonderful but IMHO they are not in the same league as the 1100/1150's
I kind of agree. I love my 1100GS as a road bike - but on the dirt, give me an airhead any day.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h07o0dlmjt48tkz/Team Dave, Dave and Geoff - Taffy Dakar 2016.jpg?dl=0
Airheads are agricultural, early oilheads were trying not to be but still were. Better brakes and performance definately but the suspension on mine was dreadful - could/should have spent loads on Wilbers but wasn’t sufficiently fond of it to do so.
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A well sorted para is not that far away from an 1100,however it’s about 60kg lighter (which was the question put)
Admittedly it’s a mile away from an 1150 which despite being very similar in every way to it’s earlier sibling ,it just seems so much more refined
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My 1100 has Wilburs front and rear with the correct spring rates and weirdly feels hard and harsh compared to an 1150
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Had a new Wilburs on my R100GS...and the handling was shocking...death weave at 80 mph
Never did find a cure, even told the new owner when I sold it !! I wouldn't recommend them from my experience.
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Had a new Wilburs on my R100GS...and the handling was shocking...death weave at 80 mph
Try this one,
I guarantee it will knock spots off an 1100
It’s got everything,1070 motor,custom gearbox,proper ign and charging system .
Decent suspension front and rear ,oh it’s also got brakes
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Now that looks proper nice Mikey
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Never tried aftermarket on any of my 1100's - so can't comment
However had Wilbers for 40k on my last 1150 GSA and it was ok, maybe not as good as the GSA with Ohlins I replaced that bike with
Beemerboff
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As Mikey has said, a well sorted R100GS has handling and performance to equal to most anything around today.
An Ohlins with their stock #80 spring and HPN inserts are all you need.
Richie Moore likes Wilburs too and can probably supply one to a spec that suits a GS, a bit cheaper than an Ohlins. And advice on what fork settings work with it.
Upgrading the power is easy too, just go to Richie Moores site and pick what you want, although I have never felt the need for more than a nicely tuned motor puts out.
Brakes are simple , just find someone who can sleeve the M/C down to 11mm and fit EBC hh pads.
You might end up with a bike nearer 250 Kg, but it will still be around 60 Kg lighter than most oilheads!
An Ohlins with their stock #80 spring and HPN inserts are all you need.
Richie Moore likes Wilburs too and can probably supply one to a spec that suits a GS, a bit cheaper than an Ohlins. And advice on what fork settings work with it.
Upgrading the power is easy too, just go to Richie Moores site and pick what you want, although I have never felt the need for more than a nicely tuned motor puts out.
Brakes are simple , just find someone who can sleeve the M/C down to 11mm and fit EBC hh pads.
You might end up with a bike nearer 250 Kg, but it will still be around 60 Kg lighter than most oilheads!
Are you serious ?
An airhead will struggle to keep up with a good rider on a Telelever equipped later GS in the road
I like your rose tinted specs, but if you think a modded airhead will keep pace with a 1200 GS or KTM then you are joking
Beemerboff
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I did say a well sorted Paralever, so unless you have ,the ability to prepare one and the skill to ride it quickly one you shouldn't really be so dismissive.
And, FWIW, on a decent biking road with a 110 km/hr limit I have no trouble outrunning a 1200 oilhead on my warmed up F650 Funduro, never mind my GS.
Yes, the Oilhead has more peak horsepower , but a single horsepower figure tells you next to nothing about how any machine performs in the real world , on roads with speed limits and, shock horror, maybe ever a bend or two!
But the comparison isn't that simple - bikes today have more power than anyone can use on public roads, and much more than most riders can handle anywhere, even on a closed track.
There are probably few who could ride a well sorted GS flat out on public roads, so putting most on a more powerful bike would bike would make little difference to their progress.
I few years back I had a bit of a windfall and the means to buy almost any ADV bike of my choosing.
I tried just about every bike available in Oz, and quickly came to realize that almost every magazine tester has never seen the bike he is supposed to be testing, never mind ridden it - there are a fair few shockers out there, and BMW make their fair share of them!
I ended up paying 400 quid for a rough but mechanistically sound 95 Funduro, which gave me plenty of room for an Ohlins and Team Pami bits too get it flying, but even stock it was better than some of the new bikes I test rode.
In just the same way that my well sorted GS is !
Just because some half witted road tester who prattles on about cruise controls and how he turns the ABS off because he is too skillful to need it gives a new bike a glowing write up doesn't mean they are any good.
At one BMW launch the complete fleet broke down irreparably before the scribes had even ridden theM, and at another the bikes were so foul handling that one of the testers was killed on the first day and the event was aborted, but in both cases the scribes penned their launch reports as if the launch has gone perfectly and gave the bikes glowing reports.
I don't see the world through rose tinted glasses - mine are clear and I see the real world, not the fairy land that magazine testers and those silly enough to believe everything they read live in.
And, FWIW, on a decent biking road with a 110 km/hr limit I have no trouble outrunning a 1200 oilhead on my warmed up F650 Funduro, never mind my GS.
Yes, the Oilhead has more peak horsepower , but a single horsepower figure tells you next to nothing about how any machine performs in the real world , on roads with speed limits and, shock horror, maybe ever a bend or two!
But the comparison isn't that simple - bikes today have more power than anyone can use on public roads, and much more than most riders can handle anywhere, even on a closed track.
There are probably few who could ride a well sorted GS flat out on public roads, so putting most on a more powerful bike would bike would make little difference to their progress.
I few years back I had a bit of a windfall and the means to buy almost any ADV bike of my choosing.
I tried just about every bike available in Oz, and quickly came to realize that almost every magazine tester has never seen the bike he is supposed to be testing, never mind ridden it - there are a fair few shockers out there, and BMW make their fair share of them!
I ended up paying 400 quid for a rough but mechanistically sound 95 Funduro, which gave me plenty of room for an Ohlins and Team Pami bits too get it flying, but even stock it was better than some of the new bikes I test rode.
In just the same way that my well sorted GS is !
Just because some half witted road tester who prattles on about cruise controls and how he turns the ABS off because he is too skillful to need it gives a new bike a glowing write up doesn't mean they are any good.
At one BMW launch the complete fleet broke down irreparably before the scribes had even ridden theM, and at another the bikes were so foul handling that one of the testers was killed on the first day and the event was aborted, but in both cases the scribes penned their launch reports as if the launch has gone perfectly and gave the bikes glowing reports.
I don't see the world through rose tinted glasses - mine are clear and I see the real world, not the fairy land that magazine testers and those silly enough to believe everything they read live in.
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I can ( and do! ) ride both types fast, JB is right, oilheads are in a different class than airheads.
I have a pretty standard R80g/s and an R1150GS
I love them both. I know which one I will sell first, when I get too frail.
However, there is no way the airhead can compare to the Oilhead on the road, on a decent journey.
The airhead stands a chance on a twisty country road but as soon as the road opens out, the oilhead would take over. Off road, I'm happy to ride the airhead on pretty much anything, and have attempted a long distance trial on it. There is no way I'd think about doing any off road on the oilhead, other than crossing the campsite or a decent forest track.
They are different animals, so it depends what criteria you are using to compare.
I love them both. I know which one I will sell first, when I get too frail.
However, there is no way the airhead can compare to the Oilhead on the road, on a decent journey.
The airhead stands a chance on a twisty country road but as soon as the road opens out, the oilhead would take over. Off road, I'm happy to ride the airhead on pretty much anything, and have attempted a long distance trial on it. There is no way I'd think about doing any off road on the oilhead, other than crossing the campsite or a decent forest track.
They are different animals, so it depends what criteria you are using to compare.
Dream on - I will have some of what you are taking !!!
I have had a tricked up 800>1000cc airhead with Ohlins and front end USD KYB resprung forks from a Yamaha WR450F and whilst it was fastish on the road - with the chassis & brakes were much improved .... yet it couldn't hold a candle to either a 1150 or 1200 GS or even a 53bhp 145kg fuelled 652cc xchallenge for that matter
As for a Funduro outrunning a 1200 GS ... either you are Valentino on a bike or delusional
As a big fan of airheads, especially g/s and gs, I could join in with tales of derring-do racing all sorts of faster bikes - and beating them... but I won’t, because they’re not that fast. But who gives a fuck, I like airheads for all sorts of reasons but definately not because they are fast. I don’t like early oilheads (pre 1200) for all sorts of reasons and they’re not fast either. I quite like 1200’s I’ve ridden, recent one’s are quite fast but I wouldn’t want to own one. A friend of mine, year’s ago, reckoned his MZ felt fast because it made such a fuss about it - the point being you can still enjoy your bike even if it’s a bad one.
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