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.
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.
The airheads are wonderful but IMHO they are not in the same league as the 1100/1150's
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
Amen
Give me a good 1100 GS any day
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
My 1100 has Wilburs front and rear with the correct spring rates and weirdly feels hard and harsh compared to an 1150
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.
My 1100 has Wilburs front and rear with the correct spring rates and weirdly feels hard and harsh compared to an 1150
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!
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.
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.