First Impressions

Took the GS out for its first proper ride today - a 430km ride into the Drakensburg mountains . Still running in so I didnt go crazy. What do I think:

1] Tar twisties its very good. Feels a lot safer than the R1 and almost as fast. You get the feeling that if you come across a pothole mid corner, you can just bash your way through. On a superbike, you have to take evasive action. I kept scraping my size 11 feet, have to slide them back on tne pegs, so they dont touch. Dont know how far to lean this thing - when do the heads start touching tar?

2] On a mountain dirt road it was okay. Lots of clonking sounds from tne suspension. The tail drifts very predictably, not quick like a crf/yz which goes 90 deg very easily. The front worried me. No feeling, didnt know when it was going to let go. Coming into corners on the brakes I was very careful , didnt feel like dropping a 1 week old R128000 bike. I suspect knobblies help, the Dunlop 607 tires I have are more street bias.

3] All in all, it met my expectations. Comfortable long distance adventurer that will go most places. When the going gets tough, you slow down, but it will get there. Fuel consumption was about 18-19 km/l. Seat gets hard as the km clock by, but its very comfortable to stand for long sections at a time [car drivers just give you strange looks ].

4] Next week, first service, then I start really twisting its throttle
I've explored the 6000rpm band briefly , seems a good place to play

Overall, so far so good

Glad you like it!

It's worth noting, once you've had your service, that the GS has a 'two handfulls' throttle (not something I picked up on initially). Turn that throttle and then grab another handfull and 6000rpm becomes a wonderful place to play

Andres

Hi AfricaOffroad

Glad to hear you like the 1200, you might find the handling gets better after the tyres bed in, this took about 7-800mls on mine, also I have found that with the rear preload wound up to 3/4 - full helps turn in alot, seems to give the front a bit more "plant" if you get my meaning. Also gives better ground clearance, brake pedal/footpeg on right touches down first, followed by engine bars
on the LHS peg and engine bars are close to touchdown at the same time (dunlops fitted), on my old 1200 (020's fitted) the lh peg/foot touched long before the engine bars???? not sure why the difference, but maybe the rear shock on the old bike was a bit saggy (18500mls)

I've had the front slide properly twice now both times the bike recovered itself without too much drama, maybe due to the clever front end?

Yep the seats a funny thing as well the old bike's seat was very uncomfortable, whereas the new bikes is OK, the only difference is that the old bike had the seat in its lowest position, the new bike i've left in the high position.


Good luck, and merry christmas

Shep

Glad you like it - my impressions match yours (now 21k Kms on mine).
Try backing of the rebound damping completely for offroad and stiffening up the front a bit.
My suspension prefs are:
Onroad - std setting for rebound + rear wound up past medium to 'plant' the front as shep says.
Offroad - rebound off. rear preload nearly all off and front on fourth setting.
Have fun

As with all bikes stiffer at the rear, will turn in quicker, but more difficult to push the front end hard, and less warnimg before it lets go. My advice is to ride at least 1000 miles on standard settings, on roads/trails you know, before you make any changes. Get to understand base settings before changing anything.

The propshaft drivetrain seems to have a lot of free play and lash. Its particularly noticeable when leaned over in a turn, as you roll on the throttle, you get a surge which upsets the bike. Similar effect at low rpm, you roll off and then on [like in traffic ], feels like a chain with a whole lot of slack.

Is this normal for these bikes, or do I have a problem requiring attention?