Richard Biddulph
Guest
Did 96,000 miles on my 02 GSA. Gear box finally went so down i trotted to SPC & piked up a spanking new non servo 1200adv.
First impressions: Only after riding the new machine did I realise what a shonker my old bike had become. Handling on the new one is so crisp & tight as are all the controls. Noticably more torque. Faster. Better handling Just a complete revelation compared to my last steed.
Non servo brakes are awesome. But so are the servo ones. A bike equipped with either is a fine stopping machine.
I elected to shove a 2nd hand 'box in the old bike & keep it going as a winter hack to preserve the finish on the new machine.
Stock seat is Shi!@£$%^&*(t. (hard as concrete). I have ordered a russel day long from N. caliornia which should arrive soon, same as my previous bike. For those not in the know, russel makes the uglyest seat known to man, but it is also the most comfortable seat one can buy full stop. No ifs no butts (pun intended) & no maybes. I did a 1000 mile day through mexico on my last one & could have done a few more miles yet. Stock seat for sale if anyone interested.
Need to fit some auxilliary lights. I ride with the fogs on all the time for visibilty purposes but they are really not up to much. Toys really.
I ride my bike year round through london & also on long continental jaunts. IMHO not much beats the GS as an all rounder. Had most of the others & nothing quite ticks all the boxes like the gs does. Fun to ride full loaded round sports bikes in the pyrenees & alps ridden by average riders. (how did you do that???) What the bikes lack in speed they makes up for in visibility & bumpy corners.
Handling: On the 1150 the centre stand touched down quite regularly on hard corners, but had some give in it so it served as a good warning not to lean too much further. On two occasions on a bumpy corner i managed to also drag my jesse bag hard luggage on the road. Yesterday, on the 1200 I flung the bike into a fresh shell grip equipped roundabout & managed to drag the right hand footpeg on the ground. Luggage was off the bike so i dont know if it would have touched down also. Really impressive handling to be able to lean it that far! (on tourances BTW).
Screen is 3" too short for my 6ft 3" gangly ape like frame. Ill wait for cee baileys to bring out an adv version in a month or two. Overall a fantastic machine & a quantum leap forward from the old bike. Only negative is in side winds it is not quite as stable & planted as the old bike was.
Best feature is the info buton counting down the miles to empty. ON the old bike i rarely used too much of the reserve for fear of running out. Now i leave it till it shows only 10 miles or so less & then put in 32 1/2 litres. Makes all the big tank useable.
Dont like being able to only see total mileage or trip but not both at the same time. Minor niggle. Temp guage will be useful for frosty mornings.
If anyone in my neck of the woods is up for a ride sometime give me a holler.
First impressions: Only after riding the new machine did I realise what a shonker my old bike had become. Handling on the new one is so crisp & tight as are all the controls. Noticably more torque. Faster. Better handling Just a complete revelation compared to my last steed.
Non servo brakes are awesome. But so are the servo ones. A bike equipped with either is a fine stopping machine.
I elected to shove a 2nd hand 'box in the old bike & keep it going as a winter hack to preserve the finish on the new machine.
Stock seat is Shi!@£$%^&*(t. (hard as concrete). I have ordered a russel day long from N. caliornia which should arrive soon, same as my previous bike. For those not in the know, russel makes the uglyest seat known to man, but it is also the most comfortable seat one can buy full stop. No ifs no butts (pun intended) & no maybes. I did a 1000 mile day through mexico on my last one & could have done a few more miles yet. Stock seat for sale if anyone interested.
Need to fit some auxilliary lights. I ride with the fogs on all the time for visibilty purposes but they are really not up to much. Toys really.
I ride my bike year round through london & also on long continental jaunts. IMHO not much beats the GS as an all rounder. Had most of the others & nothing quite ticks all the boxes like the gs does. Fun to ride full loaded round sports bikes in the pyrenees & alps ridden by average riders. (how did you do that???) What the bikes lack in speed they makes up for in visibility & bumpy corners.
Handling: On the 1150 the centre stand touched down quite regularly on hard corners, but had some give in it so it served as a good warning not to lean too much further. On two occasions on a bumpy corner i managed to also drag my jesse bag hard luggage on the road. Yesterday, on the 1200 I flung the bike into a fresh shell grip equipped roundabout & managed to drag the right hand footpeg on the ground. Luggage was off the bike so i dont know if it would have touched down also. Really impressive handling to be able to lean it that far! (on tourances BTW).
Screen is 3" too short for my 6ft 3" gangly ape like frame. Ill wait for cee baileys to bring out an adv version in a month or two. Overall a fantastic machine & a quantum leap forward from the old bike. Only negative is in side winds it is not quite as stable & planted as the old bike was.
Best feature is the info buton counting down the miles to empty. ON the old bike i rarely used too much of the reserve for fear of running out. Now i leave it till it shows only 10 miles or so less & then put in 32 1/2 litres. Makes all the big tank useable.
Dont like being able to only see total mileage or trip but not both at the same time. Minor niggle. Temp guage will be useful for frosty mornings.
If anyone in my neck of the woods is up for a ride sometime give me a holler.
