1200GS Upgrading 2005 to 2010 model-worth it??

[marsellus wallace]

An update.

Ive decided to keep my bike and have invested in some new kit-BMW jacket(ive put a bit of weight on over the last 5 years so my current jacket was getting a bit tight!) and System 6 helmet.Had a good few hours on the bike last night and loved it all over again.Gave it a good clean today and its as good as new again.

The money in my 'new bike fund' will probably fund an additional bike-favorite at the moment is a secondhand Harley Night Rod

 

[Yonkyo]

Recently I had a good long ride on my mates 2010 GSA.

His bike: 4months old, 4000 miles, all the gizmo’s ESA etc..

My bike: 2009 GSA, 14000 miles, all the gizmo’s plus Remus headers and Accelerator 2 Mod.

I immediately noticed the louder exhaust note. Even with Remus headers, my bike is much quieter. But apart from that and the buzzier engine and slightly slicker gearbox. Both bikes feel very similar (obviously).

So in comparison to my GSA

Engine: identical performance wise. But feels buzzy through the bars and not quite as smooth as mine. I love the exhaust sound though.

Gearbox: slightly improved, a bit slicker.

Fuelling: Feels as good as my bike (with acc mod). However, fuel economy was worse on the new bike.

Handling: identical (both bikes with same ESA settings and running Battlewings).

Conclusion: The buzzy/vibey engine will probably smooth out with a few more miles on it. But I feel absolutely no compulsion to trade my GSA in for a new one.
I’ll wait for the new liquid cooled GS in 2012.