12GSA

[ijg5]

Hi, had a 12GSA for 7 months and did 12k miles. I just seemed to use it like a car. For me biking is about having some fun and coming from litre sportsbikes and a K12GT I just thought the 12GSA was a little slow. Having to drop down gears to overtake a vehicle was tiresome. Have a K13s now and I am loving it.

Have followed most of the issues on this forum and I have to say I had no issues at all with the 12GSA except it drank a litre of oil every 4k miles. I loved the riding position and hopefully the next GSA will have another 30bhp.

Have to say when I rode the GSA to do the swap I still had some doubts but I am glad I have the K13s.

A great forum with some wonderful humour and fantastic knowledge.

 

[elefantmanshawn]

buy a busa and find a dry stone wall

 

[patboy]

I must say you drop down a gear for optimum speed when overtaking, and not if you do not need to. I have owned quite a few sportsbikes and treat overtaking the same way, right gear for the right speed, and have never had any problems overtaking on a 1200GS. I'm sure some of the bigger bikes you may need to drop down a gear but who cares

The main thing is leaving home and returning without any mishaps surely

 

[patboy]

Correction on bigger bikes you may not need to drop a gear!

 

[WindyChuffer]

...Having to drop down gears to overtake a vehicle was tiresome...

is it really such a chore?

 

[Stevie73]

How's the K13 off road? Is it verstile....

 

[ijg5]

Would there be 30% of GSA owners that ride their pride and joy of road? I certainly did not. I am not a speed king I just wished the GSA had a little more grunt. I am not the smallest, 240lbs and my wife is 160lbs fully laden the GSA struggled at motorway speeds. Struggled is the incorrect word to use, it just felt you had to ride the bike hard all the time to make any speed. It a fantastic bike that needs more motor. A K1300GSA maybe the answer...

 

[Beemerman59]

Each of us will have a different point of view on this. I originally went looking for a replacement for my K1100RS and was very seriously considering a K1300GT. Awesome bike with a mega engine and I would have been very happy with one. However, I found the "biking experience" very similar to what I had had before and spending 13K on a new bike which didn't give me any perceived extra in the end made my decision for me. The GSA by comparison sounded like a bag of nails and was noticably underpowered to the GT but I found it a more rewarding experience to ride it closer to the limits. I felt much more involved in getting the best out of me and the bike. On the GT it would have been more relaxed, civilised even, but thats not want I wanted from my bike.

Having said that, I'm not carrying passengers and I don't slug it out on the motorways. If that was my deal I would have bought the GT.