... and no complaints at all. Bought the bike with some trepidation ... my last 3 BMs, an HP2E and 2 K1200S, all failed and left me stranded in the middle of nowhere ...
GSA is a standard bike without ABS, ESA, Traction Control or GPS
Did a quick 3 day 2,000 mile camping tour of blighty to iron out any probs (none) and also to get familiar with the bike on the road. This was quickly followed by a 5,000 mile trip to and round Morocco, two up with luggage. The only mod I did before I left was to replace the standard Yuasa battery with an Oddesey and fit a headlight guard. Here's what I think of the bike:
Pros:
- superbly comfortable for all-day use but even better with the addition of an Airhawk seat
- amazing carrying capacity: full BM panniers and a light passenger have little impact on the handling
- great tank range (500 miles) and low fuel consumption (60+ throughout Morocco) if ridden gently
- superb handling (feels rock solid) and reasonable tyre life (Tourance EXP)
- good brakes
- great visibility form the high riding position
- nil oil consumption (Castrol GP 20W50)
- surprisingly good off-road performance (got us out of a sticky situation on a rocky mountainside) and great fun on pistes
- nice sound with Akra end can and no fuelling problems
- no mechanical/electrical issues at all ... just had to stop for 25 mins to cool down the engine when it had been ridden slowly on a mountainside down a rocky track at crawling pace with no wind in 40C ... all the engine temp bars were lit up
- great weather protection from tank and fairing
Cons:
- thirsty when thrashed (the bike that is)
- suspension somewhat crude and does not absorb 'ripples' well but copes well with large deflections (settings: +1 on the front preload; rear preload set to full/30 turns with damping out one turn from full)
... erm, and that's it. For the job - long distance riding with luggage - I couldn't think of a better bike.
Roll-on the next trip and fingers-crossed that the reliability holds-up ...
GSA is a standard bike without ABS, ESA, Traction Control or GPS
Did a quick 3 day 2,000 mile camping tour of blighty to iron out any probs (none) and also to get familiar with the bike on the road. This was quickly followed by a 5,000 mile trip to and round Morocco, two up with luggage. The only mod I did before I left was to replace the standard Yuasa battery with an Oddesey and fit a headlight guard. Here's what I think of the bike:
Pros:
- superbly comfortable for all-day use but even better with the addition of an Airhawk seat
- amazing carrying capacity: full BM panniers and a light passenger have little impact on the handling
- great tank range (500 miles) and low fuel consumption (60+ throughout Morocco) if ridden gently
- superb handling (feels rock solid) and reasonable tyre life (Tourance EXP)
- good brakes
- great visibility form the high riding position
- nil oil consumption (Castrol GP 20W50)
- surprisingly good off-road performance (got us out of a sticky situation on a rocky mountainside) and great fun on pistes
- nice sound with Akra end can and no fuelling problems
- no mechanical/electrical issues at all ... just had to stop for 25 mins to cool down the engine when it had been ridden slowly on a mountainside down a rocky track at crawling pace with no wind in 40C ... all the engine temp bars were lit up
- great weather protection from tank and fairing
Cons:
- thirsty when thrashed (the bike that is)
- suspension somewhat crude and does not absorb 'ripples' well but copes well with large deflections (settings: +1 on the front preload; rear preload set to full/30 turns with damping out one turn from full)
... erm, and that's it. For the job - long distance riding with luggage - I couldn't think of a better bike.
Roll-on the next trip and fingers-crossed that the reliability holds-up ...
