A sad farewell...

[Nick V]

So today, the end of an era rolled around, and my hexhead and camhead GSA 'motos have been traded in.
Farewell to the two of them... they both served me well and will be missed.

But as a door closes behind you, a new one opens in front.
Three hours ago, I took delivery of a 2013 LC GS.
It certainly softens the blow, because with the exception of overall wind protection and a couple of ergonomic glitches, the new bike does everything 15 to 20% better than the old ones did.

I look forward to much tarmac terrorism in the months to come. Watch this space.

 

[NickD]

Congratulations Nick BUT.....does this mean an end to you technical guides for hexheads?

 

[Turkish]

Enjoy the new chapter bud

 

[Flipfly]

15-20% better??.

Your fooling yourself and trying to justify the change.

On a lap of a 2 min circuit are you suggesting it would be 10 - 12 seconds a lap quicker than the old bike? I don't think so. Maybe 1-2 seconds tops.
If the old bike did 45 mpg, will the new one really do 55-60 mpg? Nope

The old bike was 115bhp, according to your calculations, the new one would have to produce 132.5-138 BHP....errrr no the new bike ain't that powerful.

It is 11% heavier than the out going model though

Enjoy

 

[Robbo1200ADV]

15-20% better??.

Your fooling yourself and trying to justify the change.

On a lap of a 2 min circuit are you suggesting it would be 10 - 12 seconds a lap quicker than the old bike? I don't think so. Maybe 1-2 seconds tops.
If the old bike did 45 mpg, will the new one really do 55-60 mpg? Nope

The old bike was 115bhp, according to your calculations, the new one would have to produce 132.5-138 BHP....errrr no the new bike ain't that powerful.

It is 11% heavier than the out going model though

Enjoy

Do you offer counselling ?

 

[cookie]

15-20% better??.

Your fooling yourself and trying to justify the change.

On a lap of a 2 min circuit are you suggesting it would be 10 - 12 seconds a lap quicker than the old bike? I don't think so. Maybe 1-2 seconds tops.
If the old bike did 45 mpg, will the new one really do 55-60 mpg? Nope

The old bike was 115bhp, according to your calculations, the new one would have to produce 132.5-138 BHP....errrr no the new bike ain't that powerful.

It is 11% heavier than the out going model though

Enjoy

you appear to be confusing "better" with "faster".

 

[Paul G (BHT)]

you appear to be confusing "better" with "faster".

Flip gets confused with a lot of things

 

[Flipfly]

Do you offer counselling ?

All the time, but the patients never listen

I thought my gar in 660 was soooo much better than my old 2610. After a while though you realise that, whilst it is better at playing music (because it does and the 2610 doesn't), as a bike sat nav it is actually pretty shit and doesn't actually do what the old one does.
New bikes are often the same. Yeah, they are all shiny and are that tiny bit better at one or two aspects, but in reality the real gains are an up to date warrantee, 0 miles on the odometer and new tyres.

The grass is always greener and all that.

I'm bound to get slated for slating the new bike, but that is to misread what I have written. I am merely stating that the gains are no where near as big as the new WC riders would have you believe, and tbh, there are more than a few disadvantages.

Point to point we rarely get to average more than 50mph over distance, and we rarely ride flat out everywhere, which suggests that having a bike that is 5-10 mph faster and quicker accelerating to 60 mph by 0.16 seconds is hardly going to make a dint on the real world average that we manage to achieve.

 

[Wrinkly]

measured the grin on my face after a 60ml blast 0n my TC....3.1 cm

measured the grin on my face after a 60ml blast on my WC...4.2 cm

I think that's more than 20 percent.

Steve

 

[Flipfly]

you appear to be confusing "better" with "faster".

Not really. The op has already stated that the ergos aren't quite right and that there is less wind protection.

My post covers power, handling and that all important weight which affects fuel economy, handling and speed all in one.

15-20% better than the old model in every other department than the old model? Sorry but that is just bollocks!

Does it handle better, yep, a little bit, is it faster, yes again, does it have a better gearbox? Is it 15% smoother to ride? Is the finish 20% better? Is it 15% more fuel efficient and will it carry 20% more luggage? Are the service intervals 15% longer? Is it 20% comfier? Is it 15% easier to clean?

If the OP wants to fool himself that his bike is 15-20% better than his old one, then good for him. The figures would actually suggest that the gains are actually quite small.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

All the time, but the patients never listen

I thought my gar in 660 was soooo much better than my old 2610. After a while though you realise that, whilst it is better at playing music (because it does and the 2610 doesn't), as a bike sat nav it is actually pretty shit and doesn't actually do what the old one does.
New bikes are often the same. Yeah, they are all shiny and are that tiny bit better at one or two aspects, but in reality the real gains are an up to date warrantee, 0 miles on the odometer and new tyres.

The grass is always greener and all that.

I'm bound to get slated for slating the new bike, but that is to misread what I have written. I am merely stating that the gains are no where near as big as the new WC riders would have you believe, and tbh, there are more than a few disadvantages.

Point to point we rarely get to average more than 50mph over distance, and we rarely ride flat out everywhere, which suggests that having a bike that is 5-10 mph faster and quicker accelerating to 60 mph by 0.16 seconds is hardly going to make a dint on the real world average that we manage to achieve.

Flip has just counselled me

I spent an hour, looking at the new 1200GS/GSA WC at a dealer yesterday ...............and I still don't get it - I can't see £14k-15.5k of bike, in either of them

It must be just me, but they are crazy money

Then they said a new SatNav was another £500, then luggage was another £1000-£1150 for a topbox and 2 panniers, then there's inner bags, a Mudsling/Crudcatcher, another £400 for a Pro Shift (in case I have forgotten how to change gear) and a further £700 for an Akra

So...a new full spec GSA is gonna be with all that is £18500........................FFS

 

[Paul G (BHT)]

If the OP wants to fool himself that his bike is 15-20% better than his old one, then good for him....

So why come here spouting your usual bolicks.... or do you just like sound of your own voice

Flip, get used to it.... LC owners, myself included, do like their bikes... quite why you keep having to pour scorn on their enjoyment does suggest there is a rather embarrassingly odd side to your character

 

[JerseyNeil]

Leave the poor bloke alone.........

He is rightly chuffed with his new bike and dead proud. I am sure it has made him between 15 & 20% happier. So let's not piss on the fellas chips with semantics.

Okay I'll get my coat

 

[APE]

Flip has just counselled me

I spent an hour, looking at the new 1200GS/GSA WC at a dealer yesterday ...............and I still don't get it - I can't see £14k-15.5k of bike, in either of them

It must be just me, but they are crazy money

Then they said a new SatNav was another £500, then luggage was another £1000-£1150 for a topbox and 2 panniers, then there's inner bags, a Mudsling/Crudcatcher, another £400 for a Pro Shift (in case I have forgotten how to change gear) and a further £700 for an Akra

So...a new full spec GSA is gonna be with all that is £18500........................FFS

To be fair you could save money by going for the basic model

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

To be fair you could save money by going for the basic model

Once I've ridden one, I may need all the toys, though

 

[Wapping]

measured the grin on my face after a 60ml blast 0n my TC....3.1 cm

measured the grin on my face after a 60ml blast on my WC...4.2 cm

I fear you have confused your grin with your willy.

 

[Flipfly]

So why come here spouting your usual bolicks.... or do you just like sound of your own voice

Flip, get used to it.... LC owners, myself included, do like their bikes... quite why you keep having to pour scorn on their enjoyment does suggest there is a rather embarrassingly odd side to your character

Paul, I'm cool with people enjoying their new bikes, but everyone who gets one loves to spout how much better their new bike is, and that's ok? Ooh look at me, I've got a new bike and it's sooooo much better than the older shitty model

On this occasion we actually have a percentage improvement, a whole 15-20%!!!

I'm not slating the new bike, buy a new bike by all means. But just because it's newer, it doesn't mean it better for everyone.

Again, it'll be me that's the bad guy , not the guy slagging of the older model.

It's got nothing to do with hearing my own voice, it's about stopping the rot caused by the money bikers vs the guys who ride bikes and really don't give a feck what everyone else rides. As far as i'm concerned, a motorcyclist is someone you can share a beer in the pub with, a brew over a broken down bike and it doesn't matter if my bike is best or your bike is best.
What we have now is "my bikes better than yours because it's new and I spent a load of money on it, oooh and I have this years colour helmet and the latest BMW boots with fibre optic badges and dark matter toe sliders".

What happened to "hey, I'm chuffed to feck cause I've got a new bike for summer, woohoo"?

No, it's all about telling everyone how fecking awesomely brilliant the new bike is and how much better the new bike is over the old one.

Now that's repetitive and it's getting just as feckin old and tired as having to constantly write this shite to try and defend the position of those of us who are actually happy with our old shitty knackers (which is apparently anything pre WC according to the WC owners).

I hasten to add that most of the WC owners, who owned the previous models, were full of praise of the shitty old knackers when they owned them, but now they are soooo crap because the new one is soooooo much better.

The only bike I really hanker after is my old 650 Dakar which I should never have sold, strangely it's slower, handles worse and is less comfortable than my 1150, go figure!

 

[Leasouth]

Flip has just counselled me

I spent an hour, looking at the new 1200GS/GSA WC at a dealer yesterday ...............and I still don't get it - I can't see £14k-15.5k of bike, in either of them

It must be just me, but they are crazy money

Then they said a new SatNav was another £500, then luggage was another £1000-£1150 for a topbox and 2 panniers, then there's inner bags, a Mudsling/Crudcatcher, another £400 for a Pro Shift (in case I have forgotten how to change gear) and a further £700 for an Akra

So...a new full spec GSA is gonna be with all that is £18500........................FFS

In my line work I've heard all the manufacturers bullshit and twaddle re bike prices. But I still don't believe them

SE / 116d EfficientDynamics (In addition / replacement to ES)
██ 16" light alloy V-spoke style 378
██ Armrest front, sliding
██ Bluetooth hands-free facility with USB audio interface
██ Brake discs, front and rear – ventilated (125i/d)
██ Exhaust tailpipe, Chrome – dual, round, left (125i/d)
██ Foglights, front, including heated exterior mirrors and heated windscreen washer jets
██ Multi-function leather steering wheel with Speed limiting function
██ Rain sensor, with automatic headlight activation
RRP from £17,565 inc. VAT

If you wanna bike you have to pay for it, but look at what goes into a car compared to a bike.
Is it any wonder wonder my bosses eyes glaze over whenever she hears me mention buying new bike

 

[Schtum]

Point to point we rarely get to average more than 50mph over distance....

Who is this "we". Speak for yourself, mate.

 

[Nutty]

Flip has just counselled me

I spent an hour, looking at the new 1200GS/GSA WC at a dealer yesterday ...............and I still don't get it - I can't see £14k-15.5k of bike, in either of them

It must be just me, but they are crazy money

Then they said a new SatNav was another £500, then luggage was another £1000-£1150 for a topbox and 2 panniers, then there's inner bags, a Mudsling/Crudcatcher, another £400 for a Pro Shift (in case I have forgotten how to change gear) and a further £700 for an Akra

So...a new full spec GSA is gonna be with all that is £18500........................FFS

You'd be surprised how many bikes you can spec to that sort of money, by the time you've added some accessories. And I know what bike I'd rather spend MY money on.

To the OP, congrats on the new bike.