After the dust of the new launch had settled

Humbug

Humbug

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I took my recently (re) aquired 1150 for a bimble yesterday. What a lovely bike. Smooth, sweet engine, plenty of power for overtakes, rock solid handling, very good brakes. Am I possibly thinking this is a better bike than my 1200? The jury will be out until I've got that back on the road again but I can now see why the diehards hang on to theirs. Whatever the verdict is I won't be selling either. :thumb2

We bimbled down to West Bay and had a cuppa. The nice thing is, this bike doesn't want to play hooligan all the time, it's happy to purr along at 40 in top with no snatchiness whatsover. The drive train is much better than the 1200. All this talk on the latest model needing to be at least at 45 mph before engaing top and being snatchy in town, puts me right off. What happened to relaxing and enjoying the scenery? Why the rush to get everyone so fast?

We headed over to CW's at Dorchester to order a new front frame for the 1200. Paula had a look at the new 1200 and declared it a mess, especially behind the screen. It looked half finished to her. All those angular lines. What happened to nice rounded cuddly looks? Gone out of the window in favour of the new style which the designers call 'aggressive'. That about sums up todays world, it's aggressive out there.

As we pulled away from CW's, Dave Wyndham saw the bike, mouthed the word 'nice' and gave us a thumbs up and a big grin.

You can keep the new one I'm afraid. I'll stick to bumbling around on my 1150! :D I'd love to try a GSA but my hips are probably too stiff and my legs too short!


WestBayMar2013_zps5ba3f3c5.jpg
 
Yes, I was looking at a mint blue/white one the other day and thought that's the era and model when BMW really did get it right:thumb

Now, as you say, it's an aggressive world out there which extends to marketing and penis envy:blast
 
Humbug said:
What happened to nice rounded cuddly looks? Gone out of the window in favour of the new style which the designers call 'aggressive'. That about sums up todays world, it's aggressive out there.
Click to expand...

...the Designers seem to be appealing to a very insecure market segment.

And there's plenty of insecure people out there... :augie

I'll continue to ride my distinctly unthreatening Airheads :D :thumb2

And 'bimbling' is certainly the way to go!
 
Humbug said:
Paula had a look at the new 1200 and declared it a mess, especially behind the screen. It looked half finished to her.
Click to expand...

I thought the same when I happened to be in Ocean picking up some bits yesterday. The same can be said of the 800. On both, the area between the bars and the screen where all sorts of metal clips and screws are visible looks unfinished and in turn that just looks cheap.
 
I was there Tuesday night, but with 4 wheels.
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God knows what they are up to with the road layout there, Summer time it's going to get silly... Time for us locals to stay away!

I love my old 1150, Probably the best all rounder i have had. a definate classic.
 
I absolutely agree with you on this. Once I had sorted the screen and seat I found the 1150 a cracking bike with loads of character that the 1200 doesn't seem to achieve. Often looked back and wished that I still had it.
 
Andres said the other day that BMWs have no soul, well I have to disagree as I feel the 1150s I've owned do have:)
 
The best thing about this lovely machine, 42K miles and panniers was the price. £2,100. That's as much as these new jobbies will have depreciated in a week. :eek:

Oh! The soul was thrown in for free! :D
 
Having had a 2004 1200, then a 1994 1100, now a recently acquired 1150, I can only say that you've mirrored my thoughts exactly, not only on the 1150, but on the styling of the new WC
I really don't want to piss on the pride of the new owners, as I do hope they will enjoy their bikes, but I do find the style too angular, kinda disjointed, like different bits were designed by different members of a committee.
After selling off the panniers that came with my bike it cost me £2500. I'm fekkin delighted with it, so much so that I'll be chucking it at the Atlas mountains in a few weeks :)

Was down in West Bay with the camper a few weeks back, nice spot.

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I walked around a WC yesterday a couple of times but was wholly uninspired. The only positive element I noticed was the easy cleaning cast wheels. Everthing else they can keep.

My bike may not get a lot of love but it gets looked after...
 

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Shhhhhhhhh, everyone knows the 1150 is a dinosaur and crap to ride;)
 
I disagree, a bit..... I own, ride and enjoy a 1150GSA. It's the best bike I've ever owned (& there have been a few) as previous posts say loads of character, enough power for an overtake but equally happy bimbling. I saw the LC at the bike show and more recently at a local dealer and liked the styling (personal, as styling always is) and I also liked the toys and more sensible switch gear layout.

Would I swap the 1150 for the new LC? Nope, not even if I could afford the, in my view monstrous price tag. Still don't think that makes the new 12 a bad bike though.

Well, that's my view anyway, for what it's worth:blagblah
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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