Am I too confident?

[snerkler]

I still can't understand why people are saying to avoid the GS, saying the OP needs to start on a smaller CC bike. I've said it before, the GS is no monster, it's not exactly speedy or that powerful. Don't get me wrong, I love my GSA, but it's a bit of a plodder.

If the OP was going going to get a Fireblade, or BMW 1000RR I'd be saying it was a bad idea as they'd be far too quick a powerful, but not the GS. A bandit 650 could out accelerate the GS, and nobody would have anything to say against a newbie getting a 650 Bandit would they? And I would say that the suspension etc is much more accomplised than the Bandit's and so the GS is more stable and so less likely for a newbie to run into trouble. I know the GS has good torque and so good drive out of corners etc, but again it's not exactly blistering.

And as for the weight issue, again the Bandit 650 weighs more than a GS (yes I know the centre of gravity is lower so easier to manage).

Obviously this is just my opinion, but I really don't think that the GS is so much of a monster.

 

[Giles]

Its not a monster by any stretch, and yes you're right - in the grand scheme of things its pretty slow.
With respect to sola, I don't actually give a sh1t what he gets and I'm more than confident that he'll take it steady and be very safe (and consequently wonder what all the fuss was about ..).
My angle is learning. Learning your craft, your trade, those all important skills that make up being a good biker.

Ok, Sola liked the push bike analogy so here's another. (Golf this time!!!)
Years ago Peter Aliss ran a weekly programme where he did 18 holes with a pro and it was a sort of on the move chat show. They'd talk about all sorts of crap just like Parky or Wogan, but the twist was he was only allowed to take three clubs with him. A putter and what ever other two clubs he chose.
The Golfers loved it. They showed off all their skills by adapting their game, maybe driving the ball low despite using an 8 iron, or what ever little fancy trick they could pull. A lot of them went on to say how when they were kids they used to play with only a handful of clubs, and it taught them a sense of feel and control, flexibility, adaptability .... They went on to say how doing this as kids had taught them so much, and now, with a full set of pro forged irons, they could hit a ball left, right, low, high, back spin, chip and run ....

Ok, a pretty shit analogy , but you get my drift.

My view is entirely selfish !!!! because I'm anal about the whole skill of good motorcycling. I see truly shit riding from time to time, just little things like dragging feet when filtering, hopping and skipping when coming to a stop at a junction .... basic bike control stuff, and more often than not, by riders who proudly say 'ive been riding for twenty years yer know .....'

I remember watching a clearly wealthy, chap turning his beautiful 916 in the paddock entrance - the car park not the actual track - at Brands (it has quite a severe steep slope on the tarmac). He was sort of paddling his bike 'cos his control was so bad, dragging his feet, then he slammed his front brake on while turning it, over it went ...crash ... paint flakes everywhere ...

School boy error stuff!! But stuff that people haven't learned. I'm not saying that new riders should spend years bored to death on a 500, but if you do spend a decent amount of time on a middleweight, like the golfing kids with only three clubs, you'll learn more, you'll push boundries, you'll get bored and will start playing, creating, being flexible, trying different things out, and consequently you'll learn to adapt to things more quickly, you'll jump on any bike and be good on it in a jiffy ....

Its not the speed of a big bike, its not the power, its not the weight. Its a deeper and more meaningful love affair than that! Its about knowing how to hit it 300 yards with an 8 iron.

Sigh.... i love talking bollox .......

 

[snerkler]

Sigh.... i love talking bollox .......

Great isn't it

 

[RJW]

I bought my first GS 5 years ago, an 1150. It'd just passed my test, 35yrs old. My first bike.

Just keep your head screwed on and you'll be fine, and you'll love it.

 

[Timolgra]

Sigh.... i love talking bollox .......

Maybe, but I agree with your post and it's the sort of point I make to most new riders even at CBT stage...that almost anyone can ride a motorcycle fairly fast, but not many can ride one slowly....

 

[snerkler]

...that almost anyone can ride a motorcycle fairly fast, but not many can ride one slowly....

Tis true. Any newbie rider should be extremely cautious, and not get carried away whatever bike they choose. Most bikes can go far too fast and it is difficult to resist when you first past your test. But that's when you get yourself into trouble, going too quickly too soon. It is very important to stay well within your limits and comfort zone.

Despite what I've said on my other posts, the only caution I would say to the OP about the GS is that you can get speed blind on bikes with bigger cc's, in that you're actually going faster than you think. As long as he is careful with this I think he'll be fine

 

[solarider]

Thanks all. Even on a 125 I found myself feeling out of control at times at first and failing to make the connection between my right hand and why I was hurtling forwards out of control! Crikey, that makes me sound like a complete liability, but that was a long time ago!

Thankfully that stage has now passed and I feel better able to carefully dose the throttle.

If it's not complete blasphemy on here, I did try the 990 Adventure in a dealer the other day and it seemed to be a much less bulky bike to handle. Any thoughts?

 

[Giles]

The 990 is a nice bike. Its probably a little bit more of a caged animal than the GS, and slightly more focused. If you're in your thirties and will ride mostly solo, the ktm would suit you well. If you're an old fart like Snerkler or plan on doing a lot of two up riding, I'd maybe go with the BM. Get your licence and then try and test ride them both.
On this note - you must, must test ride stuff!! Don't have a mad moment and buy something on a whimsy 'cos it looks nice or its in your favourite colour! Ideally test ride your favourites back to back - Ktm am, Bm Pm. You'll hopefully keep whatever you get for many months, so get it right! Triumph Tiger would be another contender for you as well ....


*edit ... there's a video on the link you can watch ... 'watch triumphs tiger take on'... Sounds like they had a duff KTM on the day - fueling on the ktm can be it's Achilles heel. Shame - when the fueling is sorted, theyre a nice bike ... *

 

[snerkler]

If you're an old fart like Snerkler *

Err, what makes you think I'm an old fart?

The Tiger 1050 is a great bike, very smooth and very forgiving, but a little quicker than the Beemer.

 

[billy56]

I,ve ridden a few bike,s over the year,s
and one off the most fun was racing a Yam t 80 against the c90,s on the night shift,while we were on the clock!!
Our main bike,s were the 86 VFR750, FZ750 and the GPX750

 

[Giles]

Err, what makes you think I'm an old fart?

only joking Snerkers .....

 

[Tallbloke]

no, you are not too confident

In fact you demonstrate a good deal of intelligent thought processes
I rode 125's for years as a youngster, 17 to early 30's, DT and KMX (as I'm a lanky git) and 'learned' my craft, fell off often, and learned many lessons
Gave it all up about 10 years ago, then did my direct access last year on a BM 800, and bought an '03 1150GSA
Why not a 1200, as I could have, but honestly I thought, I just know I am gonna drop this, not some high speed mash due to riding recklessly, but because it is so f'in heavy and I knew I had some learning to do on a monster compared to the old 125's
Sure enough I did, just a 2mph jobbie, cold and not enough gas when pulling away, as someone posted earlier, once you turn them in keep going or they will, all the way down
No damage, except my pride of course, but am I pleased it wasn't a £12k newbie? YES
As already said, if you're minted buy a 1200, either way, take it easy, enjoy the experience, take extra lessons (off road skills is worth a go too) and keep on assuming everyone else on the road is blind, ignorant, drunk and out to kill you, then the only way is up
Just an opinion, I have many

 

[adventuredon]

Err, what makes you think I'm an old fart?

The Tiger 1050 is a great bike, very smooth and very forgiving, but a little quicker than the Beemer.

but not a beemer

 

[adventuredon]

Just a thought: As mentioned on numerous occasins here, we all learn something every day. So whay not learn that skill/observation/insight on your ideal bike?

 

[Jed]

For what it's worth

I passed test on 1st Dec 2010 - never ridden any bike of any kind (except a push bike 20-odd yrs ago) and bought a new 12gs on the way home from test centre.

Love the bike (just about to go in for 6k service this Friday), I agree with other comments - it's easy (easier) to drive fast but hard to drive slow. I dropped it at a T-junction in the first week and then realised i needed to practice slow manouvering - so off to supermarket car park early on Sunday mornings it was - i did this constantly for the first month and still do it every 2/3 weeks now.

I am also mid way through doing the IAM course thing but I believe you never stop learning at anything and was always going to do that.


Just my experiences - btw I'm only 5-7" and do have to be carefull where I stop (short legs) and I often have to get off the bike to move it backwards if the surface is particulary cambered.

If your half intelligent (which you appear to be) then you should be sound.

 

[mrsroynie]

I was going to post my tuppence-worth about "big" bikes being so much easier to handle than small bikes (I moved straight up to a 600cc from 100cc within 2 weeks of my test in 1991, and then started going taller with a Yamaha TDM850 within the year) ...

... then I noticed how old this thread was.

Did anyone hear what happened to Solarider? Did he pass his test?

 

[Weekday Rider]

Before you buy a 1200GS,go to your dealer and push one around a bit.Forward and backward.If this dose not intimidate you then ask for a ride.Lots of people drop GSs while pushing them.Once moving they are easier to ride than most bikes.

 

[Ceri JC]

I also got a quote for my insurance from BMW themselves, and that sealed the deal for me, it was roughly half what the normal companies wanted.

Seems good now, but just wait for the offensive quote you get from them come renewal time.

Me: "I want to cancel my insurance with you."
They: "Why?"
Me: "Well, you see, I've racked up yet another year of accident free motoring, so I have yet another years' no claims, the crime rate where I live has actually dropped and now thanks to depreciation and general wear and tear my bike is worth considerably less than it was last year and is less appealing to thieves. Yet for some reason, you saw fit to more than triple my insurance renewal premium."
They: "Well if that's why you're leaving, we might be able to do you a better deal."
Me: "I doubt it."
They: "Sorry?"
Me: "I understand service industry loss leaders. I get that you reel people in with a low quote then need to charge more in future to make a profit. I really do. It's just that most companies have the good sense to do it gradually over a number of years so it's less perceptible and not have the gall to bump it up such a rapacious amount over night. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think I'd not notice it and just let it tick over? Did you think that I'd think that was still a good quote?"
They: "So what if I said we could give you a quote that was half that?"
Me: "I'd say the same the same as if you could insure me for £100: I'm not interested, you've wasted both our times and lost a customer. Please send me my cancellation letter, my proof of no claims and do not take payment at the end of the month. I do not wish to renew."

They then proceeded to cock up my proof of no claims. When I tried to remedy it, they claimed they'd never received my NCB letter that I'd sent them. So I asked where they'd gotten the figure for NCB that they (mis)quoted me with. They were unable to provide any narrative other than, "that's what the system says", even when I queried how it might possibly have gotten to this wrong number. Luckily by going back to my old insurer I was able to retain all my entitlement.


When I buy another new BMW, I'll happily use them for the first year, but just refuse to send my original NCB letter. Then come renewal time, I'll go elsewhere.

 

[Ross Dean]

I bought my first big bike, an 1100GS, on the way home from passing my DAS. My advice is go for the bike you want but just take it easy.

These days I ride an 800GS and find it an ideal bike for me.

 

[Ceri JC]

I dropped it at a T-junction in the first week and then realised i needed to practice slow manouvering - so off to supermarket car park early on Sunday mornings it was - i did this constantly for the first month and still do it every 2/3 weeks now.

Very good idea. When I passed, I spent many an evening heading over to an empty car park to practice figures of eight, u-turns, extremely slow forwards crawls with the feet up, etc. I think doing this has probably saved me more drops (albeit slower, less serious ones) than all the rest of my post test training combined.