Another WC test ride - Underwhelmed

[Nutty]

Still it shouldn't be all rusty and stuff though should it? or is that the norm?

I've never owned a BMW so "to me this is not acceptable" (As my German colleagues would say)




Not trolling, I'm genuinely shocked!

I like to think that most people look after their bikes, as I've never had a bike look anything like this. I will never get a jet wash near my bikes, and always dry them thoroughly after washing.

All the dealers that I've been to use jet washes, and just dry the main panels with a cheap chamois equivalent, leaving the rest of the bike to drip dry. They aren't going to look after a demo bike as much as an owner would.

These pictures don't surprise me. Just take a look at any manufacturers demo bikes that has been run on salty roads, and they will look exactly the same.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

One of the many reasons why I'd never buy an ex demo motorbike, EVER.

I did, in 2008 and it was great

In fact I saw it again last weekend at the Borders Bash and it looks mint still, even after road and offroad use in Europe and the USA...and probably 40k+ miles

I don't think it has any major reliability issues either

 

[Dainese Brave]

When I got back from my ride, the salesman (who sold me my 2005 12GS) came over with a big smile and all enthusiastic. It was quite hard to tell him that the bike hadn't delivered what I was expecting or hadn't lived up to all the hype. I felt genuinely disappointed as thinking back to taking the early 12GS hexhead out back in '04, it blew my socks off which was why I ended up buying one. This bike has lost something in its transition. It's lost most of its character and actually feels like it came out of some Japanese factory. I don't mean to say that all Jap bikes are characterless, but this new WC just seems to be missing something. I was offered a longer four hour ride should I want to have another go, but I honestly don't know right now if I need one. The bike could be a slow burner for me, but right now, given the choice, my money would be heading towards the orange side.

I felt exactly the same, and had the exact same situation with my dealer. I couldn't say it was a bad bike, but it just wasn't a bike I'd want to buy..and certainly not sell my GSA for!

In the last month I've ridden the 1200Lc, a K1600GTL, and a 1200RT, and my GSA.....the LC was easily the one with less 'character'...fast yes, but leaking something....

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Still it shouldn't be all rusty and stuff though should it? or is that the norm?

I've never owned a BMW so "to me this is not acceptable" (As my German colleagues would say)




Not trolling, I'm genuinely shocked!

I agree...............piss poor, still as Nutty says, it has probably had minimum washing

 

[harry]

It's become soooooooooo fashionable to be underwhelmed about this LC, has it not?

 

[Dainese Brave]

I agree...............piss poor, still as Nutty says, it has probably had minimum washing

I test rode a 1200RT yesterday...admittedly at short notice...but it was so dirty I wanted to take it home and clean it!

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

When I got back from my ride, the salesman (who sold me my 2005 12GS) came over with a big smile and all enthusiastic. It was quite hard to tell him that the bike hadn't delivered what I was expecting or hadn't lived up to all the hype. I felt genuinely disappointed as thinking back to taking the early 12GS hexhead out back in '04, it blew my socks off which was why I ended up buying one. This bike has lost something in its transition. It's lost most of its character and actually feels like it came out of some Japanese factory. I don't mean to say that all Jap bikes are characterless, but this new WC just seems to be missing something. I was offered a longer four hour ride should I want to have another go, but I honestly don't know right now if I need one. The bike could be a slow burner for me, but right now, given the choice, my money would be heading towards the orange side.

That was interesting to read as that was exactly my experience and the salesman looked genuinley shocked that I wasn't handing over a depsit there and then. The rest of what you've written sums up my thoughts to a T, very well put

One of the many reasons why I'd never buy an ex demo motorbike, EVER.

With all due respect that is utter bollox

The bike had only 3,000 miles on it which I appreciate is a lot of miles for the 'sunny sunday & polish after every ride' crowd but hardly warrants the corrosion evident on the bike, regardless of how it's been looked after (and which was worse than my 50,000 mile, ridden all year, never ACF'd bike).

I was genuinley surprised and certainly not impressed.

Andres

 

[Giles]

I suspect that if we paint a picture, in very broad brush strokes, of the two camps arguing the for and against, it probably boils down to those that always liked the GS for its character, and those that were always slightly frustrated with its (relatively) poor performance.

I get the 'experience' thing. I understand Dainese Brave and Davey F when they talk about the new bike loosing some of its character, becoming a bit more Japanese ...

But there will be many (and I very much put myself in this bracket) that will be saying 'Ahhh .. at last .. the GS I've always hankered after .. now it's got a bit of performance .. a bit of get up and go .. '

For 25 years I've had Japanese bikes. From Track bikes to dispatch bikes to tourers. Before my GSA I had a Pan 1300 (nestled next to zx6 track bike). The Pan was a beautiful bike - lovely motor - that V4 on full chat on a fast flowing smooth A road was just a delight. But feck me, what a bland fridge of a bike! And it was that! Ultra reliable, did exactly what it said on the tin, and ultimately I got rid of it, because it was so bland and boring.

I liked my GSA when I got it, I 'got' the Davey F experience, I quite liked all it's little character traits, its burping and wheezing, the vibey mirrors at the lights; I can completely see why somebody like Andres had a Guzzi. eek .. ). But for me and, I'm guessing, my camp, the one thing it missed was just a bit of a rush. You could tick all the off road, touring, tiny b road bimbling / hooning, but sigh ... it just didn't have that braap, braaap, braaaaap ... 140 about it!

I like this new bike. Yes, it's lost a bit of character. But bloody hell, it still isn't a Japanese fridge. So to me, it's a good balance of what I have been looking for in a bike at my time of life; a bit of character and a bit of performance.

There will be many many people like me!

And there will be many many people like Davey F, that are now missing the Je ne sais quoi, that the traditional GS had in spades and that this bike is just slightly missing ...

So it's horses for courses. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

(But I'm right and Davey is wrong ... )

 

[Dainese Brave]

I suspect that if we paint a picture, in very broad brush strokes, of the two camps arguing the for and against, it probably boils down to those that always liked the GS for its character, and those that were always slightly frustrated with its (relatively) poor performance.

I get the 'experience' thing. I understand Dainese Brave and Davey F when they talk about the new bike loosing some of its character, becoming a bit more Japanese ...

But there will be many (and I very much put myself in this bracket) that will be saying 'Ahhh .. at last .. the GS I've always hankered after .. now it's got a bit of performance .. a bit of get up and go .. '

For 25 years I've had Japanese bikes. From Track bikes to dispatch bikes to tourers. Before my GSA I had a Pan 1300 (nestled next to zx6 track bike). The Pan was a beautiful bike - lovely motor - that V4 on full chat on a fast flowing smooth A road was just a delight. But feck me, what a bland fridge of a bike! And it was that! Ultra reliable, did exactly what it said on the tin, and ultimately I got rid of it, because it was so bland and boring.

I liked my GSA when I got it, I 'got' the Davey F experience, I quite liked all it's little character traits, its burping and wheezing, the vibey mirrors at the lights; I can completely see why somebody like Andres had a Guzzi. eek .. ). But for me and, I'm guessing, my camp, the one thing it missed was just a bit of a rush. You could tick all the off road, touring, tiny b road bimbling / hooning, but sigh ... it just didn't have that braap, braaap, braaaaap ... 140 about it!

I like this new bike. Yes, it's lost a bit of character. But bloody hell, it still isn't a Japanese fridge. So to me, it's a good balance of what I have been looking for in a bike at my time of life; a bit of character and a bit of performance.

There will be many many people like me!

And there will be many many people like Davey F, that are now missing the Je ne sais quoi, that the traditional GS had in spades and that this bike is just slightly missing ...

So it's horses for courses. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

(But I'm right and Davey is wrong ... )

That just about sums it up in a nutshell

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

I suspect that if we paint a picture, in very broad brush strokes, of the two camps arguing the for and against, it probably boils down to ............................ )

Aww, stop being so flipping reasonable!

Andres

 

[krytengs]

I'm one of those coming over from the Jap sports bike market and had my eye on the new GS, Strada and new KTM.

The KTM was too tall for me to get on with, so I ruled it out quite quickly.

I tested both the GS and Strada back to back...twice, and FOR ME, the GS is the better bike. The Strada blatantly feels and rides like a sports bike...pretending to be a more laid back adventurer. The Strada made me want to nail it all the time. If I wanted that, I would have stayed with my current bike.

For me, the GS has the more relaxed adventurer feel with the added bonus of knowing that just under the surface its waiting to deliver very respectable sports bike action.
Its new attitude may not sit well with the old guard, but for me, this is the perfect bike for pottering, touring and hooning around the back lanes.

 

[y2blade]

I'm one of those coming over from the Jap sports bike market and had my eye on the new GS, Strada and new KTM.

The KTM was too tall for me to get on with, so I ruled it out quite quickly.

I tested both the GS and Strada back to back...twice, and FOR ME, the GS is the better bike. The Strada blatantly feels and rides like a sports bike...pretending to be a more laid back adventurer. The Strada made me want to nail it all the time. If I wanted that, I would have stayed with my current bike.

For me, the GS has the more relaxed adventurer feel with the added bonus of knowing that just under the surface its waiting to deliver very respectable sports bike action.
Its new attitude may not sit well with the old guard, but for me, this is the perfect bike for pottering, touring and hooning around the back lanes.

What Sportsbikes are you used too?

 

[krytengs]

What Sportsbikes are you used too?

CB1000R, CBR6, ZXR6 & 9, GSXR750....less sporty ZZR1100 and Hyabusa

 

[y2blade]

CB1000R, CBR6, ZXR6 & 9, GSXR750....less sporty ZZR1100 and Hyabusa

Excellent, I look forward to hearing how you get on with the GS.

 

[alp]

Ok I'm a bit fed up with this thread!
Yes, you're right I don't have to read it BUT I can't stop myself.
It's like this -
a) I didn't like the previous versions of GS, they seemed too slow and cumbersome on the move compared to my Multistrada.
b) The '13 GS is sufficiently better (to me) for me to shell out £14K on one.
c) The engine is much better for overtaking traffic, of which there is an increasing amount in front of me these days. It has good torque at sane revs, so I don't have to rev the t*ts off it to overtake or keep changing down to lower gears when the speed comes down.
d) It has a sensible indicator switch, thank you BMW!
e) I love the way it flicks and flows into corners so easily and there is always a mention in bike mags when testing BMWs of the lack of feel from the front end. Well, I was relieved to discover that the new GS has a great handing front end and I've got an Ohlins equipped Ducati 999S so I should be able to say this with justification. The bike mags just regurgitate the same old stuff.
f) I love all this new technology for engine modes, semi active suspension, TLC etc. and swop around with the set up depending on road conditions. Yesterday I was out enjoying warm dry twisty roads (Dynamic/Hard etc) and moved into heavy rain and wet slippery farm cack covered roads, so switched to Rain/Soft - Magic, relax.
g) Anyone who owns a bike like this is surely not going to neglect it like some of the photos posted show! It has never been different - neglect any bike and within a year it will be in a state, period.
h) Yes, the gearchange clunks into 1st, so what? Many bikes do. It in no way affects the way I enjoy this bike.
i) I admit it took me 2 test rides before the bike clicked with me, it gets you in the end like a new puppy which messes on your carpet and you start wondering if it's the right dog for you. For some it will be instant love for others it's sufficiently different to confuse them.
j) Quality? Take a look at say an Explorer and then tell me this GS isn't in a Premier Leaque piece of kit.
Must go now, the wife has just made some chocolate muffins, bye.

 

[ianf]

I've got Bahnstormers loaner WC today while my GSA is in for a service. It's quite nice.

Took a few minutes to figure out the indicators. Last bike I rode with jap indicators was over 10 years ago.

Certainly has some go in it. Rode home in 'road', will give it some 'dyna' on the way back later. It's geared differently and I was looking for 7th at 70 on the m4.

Gearbox is a little clunky, need earplugs.

Looks nice from the side, quite imposing in traditional GS way.

Feels titchy when sat in it.

I wonder what typical round town and 50% dual carriageway range would be? It's indicating 50mpg over the last 600mi. I do like not stopping for 250+ miles to fuel up.

Let's see if it grows on me more during the day.

 

[y2blade]

Ok I'm a bit fed up with this thread!
Yes, you're right I don't have to read it BUT I can't stop myself.
It's like this -
a) I didn't like the previous versions of GS, they seemed too slow and cumbersome on the move compared to my Multistrada.
b) The '13 GS is sufficiently better (to me) for me to shell out £14K on one.
c) The engine is much better for overtaking traffic, of which there is an increasing amount in front of me these days. It has good torque at sane revs, so I don't have to rev the t*ts off it to overtake or keep changing down to lower gears when the speed comes down.
d) It has a sensible indicator switch, thank you BMW!
e) I love the way it flicks and flows into corners so easily and there is always a mention in bike mags when testing BMWs of the lack of feel from the front end. Well, I was relieved to discover that the new GS has a great handing front end and I've got an Ohlins equipped Ducati 999S so I should be able to say this with justification. The bike mags just regurgitate the same old stuff.
f) I love all this new technology for engine modes, semi active suspension, TLC etc. and swop around with the set up depending on road conditions. Yesterday I was out enjoying warm dry twisty roads (Dynamic/Hard etc) and moved into heavy rain and wet slippery farm cack covered roads, so switched to Rain/Soft - Magic, relax.
g) Anyone who owns a bike like this is surely not going to neglect it like some of the photos posted show! It has never been different - neglect any bike and within a year it will be in a state, period.
h) Yes, the gearchange clunks into 1st, so what? Many bikes do. It in no way affects the way I enjoy this bike.
i) I admit it took me 2 test rides before the bike clicked with me, it gets you in the end like a new puppy which messes on your carpet and you start wondering if it's the right dog for you. For some it will be instant love for others it's sufficiently different to confuse them.
j) Quality? Take a look at say an Explorer and then tell me this GS isn't in a Premier Leaque piece of kit.
Must go now, the wife has just made some chocolate muffins, bye.

Triumph quality is shit, everyone knows/excepts that. I don't even think they have a QC/QA dept !

 

[krytengs]

Excellent, I look forward to hearing how you get on with the GS.

When I took it out for the test rides, I wasnt sure I was going to get on with it...being so high up, sitting up right and not being bounced around in the saddle by stiff suspension...but slowly it drew me in.
By the end of my first 2 hr ride I had grown to respect it. After my 2nd 2hr test ride, I didnt want to give it back ....so I knew it was the bike for me

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Ok I'm a bit fed up with this thread!
Yes, you're right I don't have to read it BUT I can't stop myself.
It's like this -
a) I didn't like the previous versions of GS, they seemed too slow and cumbersome on the move compared to my Multistrada.
b) The '13 GS is sufficiently better (to me) for me to shell out £14K on one.
c) The engine is much better for overtaking traffic, of which there is an increasing amount in front of me these days. It has good torque at sane revs, so I don't have to rev the t*ts off it to overtake or keep changing down to lower gears when the speed comes down.
d) It has a sensible indicator switch, thank you BMW!
e) I love the way it flicks and flows into corners so easily and there is always a mention in bike mags when testing BMWs of the lack of feel from the front end. Well, I was relieved to discover that the new GS has a great handing front end and I've got an Ohlins equipped Ducati 999S so I should be able to say this with justification. The bike mags just regurgitate the same old stuff.
f) I love all this new technology for engine modes, semi active suspension, TLC etc. and swop around with the set up depending on road conditions. Yesterday I was out enjoying warm dry twisty roads (Dynamic/Hard etc) and moved into heavy rain and wet slippery farm cack covered roads, so switched to Rain/Soft - Magic, relax.
g) Anyone who owns a bike like this is surely not going to neglect it like some of the photos posted show! It has never been different - neglect any bike and within a year it will be in a state, period.
h) Yes, the gearchange clunks into 1st, so what? Many bikes do. It in no way affects the way I enjoy this bike.
i) I admit it took me 2 test rides before the bike clicked with me, it gets you in the end like a new puppy which messes on your carpet and you start wondering if it's the right dog for you. For some it will be instant love for others it's sufficiently different to confuse them.
j) Quality? Take a look at say an Explorer and then tell me this GS isn't in a Premier Leaque piece of kit.
Must go now, the wife has just made some chocolate muffins, bye.

Aww, we'll put your toys back in your pram for you and on Monday we promise we will play with you in the bottom playground next week - Bulldog or Footie??

 

[krytengs]

Ok I'm a bit fed up with this thread!
Yes, you're right I don't have to read it BUT I can't stop myself.
It's like this -
a) I didn't like the previous versions of GS, they seemed too slow and cumbersome on the move compared to my Multistrada.
b) The '13 GS is sufficiently better (to me) for me to shell out £14K on one.
c) The engine is much better for overtaking traffic, of which there is an increasing amount in front of me these days. It has good torque at sane revs, so I don't have to rev the t*ts off it to overtake or keep changing down to lower gears when the speed comes down.
d) It has a sensible indicator switch, thank you BMW!
e) I love the way it flicks and flows into corners so easily and there is always a mention in bike mags when testing BMWs of the lack of feel from the front end. Well, I was relieved to discover that the new GS has a great handing front end and I've got an Ohlins equipped Ducati 999S so I should be able to say this with justification. The bike mags just regurgitate the same old stuff.
f) I love all this new technology for engine modes, semi active suspension, TLC etc. and swop around with the set up depending on road conditions. Yesterday I was out enjoying warm dry twisty roads (Dynamic/Hard etc) and moved into heavy rain and wet slippery farm cack covered roads, so switched to Rain/Soft - Magic, relax.
g) Anyone who owns a bike like this is surely not going to neglect it like some of the photos posted show! It has never been different - neglect any bike and within a year it will be in a state, period.
h) Yes, the gearchange clunks into 1st, so what? Many bikes do. It in no way affects the way I enjoy this bike.
i) I admit it took me 2 test rides before the bike clicked with me, it gets you in the end like a new puppy which messes on your carpet and you start wondering if it's the right dog for you. For some it will be instant love for others it's sufficiently different to confuse them.
j) Quality? Take a look at say an Explorer and then tell me this GS isn't in a Premier Leaque piece of kit.
Must go now, the wife has just made some chocolate muffins, bye.

+1