Any Advice on Preparing for Off Road

[Andy_E]

Dropped it yesterday, suprise how easy it was to pick up.

James

Bit trickier if it's resting on your foot or it's the 4th or 5th drop that day! I've not given up on off-roading my GSA but I have bought an old pogo to build some skills up as I was an off-road biking novice (but with plenty of experience of 4wd offroading) before getting the GSA. Far fewer expensive bits to worry about breaking that way.

 

[theop]

Why buy a GS then?

you buy a GS for a comfy-even two up-, tall, long distance touring experience, but something that won't be a complete pig to filter in town or park, something that will also take you for a bit of green laning/exploring bits and bobs where a full 400kg tourer would struggle even more so. You don't buy a GS for pure dirt and rough as they are too heavy (by about 100kg). Weight makes them almost as useless as a stree tbike on the rough stuff, their only marginal saviour being knobblie tyres and softish suspension, but enduro bikes they most certainly are not.

But if you are telling me you will be transforming your GS for green laning only (without much experience or any motocrosing mileage under you) then good luck! You got a seriously unhelpful bike under your inexperienced self. The picture above with the dumped GS in the stream could be you. No crash bars will help you. These are for one time crashes only to protect the bke from trashing itself entirely. In "green laning" even people with a few amateur motocrossing miles and racing under them (like me) tend to fall quite a bit. Sand or mud riding, you may fall 3-5 times in a single fun day.... Your GS will fall apart before the day is out (and it will be costlier to fix than a cheapo drz)

Bottom line: +2 with opinions above. Keep your GS as your "good" bike for touring and going places. Buy a crapduro - any old roadworthy rotter will do, £1500 XT600, DRZs, even proper enduros like XR400, KTMs etc, any light single cylinder bike with a bit of poke (key: keep bike weight under the 150kg mark ideally closer to 110-120kg like the Honda XR4 rather than the lardy 225 dry weight of the GS) to do and learn everything about green laning with a smile in your face. These bike are light so you get less bulk burrying you when under them, they are also light enough that when crashing they tend to sustain less damage. (if you are a skier and you go skiing with your kids you will understand it better: the young ones crash on the slopes and seem to bounce right off. We tend to end up in hospital)

If on the other hand, you really really want to to get involved with a GS, try and get some experience with someone else's bike first- The welsh BMW course organised by BMW is a good if expensive start...

Good luck, you been warned....

 

[Timolgra]

Take the screen off then go enjoy and ignore most of the comment made here

 

[LiquidLAN]

ignore all the pogo riders, (pansies) i offroad a gsa `08 and its bloody good fun.

Ah horse... now there's a fine example to follow, how many issues have you had with you bike so far??? A quick search seems to have turned up two or three that seem to relate to offroad abuse

James, no-one's saying dont take the GS off-road, we've just said its easier to learn on a pogo.

So you've got an X5 and you use that off-road? I've got no idea what you do, but I'm assuming its only getting comparitively light off-road duties otherwise the job would have demanded a much heavier duty vehicle??? Lets put it in contect of learning to off-road in a 4x4, would you learn in your X5 (when you first got it) if it meant dinged and scratched panels, possible damage from water ingress into the engine, bent or broken controls and the chance of completely invalidating your warranty....

or would you rather spend a grand or two getting a beaten up old landy that you can bash and abuse, hone your skills on and sell on for pretty much what you bought it for?

The GS is perfectly capable and there are many here a lot more skilled than me that can make them do amazing things, if you are one of them, more power to you

If you are determined, give it a shot... start easy and work your way up - definately do any of the water mods that are around here, the GS and GSA are not designed to wade... jap sports bikes have a great wade depth.

Have fun

 

[LiquidLAN]

Brother has WR450 which he loves, I find it very odd to ride, feel very uncomfortable on it.

They are a bit to sit on, very thin and not the comfiest of seats, but they are designed for off-road... made to be light and manoverable and riden standing up.

the big difference between a pogo and a gs is that you can drop and pick up a pogo all day long and the chances are you've not going to do it any real damage... if you do you can normally get a complete set of panels for a few quid and everything else can either be patched and straighten out.

Sadly not the same for the GS, but its your call... do the mods, take a few mates with you and give it a shot, but dont get dishearted if you drop it a bit, thats all part of learning.

 

[James Embrey]

Good advice guys, the X5 is used for visiting farms and estates which involes fields and farm tracks rather than serious off road with your Landies etc. I want to use GS for track riding and some green laning. I live near Long Mynd in South Shropshire and we have miles and miles of stone tracks which can be riden. My brother goes for the more extreme stuff in woods etc.

James

 

[Horse1200]

liqiudlan, you could be right, but warrenty is a wonderful thing. At the end of the day it totally depends on what type of rider you are. The gsa is built for offroad, most people that offroad a gsa trundle along at a very slow pace and if they fall it rarely does any damage. If your like me i will attempt most stuff with it.

Best advice is go slow get to know your bike and terrain and have fun.

 

[WindyChuffer]

I've never quite figured out why anybody buys a 10-grand bike and does that to it - especially when a KTM-type bike costs half the money and does the job soooo much better.



Greg

IMHO, thinking of it as a ten grand (or more) bike is the wrong way of thinking about it.

The right way (IMHO) is to consider what could possibly go wrong, and how much it would cost to put right.

And having spanked my '09 1200GSA off road a lot this year, surprisingly little damage gets done. After 9,000 miles since 1st March '09 I've been spat off it, dropped it countless times, done the HUMM and several other off road days out with various gser forumites.

But to return my bike to mint condition all I need to do is
- replace the cylinder head guards
- replace the crash bars
- put the original bash plate back on
- replace one hand guard.

...and no one would know its been spanked off road as it would look like a mint Chelsea Tractor.

Cost of all that - probably £350 absolute tops. Bargain fun.

 

[Fanum]

From time to time here, you get the odd intelligent and useful post that's based on fact, first hand experience and knowledge.

you buy a GS for a comfy-even two up-, tall, long distance touring experience, but something that won't be a complete pig to filter in town or park, something that will also take you for a bit of green laning/exploring bits and bobs where a full 400kg tourer would struggle even more so. You don't buy a GS for pure dirt and rough as they are too heavy (by about 100kg). Weight makes them almost as useless as a stree tbike on the rough stuff, their only marginal saviour being knobblie tyres and softish suspension, but enduro bikes they most certainly are not.

But if you are telling me you will be transforming your GS for green laning only (without much experience or any motocrosing mileage under you) then good luck! You got a seriously unhelpful bike under your inexperienced self. The picture above with the dumped GS in the stream could be you. No crash bars will help you. These are for one time crashes only to protect the bke from trashing itself entirely. In "green laning" even people with a few amateur motocrossing miles and racing under them (like me) tend to fall quite a bit. Sand or mud riding, you may fall 3-5 times in a single fun day.... Your GS will fall apart before the day is out (and it will be costlier to fix than a cheapo drz)

Bottom line: +2 with opinions above. Keep your GS as your "good" bike for touring and going places. Buy a crapduro - any old roadworthy rotter will do, £1500 XT600, DRZs, even proper enduros like XR400, KTMs etc, any light single cylinder bike with a bit of poke (key: keep bike weight under the 150kg mark ideally closer to 110-120kg like the Honda XR4 rather than the lardy 225 dry weight of the GS) to do and learn everything about green laning with a smile in your face. These bike are light so you get less bulk burrying you when under them, they are also light enough that when crashing they tend to sustain less damage. (if you are a skier and you go skiing with your kids you will understand it better: the young ones crash on the slopes and seem to bounce right off. We tend to end up in hospital)

If on the other hand, you really really want to to get involved with a GS, try and get some experience with someone else's bike first- The welsh BMW course organised by BMW is a good if expensive start...

Good luck, you been warned....

That's not one of them

 

[WindyChuffer]

From time to time here, you get the odd intelligent and useful post that's based on fact, first hand experience and knowledge.





That's not one of them

+1

Simon Pavey refers to the GS & GSA as being "seriously capable bikes (off road)". And he's right.

"theop" clearly has never taken a GS off road....

 

[Sgt Bilco]

+1

"theop" clearly has never taken a GS off road....

Aye, I have to agree. Still, he is entitled to his opinion but to say the GS is a seriously unhelpful bike is way off the mark.

For those of us in the know, the GS is a great bike to take off road as long as you know it's and your own ability.

They can take some serious punishment and generally polish up as good a new

 

[Snoopy]

Ditch the screen assembly and buy a Wunderlich flowjet or similar. You'll think it's a supermoto

Ditch weight ... rear seat, CAT, CAT bracket, passenger grab rail, pannier rails (seem to come as default on 04/05's), center stand, rear mud guard

Don't bother with engine bars unless you intend to throw it down at high speed. It's extra weight you don't need and the fiber-charged guards work better in the real world.

GSA tank lowers the fuel a bit (unless you fill it)

Fit an oddesy battery as the frequent cranking will drain a stock battery faster. You will not push start a GS!

Check out some proper pegs like the GSA has fitted. I use fastway ones.

Fit the Touratech bash guard rip-off on ebay. It's £90 and brilliant http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320419109292

Ignore the pansy comments and go do it.

 

[Fanum]

James....if you have the OEM plastic fog lights fitted, TAKE THEM OFF before you go offroad, even on the gentle stuff....they are rather more fragile than they should be and they WILL break quite quickly.

I'd also take off that silly plastic bump guard that sticks out the back end of the rear of the bike- it's only there for German TUV regulations and apart from maybe providing a convenient place to stick a GB sticker, it serves no function.
It can however, get caught up in the back wheel and cause you problems, particularly if you meet heavy claggy mud or lots of rocks.

Taking the screen off can be a good idea.....you don't need it off-road and they are expensive to replace.....I've only seen one damaged on a Moto-Morocco trip though tbh over 4 years of trips.

The screen can be a pits for actually seeing in front of you though, so no harm in whipping it off anyway

Get some replacement indicator covers too.......they will break the first time the bike goes over more than just onto its side, which with ruts etc, can be quite often.

 

[LiquidLAN]

+1

Simon Pavey refers to the GS & GSA as being "seriously capable bikes (off road)". And he's right.

"theop" clearly has never taken a GS off road....

the BMW offroad lot also seem to have more incidents of injury and broken bones than any other off-road school I've encountered... admittedly while I would like to, I've not attended their course, but I've met a lot of walking wounded who have. I'm not sure what that says about learning on a GS/GSA...

 

[Shep]

I think i'd spend any money on good boots and body armour

The bike will do its job well enough and will develop alongside your skills

Shep

 

[Fanum]

the BMW offroad lot also seem to have more incidents of injury and broken bones than any other off-road school I've encountered... admittedly while I would like to, I've not attended their course, but I've met a lot of walking wounded who have. I'm not sure what that says about learning on a GS/GSA...

I think it might say more about the people who do it and the results of mixing people who are 1) not on their own bike so care less about crashing it and 2) who only have two days and naturally try and 'make the most of it' by throwing the bikes at the countryside

If people are on their own bikes and learning at a more relaxed ace, I 'd suggest that they are FAR less likely to hurt themselves or their own bike.

There is a noticeable difference in the way people ride our hire bikes in Morocco compared to the way that those on their own machinery ride.

The GS and GSA are extremely forgiving bikes to learn on, and though heavy, they crash extremely well.

I would suggest that although easier perhaps, a pogo might well get you into a lot more trouble a lot quicker than a GS to start off with

 

[LiquidLAN]

James....if you have the OEM plastic fog lights fitted, TAKE THEM OFF before you go offroad, even on the gentle stuff....they are rather more fragile than they should be and they WILL break quite quickly.

+1 on that, I knocked one of mine off on a very simple, but slippery lane... it was later explained to me that they arent actually plastic, but in fact made from a very soft cheese... you can araldite them back together easy enough and I think it's Rev Chuck who makes some great ally housings for them...

I'd question Windy's estimate on bits though, been a long time since I've got replacement bits, but I think the engine guards were around £60-80 and about the same for the bark busters, so you're looking at over £200 for a set there... but like I say, its been a long time since I've tried buying bits

 

[LiquidLAN]

I would suggest that although easier perhaps, a pogo might well get you into a lot more trouble a lot quicker than a GS to start off with

I dunno what you mean

Oh no... wait... I was the only one to drop a bike last year on Clives Night Ride around the plains and I thought I'd broken my first rib in the process

Shep's comments on boots and body armour are a hugely valid point

As are Fanum's about own verse hired bikes... hadnt thought about it that way before - I treat every bike the same and drop my own just as much as I drop hire bikes

 

[theop]

Aye, I have to agree. Still, he is entitled to his opinion but to say the GS is a seriously unhelpful bike is way off the mark.

For those of us in the know, the GS is a great bike to take off road as long as you know it's and your own ability.

They can take some serious punishment and generally polish up as good a new

no I haven't taken the GS to serious deep waters, mud or jumps, its too damn expensive to toss around and drag in the dirt and it won't jump well as too heavy.... I think my definition of greenlaning seems to be a bit more on the motocrossing (and thus more hard core) than Fanums or Bilcos.....

Second point SgtBilco: Unhelpful bike... Guys obviously I mean taking into context the fact he is inexperienced and he wants a dirt bike to have fun for the first time. Then yes, I would repeat, the GS would be unhelpful... as in "less helpful than a £1000 , 120kg stroker". Never said the GS was unhelpful or unsuitable for dirt for everybody. Clearly some pros and more experienced riders who ve crossed deserts and whole continents on them (I haven't indeed) would rather have a GS regardless. So would most people who only want to keep 1 bike only. HOWEVER, if ar*ing about for a couple of hours in the dirt track (where you learn most abt balance) you can have more and cheaper fun on a cheaper/lighter bike. That is as long as you don't have to ride it back on regular roads....

Finally, @ Fanum: I ve PMd you...

 

[Stevie73]

I just don't get peeps who buy 1200gsa's and NEVER take them off road..... Might as well buy an RT.........

You can have an awesome lot of fun green laning on a 12gsa....trust me

Leave the lad alone, he wants to do what the bike was partially intended for having some off road fun....