Just the job... mind you, just been out to Squires for dinner.. and even at 9 deg, I'm glad I put Oxford heater grips on... they work so well and I can use my summer gloves all year round
Anyone run a basic R1200GSA Wc no electronics etc
- Thread starter Robbo1200ADV
- Start date
Just the job... mind you, just been out to Squires for dinner.. and even at 9 deg, I'm glad I put Oxford heater grips on... they work so well and I can use my summer gloves all year round
Tigermac
Registered user
I agree with the 'less is more' principle. I prefer to ride the bike using my own skill and ability rather then let the bike do it for me. Hill start assist? If anybody needs this then I would suggest they should not be riding a bike in the first place!
BMW cram so many electronic aids and gizmos onto their top-spec bikes that this is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. More likelihood of things to go wrong, and at a premium cost to boot.
I have a 2018 GSA with nothing on it save for the TFT screen and SOS facility. The bike rides and feels as it should, supremely comfortable and as with my old 1150GS the most confidence-inspiring bike anybody could wish for. Neither have ESA, and nor do they need it.
BMW cram so many electronic aids and gizmos onto their top-spec bikes that this is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. More likelihood of things to go wrong, and at a premium cost to boot.
I have a 2018 GSA with nothing on it save for the TFT screen and SOS facility. The bike rides and feels as it should, supremely comfortable and as with my old 1150GS the most confidence-inspiring bike anybody could wish for. Neither have ESA, and nor do they need it.
You're an idiot.
I have a Bandit 1250 and that has no ABS, no Traction Control, no slipper clutch, no quickshifter, no TPMS, no steering damper, no power modes, no automatic suspension, no heated grips, no cruise control, no outside temp gauge, no auto lights, no keyless control, nothing....
There isn't much that I do differently riding that bike, to when I'm riding my GSA. But having all the extra comforts at hand when you need them most is very nice. But it certainly doesn't do anything for you, except save your ass in the milliseconds before an accident.
On a Sunny warm dry day, your tyres will save you from just about any mistake so most gadgets are not needed.
But on a winters cold wet raining day, your 'gadgets' are a welcomed safety net which might just save your neck. Why would you choose not to have them?
So thinking these things take something away from the rider skills is nuts. They add to your safety, nothing else.
I use Hill Start Assist all the time when on 'second man drop' duties, or waiting at traffic lights, or on weird cambers and gradients... it's actually very useful when directing riders to have both arms free, and legs planted on the ground while stationary.
I bought the 2017 GSA with some of the whistles and bells.
Heated grips: brilliant.
Dynamic and off road suspension: I didn’t expect to use it but have ended up using it a lot and now love it.
Cruise control: Initially despised such rubbish but now use it if I have to flog along motorways for hours.
Hill start assist: F*ck off!
Gear shift assist: F*ck off!
TFT Screen: Pretty nice when it works but it goes blank at least once a month.
Keyless ignition: Pointless and locks me out at least once a fortnight. I can’t tell you how often I’ve tried to fill up and had to go and buy a coffee and try again half an hour later. Also absolutely deadly, potentially. If you have your key in your jacket pocket, take off the jacket while moving the bike around a campsite or garden then stall the bike or inadvertently turn it off, it’s a workshop job. If you’re in a far flung, poor country, you’re stuffed.
Apart from that, it’s a great bike.
Heated grips: brilliant.
Dynamic and off road suspension: I didn’t expect to use it but have ended up using it a lot and now love it.
Cruise control: Initially despised such rubbish but now use it if I have to flog along motorways for hours.
Hill start assist: F*ck off!
Gear shift assist: F*ck off!
TFT Screen: Pretty nice when it works but it goes blank at least once a month.
Keyless ignition: Pointless and locks me out at least once a fortnight. I can’t tell you how often I’ve tried to fill up and had to go and buy a coffee and try again half an hour later. Also absolutely deadly, potentially. If you have your key in your jacket pocket, take off the jacket while moving the bike around a campsite or garden then stall the bike or inadvertently turn it off, it’s a workshop job. If you’re in a far flung, poor country, you’re stuffed.
Apart from that, it’s a great bike.
Tigermac
Registered user
Just my opinion, Warlord, based on 40 years riding. No need to be so offensive!
Really? I've almost served 4 years now on 2 GS's with keyless, and never had an issue with the ignition in ~45K miles. Mind you, I've never moved my bike around the garden without my jacket on.
Let's face it, Warlord, you are somewhat a bit of an opinionated person...
... sometimes
I too have a 1200 Bandit that has feck all on it.. and I treat it with respect in any conditions... having a few more on the BM (traction) does not change how I ride it and the respectr I give it...
Was out day before yesterday on wet roads in the car... and it made me cringe to watch 2 BM's come howling past into a bend, under trees where they had to be well over to get round... Maybe these people have only ever riden bikes full of gizmos, or maybe I'm not as trusting in my tyres in wet conditions these days.??..
But it does make you wonder how many people trust their machines beyond what they should... its still only 2 sq inch of rubber in contact with the road... In the 'old days', you knew when you were getting close to the limit as the bike would tell you IYKWIM... not sure thats the case now.. one minute you think you're fine... next your off and in a ditch.
Nowt wrong with modern tech on bikes if it makes them safer... only problem being folks using them to push past the limits knowingly or not
Was out day before yesterday on wet roads in the car... and it made me cringe to watch 2 BM's come howling past into a bend, under trees where they had to be well over to get round... Maybe these people have only ever riden bikes full of gizmos, or maybe I'm not as trusting in my tyres in wet conditions these days.??..
But it does make you wonder how many people trust their machines beyond what they should... its still only 2 sq inch of rubber in contact with the road... In the 'old days', you knew when you were getting close to the limit as the bike would tell you IYKWIM... not sure thats the case now.. one minute you think you're fine... next your off and in a ditch.
Nowt wrong with modern tech on bikes if it makes them safer... only problem being folks using them to push past the limits knowingly or not
Really? I've almost served 4 years now on 2 GS's with keyless, and never had an issue with the ignition in ~45K miles. Mind you, I've never moved my bike around the garden without my jacket on.
I’m travelling up through South America and we’ve been in very dusty gravel roads, sand, rain, the lot, so maybe the conditions have shaken things up a bit. As to jacket off, a while back in Northern Peru, we were crossing a stream and realised that a bag had been shaken off some miles back. The heat was ferocious and I’d taken the jacket off. I rode back up the dreadful gravel track, looking for the pack and realised that if I stalled the bike I’d be in real trouble, hours from help, days or weeks from a BMW workshop, miles up a track with a massive, dead bike. Thankfully, I didn’t stall the bike. I never found the bag of trainers either.
TunturiSport
Registered user
I have a 2018 GSA without gear shift assist, ESA, tft screen or keyless ride. I had to order it from the factory, the dealers here in Finland only have bikes with all the tingeltangel included. I want the bike as simple as possible as I love riding in Lappland and northern Russia where there is no BMW service within 1000 kms. The bike has been brilliant except loose spokes. This is my fourth GS (year models 1996, 2006, 2012 and now 2018) , together about 200 000 kms.
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