BMW Level 1...

[Dave T]

Morning all,
I think I'm going to book a place on the level one off road coures next year. I'm a complete novice off roader, but ride my 1200GS on a daily basis. Will I get more benefit doing the course on the bike I ride daily, or is it going to be to big and heavy for an inexperienced off roader?
Any thoughts/experiences/opinions gratefully recieved!
Thanks as always,
Dave.

 

[araspitfire]

I did it on the 1200... though the lady tried to talk me out of it... Lots of guys drop em a bunch and the extra weight to pick up can take the shine off the weekend...

I never dropped it once though, and didn't find it to be all that much work to be honest... (though most people do find it to be a lot of work) I rode home to The Hague the next day and was fine... no after effects at all...

All I can say in my defense is I once owned a 350 Honda enduro bike (years ago) I have ridden mountain bikes offroad quite a bit... and still ride a push bike a fair amount (I'm in ok shape )

My reasons for doing it on a version of my bike, is that the whole weekend was a confidence building exercise for me (I dumped it on a gravel road in Norway the year before ) Thus I wasn't "going for it" like many others did... taking advantage of someone else's bike to bash up...

If I had been falling off it a lot... I'd have wished I were on the X Challenge...

Al...

 

[kevhdr3]

I did it on a 1200 (own a 1100) & found the 1200 to be no problem. Had a go on a f650 & a Xcross at the end & found the 12 easier for me. A lot of the guys who did it on 650s & had a go on the 12 at the end said they found it easier to & wished they had done it on the 12 . I had done a little off roading before the ukgsers beginers off road day at Sailsbury Plain & a bit in Morocco & some in the Sahara & Senegal on the way to Dakar & still learnt a lot from the course

 

[Womble]

If you're really intent on taking your 1200 offroad, then I would suggest that you may be better off on the 1200, but if you get into difficulties, it will be harder work.

If you really want to get into riding offroad, you're probably better off doing the course twice, in which case you might be better off going for the 650GS the first time, and then trying the X-Moto or the 1200 the second time.

I did the course on a 1200, as I ride an 1150 as my main bike, and it was hard work, but still very enjoyable. However, I had already taken the 1150 offroad at the Hogroast, which helped a lot.

There's a really good thread on the Level 1 course on here, it's well worth a read.

 

[Bigdave]

I did the course in May as a complete novice and had no problems on the 1200. The training is fab and you will be placed into a group to match your experience.

 

[Janie]

I did the course on a 1200 and loved every moment of it.........found muscles in me body that i had long since forgotten......buts it the best fun i've ever had without takin me clothes off...............

 

[how much for a service!]

As above go for the 1200 brilliant fun!!!

 

[billynomates]

Hi Dave
went in august on the 650 must admit I was rather worried as ive never been off road before (apart from when I was 17 and pissed on a GT185) so went for the bottom group which was absolutely great it gave you plenty of time for you to change your road bike brain.
on day 2 after dinner you where allowed to try the 1200 or one of the other 650's I went for the 1200 and like others found it much more fun so much so Im going back in the new year for 2 days on the 1200.
best 2 days ive had on a bike.
ian