Thank you.
I am able to borrow luggage if I need it but I do plan to choose a bike complete with.
However, if the right bike comes up without, I'll just add at a later date.
Thanks for the heads up, appreciated.
[Buying Advice] First GS – 1200LC or 1250? Budget ~£10k
- Thread starter DorsetRider
- Start date
I am able to borrow luggage if I need it but I do plan to choose a bike complete with.
However, if the right bike comes up without, I'll just add at a later date.
Thanks for the heads up, appreciated.
The GS has been the best selling bike for a long time and with good reason. This means there are lots out there for sale so it’s worth taking your time and buying one that has exactly the spec you want. You can save a lot of money by being patient and getting one that has everything already included.
Please don’t get hung up on mileage.
I would recommend buying on condition and history. A well used and maintained bike with 50k + will give you less headaches than a low mileage garage queen.
I had a ’21rt, which was a great bike but I felt it unnecessarily bulky for the type of riding I do at the moment.
I’ve ended up with an ’18 TE exclusive with the tft, full vario luggage and all the other bells & whistles. It has 60k miles on it but because it’s been fastidiously cared for it looks fantastic. I deliberately avoided the gsa as for me it is too bulky and I don’t need a 300+ mile range. Obviously I’m biased but I believe the last of the 1200’s is the sweet spot.
Good luck with your search and rest assured that whichever you choose you are going to end up on a great bike
Please don’t get hung up on mileage.
I would recommend buying on condition and history. A well used and maintained bike with 50k + will give you less headaches than a low mileage garage queen.
I had a ’21rt, which was a great bike but I felt it unnecessarily bulky for the type of riding I do at the moment.
I’ve ended up with an ’18 TE exclusive with the tft, full vario luggage and all the other bells & whistles. It has 60k miles on it but because it’s been fastidiously cared for it looks fantastic. I deliberately avoided the gsa as for me it is too bulky and I don’t need a 300+ mile range. Obviously I’m biased but I believe the last of the 1200’s is the sweet spot.
Good luck with your search and rest assured that whichever you choose you are going to end up on a great bike
One more opinion for you on the next bike. I would rather buy a bike from the original owner than from a trader - BMW or non-franchised, as through experience bike traders know zero about the bike their selling its just ‘stock’ to them.
I spent a long time looking for the last model 1200LC and found one 7 years old in the next village with all 6 BMW stamps in the book and only 5k miles. It was mint and has been mint since. I’ve doubled the mileage in 6 months and can’t see me replacing it.
I spent a long time looking for the last model 1200LC and found one 7 years old in the next village with all 6 BMW stamps in the book and only 5k miles. It was mint and has been mint since. I’ve doubled the mileage in 6 months and can’t see me replacing it.
That's something I was worried about doing but only because I'm not yet familiar with bike mechanics and wouldn't want to inherit a problem bike. I feel more confident buying approved used with a warranty from a dealer that has reputation to maintain.the flip-side of that of course is paying perhaps 10-20% premium. This may be foolish but I've had the same approach with cars. On the other hand, if you know what you're doing and exactly what you're looking out for, it makes complete sense to buy privately and either save on costs or improve buying power. I do appreciate this input though and perhaps if I find a private sale that looks good I could pay a local bike mechanic to run a check (?). I think the AA offer a service like this for cars.
Not too sure how a random AA mechanic would know the specific details to look for on a particular model of GS. You’d perhaps be better utilising the wealth of GS knowledge on this forum and asking if a trusted member would give it the once over for you. It’d surely be worth the cost of any fuel or train ticket.
I agree, I didn't mean to use an AA mechanic to look at a GS, I just meant that I knew there was an independent inspection service that AA/RAC or similar offered when buying cars.
If some good people here are also willing to give up their time I'd definitely go with that as a preferred option, I just thought it might be a bit cheeky to ask.
Out of curiosity I was just browsing around on Biketrader and came across this one. Looks a peach to me.
Interestingly, that's bang on the range of prices I highlighted for one of the very last LCs and given that it's low mileage no surprise to see it at the top of the range. I found that most of these were built with high spec, at least TE, and many with other options, some including TFT.
Good find, thank you.
Nice bike
Thank you, user insights like this help.
Several days of research and learning through this forum and my shopping list is whittling down to:
- 1250 GS
- FSH
- HP, Rallye, or 40th Anny spec
- <20k miles
- Low chassis (may be necessary, not a deal breaker).
Following are must-haves and may come as standard on above equipment levels:
- Dynamic ESA
- Riding modes pro
- Cruise control
- Heated grips
- TFT Connectivity
Remaining are desirable:
- LED DRLs and Adaptive headlights Pro
- Nav prep
- Full luggage
I'm still open to possibility of standard chassis and Adventure, but yet to establish suitability.
- 1250 GS
- FSH
- HP, Rallye, or 40th Anny spec
- <20k miles
- Low chassis (may be necessary, not a deal breaker).
Following are must-haves and may come as standard on above equipment levels:
- Dynamic ESA
- Riding modes pro
- Cruise control
- Heated grips
- TFT Connectivity
Remaining are desirable:
- LED DRLs and Adaptive headlights Pro
- Nav prep
- Full luggage
I'm still open to possibility of standard chassis and Adventure, but yet to establish suitability.
I bought my most recent 2019 1250GSA TE Rallye last year, private sale for £8250.00, top box no panniers but fitted with frames. It only had 8,300 miles on it from new, full BMW history, got too big & heavy for the 72 yr old owner who'd parked it up in his garage 2 years before and downsized to a V-Strom 650.
They are out there if you are prepared to look around and wait for the right bike.
They are out there if you are prepared to look around and wait for the right bike.
I've owned & ridden both, GSA in my personal view suits my needs better than the GS but both equally very good bikes. I'd try to find your desired specification or as near to it in your price range rather than be concerned over GS or GSA. Your "Must Haves" are essentially TE specification bikes and the biggest seller for BMW so more likely to find these. Nav prep is normal with the Touring package and pretty much on every TE unless an original buyer deleted it which is unusual.
LED DRL's are an optional extra on all models but easily retrofitted. Adaptive headlight pro is late models and would likely be above your purchase price. Not that its necessary as the standard lights are very good at night.
Full Luggage may be a game of luck, if the seller bought a newer version they may well of kept the luggage for the newer bike. Many sell luggage seperately as the dealers generally offer little or no more for the bike in part exchange. Again luggage can be had from adverts on here or other sites at reasonable prices.
Great response, thank you.
I've found a 1200 GS Adventure Triple Black with 10,800 miles selling for £10,895. Full BMWSH and very well cared for, factory lowered chassis, TFT, Nav Prep, full aluminium luggage, mud slingers front and rear, zero signs of corrosion, coated yearly to guard against corrosion, garaged. 2yr warranty.
I can flat foot this and it was very comfortable indeed. Being able to flat foot gives me the confidence to know I can use the suspension in all ride height configurations.
It has Dynamic Pro and Enduro Pro ride modes.
Other than twin cam, what would I be missing from a 2019 1250?
It's this one, and I've seen in it in person.
I can flat foot this and it was very comfortable indeed. Being able to flat foot gives me the confidence to know I can use the suspension in all ride height configurations.
It has Dynamic Pro and Enduro Pro ride modes.
Other than twin cam, what would I be missing from a 2019 1250?
It's this one, and I've seen in it in person.
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That looks very nice and having full luggage is a great perk.
Remember, increasing the height on the Dynamic ESA only heightens the rear shock, so it will tip you forward slightly.
I had a 2018 1200 GS TE and swapped to a 2020 1250GS TE Exclusive.
On the 1250 the engine pulled better throughout the rev range, when I ran both bikes in I noticed the difference on the 1250 straight off the bat. The dip in the torque curve from around 4000 to 5000 rpm I had on the 1200 to get that bike through the emissions wasn't there and in the upper rev range the 1250 kept pulling to the red line where as the 1200 ran out of puff. The hill hold was better on the 1250, the release on the 1200 was clunky if I did it in auto mode especially on steeper inclines and I ended up releasing the hill hold manually on the 1200 ( The 1200 took more throttle to get the hill hold to release than the 1250 in similar circumstances) The QS was smoother on the 1250, but still not as smooth as an il4. The rest of it from memory was much the same on both bikes the ESA, Cruise control, lights are the same, some didn't like the Hayes brakes on the 1250 over the Brembos on the 1200 but I never noticed much difference. I traded in my 1250 nearly 2 years ago for an RS so I might have forgotten a few other differences. In essence in isolation you won't be disappointed with the 1200 and that looks a nice example. IIRC the lowered GSA has the same seat height as a standard GS @ 850mm, the lowered GS has a 800mm seat height with the low seat.
