Coming to the fold?

[bobber70]

Hey all,

Just posted in the newbie section too to say Hi

I am currently looking at changing bikes.
Only passed my test 3 and a half years ago as a mature (mid 40's) biker. Always wanted to do it but there always seemed to be some obstacle but finally sorted it.
Bought my first big bike a 2006 Kwak Z750S which to be fair to it has been ok - 100 horses when it left the factory so as a first bike it has been ok.

Wanting something better for the misses and myself to do a bit of touring on etc.
It is only on testing new bikes I realise how cramped I am on the Kwak (6 ft 4)

So I thought I would test a few new bikes and so far have done the
MT09 Tracer - felt great as a first ride after my bike
Kwak Versys 1000 - really uninspiring and bland
R1200 GS with all the bells - great bike and so easy to ride and be comfortable on
S1000XR with all the bells - great bike and seriously quick but probably more than I need and does not quite have the comfort I want.
Tracer again to confirm I liked it - did not like the second ride - could not put my finger on it completely, snatchy throttle, hard saddle, and no longer inspired.

So I think from that lot I like the GS

Happy days right, well obviously there is a gulf of difference in price between the new bikes 8.5k for the tracer and 15-16k with the farkles for the GS.

So I guess my question is not having ridden one is should I like for a good second hand and if so is LC a must or are the older bikes just as good albeit without some of the bells and whistles?
Is ESA really worth having or is the normal suspension good enough when switching between 1 up and 2 up with luggage.
How reliable are older bikes of say 2010 vintage?
If I went newer to the 2013 /14 mark in LC should i look to buy from BMW to get the 2 year warranty that will cover the engine swap ?

Hope it makes sense folks and sorry for the long ramble.

Would be great to get people's inputs that have been in a similar position.

Cheers

Simon

 

[Florence]

Hi Simon, I think it's all down to budget, buy the best gs you can afford. ESA is great and when you come to sell it on, if it's got it then all the better. I have a R120GSALC all singing and dancing and I think it's the best bike I've ever owned, it does everything I want and more. Huge comfort and huge road presence too......along with huge weight and now I've forgotten what it was you were asking
Any who they are a great bike air cooled or water cooled I'm sure you will be thrilled with them.....p.s. I might be selling mine but you will need deep pockets

 

[tadhgocuilleain]

I don't know a whole lot about the 1200s, but like any machine, they have some common faults. If you're planning to buy second-hand, spend a good bit of time browsing the site here for information about what can go wrong on them, how to sort it and how much it will cost. That way, you know what to look for when you are buying one.

Every machine has common faults and whatever bike forum you go on, you'll find people complaining about what went wrong on their bike. That's because people generally don't go on a forum to tell everyone that their bike is fine. The common faults are usually experienced by the minority of people. Having said that, find out what the common faults are and accept that you might/will have to deal with them if you chose that bike, and decide if those things are something you can live with sorting when the time comes. That way, you won't be disappointed with the bike, and you'll know exactly what you need to do if the problem arises.

If I was in your position, I'd decide how much money I'm going to spend then look to see what you can get for your money. If I had to chose between a higher mileage 1200 LC and a lower mileage oil cooled 1200, I'd go with the lower mileage bike. Maybe go to a dealer selling a second-hand bike and see if you can take one for a spin to see how it compares to the LC. When you've chosen which exact model you want, you can then go about trying to find a good example of that model.

That's the process I go through when I'm buying a new vehicle. Hope that helps.

 

[Flipfly]

The tracer suffers from snatch throttle in sport mode. Standard mode is much nicer and more natural.

I would have a tracer over the GS and spend a little getting the suspension sorted, it's the weakest part on the bike imho.

 

[bobber70]

Cheers guys,

Kind of what I was thinking...

Saw your replies @flipfly to the other forum post from Running Antelope about the Tracer.
Not sure what did not inspire me the second time round, for sure the throttle is far better in Std as opposed to A mode.
I felt it did not handle great either, took the bikes on same route and ran wide a couple of times on the Tracer and I was not really pushing it.

May have a look at the oil cooled GS specs and sniff around the site a bit more

 

[Greenman14]

The tracer suffers from snatch throttle in sport mode. Standard mode is much nicer and more natural.

I would have a tracer over the GS and spend a little getting the suspension sorted, it's the weakest part on the bike imho.

Agree with the Tracer comments, sorting the suspension is not cheap though, I would budget £1000 to £1200. IMHO the GS is more suited to all day riding, and certainly better if you take a passenger. The post 2010 Twin cam bikes are properly sorted and should be reliable. I've had no trouble at all in my first 20k miles on my TC.