BawdyMonk
Guest
While getting the paperwork sorted last week for my K1200GT, I took a Dakar out for over an hours test, although a short ride I did manage some off road (gravel track and across a field), city traffic, "B" class type roads and even a couple of kilometres on a highway.
Firstly, it's a high bike, the seat must be close to a GS Adventure in height, however, as it's much slimmer, I found it easy to flatfoot it at a standstill, it felt almost feather lite in weight and I was very confident belting across a field on it, it seems to go where you point it with pin point accuracy, which for me, wasn’t the case with the big GS when off road.
What did scare the shite out of me were the brakes, for over 2 years, on both the GSA and the RT, I've been cosseted by BMWs servo assisted ABS system, the first time I used the Dakar’s anchors they felt like two bits of wood were on the disc, having said that, I soon got used to the extra effort needed and the brakes actually do a good job of stopping the bike.
If I get one it will be ABS equipped so will have a servo….(I assume
)
In city traffic the high seat gives a great view and the light weight makes manoeuvring very easy....An ABS equipped model must be one of the best short/medium range commuter bikes available.
On the “B” type roads the Dakar is good competition for the Adventure, until you get past 140kmh, at this point the Dakar seems to lose its puff a bit and the frame tells you you’re riding a single cylinder “thumper”, it’s not as composed on fast undulating sweepers as a bigger bike.
The lack of grunt takes away a lot of spontaneity in overtaking, it’ll do it, but more planning is needed than I’m used to.
I wouldn’t like to do high and regular highway mileage on a Dakar for the reasons mentioned above, as well as the fact that the standard screen is as much use as a postage stamp in the wind noise reduction stakes, to be fair though, I found the seat comfortable, unlike some other 650 enduros I've sat on, and for anybody able to cruise at the legal maximum there wouldn’t be any issues, for a light bike it seemed pretty stable, and again, the height gives good observation.
Would I buy one? Yes, and I probably will, the big GS gave me a taste for going off road, but as I usually went alone, the weight was an issue, the Dakar solves this and it’s certainly seems comfortable enough for me to spend a long day out and it’s the only bike in its class (I think ) that has the ABS option, which you can turn it off for off road use.
For local commuting and nipping into town I would use it instead of the KGT, and probably more than I used the GSA, which I often left in favour of my son’s scooter when nipping to the local supermarkets. However it's about as far as I'd go 2 up on it!
Now to convince the Mrs…
Firstly, it's a high bike, the seat must be close to a GS Adventure in height, however, as it's much slimmer, I found it easy to flatfoot it at a standstill, it felt almost feather lite in weight and I was very confident belting across a field on it, it seems to go where you point it with pin point accuracy, which for me, wasn’t the case with the big GS when off road.
What did scare the shite out of me were the brakes, for over 2 years, on both the GSA and the RT, I've been cosseted by BMWs servo assisted ABS system, the first time I used the Dakar’s anchors they felt like two bits of wood were on the disc, having said that, I soon got used to the extra effort needed and the brakes actually do a good job of stopping the bike.
If I get one it will be ABS equipped so will have a servo….(I assume
)In city traffic the high seat gives a great view and the light weight makes manoeuvring very easy....An ABS equipped model must be one of the best short/medium range commuter bikes available.
On the “B” type roads the Dakar is good competition for the Adventure, until you get past 140kmh, at this point the Dakar seems to lose its puff a bit and the frame tells you you’re riding a single cylinder “thumper”, it’s not as composed on fast undulating sweepers as a bigger bike.
The lack of grunt takes away a lot of spontaneity in overtaking, it’ll do it, but more planning is needed than I’m used to.
I wouldn’t like to do high and regular highway mileage on a Dakar for the reasons mentioned above, as well as the fact that the standard screen is as much use as a postage stamp in the wind noise reduction stakes, to be fair though, I found the seat comfortable, unlike some other 650 enduros I've sat on, and for anybody able to cruise at the legal maximum there wouldn’t be any issues, for a light bike it seemed pretty stable, and again, the height gives good observation.
Would I buy one? Yes, and I probably will, the big GS gave me a taste for going off road, but as I usually went alone, the weight was an issue, the Dakar solves this and it’s certainly seems comfortable enough for me to spend a long day out and it’s the only bike in its class (I think
) that has the ABS option, which you can turn it off for off road use.For local commuting and nipping into town I would use it instead of the KGT, and probably more than I used the GSA, which I often left in favour of my son’s scooter when nipping to the local supermarkets. However it's about as far as I'd go 2 up on it!
Now to convince the Mrs…
