HeatedGrips
Registered user
After five years and 50,000 miles on two 1150GSs I was given my first taste of the 1200GS today when my dealer gave me their demonstrator as a loan bike.
After 100 miles these are my impressions:
The gearbox is absolutely brilliant, if only my 1150 had a gearchange like this.
The extra power makes overtaking even easier and you can really feel the back tire digging in when you power out of corners.
The steering is much quicker and the bike tips into bends with less effort than the 1150.
The brakes (EVO and ABS) have much more feel. This bike has braided hoses, are they standard?
The weight loss makes the 1200 much easier to manhandle when putting it in an out of the garage etc.
The 1200 engine seems to spin up much more eagerly, but there is a terrible, hand-numbing vibration through the bars between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm which equates to 80mph upwards in top. I found it made motorways almost unbearable and rendered the right-hand mirror useless. I was not expecting anything like this after reading that the engine has a balancer shaft. This bike has only got 300 miles on it, so it could be something that will disappear with bedding-in. Anyone else have this problem?
Although it was no big problem. for the first time I noticed the torque effect of the boxer engine when accelerating, especially when cranked over. Despite what others have found I have never detected on this the 1150. Again is it something to do with the 1200 being freer-revving?
The riding position is ever-so-slightly further forward than on the 1150, with noticeably more weight on the wrists - are the footpegs higher? I'm not sure what state my arms would be in after a 500-mile day.
The screen seems fine for me in its lowest position - I'm 5ft 8in - although it's a pretty calm day so crosswinds might change things, they do on the 1150.
There's no underseat storage space! For a supposedly practical bike there's nowhere to stash anything. Even the cheap-looking bars lack a cross brace which I use on the 1150 as the mount for a small Heine Gericke bag big enough for puncture sealant, loose change, toll tickets etc.
On the move the bike itself seems to lack the solidity of the 1150, maybe the greater weight makes itself felt by damping out bumps? However it's much more balanced at walking pace than its predecessor and easier to trickle through traffic.
There's no doubt that the 1200 is the more modern machine and I think it feels much more like a "conventional" bike than the 1150 which is maybe partly why riders coming new to BMW take to it so quickly. I love the extra power, slick gearbox and light clutch but I'm not sure that they justify the extra £3k it would cost me to swop my 2003 1150 for a new 1200.
Maybe next year
After 100 miles these are my impressions:
The gearbox is absolutely brilliant, if only my 1150 had a gearchange like this.
The extra power makes overtaking even easier and you can really feel the back tire digging in when you power out of corners.
The steering is much quicker and the bike tips into bends with less effort than the 1150.
The brakes (EVO and ABS) have much more feel. This bike has braided hoses, are they standard?
The weight loss makes the 1200 much easier to manhandle when putting it in an out of the garage etc.
The 1200 engine seems to spin up much more eagerly, but there is a terrible, hand-numbing vibration through the bars between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm which equates to 80mph upwards in top. I found it made motorways almost unbearable and rendered the right-hand mirror useless. I was not expecting anything like this after reading that the engine has a balancer shaft. This bike has only got 300 miles on it, so it could be something that will disappear with bedding-in. Anyone else have this problem?
Although it was no big problem. for the first time I noticed the torque effect of the boxer engine when accelerating, especially when cranked over. Despite what others have found I have never detected on this the 1150. Again is it something to do with the 1200 being freer-revving?
The riding position is ever-so-slightly further forward than on the 1150, with noticeably more weight on the wrists - are the footpegs higher? I'm not sure what state my arms would be in after a 500-mile day.
The screen seems fine for me in its lowest position - I'm 5ft 8in - although it's a pretty calm day so crosswinds might change things, they do on the 1150.
There's no underseat storage space! For a supposedly practical bike there's nowhere to stash anything. Even the cheap-looking bars lack a cross brace which I use on the 1150 as the mount for a small Heine Gericke bag big enough for puncture sealant, loose change, toll tickets etc.
On the move the bike itself seems to lack the solidity of the 1150, maybe the greater weight makes itself felt by damping out bumps? However it's much more balanced at walking pace than its predecessor and easier to trickle through traffic.
There's no doubt that the 1200 is the more modern machine and I think it feels much more like a "conventional" bike than the 1150 which is maybe partly why riders coming new to BMW take to it so quickly. I love the extra power, slick gearbox and light clutch but I'm not sure that they justify the extra £3k it would cost me to swop my 2003 1150 for a new 1200.
Maybe next year
I got my 1200 after having ridden my 1100S for over a year beforehand. You may have a point about the 1200 being more accessible to the average newcomer to the brand but surely this can only be a good thing?
