Five things you hate and five things you love about your R1300GS.

[Martin GSA UK]

Wrinkly the forward tilt is easily remedied with Wunderlich's leveling kit.

...

I think it's sold as a seat front lowering kit, which we then use the other way round, to raise. I found, after about 6 months, the rubbers had opened out a bit and would rotate, turning quickly back into a lowering kit!

 

[Wrinkly]

One more dislike....'The price'

 

[Arsey]

LIKES:

1) Engine power and torque, it’s silly fast if you let it, power delivery is great
2) Suspension, especially the variable spring rate which makes it handle as well 2 up as 1 up, it’s a game changer for me.
3) Sportier than before and more nimble. Feels lighter, ergonomics are as good going mental in the twisties as sitting on the motorway, auto height control makes life easier when not moving
4) Screen, it’s by far the best I’ve ever had on anything (standard GS, electric screen), great protection and no buffeting
5) Touring capabilities, carries a pillion and full luggage effortlessly, higher geared than previous models so much better for high speed cruising

DISLIKES:

1) Engine noise at tickover, it sounds absolutely awful
2) Rider’s seat, pretty uncomfortable, although I think it’s bedded in a bit, strangely the passenger seat is fine
3)
4)
5) Engine noise at tickover, again, it really does sound feckin’ orrible

You like its touring capabilities yet the seat is pretty uncomfortable?
Sounds like a great tourer

 

[jefformston]

You like its touring capabilities yet the seat is pretty uncomfortable?
Sounds like a great tourer

It is a constant wonder how BMW can mess up the seat on model after model, on the GS the seat has been poor since the first 1200’s.

 

[Clifton]

Got one of the Altrider rear carrier plates last year
Really good platform for strapping stuff to for trips
Very well made and it also stops the OE rear carrier from going side to side

Yes the rack cutouts are nicely sized and placed for strapping things to it and it's made to accept a Rotopax if you want to carry along extra fuel.

I think it's sold as a seat front lowering kit, which we then use the other way round, to raise. I found, after about 6 months, the rubbers had opened out a bit and would rotate, turning quickly back into a lowering kit!

I don't see how it could be a lowering kit because in addition to the front offset mounts it includes two pair of progressively taller bumpers (centre and front) that the seat rests on? Mine has only been on a couple months but remains just as it went on. If the front pieces would happen to rotate down the seat's still sitting on the taller bumpers but I'll apply contact cement and rotate them to where they belong which should keep them in place.

One more dislike....'The price'

The seat leveling kit or the Altrider rack? Neither is cheap but nothing for a BMW is. Both were well worth the price for me and the leveling kit actually saved me from having to buy a whole new seat.

You like its touring capabilities yet the seat is pretty uncomfortable?
Sounds like a great tourer

Unfortunately I find most seats on newer motorcycles to be shaped more for style and narrowed and sloped to the front probably so customers sitting on them in showrooms can flatfoot. I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to uncomfortable seats so when aftermarket options exist to remedy discomfort I look to them. Of the 7 motorcycles I currently have I had to buy aftermarket seats for 5 of them. Thankfully only the seat leveling kit for the 1300GS. The V85TT is the only one with a comfortable stock seat.

 

[leadfarmer]

You like its touring capabilities yet the seat is pretty uncomfortable?
Sounds like a great tourer

I changed the seat

 

[Arsey]

I changed the seat

Ah, you never said or I missed it .
It’s about time companies selling £20k bikes fitted proper seats rather than charging £300 more for them and fitting some OE plank . Ridiculous situation.

 

[leadfarmer]

Ah, you never said or I missed it .
It’s about time companies selling £20k bikes fitted proper seats rather than charging £300 more for them and fitting some OE plank . Ridiculous situation.

Can't argue with that, comfort seat options shouldn't exist, the standard seat should be comfortable!

I went for Isotta, much cheaper than Wunderlich etc and it's a huge improvement over stock

Also they offer a prostate channel that stops you getting a numb cock like you do with some seats

 

[grantmac]

Can't argue with that, comfort seat options shouldn't exist, the standard seat should be comfortable!

I went for Isotta, much cheaper than Wunderlich etc and it's a huge improvement over stock

Also they offer a prostate channel that stops you getting a numb cock like you do with some seats

can you send me a link...I suffer badly from numb cock on my 1300 GSA and its not pleasant....

 

[JoeBiff]

can you send me a link...I suffer badly from numb cock on my 1300 GSA and its not pleasant....

There’s the odd poster on here that’s a numb cock.
And we all have to suffer him.

 

[leadfarmer]

can you send me a link...I suffer badly from numb cock on my 1300 GSA and its not pleasant....

I bought straight from the manufacturer, probably easiest as you have an address in Europe

Available with or without heating, with or without prostate channel

Might have to wait a few weeks depending on your color, mine was in stock and delivery was fast

https://shop.isotta-srl.com/en/front-seat-for-bmw-r-1300-gs-adv-2024.html

 

[grantmac]

There’s the odd poster on here that’s a numb cock.
And we all have to suffer him.

Brilliant…. I think there’s more than one,….

 

[BusterDan]

Brilliant…. I think there’s more than one,….

Oi!!!

 

[Kuly]

Love:
What's not to love? I absolutely love the bike. Yes, it has some flaws, namely the uncomfortable seat, but I am amazed how great the ride is. Have the ASA and once you are used to it, you would never go back to a manual. Plus, it still has the gear lever so you can sort of have that quick shift feeling too.

The ride more than enough makes up for the other minor flaws.

 

[BusterDan]

Love:
What's not to love? I absolutely love the bike. Yes, it has some flaws, namely the uncomfortable seat, but I am amazed how great the ride is. Have the ASA and once you are used to it, you would never go back to a manual. Plus, it still has the gear lever so you can sort of have that quick shift feeling too.

The ride more than enough makes up for the other minor flaws.

Yep I love the bike... best bike I have owned and I've owned a fair few since I started riding.

 

[Bubb]

Just back from the Black Forest.
Seat was fine now that I’ve raised the front with the wunderlich bobbins, and have cool covers fitted.
Bike behaved great….more than enough grunt for some quick overtakes.

 

[RallyeGS]

There’s the odd poster on here that’s a numb cock.
And we all have to suffer him.

The ignore button is a wonderful thing!

 

[KJB]

Yep I love the bike... best bike I have owned and I've owned a fair few since I started riding.

Totally agree just bought the Issota riders non heated Trophy seat, very good and cheap for a seat, Pyramid in Gainsborough really helpfull even tried before I paid

 

[Asturcon]

I have just completed a 2 week tour of the northern half of Spain on my new 1300GSA. The bike has now done 7,000kms and the tour was 5,000kms in all. The first 800 was to the 1st service, the next 1200 migrating the bike to Asturias and the rest was the tour, as I say.

The tour was a "spoking" tour for the first week around the western part of the Cantabric Sierra based in my home village, followed by Ponferrada along the Fonsagrada Road (AS12, LU701), Chaves, Salamanca, Segovia, Cuenca and Guadalajara.

Initially I thought I had bought the wrong bike (for me). I confess that I never test rode one, but two of my friends had new ones last year and I liked them. I did NOT like the look of the normal GS. It looks like a V-Strom! However, in the flesh, they are different. Even so.... my heart ruled my head.

It's a heavy bike! It's a bulky bike! It is nowhere near as agile despite the extra 21 hp as my 1200GS was. If you fill it up to the brim it becomes very top-heavy and so most of the time I don't. I especially don't fill it up if the order of the day is twisties; and if I'm in The Picos (where it spends 80% of its life) I certainly don't.

In the first month I pulled my back muscle getting onto the center stand. Wheeling it around my garage is an effort!

That was before the 5,000kms. It's taken a while, but I have finally got used to the weight. It is super stable even on uneven surfaces or surprise road irregularities. The agility issue has slowed me down (no bad thing), and yet I can still go plenty fast enough when I want to. It's a little less forgiving of errors than my 1200 was, but I just think further ahead and try to be more precise. I have the range when I want it, and I can ride the 900kms from Asturias to Valencia on a tank and a half easily. The trick to wheeling it around the garage is to sit on it, as opposed to muscling it around from the side as I used to. I have also mastered (or my back muscles have got used to it) the art of putting it on the center stand.

There is but one thing I do not like very much:

The VVT kicks in at about 4,000rpm and in Dynamic Pro mode, in particular, it is very noticeable. It's where the bike does most of its work in my style of riding and so I sometimes find myself feathering the throttle in a corner in normal usage (I tend to be in much higher rev range during spirited riding) at around there. It sometimes gives an ever so slightly noticeable boost just as you are in the corner and I find that a bit de-stabilising. I am wise to it, but that doesn't really help very much. When I'm in that range, I'm not atuned to the real concentration required with spiritted riding, I'm kinda just in fast-normal mode. It's like it has a bad fuelling point right at the point I use it most. I guess I will get used to it as well. Every bike has its quirks.

 

[Spook1969]

The ignore button is a wonderful thing!

Who said that?