GS ADV New or used?

[ENG]

I currently own a beautiful H-D Road King 1550cc, but rarely get to ride it due to bad weather. I have previously had BMW's, and I really fancy an ADV. Should I buy new or a specced up nearly new? If new what are the must have essentials to ride all year round?, and what would be the options if sufficient funds are available (about £10K)? HELP!!

Cheers Andy B

 

[ENG]

Thanks for the advice Para!
Some further questions!

What is an R259
Don't they all have a big tank
What sort of oil cooler grill

Any advice for negotiating with the dealers? Pidcock or Astle are the two nearest.

 

[rocks]

Adventure..

Well if i was in the position of buying either new or used..

I would say.. try a used, lower miler.. no point in loosing the depreciation from new.

As for essential kit:

Hepco and Becker Engine Bars ( Saved my bike a couple of time)
Better Lights : A lot of options.. search the forums. I have a post up somewhere on the ones i fitted to mine.

Heated Grips: Dont even bother with a bike that doest have these for all year riding.

"Garfield" mudflap for the front.. i fitted one.. works a treat.

Paragons list is fairly comprehensive.. but the above are what i would rate as essential. The GS, adventure or otherwise are good bikes from the outset. I ride all year.
Todate the biggest improvement was fitting extra lights and engine bars. I have taken a couple of low speed tumbles and the bars have got scratched.. rather than the bike. You cant get away from the fact its a bit BIG bike.. and fully fuelled, it easy to go over if you dont have a firm footing, or on slippy ground when stopping.

With the 1200 just out, there are lots of GS and GSA's about.. so you can find some really good ones. Unless you really want to be able to say " i have owned it since new".. get a second hand nearly new. You will save some money for other soon to be "essentials".

There are lots and lots of things to add/modify your bike with.

Things i would say are very useful, if not essential are..

Wonderlich Mudflaps : I ride all year, these keep the water off your feet and keep your feet warmer..
Luggage & Panniers : Essecntial if your need to carry stuff, best got with the bike.

"Reyno" front grill : Makes the GS look a lot better..

As you can see.. there are similarities between my essentials and Paragons.. and truth is everyone will probably have a different set.. but i hope these gives you some ideas anyhow.

Happy GS shopping..

 

[boundless]

Tobinators, datatool and optimate ...and yeah panniers, if you've got the bread for them.

Everything else can wait...really the optimate is just to stop the datatool from draining your potato unbeknownst should you wait too long.

So really it's just the tobinators that are the must have....lack of none of the others will possibly get you tipped over into regresssion.

 

[Fanum]

I'm with Boundless......you don't NEED most of the things on Para's list...though you'll probably end up getting them and for the Missus' benefit you'll 'need' them all

However the Tobinators will be essential if you're riding year-long, as will additional lighting......the acknowledged weakest spot of the 1150 range is the crap lighting.

If you're using the bike every day, you shouldn't need an Optimate either....I've not got one and haven't needed it.

Luggage of some sort yes, but obviously that depends on your own needs.

If you're not bothered about the thrill of having a new new bike fro scratch, you'll certainly be able to save some money on getting something at least half-specced up, but most people who seel their ADV's tend to strip pf the goodies and get more selling the bits off than they'd get selling them on the bike.

Whichever way you go, enjoy, and welcome to the madhouse!!

 

[Barrie]

new or used Adv

Bounless is right,
a good s/h low milage bike is best.
My thoughts are that if you are used to the Road King with it's low riding position (I have an FLSTC which I have had since 87.) you might get on much better with a late GS1150 instead of the ADv. GS1150 has lower seat with longer gearing. Top gear (6th) motorway work is much better.
The other advantage will be there are loads of 1150's on the market right now and with winter coming there will be some really good deals to be done.....expect to get a loaded bike for less than £6500. Grips,abs,bags, the lot. Search this forum......
good luck.
Barrie

 

[zeus2534]

i recently had to make the same decision - i had the option of a used model or a basic spec new ADV for £8785.00 - no crashbars , no ABS - it did have heated grips and the outsize tank which became standard i beleive in 2004 - i chose the new bike and so far i am pleased with the purchase - twin power outlets , longer travel suspension , jump start points , larger rear rack , bigger front screen , hand guards , black engine , blue rocker covers and rims and a fancy black and mandarin seat to finish it off - southport superbikes made a joke of supplying the bike with a full tank of juice , 30 litres mind you - so far i have added a touratech tail bag which comes in real handy and the bmw tank bag which is also rather nifty , i kept the black panniers from my old roadster which fit the ADV - i would love to add ohlins shockers and a remus can which unfortunately would cost another grand - meantime i will stick with the stock items - whichever you choose i am sure you wont regret it - your cash does get you a big piece of road presence which in my opinion the new gs1200 cannot emulate