stevec
Guest
After 25 years away from biking the bug bit again. Last November I bought a low mileage 1100S, which I picked up from Birmingham and rode the 165 miles home. I was so sore and stiff by journey's end that I waited until Sping and opened an E-Bay account. 2 weeks later I once again boarded a train, this time to Bristol to pick an almost new 1200GS. What a difference. The 280 mile howeward journey flew by and I was still fresh and relaxed as I pulled into my driveway.
Since then I've ridden every weekend plus quite a few evening jaunts.
I live in North Yorkshire so can choose between fast and 'reasonably' smooth roads with lots of swoopy bends or the somewhat bumpier but nevertheless highly 'interesting' A and B roads of the Yorkshire Moors and Dales.
A typical ride starts on some 2 lane country roads, followed by some twisty A roads to get to the National Park. From there the roads are very winding, getting gradually narrower until they're reduced to single lane asphalt that snake across open moor and between hedgerows and dry stone walls.
The Dales roads finally exit onto the dual carriage A66 for a fast blast home.
You may look at a GS1200 and wonder exactly what its built for. With a Fireblade or YZF-R1 its obvious....similarly a 1200RT. But the GS? It has the looks of an enduro, but weight and lack of suspension travel make it as good off-road as a BMW X5, which is to say, useless. No doubt it can do smooth, dry gravel but anything else? Forgetaboutit..... A good dirt bike is designed to let you blast through the gnarly stuff by opening up the throttle, transferring all the weight to the back wheel so the front simply floats over the ruts while the 9 to 12 inches of rear suspension travel soaks up the nasties. Similarly changing direction is a matter of either pivoting around an outstretched boot, sliding into a berm or piling all your weight over the front end and letting the back drift around under power. Now there's no doubt that a GS could probably do some of this stuff but you'd need to be both an expert rider and sponsored. There's simply far too much weight, too little suspension and the wrong kind of gearing and power to make anything near a good off-road bike. And when you do fall over, which is pretty much inevitable, good luck with picking it up again!
However, when you forget about real offroad and select a route like I described above, the GS is simply unmatched. A GS has enough supple suspension to easily cope with rough, eneven, frost damaged tarmac, while the wide bars and seating position make for an unstressed riding position, that places no strain on back, wrists or neck. The GS's geometry allows you to ride it superbike style (body weight to the inside), motocross style (standing up over bumps, cattle grids etc.) or supermoto style (body straight, bike leaned over with weight on the outside). On fast A roads and highways, there's sufficient aerodynamic fairing to minimize energy sapping wind pressure on the torso, while the gearing and counterbalanced crankshaft make high speed cruising a pleasant, mile-eating affair. Engine torque allows for easy overtaking in any situation without pedalling the bike along on its gearshift.
But its on asphalt 'moto-cross tracks' that the GS really shines. If the likes of the 1200RT own the highways and the Fireblade the trackdays, then its without doubt the GS1200 you want when the roads are narrow, walled or hedged, the sufaces rough and unpredictable, the hills steep, the bends tight and the cambers 'off'. On these roads, the GS is King. The more difficult and challenging the route, the bigger the GS's advantage. Use the torque to power up the hill and over the blind rise, the powerful fade-free brakes ready to haul it down for a series of narrow, open bends where you flick it effortlessly side to side. The chassis allows you to brake late and get the power on early, making for thrilling yet safe progress. Steep hiils with offcamber bends, or blind bends with walls or hedgerows are taken supermoto style, with the body upright, the weight to the outside and the bike leaned over, allowing you to stay balanced at low speeds, 'hug' the hedge and maximize your line of sight. Come into a bend with a liberal scattering of sand and fine gravel and while most bikes will run wide, not the GS. Get off the brakes early and move your body to the inside of the bike, which itself remains upright. Centrifugal force is minimized and if the bike does slide slightly, it moves into your weight.
The GS allows you to move around quickly and easily to provide the optimum CG, has smooth torque and good brakes to minimize wheel spin or lock-ups on 'iffy surfaces', allows you to easily stand up to traverse gnarly cattle grids and damaged asphalt and has tyres that grip well, even when you need to take to a sandy or grassy verge. While most bikes and their riders are struggling, the GS and its rider are revelling in the 'tricky' conditions. Join a group of riders for a Sunday morning and they'll only let you choose the route once! Ride a GS on those wild moorland roads and you really see what it was designed to do. Take it on the highway home and you'll quickly realise that its one of THE most versatile and pleasurable rides around. So, after all these years I would like to propose a new biking category for the GS....the Assfeltenduro.
Since then I've ridden every weekend plus quite a few evening jaunts.
I live in North Yorkshire so can choose between fast and 'reasonably' smooth roads with lots of swoopy bends or the somewhat bumpier but nevertheless highly 'interesting' A and B roads of the Yorkshire Moors and Dales.
A typical ride starts on some 2 lane country roads, followed by some twisty A roads to get to the National Park. From there the roads are very winding, getting gradually narrower until they're reduced to single lane asphalt that snake across open moor and between hedgerows and dry stone walls.
The Dales roads finally exit onto the dual carriage A66 for a fast blast home.
You may look at a GS1200 and wonder exactly what its built for. With a Fireblade or YZF-R1 its obvious....similarly a 1200RT. But the GS? It has the looks of an enduro, but weight and lack of suspension travel make it as good off-road as a BMW X5, which is to say, useless. No doubt it can do smooth, dry gravel but anything else? Forgetaboutit..... A good dirt bike is designed to let you blast through the gnarly stuff by opening up the throttle, transferring all the weight to the back wheel so the front simply floats over the ruts while the 9 to 12 inches of rear suspension travel soaks up the nasties. Similarly changing direction is a matter of either pivoting around an outstretched boot, sliding into a berm or piling all your weight over the front end and letting the back drift around under power. Now there's no doubt that a GS could probably do some of this stuff but you'd need to be both an expert rider and sponsored. There's simply far too much weight, too little suspension and the wrong kind of gearing and power to make anything near a good off-road bike. And when you do fall over, which is pretty much inevitable, good luck with picking it up again!
However, when you forget about real offroad and select a route like I described above, the GS is simply unmatched. A GS has enough supple suspension to easily cope with rough, eneven, frost damaged tarmac, while the wide bars and seating position make for an unstressed riding position, that places no strain on back, wrists or neck. The GS's geometry allows you to ride it superbike style (body weight to the inside), motocross style (standing up over bumps, cattle grids etc.) or supermoto style (body straight, bike leaned over with weight on the outside). On fast A roads and highways, there's sufficient aerodynamic fairing to minimize energy sapping wind pressure on the torso, while the gearing and counterbalanced crankshaft make high speed cruising a pleasant, mile-eating affair. Engine torque allows for easy overtaking in any situation without pedalling the bike along on its gearshift.
But its on asphalt 'moto-cross tracks' that the GS really shines. If the likes of the 1200RT own the highways and the Fireblade the trackdays, then its without doubt the GS1200 you want when the roads are narrow, walled or hedged, the sufaces rough and unpredictable, the hills steep, the bends tight and the cambers 'off'. On these roads, the GS is King. The more difficult and challenging the route, the bigger the GS's advantage. Use the torque to power up the hill and over the blind rise, the powerful fade-free brakes ready to haul it down for a series of narrow, open bends where you flick it effortlessly side to side. The chassis allows you to brake late and get the power on early, making for thrilling yet safe progress. Steep hiils with offcamber bends, or blind bends with walls or hedgerows are taken supermoto style, with the body upright, the weight to the outside and the bike leaned over, allowing you to stay balanced at low speeds, 'hug' the hedge and maximize your line of sight. Come into a bend with a liberal scattering of sand and fine gravel and while most bikes will run wide, not the GS. Get off the brakes early and move your body to the inside of the bike, which itself remains upright. Centrifugal force is minimized and if the bike does slide slightly, it moves into your weight.
The GS allows you to move around quickly and easily to provide the optimum CG, has smooth torque and good brakes to minimize wheel spin or lock-ups on 'iffy surfaces', allows you to easily stand up to traverse gnarly cattle grids and damaged asphalt and has tyres that grip well, even when you need to take to a sandy or grassy verge. While most bikes and their riders are struggling, the GS and its rider are revelling in the 'tricky' conditions. Join a group of riders for a Sunday morning and they'll only let you choose the route once! Ride a GS on those wild moorland roads and you really see what it was designed to do. Take it on the highway home and you'll quickly realise that its one of THE most versatile and pleasurable rides around. So, after all these years I would like to propose a new biking category for the GS....the Assfeltenduro.
), go and buy yer Blade, R1, 600 RR ... learn how to ride it properly without killing yourself, go through the whole journey of fast A roads, track days, points on licences, playing on roundabouts, and eventually, after you become a bit bored of that same old same old, you'll discover that whole new world of gnarly B roads, challenging road surfaces and eyes on stalks, all without having to double the speed limit. There is a different (and I think better) world out there, a different adrenalin perspective, a different mindset, and one that requires every ounce of technical skill that youve learned and built up over the years. 
