GS is still the best !

[tanneman]

He obviously has not ridden a powerful off road bike, that is what the 950SE is. If you want to stretch the eyeballs and have a good laugh while doing it there are few better tools than a off road bike. A rooster tail of gravel, a rear end moving around and an acceleration feel matched by superbikes. The GS might be the default choice but it is in no way an exciting bike. It does a lot of things well and that is where it falls short of getting the heart pumping. My GSA is there for touring and the ride around unfamiliar roads with or without pillion and it has got the legs to do a long stint if called on. A French autoroute where it can drain that tank in less than 200 miles if you need to get somewhere. For going fast on A and B roads it falls short in steering feel and reacting to steering input curtesy of the 19'' front wheel and telelever suspension compared to sports bikes or sport touring bikes even naked bikes. If I was commuting to work on a bike it would have to be the RT. That is where the unimaginative fool fails to see the error in his thinking. Better suspension, better wind protection, better handling, better choice of rubber and the transmission ratios are better suited to road riding.

 

[Engineer]

Weird comparison.What has a KTM 950 got to do with any of this ?
You are obviously more than happy having no imagination and simply sticking with a GS year in year out.
Others view riding on two wheels as good for the soul.They don’t want an anodyne tool that suffices.They want something that makes them smile when they open the garage door.Not something that will take them to a 9-5 box in Cambridge as well as further afield.
A T-Max will do that and probably better.
Unless you need an SOS button to navigate the A14.
Not sure why you always feel the need to justify your purchase.
Buy what you like.It’s your money.And if a GS is all you need then good for you.
But some of us want something a bit more interesting.

I don't have an SOS button.
I don't need to justify my purchase.
There are loads of interesting bikes out there and I have had some over the years - as a complete contrast to the GS I have a Thruxton R, chain driven and very limited in it's abilities but a fantastic feel good bike on sunny summer days.
However if any bike can possibly be considered the best of the lot it's the GS for all the reasons I mentioned.

 

[Engineer]

The RT is a great touring bike, the best probably - the GS does two up touring almost as well, and other stuff better, so for all round use the GS is the better machine.

 

[Arsey]

The RT is a great touring bike, the best probably - the GS does two up touring almost as well, and other stuff better, so for all round use the GS is the better machine.

What does the GS do better than the RT ? Do you take your GS off-road ?

 

[Engineer]

What does the GS do better than the RT ? Do you take your GS off-road ?

It's a much better bike on the balcony roads for starters, the GS is nimbler on the smaller gnarly poorly surfaced roads too, the GS has better ground clearance.

I rarely take the GS off road as their are better bikes for proper off roading, but I have taken it up non-paved roads in the Vercors above Autrans, for example, not a good idea on an RT - although a mate followed me up there on his Honda Blackbird once, he wasn't a happy bunny

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

It's a much better bike on the balcony roads for starters, Nonsense! the GS is nimbler on the smaller gnarly poorly surfaced roads too,Nonsense! the GS has better ground clearance. no advantage to that on roads

It is apparent your RT riding experiencs could be written on the back of a fag packet

 

[stick]

The latest RT gets great reviews.
I’d certainly buy it over a GS any day.Does everything better and in more comfort,yet better handling when you arrive at your destination.
Only think it can’t do is go off-road, but then neither do 98% of GSs,especially as most come with cast wheels.

Riding an RT is the most sanitised feeling ever , my wife will not go on one as she said we may as well take the car as it’s a bubble bike , no feeling .

 

[Engineer]

It is apparent your RT riding experiencs could be written on the back of a fag packet

I've ridden a RT a few times, a great bike but is compromised by its weight and agility on tiny roads, can do it ,but harder work than the GS with its more commanding riding position and much bigger handlebars.

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Riding an RT is the most sanitised feeling ever , my wife will not go on one as she said we may as well take the car as it’s a bubble bike , no feeling .

For many (me included) it's a very exciting and dynamic ride, not for all obviously

 

[Engineer]

Riding an RT is the most sanitised feeling ever , my wife will not go on one as she said we may as well take the car as it’s a bubble bike , no feeling .

My other half hates the RT, she wouldn't be seen dead on one, she puts it into the same category as the Goldwing, it's much better than that, but that's the image it presents to her.

 

[Arsey]

It's a much better bike on the balcony roads for starters, the GS is nimbler on the smaller gnarly poorly surfaced roads too, the GS has better ground clearance.

I’m sure it is, yet my RKS coped just fine on the very same roads last August.
I certainly wouldn’t buy a bike to use on such roads for one week every few years when the rest of the year any other bike would be just as good, if not better.

Riding an RT is the most sanitised feeling ever , my wife will not go on one as she said we may as well take the car as it’s a bubble bike , no feeling .

I know what you mean.
I had a 2005 model RT in 2010 ish and it was a bit boring. But all the tests/reviews of the latest seem to rate it much more.

 

[Matty589]

I've ridden a RT a few times, a great bike but is compromised by its weight and agility on tiny roads, can do it ,but harder work than the GS with its more commanding riding position and much bigger handlebars.

That must explain why the police struggle so much riding them on all road conditions.

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

I've ridden a RT a few times, a great bike but is compromised by its weight and agility on tiny roads, can do it ,but harder work than the GS with its more commanding riding position and much bigger handlebars.

Theres no evidence in your statments that you have actualy ridden an RT, especialy a R1250RT and particualy not on foreign jaunts in and around Picos, French Alps and Dolomites, your experiences seem made up and heresay, I dont place a lot of faith in your statments, ... as usual

 

[Engineer]

I’m sure it is, yet my RKS coped just fine on the very same roads last August.
I certainly wouldn’t buy a bike to use on such roads for one week every few years when the rest of the year any other bike would be just as good, if not better.



I know what you mean.
I had a 2005 model RT in 2010 ish and it was a bit boring. But all the tests/reviews of the latest seem to rate it much more.

Most bikes can 'cope' others are just do it much better. The GS does most things better. The RT is best for whisking one in comfort on main roads for long distances, but that's boring isn't it?

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Most bikes can 'cope' others are just do it much better. The GS does most things better. The RT is best for whisking one in comfort on main roads for long distances, but that's boring isn't it?

You really are completly clueless

 

[Engineer]

Theres no evidence in your statments that you have actualy ridden an RT, especialy a R1250RT and particualy not on foreign jaunts in and around Picos, French Alps and Dolomites, your experiences seem made up and heresay, I dont place a lot of faith in your statments, ... as usual

Well I don't place much faith in yours either I have ridden the RT on a few occasions, not to the south of France ,just on crap UK roads. I'm not saying it can't do crap roads just that the GS does it much better because it was designed to do so and the RT was not.

 

[Engineer]

You really are completly clueless

I don't think so - I ride most days and all year round and have always done so - so I'm pretty well 'clued up', especially about the GS

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Well I don't place much faith in yours either I have ridden the RT on a few occasions, not to the south of France ,just on crap UK roads. I'm not saying it can't to crap roads just that the GS does it much better because it was designed to do so and the RT was not.

No experience, no fcuking idea

 

[Engineer]

No experience no fcuking idea

I've ridden all my adult life, I'm now 64, so experience is more than most - so that is not only a stupid comment but entirely wrong too.

No surprise that you have resorted to insults when losing the argument - if the RT was meant to do 'country and street' it would have been called a GS, but it isn't it is a RT.

 

[Arsey]

I've ridden all my adult life, I'm now 64, so experience is more than most - so that is not only a stupid comment but entirely wrong too.

No surprise that you have resorted to insults when losing the argument - if the RT was meant to do 'country and street' it would have been called a GS, but it isn't it is a RT.

I’m pretty sure GS stand for Gelande Strasse which is more ‘Terrain’ and ‘Street’ rather than country, meaning it’s designed for off and onroad.

So you’ve bought a bike and only use it for 50% of its purpose .

And as to the more ‘commanding riding position’, what does that mean exactly ?
Do you need to be sat bolt upright to see where you are going ?
I generally find that a bike with fairly high clip ons like an RT or similar is much more comfy than a GS or similar as the latter will give you lower back ache on a long day out, especially those who festoon their bike with all manner of laminar lips etc so they can ride in a sterile bubble.
At least having a lower screen normally sends some clean airflow over your upper torso which can help in long day comfort.