Has anyone ridden an '08 yet?

[cowboy]

have you got the lower first gear?

 

[streaky]

Ah, so that's who 3 the other names on the list are Finally put 2 & 2 together Who's the guy in Wales

I'm out with the boys in the morning. Should be a bit of craic

How did you get on today Streaky ?

Got on very well Jockser,From 9 this morn, till 5, I even took to the sand/water at tyrella beach,Off roading for meHad a great day with Tony and nick from RIDE MAGAZINE,both good lads,You will enjoy tomorrow

 

[Jockser]

Got on very well Jockser,From 9 this morn, till 5, I even took to the sand/water at tyrella beach,Off roading for meHad a great day with Tony and nick from RIDE MAGAZINE,both good lads,You will enjoy tomorrow

Thanks for that mate. I only have them 'til about 2pm & then they're off to catch the ferry to Wales. Weather's not lookin' too bad so I reckon I'll show them some boreens & tracks around Wicklow. Glad to see the GSA has knobblies on

Lookin' forward to it

 

[streaky]

Thanks for that mate. I only have them 'til about 2pm & then they're off to catch the ferry to Wales. Weather's not lookin' too bad so I reckon I'll show them some boreens & tracks around Wicklow. Glad to see the GSA has knobblies on

Lookin' forward to it

Well how did you get on today Jockser,The weather seemed ok,Did you like them

 

[streaky]

another pic

A picture of the silver one

 

[streaky]

A picture of the silver one

Try again

 

[streaky]

Try again

And another try

 

[Hangman]

that would be this Silver one

 

[Jockser]

Well how did you get on today Jockser,The weather seemed ok,Did you like them

Sorry Streaky, had a bit of catching up to do after skiving off on Wednesday

Weather was great (except for a bit of rain on the way to the ferry ), guys were good craic & thoroughly enjoyed the bike

Wicklow Gap (notice the :sunshine)

Glenmalure

I rode the '08 GSA all day while Tony rode my beastie. Never got time to ride the Classic 1200 And we ran out of time before we got to the tracks

A few thoughts regarding the new GSA :
Gearbox Smooth as
ESA Fun gadget but RTW
Lower first gear In traffic. Dunno about off-road (see above)
Power No noticable difference on the roads we travelled
Handlebars Better sitting & standing
Seat Didn't notice any difference but didn't do big mileage either
Fuel gauge Seems a more accurate guide to whats lefty in the tank

If you want more info you'll all have to buy the next edition of Ride

 

[Jockser]

that would be this Silver one

Here, it wasn't that dirty when I gave it back

 

[Hangman]

a lot of Irish sand and welsh mud made the bikes
some what wind swept amd interesting
by the time they got to me

 

[Alte Wolf]

Sorry Streaky, had a bit of catching up to do after skiving off on Wednesday

Weather was great (except for a bit of rain on the way to the ferry ), guys were good craic & thoroughly enjoyed the bike

Wicklow Gap (notice the :sunshine)

Glenmalure

I rode the '08 GSA all day while Tony rode my beastie. Never got time to ride the Classic 1200 And we ran out of time before we got to the tracks

A few thoughts regarding the new GSA :
Gearbox Smooth as
ESA Fun gadget but RTW
Lower first gear In traffic. Dunno about off-road (see above)
Power No noticable difference on the roads we travelled
Handlebars Better sitting & standing
Seat Didn't notice any difference but didn't do big mileage either
Fuel gauge Seems a more accurate guide to whats lefty in the tank

If you want more info you'll all have to buy the next edition of Ride

Jockser, an informative post,

"Power No noticable difference on the roads we travelled"

Interesting ... what about top end, although it mightn't have been possible to judge if you didn't get suitable roads etc?
I have read the final drive ratio is different on the new models giving more mid range but less top end???

 

[Jon P]

More power?? 5%.............power outputs from differing bikes often fluctuate more than 5%, sometimes more than 10%!

I figure that if folks have hung out for the promise of extra power they are going to be dissapointed.

Also - you can't have something for nothing! As usual it comes at the expense of higher PRM. Now, BMW never used to get involved with these power updates as the Japs have for many years - but then BMW have never sold as many bikes as they do now so there could be an argument thatit is the way to go. For me I would rather they lower peak power output and give us extra grunt in the middle.............leave the high revving high numbers to the beach balls (that's what my wife calls the sports bike riders - you know.......mutli coloured leathers a bit round in the middle) but of course we all loves numbers to discuss at the bar!

Smoother gearboxes........? Again, if you read all the new model releases over the last 20 years of boxers you would think that you needed a hammer to change gear just a few years ago.

Ever since the airheads came along in '69 BMW were talking of new and improved shfting, sure they got better over the years but it was a slow, long determined shift, then the 1100s with smooth shifting then the 1150s suggested that their shift was now like a Jap and improving year on year, then the 1200 were meant to be better and again improving year on year...........so now what?

It seems that the updates are getting more and more frequent these days with BMW which can all to eassliy lead to dissatisfaction.

I bought an 07 - and I AM STICKING WITH IT!

 

[cowboy]

I took an 08 GSA out today and was blown away by the gear box.It was so smooth and slick compared to my 07 that when i got back on mine it seemed quite agricultural!
The ESA worked very well too and you really can tell the difference between each setting

 

[Jockser]

Jockser, an informative post,

"Power No noticable difference on the roads we travelled"

Interesting ... what about top end, although it mightn't have been possible to judge if you didn't get suitable roads etc?
I have read the final drive ratio is different on the new models giving more mid range but less top end???

Alte,I don't want to pre-empt Ride mags article. They went to a lot of trouble to bring 2 brand new bikes to existing customers to get reviews based on their experience of owning GS's but, by way of explanation of my previous post & your question :
The roads I chose were mainly boreen type (a) 'cos I think handleing is more important than outright speed (b) to play with the ESA & (c) the most direct route to the tracks. Parts (a) & (b) worked out well but (c) didn't Due to the fact that the lads had had rain during their other 'visits' they only had photos in grey light. When we got to the Wicklow Gap it looked like the sun was gonna make an appearance so Weeble, the snapper, thought we should wait for it. When it did appear he spent a lot of time taking pics of each bike & both bikes together. Consequently we were too late for the tracks.The only decent bit of road was the M/N11 back towards Dublin & I had to concentrate on keeping 3 other bikes with me. Thus I never got a chance to test the top end.And as Jon P says it's only a 5% increase so it's never gonna be earth shattering

It did however feel a bit more 'willing' out of corners & up through the gears away from lights. I took that to be more a sign of an engine with 1200 miles versus one with 20k+ but it could be the new final drive of which you speak. I hadn't heard about that but you could well be right.

I took an 08 GSA out today and was blown away by the gear box.It was so smooth and slick compared to my 07 that when i got back on mine it seemed quite agricultural!

And that to my mind is the single biggest improvement on the 08 bike. And probably the most relevant in the real world

 

[Hangman]

I agree with Jockser

I mean who buys a GS for screaming power delivery ?

Its about eating miles and having fun when the going gets rough

The lads from ride gave us a great time as did riding the bikes

Smoother rebthough the gesrs quicker makes overtakes even better

but the best bit is the ESA a big jump forward for bikes

 

[Geeza]

I've heard through the grape vine that a dealer has had his hand slapped by BMW for allowing demo's on the new bikes before the official lauch dates. In future this dealer will receive new bikes 24hrs before launch as a punishment.

 

[streaky]

A few pictures of my test ride

 

[streaky]

some more,liked the adventurer the more i rode it!

 

[streaky]

more!