Following early medical retirement 
, for various reasons I've found myself about to become the proud owner of an '05 1150 GSA in the obviously-superior silver 
. This is probably not a wise thing to do as (1) following the stroke I won't be able to ride with complete confidence for some time to come so it will spend most of the next few months / winter in my garage hooked up to an Optimate 
, and (2) this will leave me time to study the even-more-accessory catalogues and squander my soon-to-be-paid pension accordingly. 
As far as (1) is concerned I won't be entertaining offers to warm it up and/or blow out the cobwebs, thank you very much but as far as (2) is concerned, any contributions to the pension fund will be gratefully received and faithfully applied, of course. 
A lifeling K-series enthusiast, the GSA is a radical change of direction for me. I've been following the debates the 1150 / 1200 divide with interest - as always the decision to go with the 1150 came down to means, motive and opportunity. I'm not likely to be doing any extended or high-speed 2-up touring from now on, but I do like to be comfortable on a bike. The arrival of the Canbus and other electromechanical sophistications on the current crop of Motorrads may be lovely in-warranty, but "what happens when" springs to mind if you are looking for a long-term relationship. Although I have a beard, I'm not quite ready to return to the airhead fold - I like the brakes to work, for example
- and after 20 years of K's, I feel like a change. I like shaft drive bikes, so the F-series in all their manifestations are ruled out.
Which by a process of elimination leaves the 1100/1150 oilheads.
I had an 1150RT once. For three months. Returned to the K-fold as quickly as possible, especially as I didn't lose anything on trade-in. In a nutshell, not for me - it didn't feel right despite endless tinkering
.
So why the GSA ?
I'm a big heavy lad and its a big but not too heavy bike. Its tough, built to last if you keep up with the ACF and Hammerite
, and still within the realms of DIY or good independent servicing. It can certainly be made to fit in every sense of the word and in theory, if Armageddon comes, all that will be left on the face of the planet will be cockroaches and a BMW GS. 1150 most likely. In Silver if the powers-that-be have any sense of decorum.
At the end of the day its the right bike for me, at the right time and right place.
Oh, and hello everyone ! I've been lurking here awhile, although I have posted occasionally.
, for various reasons I've found myself about to become the proud owner of an '05 1150 GSA in the obviously-superior silver . This is probably not a wise thing to do as (1) following the stroke I won't be able to ride with complete confidence for some time to come so it will spend most of the next few months / winter in my garage hooked up to an Optimate , and (2) this will leave me time to study the even-more-accessory catalogues and squander my soon-to-be-paid pension accordingly. As far as (1) is concerned I won't be entertaining offers to warm it up and/or blow out the cobwebs, thank you very much but as far as (2) is concerned, any contributions to the pension fund will be gratefully received and faithfully applied, of course. A lifeling K-series enthusiast, the GSA is a radical change of direction for me. I've been following the debates the 1150 / 1200 divide with interest - as always the decision to go with the 1150 came down to means, motive and opportunity. I'm not likely to be doing any extended or high-speed 2-up touring from now on, but I do like to be comfortable on a bike. The arrival of the Canbus and other electromechanical sophistications on the current crop of Motorrads may be lovely in-warranty, but "what happens when" springs to mind if you are looking for a long-term relationship. Although I have a beard, I'm not quite ready to return to the airhead fold - I like the brakes to work, for example
- and after 20 years of K's, I feel like a change. I like shaft drive bikes, so the F-series in all their manifestations are ruled out.Which by a process of elimination leaves the 1100/1150 oilheads.
I had an 1150RT once. For three months. Returned to the K-fold as quickly as possible, especially as I didn't lose anything on trade-in. In a nutshell, not for me - it didn't feel right despite endless tinkering
.So why the GSA ?
I'm a big heavy lad and its a big but not too heavy bike. Its tough, built to last if you keep up with the ACF and Hammerite
, and still within the realms of DIY or good independent servicing. It can certainly be made to fit in every sense of the word and in theory, if Armageddon comes, all that will be left on the face of the planet will be cockroaches and a BMW GS. 1150 most likely. In Silver if the powers-that-be have any sense of decorum.At the end of the day its the right bike for me, at the right time and right place.
Oh, and hello everyone ! I've been lurking here awhile, although I have posted occasionally.
....hope you have squillions of years of happy riding on it........
