Any more thoughts on the Vara & the Strom ???
Marcus' 1200GS replacement thread.....
- Thread starter marcus
- Start date
Any more thoughts on the Vara & the Strom ???
Picked up the Varadero yesterday.
Cost (pre-toys) for the trade in of my 2 year old 1200 gs for a brand new varadero with 2 years warranty being less than the cost of an additional 1 year extended warranty (*) from BMW!
(*) which doesn't offer proper coverage anyway
Report to follow, but I've done over 100 miles from new without breaking down....an improvement on the first 1200GS I owned!
(RIP) Bin Ridin
Registered user
Self-maintenance come into it?
If so, I think the GS wins.
If so, I think the GS wins.
instructor Boy
Guest
HTML:
Self-maintenance come into it?
If so, I think the GS wins.really?
theres nowt the gs can do that this cant for 7 grand less
except cost a fortune to service ,,and break down
quote.Self-maintenance come into it?
If so, I think the GS wins.
...rubbish try beating nil servicing costs [labour] in 20.000 miles
except cost a fortune to service ,,and break down
quote.Self-maintenance come into it?
If so, I think the GS wins.
...rubbish try beating nil servicing costs [labour] in 20.000 milesImmediate impressions after 1 week and 100 miles of honda ownership
I've traded in my old hair shirt for a new silk vest......
My nighttime single dim candle for forward vision is now a huge double searchlight
My engine fires up in a heartbeat when the temperature is below zero
Changing gears is a well oiled 303 action now; not the rusty AK safety catch action of the 1200GS
When I've put 1,000 miles or so on it I'll give a proper review.
Saw my 1st "new" 1200GS with the boormanerang things on the front this morning.
Looked rather tacky to me.
I've traded in my old hair shirt for a new silk vest......
My nighttime single dim candle for forward vision is now a huge double searchlight
My engine fires up in a heartbeat when the temperature is below zero
Changing gears is a well oiled 303 action now; not the rusty AK safety catch action of the 1200GS
When I've put 1,000 miles or so on it I'll give a proper review.
Saw my 1st "new" 1200GS with the boormanerang things on the front this morning.
Looked rather tacky to me.
apols for picture quality - cheap camera phone, but as you've expressed an interest, happy to oblige..
pic 1 - "wot no beak"
pic 2 - "non-standard luggage"
pic 3 - "who are you calling fat?"
Attachments
Shep
Shep of the Dessert
Nice bike
Not for me, but a nice bike all the same.
I rode one last year for the first time, and apart from being a bit bouncy compared to the GS it was OK, if a little bit to Honda 'nice' IYKWIM
The one thing it wins hand down on is the lights, they are as good as a car IMHO.
and much, much better than the GS's candles.
Shep
Not for me, but a nice bike all the same.I rode one last year for the first time, and apart from being a bit bouncy compared to the GS it was OK, if a little bit to Honda 'nice' IYKWIM
The one thing it wins hand down on is the lights, they are as good as a car IMHO.
and much, much better than the GS's candles.
Shep
its a shame ...but the fact is the 02 carbie varadero has run flawllesly and cost buttons to buy and nothing to maintain ...
both me 1200s[1 replaced ] just kept letting me down ..at the end of the day for all its merits ... it just couldnt go on
like marcus i just got fed up with the hassle and inconvinance [not to mention the expense ]
if they could just get it to be as reliable as the five year old honda i would consider having another
after i decided to sell the gs i could..[and did] buy and run three bikes for the price of a 2nd hand gs ..so for me it made sense anyway i use one for work every week [vara ] one to tour [ strom ] one to play [drz]
if i put the combined milage on the gs i guess it would be worth around 6500 ...thats 5000 loss ... as it is ive got the vara up for sale at the same price i paid ......the strom has lost about 500 pounds on the price i payed so far ....i will end up paying about 500 quid for the 07 650 strom after the varas sold ...that really is cracking value
so the net effect is 1000
quid in eighteen months for the bikes with zero servicing labour costs .... and still running 06 and 07 plates ....
both me 1200s[1 replaced ] just kept letting me down ..at the end of the day for all its merits ... it just couldnt go on
like marcus i just got fed up with the hassle and inconvinance [not to mention the expense ]
if they could just get it to be as reliable as the five year old honda i would consider having another
after i decided to sell the gs i could..[and did] buy and run three bikes for the price of a 2nd hand gs ..so for me it made sense anyway i use one for work every week [vara ] one to tour [ strom ] one to play [drz]
if i put the combined milage on the gs i guess it would be worth around 6500 ...thats 5000 loss ... as it is ive got the vara up for sale at the same price i paid ......the strom has lost about 500 pounds on the price i payed so far ....i will end up paying about 500 quid for the 07 650 strom after the varas sold ...that really is cracking value
so the net effect is 1000
quid in eighteen months for the bikes with zero servicing labour costs .... and still running 06 and 07 plates ....
BBB61
Registered user
How do you work out a difference of 7 grand between the cost of a GS and the Varadero?
minkyhead said:
It's hardly a fair comparison to add up the miles you have done on 2 bikes and then come up with a figure for having covered the same mileage on one bike.
billynomates
Registered user
You buying a Mondeo or a Bike?
all the techy stuff means didly squat you flip through the bike mags something catches your eye and you go and test ride it either pulls the strings or makes you vomit.
who on here has bought a bike from looking through the bike tech sheet if we did we would all be riding Burgmans.
Thats why the have the same model in different colours if people bought just on spec they save a fortune on paint.
all the techy stuff means didly squat you flip through the bike mags something catches your eye and you go and test ride it either pulls the strings or makes you vomit.
who on here has bought a bike from looking through the bike tech sheet if we did we would all be riding Burgmans.
Thats why the have the same model in different colours if people bought just on spec they save a fortune on paint.
err well bob i paid 10350 for the gs and 3000 for the vara [1400 mile s up }so the difference was7350 ....
on the second point .. thats what it comes to ...in fairness the milage would have been clocked up so ithink its fair comment ......
when i bought the beemer i kinda expected it to last a long time and then average out over 5 years ie somthing like a 7 grand loss equals around 1400 quid a year ....
before i went to big trailies [ 1150gs] i ran two black birds carbie and injection models .... they racked up 136 000 miles ...never went wrong never went near a dealer ..never claimed a thing
that is the sort of service i had in mind for the gs ...but it was never to be
it was the 1150 that made me want the 1200 ....
i treated meself to the most expensive bike i had ever owned ...4grand more expensive ...so my expectations were huge
sadly it went sour ...things move on but ...for me anyway things worked out well ..buying in winter when they cant move them for silly money ...waiting till spring to sell
ive put the miles on the machines and am being realistic with the deprieciation [such as it is ] even new you can pick dl1000gts and 650s
for 5999 and 4195 brand new a realistic 12 month hit on them would be around 2000.....
but if you are a preying mantis like me ..ie walk in xmas week when they want them off the books by 31st and you can drive amazing hard bargains i paid 4900 for the dl1000 fully loaded 900 miles old and 3600 for the wee abs 5 months old 2200 miles ...they really are outstanding value ...plus i really like them so ...for the time being ill keep at what ime doing ....
must admit if honda or suzuki bring a new one out id be in the stealers like a ferrit up a drain pipe ...
I can't wait that long
How does it compare in the handling stakes ??? Does it flick through the corners like a scalpel or does it take a bit of manly heaving about ???
right - let's all get down to the Honda dealer
you won't have to push me out of the way.
BBB61
Registered user
So you are comparing the difference between a brand new GS and a 2002 Varadero? Which makes your comparison worthless.
minkyhead said:
Again you are coming up with a meaningless comparison. You are looking at a 5 year old Varadero (which would lost most of its value due to depreciation before you got it) against a new bike, and then you have bought the Strom and split your mileage between the 2, and then tried to compare the value of both your current bikes, with a lower annual mileage, against what you think your GS might have been worth if it had covered the same mileage that you have covered on the Vara and the Strom. Your comparison renders your conclusions worthless.
OK here's a more useful comparison.
Cost new of a 1200GS to my specification is £11,330 from the BMW configurator thingy
Cost new of the Vara to my spec is 7,000 (includes ABS, heated grips, top box, 1st service, 2 years warranty)
That's 5k difference!
The insurance for the Honda is 500 less than the BMW for my circumstances.
In a nutshell after trade in I got a new Vara for less than the cost of a (worthless) 12 month warranty extension on a BMW that's already been for warranty & repairs over 12,000 miles due to
power failure
ignition failure
battery failure
clutch failure
lock failure
fuel pump thingy failure
rear shock failure
and a host of other stuff that I've blocked out of my brain.
So having had two BMW 1200GS bikes that have spent more time in a garage being fettles & fixed for things that should not have gone wrong I clearly wasn't going to take the risk of either having a 1200GS out of warranty or buying an extended warranty or buying another 1200GS.
I should have traded away from BMW long ago and I'm so far very pleased I did.
In the unlikely event that I have gearbox failures, battery failures, warranty recalls, top box disappearances, ABS failures, fuel pump relay failures, or any of the other afflictions of the 1200GS on my Honda I will be more than happy to 'fess up and let you know and get stick accordingly.
To Twotter.....difficult to say at this stage. The handling is certainly a bit more "ponderous" and I havn't got the experience under my belt to chuck it about with aplomb the way I could with the GS with 4 years of daily riding under my belt.
The handlebars are a lot less wide than the GS, so it's a different riding style and I'm still learning......surprisingly little effort is required though.
For a big fat lass it's quite easy to manoevre around at low speed and I like the V-twin power delivery (not got over 4k rpm yet though, running in...)
_________
Fool me once BMW, more fool you. Fool me twice, more fool me.
No opportunity to fool me again.......
Cost new of a 1200GS to my specification is £11,330 from the BMW configurator thingy
Cost new of the Vara to my spec is 7,000 (includes ABS, heated grips, top box, 1st service, 2 years warranty)
That's 5k difference!
The insurance for the Honda is 500 less than the BMW for my circumstances.
In a nutshell after trade in I got a new Vara for less than the cost of a (worthless) 12 month warranty extension on a BMW that's already been for warranty & repairs over 12,000 miles due to
power failure
ignition failure
battery failure
clutch failure
lock failure
fuel pump thingy failure
rear shock failure
and a host of other stuff that I've blocked out of my brain.
So having had two BMW 1200GS bikes that have spent more time in a garage being fettles & fixed for things that should not have gone wrong I clearly wasn't going to take the risk of either having a 1200GS out of warranty or buying an extended warranty or buying another 1200GS.
I should have traded away from BMW long ago and I'm so far very pleased I did.
In the unlikely event that I have gearbox failures, battery failures, warranty recalls, top box disappearances, ABS failures, fuel pump relay failures, or any of the other afflictions of the 1200GS on my Honda I will be more than happy to 'fess up and let you know and get stick accordingly.
To Twotter.....difficult to say at this stage. The handling is certainly a bit more "ponderous" and I havn't got the experience under my belt to chuck it about with aplomb the way I could with the GS with 4 years of daily riding under my belt.
The handlebars are a lot less wide than the GS, so it's a different riding style and I'm still learning......surprisingly little effort is required though.
For a big fat lass it's quite easy to manoevre around at low speed and I like the V-twin power delivery (not got over 4k rpm yet though, running in...)
_________
Fool me once BMW, more fool you. Fool me twice, more fool me.
No opportunity to fool me again.......
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