This is my final post on this subject. It’s a bit of a story but stick with it and you’ll understand where I’m coming from on this.
In a previous career, which ended in redundancy, I was a mechanical engineering designer, working on tobacco machinery like cigarette making and packaging machines. The job of a designer is to assess the requirements and design a part or mechanism to satisfy those requirements. Also, to look at existing designs to assess whether they can be improved. The latter is most relevant to this thread. When the new design is finished, it is judged against the old one to assess if it is better or not.
Now, in 30 years of riding bikes, I’ve realized that the perfect bike does not exist. When I tested the GS12 I had to judge it against what I knew best, that being my Tiger. If I had owned a Honda VFR I would have judged it against that. My assessment of the GS was that it fell short in a few areas. That is my honest opinion to which I’m fully entitled. You are, of course, entitled to disagree.
I’ve encountered the sort of reaction I got before when talking to BMW owners. Back in 1996, I had a Yamaha TDR250. A great little buzz saw of a bike, but no good for touring. So I was look for something to start exploring the back lanes and dirt tracks around Europe. A good friend of mine is a long term owner of a R80GS. He said “Yes, the GS can be made to work quite well”. I’ll repeat that for those wearing blinkers ; He said : “Yes, the GS can be made to work quite well”.
With that in my head I went off and bought the R100GS that I owned until last year. The first thing I found “wrong” with it was that the forks were horribly under damped. The wheel felt as if it was bouncing off the road when it hit a bump. The GSclubUK didn’t exist then, so I asked member/owners in the pipe & slippers club for advice. I received several replies along the lines of ; “If that’s the way BMW designed it, then that’s good enough for me”. I now believe that a lot of you GS12 owners fall into that category. I went on to experiment with fork oil weights and came up with a concoction that several other GSclub members, elsewhere on this forum, have used and approved.
Other things I went on to modify were :- Front brake hose changed to “Goodrich”. Engine twin plugged & gas flowed by Jim Cray. Air box modified to HPN spec. Carburation sorted, by me, to suit. Rear shock changed to Hagon, then Ohlins. Seat reupholstered with more padding. Screen cut down to reduce buffeting. Renthal bars installed. And, do you know what? When the rest of the crap designed BMW bits (like the gearbox, drive shaft, starter motor & generator rotor) hold together, the GS can be made to work quite well!
So, can I suggest to you lot that you start assessing the bike that BMW sold to you, and make a note of those little things that annoy you and set about modifying them. You will then move your bike a bit closer towards that illusive “perfect bike”. Of course to start that process, you’ve, first, got to pull you head out of BMWs arse!
