New boy questions.

[Human]

Hi new here, brought a new gs1200se spur of the moment after a short test ride, traded in a R1 so complete change of tack. Had an akraprovic can added to the bike. So far so good, now done 750 miles and due for service on saturday, the bike does smell of oil after a run and over its 750 miles i belive it has used / lost about 1/4 L of oil, is this normal? bit worrying.

Bike is good fun, been keeping revs down around 5000 mark however i am missing the top speed and acceleration of the R1, is there any straight forward modifications that can be done to gain a bit more go and top speed?

Also can anyone tell me how many of the SE were produced and what the story behind them is?

Cheers:bounce 1
Human

 

[Duchess]

Hi Human, welcome to UKGSer

I'm just going to shift your thread over to the 1200 section of the forum where I think you'll get all the answers you need.

Enjoy your stay with us



hmm ... ex-R1 owner, post pics

 

[EggChaser]

Hi Human

I believe acceptable oil usage (from a dealer point of view) is anything up to 1 litre pr 1000 miles, so you are within limits and there will be some bikes that use less than yours and some more. The slight oil smell is hopefully as your bike is still new... although the smell combined with hi use might be worth monitoring.

The SE thing is officially " To mark the 15th anniversary of the first R-Series GS model to feature the legendary BMW Motorrad four-valve boxer engine"

Unofficially however BMW often take a good look at where they have major over supply of parts and see if they can put together a good competitively priced marketing pitch towards the end of a specific model's availability.

This usually makes the SE a very good buy as you get bits that normally add quite a lot more to the price, along with a limited release paint scheme. There was an R1150GS SE (in White with a blue topped seat) and an R1100GS 75th Anniversary of BMW motorcycles edition (In Red & White ) previously.

Not sure how many R1200GS SE models made it to the UK - but they were bandying around something like 140 in the USA on a US website recently so it won't be a huge number.

 

[Human]

Thanks for that, not the best with computers and sites, but will try to post photos at some point.

Missing the R1, but do have a Ducati 748R for when i crave the sportsbike thing.

Thanks again

Human

Sorry but whats best way to locate owners and or events / ride outs in my area ?

Ta

 

[GSmonkey]

You're never going to get the acceleration of the R1 and the top speed is probably best missed anyway. Try finding some good B-roads to find where the GS is at.

The best improvement you can do is fitting remus headers (which gets rid of the cat), the can only gives more noise. You can get powercommanders etc. but its a lot of money and its still not going to approach the R1.

As for oil, they do burn some initially, but it reduces with age.

The story behind the SE..........................they do it to shift the old model before the new one arrives.

Enjoy the bike.

 

[MartinL]

Greetings Human.

Don't sweat the oil consumption (they all do that sir!) Just keep on eye on it (check per instructions in the manual, there's no mystery to it despite what some may have you think) and top up as appropriate. Common wisdom has it they're better "run in" quite hard as it helps bed everything in and will reduce oil consumption in the long term. Mine used about the same before the first service then about the same between 700ish miles and 6K miles. Now it only seems to use a drop after lots of low gear mountain pass type riding in high temperatures.

If you want more go you may have bought the wrong bike Seriously though it's bound to feel a bit sluggish after the Yam, just get lots more miles in on it, don't try to "over ride" it, relax and use it's mid-range, agility, and great forward visibility afforded by the riding position to "make progress" as they say. I bet in a couple of months you won't miss the extra horseys.

Don't know how many SEs made but I think they are a way of shifting the last of the old model before the 2010 twin cam is launched.

 

[MartinL]

Forgot to say don't worry about the oily smell when hot, it's just the newness burning off. Just wait till you plaster in in cow shit and see what it smells like then

 

[Human]

Thanks for the replys, bike is good fun, heavy to move around manually, but easy on the move.

However looking around the site, there seem to be a lot of gripes about the bike regarding reliability, all sorts of things seem to fail ?!?

If i had looked here before doing the deal, it may not have happened.

Fingers crossed i haven't got a bad en.

 

[Human]

2010 twin cam, sounds interesting should have done my homework.

When's this due for sale?

Ta

 

[MartinL]

2010

 

[EggChaser]

Twin CAM release dates have not been announced yet but keep an eye on the November show press releases (Birmingham and Milan)

With regards reliability you are probably better off with the SE than the 2010 model - as BMW have had a few years to sort things out. Also people post more on forums when things fail than when they work - whinging is usually more fun. I have not heard comments about the immobiliser ring antennas since they updated that part (early 2008) and the Fuel Pump Controller is hopefully resolved with latest recall (which your bike should not be affected by)

Best suggestion is therefore get out and ride and if the worse happens - your new steed does have breakdown cover.

 

[Human]

Twin CAM release dates have not been announced yet but keep an eye on the November show press releases (Birmingham and Milan)

With regards reliability you are probably better off with the SE than the 2010 model - as BMW have had a few years to sort things out. Also people post more on forums when things fail than when they work - whinging is usually more fun. I have not heard comments about the immobiliser ring antennas since they updated that part (early 2008) and the Fuel Pump Controller is hopefully resolved with latest recall (which your bike should not be affected by)

Best suggestion is therefore get out and ride and if the worse happens - your new steed does have breakdown cover.

You're right
Thanks for that i was slipping into doubting my new bike.
Like you say i've got 2 years worry free riding ahead of me, and chances are new model will have all sorts of teething probs.

Was worried now well pleased with new bike

 

[Glyno]

Welcome and thanks for the flower,heres one back just for you
Enjoy the forum my friend

 

[Pathologic]

Welcome Human

Hope you enjoy the site.

I have an SE with 3.5k on the clock. I have had 2 other GS but never an R1 (wuss?). Of the three bikes the SE is the best so far. Better acceleration and more together. I am also hopeful of better reliability than some on here suffer.

Running them in hard ish (up hill and down dale) is IMHO the way to minimise oil consumption. Once you have had the first service you will get more performance from using the higher revs. There is plenty of useable power.

Finally, as has been said make use of all of its abilities. go and have a go off road with one of the schools. These bikes are not for trials but they do very well on trails and tracks and you don't need to take them attached to the back of the car!

If you only have one bike this is ithe best kind of bike you can have .

SWMBO and I will be in Hertfordshire on Sunday afternoon if you want to meet and compare notes. Let me know.

Regards,

Path.

 

[Human]

Hope you enjoy the site.

I have an SE with 3.5k on the clock. I have had 2 other GS but never an R1 (wuss?). Of the three bikes the SE is the best so far. Better acceleration and more together. I am also hopeful of better reliability than some on here suffer.

Running them in hard ish (up hill and down dale) is IMHO the way to minimise oil consumption. Once you have had the first service you will get more performance from using the higher revs. There is plenty of useable power.

Finally, as has been said make use of all of its abilities. go and have a go off road with one of the schools. These bikes are not for trials but they do very well on trails and tracks and you don't need to take them attached to the back of the car!


If you only have one bike this is ithe best kind of bike you can have .

SWMBO and I will be in Hertfordshire on Sunday afternoon if you want to meet and compare notes. Let me know.

Regards,

Path.

Cheers
Bike in for 1st service on Saturday in Hertford, not sure what plans are for Sunday, where and when are you in Hertfordshire on Sunday?

 

[patzx12]

Hi Human

I believe acceptable oil usage (from a dealer point of view) is anything up to 1 litre pr 1000 miles, so you are within limits and there will be some bikes that use less than yours and some more. The slight oil smell is hopefully as your bike is still new... although the smell combined with hi use might be worth monitoring.

I would be horrorfied if i owned a bike that used a litre of oil in 1000 miles.
That woull have been a gallon of oil on my Groatia trip and more on my lap of Spain.

 

[EggChaser]

I would be horrorfied if i owned a bike that used a litre of oil in 1000 miles.

I would be too and mine doesn't use anywhere near that - I am quoting figures based on what a log of riders on ADVRider have been told by their dealers in another thread. EDIT: Found the thread - bear in mind 1 quart = approx 1 litre http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504643

Apart from what was put in by dealer during servicing, I have put in approx 1 litre in 19,000 - but I believe that is lower than the average.

 

[IanNicky]

I also own an SE had the first service at 700 odd miles with no oil loss and now it has 1800 so thats around 1100 miles since the first service oil change and still no oil loss guess im a lucky one

When i was running it in i did keep around the 5k rev limit (well most of the time) but always tried to ride hilly and windy roads, hardly touched dual carriage ways etc.

Human, im sure you will soon fall in love with the GS i came from an XJR1300 to the GS and like you i was thinking what have i done but get out and ride it for what it is

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Oil consumption varies quite a bit depending on how the bike is ridden (well it does on mine), and of course, how new the engine is.

At 40k mine does not need topping up between services, but the level will be near the bottom of the sight glass by the time a service is due.

However, a mad Autoroute dash to Spain (approx 1000 miles) has on a number of occasions used a good litre (or more) of oil

Andres

 

[GS TRV]

say good -bye to stellar acceleration and just accept youve bought a sloppy diesel type trailie that is fine for overtaking cars but will give you more thrills by just plodding along and touring etc. Less becomes more in a bizarre sort of way and when it feels a bit dull then there's always the Duke for a bit of scratching - nice position to be in

welcome btw

Trev