Newbie here..needs advice

[penndino]

Firstly any advice will help but would like replies from people who actually ride these bikes.
Been to the dealership near me today (and was very helpful and informative!!!) but want an overall picture of experiences from riders good or bad. Not put pen to paper yet. Thinking of GS adventure?? had sports bikes in past as well as others and am looking for a good all round bike long tours with possibility of taking missus and possibly moderate off road.
Looking at new and have chosen the specs I think I may need except the major ones ABS and ASC. Never owned a bike with ABS so is this essential in reality and do you really need to have a button to adjust suspension or is this just another £650 gimmick to go wrong down the line.

Ps I plan to keep this bike for a long time!!! Cheers

 

[Bryn]

Firstly any advice will help but would like replies from people who actually ride these bikes.
Been to the dealership near me today (and was very helpful and informative!!!) but want an overall picture of experiences from riders good or bad. Not put pen to paper yet. Thinking of GS adventure?? had sports bikes in past as well as others and am looking for a good all round bike long tours with possibility of taking missus and possibly moderate off road.
Looking at new and have chosen the specs I think I may need except the major ones ABS and ASC. Never owned a bike with ABS so is this essential in reality and do you really need to have a button to adjust suspension or is this just another £650 gimmick to go wrong down the line.

Ps I plan to keep this bike for a long time!!! Cheers

Welcome to the site penndino

My last new (ish) GS was a 1200 SE ( not adventure) with all the bells and whistles, including the ESA. I found it very useful, especially with a pillion, and yes it did make a difference The settings for off road are handy too if you're doing a bit of unpaved travel . Tyre pressure monitors were fitted as well, and it was good to know on a long journey that everything was as it should be.

As far as ABS is concerned you never need it until you need it so to speak, I'm now on a bike without, and can't recall the ABS cutting in on the 4000 miles I did on the SE.... so its something you'll have to decide. ABS would help with the resale value, but if you're making it a long termer that wouldn't be so important.

Overall the 1200 is a cracking bike, the Adventure is taller... Both will be good for two up continental trips.... opt for Ally panniers not the Vario's, as there's little room for two up touring luggage Take out both the 1200 and the Adventure on a test ride, the SE looked good with wire wheels and white paint.... you could save a few grand by going 'pre-loved'

 

[penndino]

interesting thought about the ally panniers over the varios.
also about the ASC..but if you were buying new yourself would this be something you would pay for?? same goes for ABS £1600 is a big saving if you didn't!!

 

[Stretchamus]

interesting thought about the ally panniers over the varios.
also about the ASC..but if you were buying new yourself would this be something you would pay for?? same goes for ABS £1600 is a big saving if you didn't!!

Agree with Bryn re the ASC very useful to be able to switch modes whilst on the move, I even slip it into comfort when going in Towns, just to give me more reach cos I'm a short arse, and then into whatever when out on open roads.

I have the GSA bought it loaded because that's what the Dealer sold me, never crossed my mind to save money (£1600) I've done over six K now and the ABS has never kicked in, I'd go back and buy the same again

Good luck with the choice.

Best regards Stretch

 

[penndino]

cheers Stretch for reply...
I know what you mean about spending 6k on xtras..easily done!!! Just that I'm thinking of long term ownership with many long trips with some mildly rugged routes and surely turning a knob manually for suspension adjustment ain't going to take that long to do and is surely less likely to go wrong????

 

[grayinthestores]

Firstly any advice will help but would like replies from people who actually ride these bikes.
Been to the dealership near me today (and was very helpful and informative!!!) but want an overall picture of experiences from riders good or bad. Not put pen to paper yet. Thinking of GS adventure?? had sports bikes in past as well as others and am looking for a good all round bike long tours with possibility of taking missus and possibly moderate off road.
Looking at new and have chosen the specs I think I may need except the major ones ABS and ASC. Never owned a bike with ABS so is this essential in reality and do you really need to have a button to adjust suspension or is this just another £650 gimmick to go wrong down the line.

Ps I plan to keep this bike for a long time!!! Cheers

Pre loved is a great way to go, i got a GS with all extra's at a huge saving and now is the time to buy.
Look at the BMW site, Balderstons have a couple of nice GSA at the moment

 

[Stretchamus]

cheers Stretch for reply...
I know what you mean about spending 6k on xtras..easily done!!! Just that I'm thinking of long term ownership with many long trips with some mildly rugged routes and surely turning a knob manually for suspension adjustment ain't going to take that long to do and is surely less likely to go wrong????

Hi penndino, the 6k is the mileage that I've clocked up on her, not in extras. The only extra is a Sergeant low seat, and a Crud Catcher to stop the front of the engine getting peppered.

I'd say you need to go and test ride different versions to see what suits you.
I wouldn't won't to go back turning knobs anymore, besides which your ESA, at the press of a button adjusts Fwd & Aft simultaneously

By the way welcome to UKGSer.com

 

[Number 6]

Agree with Bryn re the ASC very useful to be able to switch modes whilst on the move, I even slip it into comfort when going in Towns, just to give me more reach cos I'm a short arse, and then into whatever when out on open roads.

I think you're confusing ASC with ESA also, comfort mode does not alter the ride-height it only alters the damping rate as does 'sport' and 'normal'.

 

[Womble]

My 2p:

Buy a good preloved bike and spend the money you've saved on a cheap pogo for trail riding - it'll make a big difference to when you take the GSA on the trails. The first few times I offroaded* were on a big GS and it was very hard work, but a lot of fun. However, once I had some decent experience on a pogo, it made my trail rides on the heavy iron that much better and sooo much more fulfilling (not to mention a LOT easier because I'd learned the basics of handling weight and momentum)

If you don't get on with the trail riding, a used DRZ400 for £1500-£2000 will sell again for pretty much the same price after a year's use (not abuse obviously), so any depreciation can be offset against dings and scrapes on the GSA.

*it's not really offroading, as most of the places you will want to ride in the UK are legally roads, they just happen to be green or muddy - your local TRF should be able to help you out.

 

[phooey]

+1 for the pre owned. You will get a fully loaded GSA with FSH and warranty and be able to spend a little of what you have saved on a DECENT SEAT !

The factory seat is painful after about 90 mins and not suited to touring.

Corbin / Sargeant are popular.
I have the former and it has made a massive difference.

The ESA is the best bolt on going - adjustment at the press of a button. I do a fair bit of 1 and 2 up riding and remember that stiff fiddly adjuster without much fondness at all...

 

[LBL]

Most things have been said, for me ive had 3 new BM's in the last 3 1/2 years, yeah i no in no

08gs an 09GSA and just got a 60 plate GSA

the ABS package, i always get this for peice of mind, the ASC has been very handy and the tyre pressure monitor with the 3 punctures i have had.

I go for the Comfort pack, not the dynamic pack ( i think thats right ) as i dont like the ESA, plus the shock is differant to the non ESA option, plus i dont like panniers so i just got £600 knocked of the deal.

Go and ride both bikes and have long test rides, you will soon realize what you have been missing

 

[Pip_UK]

Hi Penndino, and welcome to the forum.

Any version of the GS is brilliant for touring, and taking the missus and 2 week's luggage is still easy riding whether you're on motorway, mountain hairpins, wet medieval cobbles or on some farm track leading to a memorable B&B in the middle of nowhere. Although when you get back home and go for a solo ride, it feels like you've suddenly got a turbo.

ESA is a luxury, but if you've previously lost enough knuckle skin faffing with a C-spanner to adjust preload, then the manual remote adjuster nubbin on non-ESA GSs is no hardship.

Panniers are a matter of personal choice, but FWIW I think the varios look fine on the 1200GS, but ally is the business for the GSA. I use varios + tankbag for 2-up touring on my GS and they work well, with a bit of packing practice, and they're severely waterproof too.

Enjoy your shopping and happy travels.
-Pip

 

[Stretchamus]

I think you're confusing ASC with ESA also, comfort mode does not alter the ride-height it only alters the damping rate as does 'sport' and 'normal'.

Your right Number 6, I am getting my ASC mixed with my ESA, but you know by my discription of the ride what I was talking about.

Sorry Penndino, hope I did not confuse you

Also, switching into comfort whilst not actually altering the ride height like the other spring settings, does make the spring damping considerably softer thus making it sit lower specially 2 up and this works for me as previously described and as the ad says "Every Little Helps"

Best regards Stretch
PS it was 1:29 in the morning when I posted

 

[Wrinkly]

After owning an 1150 gsa I thought long and hard when buying a new bike last September whether it should be,
1200gs or 1200gsa. I spent about 4hrs on each testing.
My personal opinion was that the only advantage to the GSA was the larger tank,which was outweighed by the fact that it was taller, heavier,slightly slower definitely not as agile and £900 more expensive.
I plumped for the standard gs with abs and esa plus the other stuff that comes in those packages.
I also choose the alloy luggage which I find far far more usable than the varios.
ESA is one thing I would definitely miss on a GS if I didn't have it.
Do I have any regrets going from a GSA to a GS,although I have missed the tank range on occasions generally I don't miss anything about the GSA,plus that scaffolding on the side of the tank on the 1200gsa is soooo hideously ugly,although I have since fitted an adventure screen and winglets a pair of spotlights plus Sargent rider and passenger seats.I just need to sort the main lights out for HiD's then hopefully it will be near perfect for my needs.
I intend to keep it for a good few years which is why I opted to purchase new.

Steve

 

[glennis]

Hey Penndino, I've had an 06 GSA (no ESA or ASC) for 3 years. My misses and I do quite alot of travelling on it but I also I ride solo quite often. Being a bit of a lazy git I do spend a considerable amount of time riding around with the suspension incorrectly setup. For me it would be a very welcome addition to my bike.

Also, I bought my GSA used but from a BMW dealership - so it come with warrantee and all the other usual trimmings. Alot cheaper than buying new and only had 7k on it.

 

[Giles]

Penndino

I'm on my first GSA (new march 2010) and I love it. I've come from a sports / sports touring background (zx6 track bike, vfr's, Pan 1300 etc etc), and do a lot of european touring with her indoors.

Have you ridden a GS yet? Coming from a Jap background I wasn't convinced at first. My first test ride left me pretty unexcited and I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. I thought the bike was wooley, vibey and clunky, compared to my silky smooth 1300 pan, but I kept reading more and more reports about how great the GS was.

This came at a time when I was sort of getting bored with the whole sports bike thing. Every time I jumped on a sports bike I was being bounced out the saddle on a B road or was constantly worried about losing my licence on an A road! The Pan was racking up the miles and I really fancied a change.

I test rode a GSA again and bit the bullet.

I absolitely love it! Its a brilliant road bike. It gives you a great view for road riding, you can sit on it all day, it might be no gixxer thou but has great mid range punch that makes for great road bikes, and is a hoot down twisty gnarly B roads. It has great handling and can be a real Jekyl and Hyde bike. I can tour at a sensible pace with her indoors on the back, (not long come back from Italy on it with everything but the kitchen sink) and then spank it like I stole it with the blokes on a day off.

Its completely rejuvinated my riding (I have two mates with 990 adventures) and I now go every where on the tightest twistiest roads I can find. The more gravel and moss down the middle of the road the better! I also have a couple of mates with Aprilia Millies, who constantly complain their necks / wrists ache, have no luggage and, for example, recently pulled out of a day trip to the Sammy Miller museam because they couldn't face a ten hour day in the saddle. I also recently had a blat around scotland (with the two 990's) and couldn't think of a better bike to do it on. Sure, there were some roads with a mile and a half view where said Aprillia would have been in heaven, but for 90% of the time it was absolutely brilliant. (GSA has a fantastic tank range too..)

Don't be put off if you test ride one. If you have come from Jap / Triumph background it'll take some geting used to, but it is with out doubt the best all round bike (in 27 years!) i've ever owned.

 

[Number 6]

penndino, get a long test ride on both the standard and Adventure versions and buy which one you like best, it's your bike and other peoples opinions mean nothing. I personally wouldn't buy a bike with ABS, spend the money on some good training instead My bike (2010 GSA) has the ESA option, it wasn't something I really wanted but it really is good. When it's knackered you can fit aftermarket shocks, just as you would without the ESA option. My ideal new bike would only have heated grips and luggage as options but that's my preference. Your money, your choice

 

[Wrinkly]

I personally wouldn't buy a bike with ABS, spend the money on some good training instead

Not being funny Number 6, but how or why would good training replace the need to have ABS on a motorcycle..?

Steve.

 

[penndino]

thanks for all the replies...think I'm nearly there!! so the general overall opinion would be??:

general overall comfort riding, short and long distance, solo and two up, minor off road capability, relatively economical and reliable, nippy in the twisties, no real need to go over 100mph, nice high riding position and long term ownership

New or nearly new Adventure model...yes
heated grips...yes
trip computor...yes
ally luggage...yes
ABS...yes
ESC..undecided!!!

Anything else to consider?????

 

[Giles]

Nah, thats about it. Just gotta decide on the colour, which tyres you want and what oil yer use ......