Newies silly questions

[Jasonoram]

OK here's the story, had a jap sports bike got bored today made some calls and BANG....I now own a 2003 R1150GS...

1, Having looked all over the net i am wondering how to tell the difference between standard GS and the Adventurer model.

2, What revs should you change gear coming from a bike that reved to 15K this engine does not seem so happy when reved hard is there a rough guide to how much revs??

3, Is the gearbox on BMW bike always clunky??

Cheers

Jason

 

[Mr K]

1 Adventure has hyowj tank and is nine feet tall.

2 Bike likes to be between 3 and 5k generally.

3 Yes

 

[sparkplug]

Hi Jason

1. The Adventure had a bigger screen, a bigger tank, a black plastic thing on the end of the beak and a single seat (rather than a separate front and rear) - However many 1150 owners "adventurised" their bikes so you can't tell from that alone. If yours has a small screen (with forward/rear adjustment) no black bit on the beak, a 20 lit tank and twin seats it's a fairly safe bet its not an Adv

2) Listen to your engine... I'd say somewhere around 4k (ish)

3) They all do that sir

Welcome aboard

Got any pics of the new bike?

 

[Stewart H]

Welcome to the forum, I find that changing gear between 3-4 k is good.
Stewart

 

[sockpuppet]

OK here's the story, had a jap sports bike got bored today made some calls and BANG....I now own a 2003 R1150GS...

1, Having looked all over the net i am wondering how to tell the difference between standard GS and the Adventurer model.

2, What revs should you change gear coming from a bike that reved to 15K this engine does not seem so happy when reved hard is there a rough guide to how much revs??

3, Is the gearbox on BMW bike always clunky??

Hello and welcome!

1. The ADV has longer suspension travel (20mm) so is taller. Its also has crash bars as std around the engine + bash plate. Its has a lower 1st gear and an a less tall 6th gear.

2. Low. I change below 4000 most time unless I'm ragging it. Its a large twin with a shaft drive and plenty of torque - you don't need the revs to get the power. Just use the torque of the engine to drive it.

3. Yes, its basically a tractor on wheels. Clunky but the gear box is a strong point of the bikes.

 

[sparkplug]

they say a picture speaks a thousand words - so here's two thousand words for you:

Adventure:

Standard 1150:

 

[Jasonoram]

they say a picture speaks a thousand words - so here's two thousand words for you:

Adventure:

Standard 1150:

Yes thats the beastie the standard one, someone has added some crash bars but have two sep seats and no beak

Thank for all the information

 

[Jasonoram]

Anything i need to know about with these GSer ?????

As i said brought it on a whime so have not done my research

 

[Greg Masters]

On the BMW change gear BEFORE the engine hits 15k rpm.



Greg

 

[Johnwhit]

ive had my 1150 for 2 months now and went from a sportbike that revved to 1 zillion rmp.
at first I was worried about the size but now it feels like any other bike when filtering & flicking it around.
its one of those bikes you need to ride for a bit before you get used to it.
am I glad I made the change, ------I sure am
gearbox will feel odd & the way it tips when revving will take a bit of getting used to but I think its the best bike for anyone who wants a bike for riding anywhere on...
I'm even getting used to the daft indicator setup....


enjoy your new bike dude!

John

 

[Paul Young]

OK, so question 1's been settled...

Q2: You can change gear at anything above 2k rpm as the torque is the key to the way these engines work. Roughly 60-65 of the 72 lb-ft of torque is available from 2500rpm.

Q3: Oohhhh, yessss. However, you can make them work a bit smoother when changing up, by preloading the gearlever slightly as you dip the clutch & taking your time when moving from 5th to 6th.

...They can be made to hustle, though

1150GS at the TT

 

[kwallace21]

BMW didn't make an Adventurer. They did make an Adventure though.
If you dont know when to change gear then you should'nt be riding a bike!
Oh, and the lower first gear was an option on the GSA and not a standard fitment.
Welcome to the world of piss taking and smart arse replies. It is kinda fun though!!!!

 

[Decster]

To avoid pisstaking, use the search facility.

This forum has everything and every question has been asked. But feel free to ask any way

Enjoy yer bike

You might like to subscribe, £12.00 of your finest shillings and worth every last brass knob...

 

[DollyRocket]

Welcome to bikers best kept secret. I have a japsnap too but i tend to always take the gs whenever I am going anywhere

You must live pretty close to me, if you've got any problems or want to ride out give us a message .

In answer to your question, there is no set point where you should or shouldn't change up/down - use the engine note as a guide, the engine is very powerful at low revs and will pull in higher gears at low revs whilst still sitting in the power band. They may not be the fastest bikes in a straight line but a well ridden GS will easily keep up with a sportsbike in the twisties.

(p.s. you need to pay your subs to use the message facility)

 

[Welshman]

OK the diferences, as above, the seat, the gearbox 1st and 6th, std crashbars (not so good always) Anodising on wheels / forks and a beak extension...plus panniers optional..

The beasts are fairly tough, with some well established weaknesses which tend to be blown out of proportion...

Mine needs an alternator belt again and a second rear drive bearing will probably be needed, but not yet, mine has about 66,000 African miles on the clock and needs the LHS camchain tensioner mod.. but otherwise running strong, revs to change up??? Its not jap smooth but set up the valves, balance the throttles and she will happily use the revs, the boxers are short stroke and actually do not mind revs..

 

[gabriel_gs]

Knocks, clunks and rattles are largely 'features' and not always a bad thing

I'd invest in engine bars or headguards of some sort as you WILL drop it at some point

Other than that, you'll come to love it fast enough

Oh, and you WILL spend money on 'extras' to pretty it up

 

[ianran]

Just got of an FJR1300 onto an 1150, its horrible in terms of responsiveness of engine but hopefully i will keep my license on this. MCN reckon 125mph for these, christ knows who they got to put up with one of these at that speed!!

 

[robc]

It's easy. I've done Belgium (can't remember which bit) to Calais to catch the train for the tunnel cruising up the motorway at 115-120mph. Did that for an hour and fully loaded with panniers, topbox and bag on the pillion seat. It was all quite relaxed really even though the throttle was nailed open the whole time.

Regards

Rob C

 

[Marathon Biker]

balance the throttles and she will happily use the revs

How do you balance the throttles on a FI engine? Mine has had a de-cat pipe fitted and now pops and bangs on the overrun and the rev's hunt when cruising!!

Cheers, MB

 

[Strappy]

I switched to an 1150GSA from a Fireblade after living in fear of losing my licence given how easy it was to be doing warp factor stupid. I'd say it's taken me a year to get used to the GSA, it's a change of mindset. If you want to be doing 3-figure speeds, you've got the wrong bike. If you want one of the best-handling, most capable bikes that's full of character, stick with it

And mine's been around Cadwell and the Nurburgring and wasn't the slowest bike at either