r1200gs or yamaha xtz1200 ze

[geoff48h]

so after 9 years of owning a gs and 105000 miles its time later this year for a new bike, i cant make my mind up between the yam and bmw, only differants i can see is the price and maybe some electronices i can live without. so far i have ridden the gs and it was ok, will test ride yam later when weather gets better,

i know on here the main posts are of the faults on the new gs, but the must be a few on here that enjoy them. i am more than likely to keep my gs of the commute to and from work, as its only gone wrong once.


so off you lot go and give me the advice i want to here

 

[JJH]

I think choices like that are yours alone. I wish I was in your shoes. Having had a few gs's and gsa I'd buy the yam. JJH

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

I think theres a big difference to be honest, the yam is a competitor for the 2010 gs, the lc is playing a different game. Depends how spicey you like your ride.

 

[Sooty09]

Big dilema you face. I have a GS and its far from perfect, the faults are so silly BM could fix them in no time if they would accept there is a problem. Vibration from the final drive, poor heated grips, poor finish etc etc. Despite this the Yamaha does not draw me to its undoubted abilities. There are a few in local dealers sub £8000 for almost new models, i'm not a big fan of my 1200gs but i cannot imagine changing. The V strom 1000 and Triumph explorer have the same effec on me.

 

[geoff48h]

i am in the same frame of mind, as above post my gs has set the bench mark its been a good work horse, the finnish has gone on engine and wheels but as i very rarely clean it cannot say much, i just wonder if the yam or the gslc will put up with this, speed is not a big thing to me as long as i get away from cars and can sit at 80+ on a roads, as for service it will get dealer service when in warrenty but after that it will just be basic serviceby a friend.

 

[Matty589]

Tried the super ten a couple of times when choosing a new bike. Heavy clutch, dull power delivery and the LC GS does nearly everything better. Finish looked more durable but in a year with my GS t has no corrosion nor peeling paint and it's been out in the rain without a cover many times. Despite identical seat heights the ten felt much taller and it is significantly heavier.

 

[Neil W]

mmmm my experiences are different every yam super tenere I have seen has been uber reliable with a robust build quality , my 11 plate bm is very good , my 64 plate bm is poorly finished, cheap switchgear, seats etc, the frame paint has chipped, the esa has never been right from day one and the clutch and gearbox are very poor .
Each to their own but for consistancy of finish I would chose Yamaha every day of the week.
Those who say the lc is a leap forward , yes it is but at the expense of build quality, reliability and customer service, it should be a superb bike but it isn't

 

[Wrinkly]

Geoff,see if you can find a nice Twin cam GS to have a go on.
In my mind the best GS ever made,I sorely regret swapping mine for a WC.

Having said that if you're also considering alternative manufacturers don't discount the MG Stelvio.

I swapped my 2013 GS WC for a Stelvio in August, and whilst on paper the BM is a far superior bike, in the real world it's very different.

I just grow to love the Stelvio more and more,it's certainly the first bike in many a year that has really gotten under my skin.

Steve

 

[Nick V]

I wrote this for the Ironbutt Rider South Africa Facebook page at the end of April last year, after riding a friend's 2014-model Super Ten in Cape Town.
At the time, I didn't have my LC (I was on a 2010 twin-cam GS Adventure).

These are rare in Gauteng. I almost never see one – let alone get a chance to ride it, so I was anxious to sample this particular experience.
It’s a solid, well-built bike. Feeling the plushness of the suspension and well-weighted handlebars, firing it up and feeling an immediate response from the throttle – all give the impression of a bike that wants to please you. Ray (my long-distance riding partner) and I were divided on the looks: he feels an Adventure bike should have some kind of a ‘beak’, and he thought it looked wrong. I took some time to get used to this bike when it was launched, but I’ve grown to love it’s looks. (It makes a difference that the first Super Ten I ever saw was painted a tacky, cheap-looking yellow-on-blue, while this one is a classy black-on-white that looks right from every angle.)

Out on the road – for me, anyway – it was a slightly different experience. The bike handled smoothly, stably and predictably. Given a day or so to learn it intimately, I’d be chasing 1 000cc sportsbikes. And given that the screen is actually quite small, the wind protection is outstanding.
But the riding position didn’t work for me. It felt like the seat was slightly too far forward and the bars slightly too far back in relation to the footpegs, giving a weird kind of ‘Penny Farthing’ feel. It didn’t feel quite right for the fast riding I do a lot of.

Unlike the BMW and Triumph equivalents, the Super Ten also has selectable engine-management mapping. (NOTE: unlike the LC, which has three modes, the Ten only has two: one very sharp and the other very flat.) Again, for me, this was a mixed blessing. ‘Sport’ mode gives a very sharp throttle response right from idle and in the midrange that could be disconcerting if you’re not used to it, while ‘Touring’ mode makes the throttle feel flat (but would be quite useful in heavy rain or on dirt). All three of us agreed that some kind of third ‘in between’ mode is needed.
Coming from a long BMW background and being able to understand every digital display of theirs at a glance, I was also slightly baffled by the Ten’s digital display and associated controls. Yamaha have tried to pack a large amount of info into a relatively small space, and it’s hard to make sense of it all if your eyes aren’t 100% - over the 25 minutes or so I was on the bike, I could only decipher about half (and I suspect there are more sub-menus I didn’t reach). Having to navigate through multiple sub-menus to reach functions like the suspension damping and heated grips is also a downer – on BMWs, all these things have their own dedicated one-button controls.
Something else that didn’t work for me: the gear-position indicator shows a blank if the clutch is pulled in or the transmission is currently between shifts, so when you shift, there’s a delay of up to a second and a half while the display makes up it’s mind.
Annoying quirks aside, though, I would almost certainly buy this bike. It’s more compact than a GS Adventure, it’s got loads of character, and with some tweaking, I suspect it would make a brilliant all-round machine.

However, when I chopped the '10 GSA, it was for a '13 GS LC and not a Super Ten. Some judicious discretion is needed.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I'd get the Yam

 

[Nutty]

Sounds like the Yamaha will suit you.

 

[pistole]

1190 !

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Sounds like the Yamaha will suit you.

I'm not buying, he is


At least it would spend more time out of the dealers & on the road, than a WC GS

 

[Nutty]

I'm not buying, he is

That was aimed at the OP. I know you won't buy either!

 

[mcinlb]

Yet again, the only people commenting on the LC are the ones who are not happy with their particular machine. As also been said before there are thousands who are perfectly happy with the LC, top selling bike over 125cc..

Re bike choice, I agree with comment that it's down to the buyer, no one could ever make you buy a bike you don't want, too personal...

 

[Matty589]

I'm not buying, he is


At least it would spend more time out of the dealers & on the road, than a WC GS[/QUOTEtge only time I've been at the dealer is for servicing. The finish on mine is better than the many Hondas I've had, which was a surprise given all the negativity on here...

 

[DING-DONG]

LC is a great bike and if you get one thats not problematic you will love it, you really will. I'm sure the tenere is bomb proof, i hear lots of good reports on them, even my honda dealer tells me buy a tenere you'll not have any problems compared to there xtourer ! i noted it feels quite heavy compared to say the LC or my TC, the finish is good and there's a huge price difference ie £3500 saving compared to the LC, i would also own a tenere once out of warranty, the bm you will need to keep up with extending the warranty otherwise it could end up costing you.
BM hold there value much stronger then any other manufacture, the TC does, i have a absolutely mint TC and ive tried to replicate some aspects of the LC, ive fitted quickshifter - cruise but i still miss my LC.

 

[Williekerslike]

My 2014 GS WC is fantastic.
GSAP is brilliant, best thing I have ever bought for a bike.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

LC is a great bike and if you get one thats not problematic you will love it, you really will.
I'm sure the tenere is bomb proof, i hear lots of good reports on them, even my honda dealer tells me buy a tenere you'll not have any problems compared to there xtourer !
i noted it feels quite heavy compared to say the LC or my TC, the finish is good and there's a huge price difference ie £3500 saving compared to the LC, i would also own a tenere once out of warranty, the bm you will need to keep up with extending the warranty otherwise it could end up costing you.

All the strong reasons, for buying the Yam S10

 

[Zorro]

=1 for TC