R1200GSA

[IanC]

Very interesting, and quite revolutionary!

They say "Wheel brake circuits separated completely from one another." Whatever will those cunning Germans think of next?

It's like high-street banks advertising that you can now talk to your branch DIRECT on a NORMAL NUMBER! Mad!

 

[dirtydog]

So, my first impressions from going from the 1150GSA to the 12GSA.

Fanfeckintastic!

I rode in on the 1150 and rode out on the 1200, the difference was so noticeable. Obviously I was restricted to how much throttle to use but the power increase could be felt instantly. The engine just pulled that much better than my 1150 through all the gears. The ratios feel a lot closer than that of the 1150? The torque increase is very noticeable too!

The brakes are very progressive, no snatching at all, just like they should feel. The servo's on the 1150 were just over-kill, they scared the shit outta me sometimes! There is just so much more feel to these new brakes, I'm sure all new owners will appreciate this much needed mod.

Gearbox is great, no kicking out of gear, very little clonking and a piece of piss to block change without the need to stamp on the gear lever. Not as much back lash as my 1150 either!

The screen is very good indeed, I'm now able to ride along at 65 with my visor up comfortably! The exhaust note is good, to the point I feel of not even bothering with a race type can. It's deep and raspy.

On-board computer is a great help with tank range, average speed, average mpg, ambient air temperature, oil check and clock. The photo sensor for the lights to come on automatically is 'gimmicky' but cool

The overall build quality of the bike is definitely better than my 1150. There are stainless fasteners holding the luggage rail on and holding the crash bars together (these rusted like feck on my 1150) and other areas like indicator fasteners and kidney spoilers etc. BM are obviously addressing these issues with corrosion which we were all so pissed with!

So, do I have a gripe with the bike.....of course I do. WHY THE FECK IS FIRST GEAR SO LONG? There will be some serious clutch slipping when I push this thing off road. The bike really needs an 'over-land' option!!!!!!!

It's also really big when you get it out on the road, definitely wider and I would say a tad heavier than the 1150 too. But having said that, the 12 feels better balanced, although more savage off the throttle. Having only manage to do just over 300 miles since last Thursday, I don't think these TKC's are going to last to long. The torque of this bike is huge and this is really showing in the tyres!

Fab bike, it really is. 1150GSA owners are really going to appreciate this new 12!

Enjoy

DD

 

[Deadskin]

Thanks DD
I wonder why they have moved the fog light switch and extended the
cross bar

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Thanks DD
I wonder why they have moved the fog light switch and extended the
cross bar

My thoughts as well

 

[jdivision]

My thoughts as well

Same here!!

 

[Deadskin]

DD
My thoughts exactly fantastc

How many adv owners have just been in the garage with a torch

 

[dirtydog]

DD
My thoughts exactly fantastc

How many adv owners have just been in the garage with a torch

I'm going down the Chinese on mine now, King prawn in black bean sauce with egg fried rice....see ya later

 

[Desertbilly]

Wooo-Hoooo

My dealer says mine's just being built and should be here in 3 weeks or so. Just in time for riding season (until next June.)

It looks great; and I can't wait.

 

[Nic]

Cross brace & Nav 3?

Thanks DD
I wonder why they have moved the fog light switch and extended the
cross bar

Better fitting for the Nav 3 mount when BMW tank-bag is fitted??

 

[Nic]

Cross brace & Nav 3?

Thanks DD
I wonder why they have moved the fog light switch and extended the
cross bar

Better fitting for the Nav 3 mount when BMW tank-bag is fitted??

 

[WindyChuffer]

Whilst the fog light switch is the same oversized ugly lump of plastic, at least it was previously mounted in a sensible place on the handlebars, and just about reachable by your thumb.

Now its in a *really dumb place*, and looks like an sledge hammer to crack a nut.

Wonder why BM can't use something like the AutoSwitch that Nippy Normans sell. If a version of the AutoSwitch was built into the brain of the bike it would negligable additional cost and many times cheaper than the ugly huge switch... AutoSwitch costs £15; replacement BMW fog light switch over £50! Get my point?

Also can't see how you can fit the really useful TT or Wunderlich bar bag now either and get access to the fog switch.

Not that I bother with my switch - leave the feckers on all the time; works a treat round London.

 

[bemAri]

Is the color of your bike "white aluminium" ?
Side panels in your bike looks light brown and in BMW brochure they look grey.

 

[dirtydog]

Is the color of your bike "white aluminium" ?
Side panels in your bike looks light brown and in BMW brochure they look grey.

Yes, white aluminium. The side panels are a wierd colour, sort of like a titanium/green is how I would describe it

 

[BiG DoM]

Thanks DD
I wonder why they have moved the fog light switch and extended the
cross bar

Strange - looks a bit awkward being so long now... and switch in centre...what were they thinking? I had taken mine off and just put it back as I fitted Verholen risers and felt they were encouraging transmission of bad vibes! Hoping the cross bar will help.

 

[Cole]

So, do I have a gripe with the bike.....of course I do. WHY THE FECK IS FIRST GEAR SO LONG? There will be some serious clutch slipping when I push this thing off road. The bike really needs an 'over-land' option!!!!!!!

Enjoy :thumb

DD[/QUOTE]

Hmmm I had a post on this one 6 weeks ago ... they have the same gearbox in it with the exact same ratios as the R1200R, R1200RT, R1200S, R1200ST and R1200GS ... in fact every other R1200 series bike they market to the public has the exact same gearbox ratios. Its a road gearbox, and BMW have been cheap and lazy and dropped the bog stock gearbox in there instead of developing appropriate gearbox ratios. Its a huge pity as it spoils a potentially great bike.

See [url]http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78154[/url] for more detail

 

[(RIP) Shenzi]

Yes, white aluminium. The side panels are a wierd colour, sort of like a titanium/green is how I would describe it

Snot green in fact, specifically designed for the Celts it would appear as they seem to be the only ones buying that colour.
Maybe it is a comfort zone related to the results of their weather

 

[Captain Pugwash]

If the bike doesn't have servos,why is there still a "Brake failure" warnining light ?

I thought this was only to warn you of lack of braking with engine switched off and servos fitted ?

 

[Shep]

If the bike doesn't have servos,why is there still a "Brake failure" warnining light ?

I thought this was only to warn you of lack of braking with engine switched off and servos fitted ?

Thats a tough one, maybe to warn of brake failure

ABS can still fail, as can brake fluid levels drop

Shep

 

[dirtydog]

If the bike doesn't have servos,why is there still a "Brake failure" warnining light ?

I thought this was only to warn you of lack of braking with engine switched off and servos fitted ?

Probably something to do with ABS failure

Anyway, I took the bike for a little bit of off roading yesterday to see how it faired!

Pretty well I must say. I done a fairly steep climb with some lose shale on wet grass, no slipping of the clutch, it climbed quite well considering it's weight. The only problem I can envisage is on slower technical stuff. A slow steep decent proved a problem, I had to pull the clutch in and brake, which really is a 'no no'. First is just to long to rely on for a little engine braking for control

The foot pegs are great when standing up and the brake pedal extension works a treat

I guess my expectations of the bike are to high. I'm going to be more realistic about the bike and accept that this isn't going to do a quarter of what my WR would be capable of. And at the end of the day, it's a feckin 12 grand bike and I really can't afford for the bike to be to heroic. Afterall, it spends most of it's life on the tarmac!

It's just realising the bike's limits, I'm very well aware of my own

Think I'll leave the more intrepid off roading for an enduro bike

Still gonna get it well shitty though

DD

 

[EasySushi]

I think perhaps BMW have discovered a design problem with the handle bars, because the cross bar now looks quite tacky and out of place spoiling the aesthetics of the bike.

Because of the extra long crossbar there is no room the fog light switch so they have mounted it in the next accessible place at the top of the yoke, again spoiling the aesthetics.

If you notice the cross bar has been extended to go above the bend in the bars, my guess is that they have had complaints of the bar bending under extreme weight or braking

Perhaps owners of early 1200GSA may get a recall notice ?

Or am I talking S**T ?