yellowjacket
Guest
Hi I just got my test ride on the new 1200 and would like to know if my findings are common to others. I travelled to the show room on my 1150GS and despite the windy day, I was able to be buffeted but not enough to feel threatened. I arrived with all the enthusiasm of a kid in a sweet shop, and could not wait to get my hands on the keys! I was taken to the bike and told you won’t find too much different from your own bike so I was not given any instruction. I jumped on and turned the key, it immediately sounded different, how I wasn’t sure as yet. I rode a 30 minute journey home to show my wife, as if I was going to buy one we would need to be both happy with it. On arriving home my wife came out to greet me and look the bike over, the first question she asked was “what are they?” she said pointing at the two jam jars on the handle bars. “They are the fluid reservoirs for the brakes and clutch”, I said without thinking.
It was then I realised how clean the layout of the 1150 is in comparison, and how unusual it looks without the bar across it. It was then I listed the thing I did not like about the 1200, and here they are: 1, the right hand air intake was rubbing against my leg, and made it uncomfortable to brake. 2, the seat throws you forward, and onto your hands, with the new thinner hand grips, which have no cushioning makes my hands hurt. 3, The side stand has no little lug to push it down with your heel, you now have to reach all the way back to the end to do it. 4, The instrument panel is too small, I could hardly see the fuel gauge, or the indicator lights. 5, It is too light, it feels like a KTM 950, and not a GS, as the engine sounds rattley and harsh, again like a KTM.
6, There seems to be less of the bike, I like having large engine pods sticking out, they will save my legs should I drop it. 7, It has a smaller tank, and can only do the same distance on this tank as a 1150, so why not make it bigger and get a longer range? 8, it looks too plasticky, it’s more like a large scarva or again a KTM than a GS.
On returning back to the showroom, I filled out the competition form to win a 1200, but if I did win it I would swap it for a GSA, and let them keep the 1200.
When I got home the first thing I did was to wash and polish my 1150, as I felt so guilty for not doing so during the winter months, and guilty for not appreciating it enough!!
It was then I realised how clean the layout of the 1150 is in comparison, and how unusual it looks without the bar across it. It was then I listed the thing I did not like about the 1200, and here they are: 1, the right hand air intake was rubbing against my leg, and made it uncomfortable to brake. 2, the seat throws you forward, and onto your hands, with the new thinner hand grips, which have no cushioning makes my hands hurt. 3, The side stand has no little lug to push it down with your heel, you now have to reach all the way back to the end to do it. 4, The instrument panel is too small, I could hardly see the fuel gauge, or the indicator lights. 5, It is too light, it feels like a KTM 950, and not a GS, as the engine sounds rattley and harsh, again like a KTM.
6, There seems to be less of the bike, I like having large engine pods sticking out, they will save my legs should I drop it. 7, It has a smaller tank, and can only do the same distance on this tank as a 1150, so why not make it bigger and get a longer range? 8, it looks too plasticky, it’s more like a large scarva or again a KTM than a GS.
On returning back to the showroom, I filled out the competition form to win a 1200, but if I did win it I would swap it for a GSA, and let them keep the 1200.
When I got home the first thing I did was to wash and polish my 1150, as I felt so guilty for not doing so during the winter months, and guilty for not appreciating it enough!!
