kevmeister
Registered user
Don't get me wrong, I love my 1200 GS but I've had her over two years now and she's done nearly 50,000 miles so I started thinking it was time for another bike. There was no way I was going to part with the GS so the obvious solution was to get something else to compliment her and run alongside. As I started to ponder this idea the benfits seemed to mount up. I could now prepare for a touring holiday in advance and get the GS washed and polished, panniered up and ready to go days in advance of a tour whilst using the second bike for the daily commute to work. Also if anything does go wrong with the GS (not that she's ever let me down) the second bike would be there waiting to take me to work. Also if I needed to do any work I could do it at my leisure over a few evening without having to rush to get it done for the next ride into work.
So a second bike was the answer but what to get.
It would have to be something that complimented and contrasted the GS so four cylinders would be good but it also had to be practical and cope with the 70 mile round trip into London each day.
I started with a few Icons that I have worshipped over the last few years. First the Triumph Rocket (absolutely fantastic to ride and to look at but not very practical), XJR 1300 (beautiful but handles like a dog), so onto more practical ideas. Hyabusa ( a stunning machine but too uncomfortable for me and too harsh a ride over bumpy roads), and the Fazer 1000 (nice and comfy, good looks, cheap but very revvy). And most of these bikes have the huge disadvantage of having final drives that in my opinion should be used to flush toilets rather than propel motorcycles.
So on Saturday I returned to the BMW fold and tried a K1200 R Sport. What an awesome machine, fantastic riding position, good wind protection, superbly comfy, corners as well as the GS, returns the same 45 mpg, and that engine - so smooth "its like smearing Honey into Kiera Knightly" (as so elgantly put by Mr Clarkson) together with more performance than you could ever use and finally of course a real mans final drive. That smooth silky four is the perfect antithesis to the GS, and I don't have to keep getting used to changing switchgear. I put down a deposit and pick her up on Saturday.
Good decision? Anyone on here got one??
It seems they never sold very well which is why they were discontinued but it seems to me that its because they fill a very small niche in the market rather than becuase of any issue with them. All the write ups i've read seem full of praise.
I notice there is a Laminar Lip which will be one of the first thing on my list together with another TomTom mount so I know where i'm going.
Roll on the weekend
So a second bike was the answer but what to get.
It would have to be something that complimented and contrasted the GS so four cylinders would be good but it also had to be practical and cope with the 70 mile round trip into London each day.
I started with a few Icons that I have worshipped over the last few years. First the Triumph Rocket (absolutely fantastic to ride and to look at but not very practical), XJR 1300 (beautiful but handles like a dog), so onto more practical ideas. Hyabusa ( a stunning machine but too uncomfortable for me and too harsh a ride over bumpy roads), and the Fazer 1000 (nice and comfy, good looks, cheap but very revvy). And most of these bikes have the huge disadvantage of having final drives that in my opinion should be used to flush toilets rather than propel motorcycles.
So on Saturday I returned to the BMW fold and tried a K1200 R Sport. What an awesome machine, fantastic riding position, good wind protection, superbly comfy, corners as well as the GS, returns the same 45 mpg, and that engine - so smooth "its like smearing Honey into Kiera Knightly" (as so elgantly put by Mr Clarkson) together with more performance than you could ever use and finally of course a real mans final drive. That smooth silky four is the perfect antithesis to the GS, and I don't have to keep getting used to changing switchgear. I put down a deposit and pick her up on Saturday.
Good decision? Anyone on here got one??
It seems they never sold very well which is why they were discontinued but it seems to me that its because they fill a very small niche in the market rather than becuase of any issue with them. All the write ups i've read seem full of praise.
I notice there is a Laminar Lip which will be one of the first thing on my list together with another TomTom mount so I know where i'm going.
Roll on the weekend
