Think I need a more manageable bike

[Howard J]

Just popping my head in to ask a few questions please.

I have a 2004 1150 GS Adventure which I am recently finding to be a bit of a handful to manage mainly due to age (mine not the bike ) and poor health.

I’m thinking that a smaller engined GS/GSA may be the answer although I don’t really understand the models …… so the 650 is an 800? ideally I was looking at the 800 GSA but I’m open to suggestions please?

I don’t really want to spend any more cash, or very little anyway and reckon my GSA is probably worth around £3500 as it’s a pretty low mileage being less than 40,000.

What would this get me? Thanks

 

[Wapping]

What would this get me?

A very decent Himalayan 450. Look no further.

 

[EKIMYRF]

Howard, go and have a chat to Stew up at A&D they have the Himi and Guerrilla demos I have ridden both and they are great bikes (my brother John who you have met is swapping his V85TT for one)
They also have the KLE 500 demo you could take out

My choice Himi 450 superb bike

Just go and have a ride and see what you think

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

Himi's are great bikes, and there is quite a lot out there now at reasonable prices if you are looking for new or nearly new.

The 1150's are also becoming sought after so 3.5K might be a bit pessimistic depending on condition.

 

[Neil W]

Just popping my head in to ask a few questions please.

I have a 2004 1150 GS Adventure which I am recently finding to be a bit of a handful to manage mainly due to age (mine not the bike ) and poor health.

I’m thinking that a smaller engined GS/GSA may be the answer although I don’t really understand the models …… so the 650 is an 800? ideally I was looking at the 800 GSA but I’m open to suggestions please?

I don’t really want to spend any more cash, or very little anyway and reckon my GSA is probably worth around £3500 as it’s a pretty low mileage being less than 40,000.

What would this get me? Thanks

I had bad experiences with my 2017 F800GSA but that aside yes they are lighter than a 2004 R1150 GSA but they do have a tall seat ... also I found it totally uninspiring and boring .

If you do not need a two up bike I would look at a Honda CB500X or similar

 

[Wapping]

also I found it totally uninspiring and boring .

Snap.

A motorcycle that is so good, that it becomes dull.

 

[SuperTed]

Maybe it’s something about the GSA that makes it uninspiring and dull because my 2008 F800GS is anything but. Yes it’s a bit tall in the saddle, but a low seat / lower suspension soon sorts that. I have had mine (cut down seat, and lower suspension) for 15 years and 125,000 miles; including many miles commuting into London, 23,000 miles on the 2018 TransAm trip, and 8,400 miles on the 2025 TransCanada trip; and the bike has never been dull. Some of the roads were uninspiring but never the bike. And it’s 42 kilos lighter than the 1150GS I swapped for it.

 

[fatbaldbob]

A very decent Himalayan 450. Look no further.

What he says

 

[Dave T]

I had bad experiences with my 2017 F800GSA but that aside yes they are lighter than a 2004 R1150 GSA but they do have a tall seat ... also I found it totally uninspiring and boring .

Snap.

A motorcycle that is so good, that it becomes dull.

Does the dullness of the bike not depend largely on what Sir is doing with it? If Sir uses whatever mighty steed he has purely for trips to or for the commute to the office, then any bike would potentially seem dull (not suggesting for a moment that that's what the contributors on this thread do, I'm sure many have far more (and more interesting) miles under their belt than I).

My latest bike has a whopping 9.6bhp, a top speed (on a good day) of maybe 60mph, no pillion provision, no added farkles. On paper, a bike of much potential dullness. However, my Honda Monkey (and indeed, my Brother-In-Law's Honda Grom), appear to be far from dull. 220 miles of dullness-free enjoyment racked up Monday just gone. There has been talk (not alcohol induced, may I add), of taking said bikes to the continent, maybe as far as the Black Forest... because clearly, although this is not what they were ever intended for, it (hopefully) adds to the enjoyment.
I believe the phrase 'It's not what you've got, but what you do with it' could just as easily apply here as anywhere else...

 

[Dave T]

Maybe start with a REALISTIC assessment of the sort of riding you're going to do - weekend 'blast'? Touring? Just the odd weekend away? 2-up? Then look at what bikes might fulfil those requirements. I'm going through the same process myself... considering whether the 1100GS in the garage is more bike than I really need. There's nothing wrong with the GS at all, indeed, it is excellent. Just 'do I need it' for the riding I do.

 

[peter56]

Have you looked at the f900r or xr

 

[Robbieben]

My 1250 GSA was bought off a chap who at 70 yrs young decided it was now too big & heavy for his European jaunts with friends. He bought a Suzuki 650 V-Strom, very happy with it for his tours & trips out to the point he now rides much more often. The 650 has now been replaced by the 800 which is very much the same but with a bit more ooomph.

 

[steadysteve]

Although the F800 is marginally lighter than the 1150 I found mine to be more top heavy meaning any perceived downsizing is offset by the top heavy nature of the bike when manoeuvring it in/out of the garage, parking spots etc etc.
If it does fall over it’s harder to get back up again because it falls flat , unlike the GS that stays at ~30 degrees

 

[snelly]

Maybe start with a REALISTIC assessment of the sort of riding you're going to do - weekend 'blast'? Touring? Just the odd weekend away? 2-up? Then look at what bikes might fulfil those requirements. I'm going through the same process myself... considering whether the 1100GS in the garage is more bike than I really need. There's nothing wrong with the GS at all, indeed, it is excellent. Just 'do I need it' for the riding I do.

The best places for the GS 1100 are the little rds with grass down the middle; i could ride all around the peaks without touching the main rds; and no coppers or camera's; i could also do the odd trail without ending upside down from time to time; there was plenty of where does this go rds that you would normally ride past;; it's all about your enjoyment.

 

[Dave T]

The best places for the GS 1100 are the little rds with grass down the middle; i could ride all around the peaks without touching the main rds; and no coppers or camera's; i could also do the odd trail without ending upside down from time to time; there was plenty of where does this go rds that you would normally ride past;; it's all about your enjoyment.

... and that's a lot of the riding we're doing on the 125s...
Agree that the 1100 is well suited for this too...

 

[Dave T]

My 1250 GSA was bought off a chap who at 70 yrs young decided it was now too big & heavy for his European jaunts with friends. He bought a Suzuki 650 V-Strom, very happy with it for his tours & trips out to the point he now rides much more often. The 650 has now been replaced by the 800 which is very much the same but with a bit more ooomph.

My 1100GS was bought off a chap in his late 70s who fancied a few more tours in Europe with his wife (they had album upon album of carefully annotated photographs of previous tours through the years on BMW R80Rt and R100-something). I think (amongst other things) that once the 1100 was loaded and 2-up he realised it was, for him, a less than sensible proposition, hence the sale. The proceeds went towards an MX-5 for said tours.

 

[Posh Pete]

As above - Himi 450. If you look at the specs, it does not appear to be that much lighter than comparable bikes at just under 200kgs. However, the weight is carried low due to a forward sloping engine and rear suspension.

 

[Wapping]

Maybe it’s something about the GSA that makes it uninspiring and dull because my 2008 F800GS is anything but.

I had an F800R, a really very good motorcycle, once the suspension had been changed.

 

[Arsey]

My 1250 GSA was bought off a chap who at 70 yrs young decided it was now too big & heavy for his European jaunts with friends. He bought a Suzuki 650 V-Strom, very happy with it for his tours & trips out to the point he now rides much more often. The 650 has now been replaced by the 800 which is very much the same but with a bit more ooomph.

Not true . The 650 has been replaced by the new SV-7GX , using the same v twin from the Vstrom 650.
The parallel twin in the 800 is totally different and makes 15 more bhp.
I assume you’ve not ridden both as if you had I can’t see how you could describe them as ‘very much the same ‘ !

The 800 is fantastic but the old 650 is a better two up bike .

But for solo riding , the 800 is by far the better bike .
The new SV-7GX could be a great bike . It’s also £2.5/3k cheaper than the 800 depending whether you go for the RE or DE.

 

[landmarkjohn]

I rode this hired F800GS around Morocco for a couple of weeks and coming from a 1200GS Hexhead at home I was really impressed with everything about the 800. Lighter and easier to manage, it was a great bike.

I have read bods describing the 800 as doing everything equally as well as the bigger 1200 except two up touring.