Thinking of swapping the XR for a GS !!

@AndyW the Xr was a lovely bike comfi and fast my issues with that was the coldstart I leave for work at 04:30 every morning and it revving at over 2k for three minutes would have got complaints I did just try to stuff into gear and ride off but there is a problem doing that, which is the bike will stall the instant you release the clutch, quite well spoken about on the XR forum, as soon as you start it again you can pull away as normal, I spoke to BMW and was told its because its really a race bike engine out of the RR it needs to warm up before you ride away !! so that wasn't ideal
so it went in against the 1300 GS and we all know that story !! one good thing is the dealership was fairly quick in refunding me the full money so cant fault them on that
Rob
 
AndyW said:
Don't know what you've ridden in the past @Adventure Boy but if not used to a sporty I4 motor 3 weeks isn't giving it much of a chance!

I bought an XR (mint low miles late 2023, all M spec options/extras etc) to replace my 2020 Superduke 1290R (sadly [I think it's my favourite bike ever] finally admitting that I'm too old with too many aches and pains to keep riding that).
After 20 years of riding v-twins it took me ages to adapt to the revy XR.... but I enjoyed the bike from the off. Handles like a dream, a hoot to ride but practical as well.

Just a shame for me that comfort is an issue so now looking at the 1300RS.

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If you find the XR uncomfortable, I’m not sure you’ll find the RS any better as the 1300 is a bit racier than the 1250
 
Arsey said:
If you find the XR uncomfortable, I’m not sure you’ll find the RS any better as the 1300 is a bit racier than the 1250
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This is true I had the high bars on my 1250RS and this is by far more lent over than that even with the std bars on it
 
Arsey said:
Yeah but it’s the best bike in the world , you idiot ! 😜
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I know cant believe I backed it to be honest maybe I should have just suffered the bad hoping for the good, and in the meantime put BMW assist on my Friends and Family !!

no I am happy with my decision, cant have the fear of something going wrong every time you go out on it, if it does then its bad luck if you are waiting for it then its a bad call

Whats the latest on yours Barry ?
Rob
 
Adventure Boy said:
I know cant believe I backed it to be honest maybe I should have just suffered the bad hoping for the good, and in the meantime put BMW assist on my Friends and Family !!

no I am happy with my decision, cant have the fear of something going wrong every time you go out on it, if it does then its bad luck if you are waiting for it then its a bad call

Whats the latest on yours Barry ?
Rob
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Yeah but it wasn’t anything major . It only completely failed on you on your first ride . Oh, hang on ……. 😜
 
jetjock said:
So you’ve never ridden one then ?
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I rode it home the 200 miles then 100 miles on day 2 and on day 3 it shit its self within 1 mile of home at 04: 30 in the morning, that was enough riding on that thank you very much, a google search reveals that the failure rate of BMW Bikes is 40% in the first 4 years compared with 12% for the 4 big jap manufacturers with Yamaha coming out the best out of them all !! read that today so can post the link if required

anyway Went out on the Reliable Honda today did 230 miles easy ride not going mad as running in did that with one tank of juice with 99 mile range when I got home, the bike did not miss a beat and no messages on the screen only a couple of txts on the car play which is great on a bike, so looking forward to wales on it May and Spain in June
Rob
 

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siddo said:
Sounds an expensive way to find out you didn't like that bike!
Maybe take some extended test rides before committing on your next one.
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Well I for one can relate to the OP. I found myself in a similar situation. Coming from an inline-four I fell for a V4, a Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak which I bought in September. A friend of mine rides one, he loves it. I could even test ride one for 20 minutes but if you are infatuated by a bike people, at least people like me, just pick up the signals that serve to convince them that they're going to do the right choice. Confirmation bias it's what psychologists call it, I think. It was my dream bike and if you love a bike that much, it must be good. Only that it isn't, or that it is just not the right bike for you. I struggled very soon with the poor fueling below 4000 revs and the lack of elasticity of the engine when not on load. I had been spoiled by the good manners of my Kawasaki 1000sx. I sold the bike three weeks ago only regretting the looks and the fabulous road handling. Made the move to a 1300gs and yes, I took an extended test ride, I'm pretty confident this time that I have made a choice that fits my style of riding. As a footnote, I bought the 1000SX second hand with no test ride and I've clocked happy 58 000 km in four years, maybe the Ducati was the odd one out.
 
Arsey said:
How about new 1390 AMT ? Bike Mag have just tested it against the GS and AT and it came out top, same as in MCN test.
I’ve added it to the auto bike group test thread here
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I enjoy Bike Magazine and some of the motorcycle journalists you have in Great Britain but I wouldn't take their opinion very much into consideration when it comes to taking a decision about buying a bike. For me they are very entertaining and I admire their craft as journalists. Of course they are better riders than most of us, way better than me in any case. But they ride the bikes for a living and they want to enjoy their working day, so obviously they invariably go for the most "fun", "radical" or "characterful" bike. Owning and living with the bikes is a different story though
 
I have lusted over a Multistrada for years so much so when the kids ask what do i want for Xmas or my birthday I always say a Ducati, LOL but a chat with 2 MS owners in the cafe about 6 months ago 1 the new V4S touring and the other on the V2 they both had horror storeys the guy on the V2 bought the v4 with his mate and the V2 was a Demo bike they had given him as they could not fix his 2 month old V4 !! it sounded like a real shit show so the Ducati went out the window, I suppose there is good and bad in all makes and models its just the odds I dont like !!
Rob
 
Bikes can be great, just not fit the personal riding style of an individual…
ie; what’s sauce for the goose is not necessarily sauce for the gander.

Also, there can be good and bad versions of the same bike… a “ Monday morning/ Friday afternoon “ bike….. one that jus5 has problems from the start. It’s not the make/ model, it’s the individual bike.
 
Arsey said:
Oh FFS.
How to ruin the excitement of a new bike purchase.
You must be fuming .
I’d get rid .

How about a nice new Tiger ?

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I bought a new Tiger 1200 GT Explorer in November 2024 and it was nothing but trouble - clutch slipping upon delivery (sorted next day), both wheels had badly chipped paint within 1000 miles (replaced under warranty), rear ABS wire insulation burnt by exhaust causing a short (replaced under warranty), poor paintwork on tank cover (replaced under warranty), leaking front bevel box requiring a full engine strip (didn’t fully cure the leak) and finally a rear shock absorber failure after 7000 miles which took three months to source a replacement :mad:
 
sven said:
I bought a new Tiger 1200 GT Explorer in November 2024 and it was nothing but trouble - clutch slipping upon delivery (sorted next day), both wheels had badly chipped paint within 1000 miles (replaced under warranty), rear ABS wire insulation burnt by exhaust causing a short (replaced under warranty), poor paintwork on tank cover (replaced under warranty), leaking front bevel box requiring a full engine strip (didn’t fully cure the leak) and finally a rear shock absorber failure after 7000 miles which took three months to source a replacement :mad:
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But apart from that ….
 
Arsey said:
But apart from that ….
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I swapped it for a new 2025 Tiger 900 GT Pro which has had every fault code going within a few hundred miles - ABS, traction control, transmission failure (quick shifter related), speedo failure……

A new quick shifter seems to have cured the issue and it’s a lovely bike to ride after years on heavy adventure bikes. Hopefully it’s sorted as it’s going down to Corsica in July
 
sven said:
I swapped it for a new 2025 Tiger 900 GT Pro which has had every fault code going within a few hundred miles - ABS, traction control, transmission failure (quick shifter related), speedo failure……

A new quick shifter seems to have cured the issue and it’s a lovely bike to ride after years on heavy adventure bikes. Hopefully it’s sorted as it’s going down to Corsica in July
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I had the Rally version. It really was a great bike. It performed flawlessly round Norway, Scotland twice, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Holland, France twice and Italy including the Col de Somellier.
For a difference of around £500 it had quite a lot extra over the GT Pro.
Better suspension, spoked wheels, more riding modes, better ground clearance, bigger front wheel, aluminium inserts instead of plastic, better bash plate among other things.
Some say it’s tall but they probably haven’t ridden one. I’m 5’8” and could flat foot it with the luggage fitted and almost without. That’s with a cool cover fitted.
It was also over 60kg lighter than my Super Tenere.
The service costs were pretty eye watering with a valve check every other year. I did replace the original chain early on for a DID gold X ring one.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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