mark_chittenden
Guest
Top Tip
There have been many comments on this site about rattles and annoying vibrations affecting the 1200GS.
I ride into London every day, all year round and change my bike every 3 years (35-40k miles) and felt that my 1150GS
was the best bike I have ever ridden in my over 30 years! of riding. So it was with fingers crossed that I put an order in for one of the first new 1200's.
First impressions were mixed, It had all the good things -lighter, more power, faster handling, great breaks, etc etc. I would say It is better, in almost every respect than the 1150 BUT I was struggling to bond with it!
One of the things that was beginning to bug me was that it Just didn't sound right, in fact some days it sounded like a bloody London Taxi especially at low revs when labored. The sound seemed to come from deep down under the tank, almost like the rumble of shot big ends. the sound made the bike feel flimsy. and was affecting my whole impression of the bike.
I read how other riders had traced vibrations to the pivot brackets that hold the screen above the headlight, I could not imagine that the problem affecting my bike was coming from this part, but anything was worth trying. I took the advice of two separate links, wrapped some plumbers PTFE tape around the stubs of the front screen brackets to make them a tight fit in the the pivet holes, and slid a rubber O ring up the stub of each to cushion any left right movement of the screen when it was refitted.
It is hard to explain the extent this simple mod has transformed the bike, And more importantly the way I feel about it. 4000k miles on the clock now and the thing Just gets better and better. all traces of the "death rattle have vanished the engine is getting smoother and punchier every day in the early days There was the time when I was seresly thinking of giving the thing back...now I look forward to every days ride just like I did with my old GS.
It is Quite amassing how such a simple fault can affect the "feel" of the whole bike, but I given that a lot about motorcycling is in felt in the heart not the head maybe its not so strange!
There have been many comments on this site about rattles and annoying vibrations affecting the 1200GS.
I ride into London every day, all year round and change my bike every 3 years (35-40k miles) and felt that my 1150GS
was the best bike I have ever ridden in my over 30 years! of riding. So it was with fingers crossed that I put an order in for one of the first new 1200's.
First impressions were mixed, It had all the good things -lighter, more power, faster handling, great breaks, etc etc. I would say It is better, in almost every respect than the 1150 BUT I was struggling to bond with it!
One of the things that was beginning to bug me was that it Just didn't sound right, in fact some days it sounded like a bloody London Taxi especially at low revs when labored. The sound seemed to come from deep down under the tank, almost like the rumble of shot big ends. the sound made the bike feel flimsy. and was affecting my whole impression of the bike.
I read how other riders had traced vibrations to the pivot brackets that hold the screen above the headlight, I could not imagine that the problem affecting my bike was coming from this part, but anything was worth trying. I took the advice of two separate links, wrapped some plumbers PTFE tape around the stubs of the front screen brackets to make them a tight fit in the the pivet holes, and slid a rubber O ring up the stub of each to cushion any left right movement of the screen when it was refitted.
It is hard to explain the extent this simple mod has transformed the bike, And more importantly the way I feel about it. 4000k miles on the clock now and the thing Just gets better and better. all traces of the "death rattle have vanished the engine is getting smoother and punchier every day in the early days There was the time when I was seresly thinking of giving the thing back...now I look forward to every days ride just like I did with my old GS.
It is Quite amassing how such a simple fault can affect the "feel" of the whole bike, but I given that a lot about motorcycling is in felt in the heart not the head maybe its not so strange!
