What would you choose ?

[colin.l]

Im after a bike to commute with (25 miles a day) all year round, do some summer touring and cover some distance on uncovered roads/forestry type tracks etc at weekends. Given my previous experiences of falling off and repairing various other makes Ive got the choice down to;
H***A Africa Twin
H***A Dominator
BMW Air Head GS
BMW F650 GS PD/GD
For around £4K which would you buy ???
In an earlier life I covered around 45,000 miles on a R100RS (not on one go !) and am tempted to go for the Air Head- I lived on that bike and it NEVER let me down- but am I overlooking better, more modern options?
All suggestions/insults/abuse etc gratefully received.

 

[Pint6x]

prolly go for the 650GS given that you'll be covering a fair mileage. Useful things like belt drive will reduce running costs.

An airhead will be reliable and easy to fix, but the newest one you'll find will be ten years old plus.

Perhaps get an airhead as well for weekend jaunts

 

[michael d]

erm belt drive ? no alternator drive belt on a 650 gs
got a nice drive chain tho

 

[skybluebird]

I ran a Dominator in '97/98 and was quite content until I had a loan of a Firestorm for 3 months.... A good bike, brilliant at cutting through traffic, didn't drop it but not much to break if you do. Having had a couple of long rides on a GS Dakar, I'd go for one of those in preference, more fun, more secure handling. And barely uses petrol. The Africa Twin is better again on-road, but probably a lot more of a handful off it.

Incidentally the Dommie needed a wheel rebuild under warranty and was off the road for 3 months! whilst it got repaired. Long story, but it did lead to that loan of the VTR

Also, have you tried a KTM 640 Adventure?

David

 

[Timolgra]

Have to reluctantly say the Africa Twin is for you mate.

 

[Deleted account 220427002]

the Dominator for it's size and weight off road ... but it's not really a tourin' bike

but an Africa Twin is good all rounder and i like the riding position better than my 1100gs so go for a twin like mine.

 

[laughingBob]

Depends what you ratio of on/off road woud be but, from what you've said the Africa Twin would be my choice. There a great bike. I've had two and I'd have another. Their strong, well built, reliable and the motor is smooth and has enough power for real road riding.

 

[longdog]

For £4k, I would go for Reyno's GS1100, (see his ad in the For Sale section). It's a lovely example of the breed, and you'll have change in your pocket too!

 

[Geoff2]

I would certainly also look at R1100GS as well. They are about for that sorta money

 

[Tsiklonaut]

What size you are? The AT is quite far away being comfty compared with my R11GS with 35mm bar risers that cost nothing. AT feels like wooden chair with liquid handlebars compared with my comfty and fully controllable GS.

GS feels to have a bit lower centre of gravity too - it corners bit better too than AT i think.

That's mine aside the Daugava river, Lativa, one day after i bought the bike from Berlin and drived back home to Estonia via Baltic States and Poland. Those were one of my happyest moments .

1650 kilometre ride, with 120-140km/h constantly overspeeding than allowed - it just was so fun with GS. With AfricaTwin my ass would have been curgicly amputated on that mileage wiht that less time . Ant AT starts stressly to rev on higher than 130km/h speeds, BMW run it w/o any stress, and accelerating very quickly to constant 200km/h on autobahn wasn't any problem too when i tested it's performance. With AT you can't even dream about those speeds. And you may always do some offroad with both. Altough i recomment spare bike with max 250cc and under 100kilos for serious high jumping and offroading...

Indeed, don't get me wrong - AT and GS both are good bikes up for the designated job, just AT is a bit from cheaper and weaker-power Jap class. The true (technology) rebels like BMW walk alone anyway... A very robust and soulful boxer machine, never gets boring like V- and inline cylinder engned bikes do.

Mo

but an Africa Twin is good all rounder and i like the riding position better than my 1100gs so go for a twin like mine.

 

[Joyseeker]

does 12000mls service intervals appeal? then it has to be a new GS...... but failing that a 10 year old GS appeals to me for the wobble.

anything with a chain is a no no for me.

 

[Taff]

I would suggest a Dakar. Just so happens I've got one for sale.

See here - http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34509&highlight=DAKAR

Seriously though a Dakar would do the off- road stuff easily, but even though I've taken it abroad twice, I found that it wasn't comfortable doing 90mph + (that's one of the main reasons I bought an Adventure, but I do very very little off road riding). Would I class the Dakar as a "Tourer"? - honestly, no, but must say it never let me down and with 165 miles per tank, it was doing more miles than some of the other bikes in the group. But bear in mind, the Dakar is higher than the Adventure, so if you're a "short arse" - you will struggle.

 

[BawdyMonk]

I'd say African Twin or F650, with ABS if possible, or an F650 Dakar if they can be got for that money.

One of my best mates has the AT and uses it 7 days a week, about the same commute as you, reliability is legendary but he suffers on a long trip, the seat isn't comfy after an hour, he's 6'2" and about 14 stone.

As has been said, at above 130kmh (80mph) it's not so happy, although he's had it up to 185kmh (115mph) indicated for a short blast.

He doesn't off road it at all as he reckons there's a bit too much plastic to damage if he dropped it

 

[laughingBob]

I rode my AT down to Morocco, South of France and on many other occassions (abroad!) at 85-90 mph and didn't find that the engine felt over stressed. On the other hand my 650GS felt like it was suffering at anything much over 70-75. Similar story with the KTM640Adv. For m/way riding the AT is a much better tool. If your worried about the extra weight of the AT, which is considerably more than the GS or KTM, how about a Transalp.

 

[Tudor]

Colin

I had a Dominator which was excellent and was a great commute bike. I also toured on/off road in to the Picos de Europa in spain and it managed reasonably well load with soft kit. It is a good bike to repair adn will take stick.

Today I would choose a bike with a bit more power so I would go for a GS1100/1150. The 1100 is great and there are some great examples out there with all mod cons etc.

 

[Detox]

AT or a clean Transalp.

 

[Gas'd Off]

Whatever you choose get a bike with more than one cylinder. For the milage your suggesting you will soon get frustrated with the lack of power and vibrations of a single cylinder machine. The Africa Twin has fairly powerful, smooth and reliable engine and it is a good physical size for luggage carrying on you tours. There are loads of adventure accessories available for it too, crashbars etc.

Personally I`d look for an older GS though.

 

[colin.l]

Thanks guys

Thanks for the tips guys. Ive tried the KTM and now the Dakar.-Both too high for me (short-arse)
Looks like either the Air-Head or the Africa Twin (most likely the BM) and a smaller off-roader to attack the fells with.
I like this site-it would have taken me months to get this much honest advice from elsewhere.
Thanks and see you around.
Colin