Worried BMW's r 4 for OLD folk & not those -40

[Rushy]

I am 34 and on my second BMW. I bought the first when I was 29.

It was a bright red and yellow 1992 K1 16V and if you think you'll get stick for the GS it aint noithing to the stick / looks I used to get when I arrived on the K1 at my nearby bikers pub on the monthly Sunday meet, especially on grand prix weekends when all "the boys" came out to play.
My advice :

Step 1 Park your bike round the back of your house so your neighbours dont see you.

Step 2 Always where an iridium or black visor.

Step 3 Never reveal your real name on any website.

Regards,

The Marquis of Blandford.

PS Its only a f***g motorbike at the end of the day. Even if they are great!

 

[retroman]

Abergavenny A40

Called in at this regular bikers meet on a Sunday afternoon last autumn, only GS there amongst a sea of Jap sportsbikes.

Not ONE of those other riders spoke to me.

RESULT !!!!!!!!!

Not only a great bike, I now get to drink me tea in peace, no more of that 'knee down' bollox, blah blah blah

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Worried BMW's r 4 for OLD folk & not those -40

Yes John, sounds like that to me too, Did you just copy and paste because if you don't mind I could use an application like that myself. Well I certainly appreciate qurkiness.
Tim

Sorry to disappoint you both,Tim and Mike - but I had a moment of creativity, rather than copying.

Just about sums up most of the perennial GS riders up,don't you think Tim,especially after our telephone conversation on Monday

However, presently I'm not in need of the services of a Dating Agency.
My 'between the sheets' requirements are being adequately serviced by my new girlfriend to my complete satisfaction.

As for her pillion passenger abilities - they haven't been tried and tested yet , but soon will be ,with the onset of Spring and the 'de-hibernation' of the GS1150.

 

[Carbo]

Not ONE of those other riders spoke to me.

Not ONE of those other riders spoke to me.

retroman

mmmmn this is the sort of thing that makes me worried...

I wonder if no one talked to you cause it is hard to believe someone can arrive on a bike that weights the same as a Smart Car! LOL

Oh dear, please good folks on this board forgive me cause I must be coming across as very ANTI-bmw. Not totally true, I like to keep an open mind but also wonder if I'm hiding me real fears...

CAN I AFFORD this bike? should I spend less on the bike and more on misc. expenses? Am I tall enough cause I'm 5ft 5in? and will I ever go on diet?

 

[retroman]

A blessing, not a curse .....

mmmmn this is the sort of thing that makes me worried...

I wonder if no one talked to you cause it is hard to believe someone can arrive on a bike that weights the same as a Smart Car! LOL

You worry that sportsbike riders may not talk not you?????????
Man, YOU NEED TO GET OUT MORE!!!

 

[BawdyMonk]

I am thinking about buying a new bike for my cross Europe / Africa or Far East trip I have been planning & dreaming for years.

I am 37 and my biggest worry is that everyone knows the average age of a BMW rider is 49.2 years old.

Is anyone on this board under 40?

BTW hi everyone I'm new here!

If you're really thinking of a trip across Europe and Africa/Asia and this is your biggest worry... you're F***ed mate!

Try a weekend in Bognor!

 

[John Armstrong]

I am thinking about buying a new bike for my cross Europe / Africa or Far East trip I have been planning & dreaming for years.

I am 37 and my biggest worry is that everyone knows the average age of a BMW rider is 49.2 years old.

Is anyone on this board under 40?

BTW hi everyone I'm new here!

You're as old as you feel.

And yes, I'm now over 40, but I had a 1100GS before I was 40 so I don't care.

BTW isn't a bike an expression of individualism? In which case why do you have to talk to loads of people.

 

[bakerlonglegs]

Re: Not ONE of those other riders spoke to me.

mmmmn this is the sort of thing that makes me worried...

I wouldn't worry. I've been on track days on the GS and my previous beemer (R1100S). If anything the big twins are a talking point and start conversations rather than kill them...... On my last ride up to High Beech the bike was surrounded by interested sports bike riders within 10 minutes.

For F'sake ride what you want to ride - if you fancy the idea of the GS give it a go, you WON'T be disappointed. Life's too short mate.

BLL (36)

 

[Richard34]

Yup - agree with Bakerlonglegs.

I'm only a Beemer baby - 34 years young. I'm not interested in crotch rockets, the power on them is useless in London and I'd just lose my licence.

On the GS I look good and feel comfortable (none of the neck aches or weight on wrist syndromes) and EVERY time I go to High Beach guess what happens, they all stop looking at the dozens of R1s, Blades and other endless rows of familiar sporties and come wandering over to the GS.

Not that I'm a poser or anything but it does make me feel good!!! Forget the fact that its a BMW and remember it's a GS....... "possibly the best allrounder on the planet" as RIDE magazine recently quoted.

Good luck - Richard

p.s. Bakerlonglegs - next time you go up to Epping let me know, I'd like to meet up with some fellow GSers.

 

[Animal]

Now I'm concerned.


I've had BMWs since I was 26
I'm now 32, and have a GS, and a Fireblade



Do I need therapy

 

[Shaunie]

I'm 33 and I had a R1100S for 18 months, recently changing to a GS.

BMW make excellent road bikes. Everything is designed and developed for the road. They tend to be comfortable and practical. Put your missus on tha back and it makes no difference. Load up with luggage for a weekend away and it makes no difference. Once you've experienced these qualities it's very difficult to go back to a Jap bike.

Jap sports bikes are obviously biased towards the race track. Even their road bikes use "out of date" race technology. This is fine if you can find some perfectly surfaced tarmac with one way traffic.

Personally I got sick of all the macho bullshit. Bikers like to think that they are different and individual. 90% are sheep in day-glow one piece leathers. Ever tried having a shite wearing a one-piece? Enuff said.

 

[Zwerver]

Bought my first GS when I was 24;
as a student I always dreamed about owning a real Japanese
sportsbike, but in my first years as a member of a touring/camping
mc club I learned that there's more then looks and image.
More important was what you could do with your bike, if it was usefull for your hobby... In our club we spent a lot of time
travelling to rallies throughout Europe, always camping, so I needed a bike with good pillion/luggage capacity, and a bit all-round character, so I could ride summer and winter on all sorts of roads...
I started with a Guzzi T5, a great tourer, due to the 16" wheels
a lot of fun in the mountains, but not that much fun on gravel...
In 1990 my brother planned a trip to Iceland and bought a 100PD, and after a 1 hour testride on his GS I decided that the GS was the bike I needed for my planned trip to the NorthCape...
After that first Gs, and my first longer trips on gravel-roads I got addicted to the GS feeling; the bike is never the best for any purpose, but it is the best compromise to do it all...
I'm 37 now, having done some 425.000km on 5 GS'es, a '90 100GS, a '89 100GSPD,a '95 1100GS,a '95 1100GSABS and a
'01 1150GSABS, so I guess I was already an old man at 24

 

[Simon Eassom]

Re: Re: Worried BMW's r 4 for OLD folk & not those -40

If you're really thinking of a trip across Europe and Africa/Asia and this is your biggest worry... you're F***ed mate!

Try a weekend in Bognor!

Ditto . . . so, if you were going by car you'd eschew the Land Rover because of the average age of owners and would take a bright yellow Fiat Punto with skirts, spoilers, and alloy wheels instead ???

If your post was a serious one and you are thinking of overlanding, then what you'll discover from your research is that "older" riders buy GSs, not because they're older but because they're wiser! The younger members of this board are simply wise before their time and gutsy enough to shrug off the stereotype and ride the best bike in the world.

But, for the record . . .

Between June 2002 and October 2002 when I was gathering data from this board for some research, I calculated the average age of GS riders using this board to be 42.1. I did another calculation in December and found that the majority of recent newcomers to the board are younger which brought the average age down to 40.7. RiDE magazine in their surveys state that the average age of GS riders is 42 (the same as for Super Blackbird riders).

 

[Steve]

Now I'm concerned.

I've had BMWs since I was 26
I'm now 32, and have a GS, and a Fireblade

Do I need therapy

Probably, but it's nothing to do with what bikes you own

 

[Squidbrain]

Houston, we have a ????????

I'm 37 now, having done some 425.000km on 5 GS'es, a '90 100GS, a '89 100GSPD,a '95 1100GS,a '95 1100GSABS and a
'01 1150GSABS

425k clicks! The moon's nearer than that!

Respect.

Mick

 

[Zwerver]

Never had a car or a car-license, so that's why I do some more
km on the bikes... Mostly I have some 10 - 15 tkm "must-do" km,
and the rest are "want-to" km ...

 

[Jim-Adv]

Having given up sport bikes and dressing like a power ranger at the age of 33, I think the opposite is true, more and more of our sport bike riding friends are 40+. I ride my GS(650 Dakar) cos I love riding not because Im having a mid life crisis

 

[notadrop]

Don't buy one Carbo.......
They can be like Marmite.....love em or hate em. Bought mine not only because I am into Paris Daker/Trailie STYLE bikes - but also because when I first did in '96 it was fairly unique.
Unfortunately the bike press have discovered what a fantastic all rounder it is. I wish they hadn't! They are becoming a bit like a blade 'oooh everyone who knows is getting one - so I must have one!!' Then they find they don't want to tour,scratch,whatever or are to small and incapable of handling it so flog it. My first was a 500 miler [not even a 1st service!!] with full luggage and tank bag that had never been used - tank bag still had the original packing paper inside. The tosser who bought it was a short arse twat who couldn't hold it upright and sold it for a 4 wheel drive! Good!! He bought it for the 'IMAGE' twat again.
Buy a bike FOR WHAT YOU WANT!! Don't be a tosser and buy it because others are.... or you want an image. Take control matey and do what YOU feel is right.
Just don't buy a GS.......... PLEASE....I want to be able to stand out from the crowd a little longer before every Tom, Dick and poser has one because they're 'IN'!!!

 

[THE PICT]

I was only about 25 when I bought a K1100LT(what the cops use)after racing two coppers on their police bikes(fully kitted outwith radios, batt packs etc) on the Loch Fyne road.I was amazed at the way these coppers handled these things.So I bought one.I done over 80,000 miles on it in a couple of years and could rip the pish out of most sports bike riders on the twistes.Since then Ive moved on and after a CBR1000 for a couple of years I bought a 2002 1150 which I still rip the pish out of sports bikes but probably a contributing factor to that is I'll cover the same amount of miles in a week than what the'll do all year. Dont get me wrong ,an exelant rider on a gsxr or the like could probably leave me standing but the other 99% of the biking population doesnt stand a chance.(Unless were on straight roads).Anyway the GS's and BMW'saint for everyone.Personally I quite fancy the new ZZR1200 and mabye a xt or tt 600 as a second/winter bike.

 

[Carbo]

Hi EVERYone !

Just a note to say you folks have made me laugh out loud 4 real. Thanks for cheering me up! The LAST thing that would ever put me off a GS is any age-ism crap! But I thought it'll get me a reply and for my first post it has. (Hope readers had a laugh too...)

I'm still dreaming folks and I started this thread a bit tounge in cheek style. Must admit I am really pleased to see how well you all use your brain cause your levels of argument are cool.

Obviously you folks are not a dumb crowd! Cool, hope one day I can be posting a "JUST BOUGHT MY GS !!!" thread...

What really is a worry for me, besides from finance blah blah is that I am a short-arse. Can't change the fact I'm 5.5... is any rider of a GS short or are you all 6ft some-ink...

I'll post a pic soon of my present bike so you can have a laugh at my expense!

In the meantime, I'm getting used to my new keyboard !