Taking the plunge

modelman

modelman

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OK! Reached 50, learned to ride on my late dad's Bridgestone 90 umpteen years ago but have worked too hard to enjoy myself ever since. Love bikes but very limited experience - my one year old Suzuki V-Strom 650 has 600 miles on it :(( Determined to make things better. Now have the time to ride!
Always hankered after a GS. Currently looking at a second hand 2005 model but would consider buying new - either GS or adventure. Live in Ireland and have a house in Fance - just need the right bike! All advice welcome.:aidan
 
1200 GSA, the fuel tank and comfort factor alone would warrant it:thumb2
 
Thanks guys

Thanks fot the straightforward advice guys. I was with the local dealer in Belfast today costing things out. Unfortunately they sold their demonstrator last weel so I'll have to wait a few days to get a test ride but it's looking very promising.
Will let you know the final outcome.:thumb
 
hallo there,i got rid of a v~strom for my 1150gs,no regrets.hope you enjoy the site,and the feelin of bike shoppin:thumb2
 
Hi Ghost,
I must say I'm definitely getting a bit excited at the prospect of a new GS(A)?
Great fun shopping - the hard bit is paying for it but what the hell.
Reference my earlier post today regarding ASC - I've discovered it's traction control - is it worth having??
 
its worth having if your hamfisted, ride in all weather, and like having something else that might give up on you, then yes.

if not, its not worth it:thumb2
 
http://www.webbikeworld.com/BMW-motorcycles/bmw-abs-asc.htm

Re ASC, I'd actually beg to differ, I ride in wet conditions (I negotiated a FPC in the deal but thats obviously another story!) and arn't hamfisted but I welcome any help and advantages for safer riding quite gladly, as one example when exiting on roundabout adverse cambers in the wet if not careful you run the risk of getting arse ended for not exiting quick enough to avoid the damn car thats hurtling towards your ring piece.

Best advice would be test ride a bike with it fitted, switch it off for an hour then try with it on for an hour and see what you reckon. I did this and the convincer for me was I tried it in quite bad weather very rainy, windy then the odd sunny spell.
It can be switched it off, a bike without it can't switch it on!
Needless to say I set my sights what I wanted, got one with it fitted, along with everything 1200 gsa that is, and I'm chuffed to bits:thumb
 
modelman said:
Thanks fot the straightforward advice guys. I was with the local dealer in Belfast today costing things out.
Click to expand...

:eek: Good luck with that :D

Welcome and don't be afraid to ask any Q's around here.

BTW theres a healthy N.I GS contingent for runs etc.

Trev
 
welcome

maybe get a chance to meet you on these fair shores. enjoy whatever bike you end up with! ;)
 
elevensies said:
its worth having if your hamfisted, ride in all weather, and like having something else that might give up on you, then yes.

if not, its not worth it:thumb2
Click to expand...


mateyboy, thats exactly what i said, its worth having if you>>>>>>>>>>>

read the post me ol fellow:p
 
Am I nuts???

modelman said:
OK! Reached 50, learned to ride on my late dad's Bridgestone 90 umpteen years ago but have worked too hard to enjoy myself ever since. Love bikes but very limited experience - my one year old Suzuki V-Strom 650 has 600 miles on it :(( Determined to make things better. Now have the time to ride!
Always hankered after a GS. Currently looking at a second hand 2005 model but would consider buying new - either GS or adventure. Live in Ireland and have a house in Fance - just need the right bike! All advice welcome.:aidan
Click to expand...

One of the drawbacks of living in Northern Ireland is the limited availability of BMW Motorrads - there's one!! As you would expect they don't exactly need to go out of their way to accomodate customers. Since my last post I have made somewhere in the region of five phone calls to try and arrange a test ride and they always suggest I phone back. At this point in time I think I have booked a ride next Thursday but wouldn't put money on it as the sales guys were unavailable Saturday am and the parts guy I spoke to kept talking about Thursday 10pm!!

Had my Suzuki V Strom 650DL out in glorious weather here today. It's practically new - November 2007, spotless and only 650 miles on the clock -the local BMW guys have offered me £3150 for it.

I get the feeling from this fantastic site that the purchase of a GS1200 or 1200A will be a major move forwards but a the same time there are those who have had problems with these machines and BMW in general.

I guess I am basically pissed off with the Motorrad setup in N.I. but would appreciate any advice/encouragement.

Am I nuts to trade in and change?
 
Ok Tossers so I'll talk to myself! and maybe you will comment on my thoughts.

Had a 3 hour test ride on a 1200 GS today and loved it:eek:onyack - so I'm not nuts to change form my V-Strom 650DL:clap
First roundabout felt very different - beatiful:bounce1
Gear change, power, comfort and the odd pop from the boxer - fantastic:thumb2

However a couple of points I would appreciate your thoughts on.

1. I'm just about 6' tall but with weird proportions - long back, 31" inside leg. No problem getting feet on the ground with the GS but I did notice a difference in the weight/ balance of the machine at junctions after I filled the tank (it was supplied almost empty). Also I would like more wind protection (long back issue).

2. Obvious thing is to ride a GSA but the local distributor doesn't have one available:eek:
They do however have a sold machine in the showroom. So I mounted that and could just about get my toes on the ground. No doubt it would give better wind protection but what would it be like with a full tank?

Can't wait for the test ride so please let me know what you think.
 
modelman said:
One of the drawbacks of living in Northern Ireland is the limited availability of BMW Motorrads - there's one!! As you would expect they don't exactly need to go out of their way to accomodate customers. Since my last post I have made somewhere in the region of five phone calls to try and arrange a test ride and they always suggest I phone back. At this point in time I think I have booked a ride next Thursday but wouldn't put money on it as the sales guys were unavailable Saturday am and the parts guy I spoke to kept talking about Thursday 10pm!!

Had my Suzuki V Strom 650DL out in glorious weather here today. It's practically new - November 2007, spotless and only 650 miles on the clock -the local BMW guys have offered me £3150 for it.

I get the feeling from this fantastic site that the purchase of a GS1200 or 1200A will be a major move forwards but a the same time there are those who have had problems with these machines and BMW in general.

I guess I am basically pissed off with the Motorrad setup in N.I. but would appreciate any advice/encouragement.

Am I nuts to trade in and change?
Click to expand...

Why dont you try and purchase one over here? The euro is pretty strong at the moment and you'll get more for money ... always a thumbs up for me :thumb2

Welcome to UKGSer modelman, enjoy your stay with us. BTW thanks for your subscription to the site :)
 
Modelman,

I'd be inclined to speak to an ADV owner and check it out in a bit more detail - its a LOT of money to spend so ud want to be pretty sure IMHO. What's stable to you may not be to someone else and vice versa.
I used to have a DL650 and found the seat height a bit low tbh - the DL1000 has another 20mm and feels better imho.
Compared to most GSs it feels dwarfed.
Ill pm you contact details of a mate and see if you can arrange a time for a closer look.

Trev
 
Thanks Trev,
I contacted your friend who gave me some good advice. The bottom line is I've got to try all options and see what suits best. So test ride on GSA is arranged for Thursday.
I'll let you know what happens.
 
modelman said:
Thanks Trev,
I contacted your friend who gave me some good advice. The bottom line is I've got to try all options and see what suits best. So test ride on GSA is arranged for Thursday.
I'll let you know what happens.
Click to expand...

Thursday has nearly gone and I've had my test-ride on the 1200GSA:clap
and it's a GSA for me:aidan Weather around Belfast this morning was cr*p but the Adventure made it feel great!!

Will do the deal tomorrow as the salesperson I was dealing with wasn't there today.

Now can't wait to get the thing:bounce1
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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