dongleplonk
Registered user
I have a 2011 GS, all sorted, now 25k touring miles with 5000 commuter miles thrown in. Love the bike, done lots to it to make it 'my own' but was keen to try the new GS 1200 Adventure WC (TE Spec).
Conditions: Very Wet
Ride Time: 1.5 hours
Roads: Motorway, lanes, A and B roads. Surfaces all good quality
1. Looks - love it. It's now better looking than the Triumph - it's closest rival in my humble opinion. But again, this is just my opinion. 9/10.
2. Engine - magic. The old GS, I felt, although adequate, was a little short on power when fully loaded. Not excessively but on occasion I would have liked just a bit more poke. Don't get me wrong my bike is perfectly pokey enough but when i reminisce about the old blackbird days, I sometimes would like a bit more of that grin factor. But the new GS was excellent in terms of power. Again not too much as to be ridiculous but it pulls well in all gears and in all rev ranges. In dynamic mode, it's genuinely fun and puts a smile on your face. 10/10
3. Tyres - the tyres are fab. Anakees. I know this from doing 7k miles on my own and still have 4.5mm left on the rear! Sometimes a bit noisy but hey, I still prefer the longevity. Glad to see Anakees on the new GS as standard. 10/10
4. Plastics - reasonable as far as I could see. Pretty sturdy all round. Not sure on the protection effectiveness of the winglets etc as there seemed to be quite a lot of water splashes behind the screen etc. Important to those of us who attach phones behind the screen and want that protection - but probably not enough to worry even to most rubbish case. The blue version of the bike, the tank colour shade doesn't match the seat colour very well. Seems that could have been done better. Many of the plastic items were intentionally flexible - I don't see an issue with that though. 7/10
5. Screen - it is small, too small. Maybe even 6 inches lower than my old GS. Of course the design may have alleviated the need to have a large screen but the protection simply wasn't there. Even with the full adjustment in effect. It was also very flexible - on the verge of flimsy. I assumed that was again by design but what it does mean is, BMW do not recommend attaching a deflector. This is a problem for me as I remove mine when it suits me - warmer weather, want better view in the mountains etc. So a replacement screen is needed if you want more protection (reports of those being 'flexible' to!). I fiddled with the adjuster which you can do while riding along if needed and it certainly was effective - if you want even more wind that is. 3/10
6. Noise - tyre noise aside, the bike is pleasantly quiet. A nice bark from the exhaust when you request it but otherwise pretty good for the times when you want to concentrate on the view. 8/10
7. Power Sockets - only one. I find I need two so I'd have to fit another. 4/10
8. Compartments - there are a couple to put your credit card but not really any others. So you'll probably end up buying supplementary tool boxes/number plate boxes. 4/10
9. Seat - after 45 mins I was suffering pain. I only solved this on my own bike via a Touratech purchase so it looks like I'd have to do the same with this one. Disappointing. Then again, if I lost some weight, things might be different! 3/10
10. Protection - My boots were very wet at the end of the test ride. This is not the case with mine. But I suspect my front fender extender helps with this. But yet again, another purchase required. But the rear of my legs were also very wet and so was my 'seating region'. I guess there was a lot of water being thrown up by the rear wheel. Looking at the rear mudguard later, I suspect a Mudsling is required. I mentioned screen protection above. I did notice a reasonable amount of wind buffeting at motorway speeds but what the heck. A bigger screen would probably solve this anyway, but the noise level does increase nevertheless. Having said this, the only bikes that do better on this as standard are the RT1200 and K1600 - but I ain't buying one of them! 4/10
11. Handle Bar Risers - I need them as I have an old shoulder injury but of course my old ones don't fit the new bars. But this is fairly unique to me. NA.
12. Feet / riding position. I like it although feet fully adjust anyway. 8/10
13. Switch gear - I like the old indicator setup personally. The reach across the 'controller wheel' to the indicators was fairly long and since it does nothing unless the Nav V is attached, it's always on your mind. The rest of the switches are okish though. 7/10
14. Clocks and data - Nice layout without trying to look like the K16 or RT12. Clocks were pretty easy to see but the data items were a but tricky with the 'spacey' thin font. 7/10
15. Heated Grips - Surprised these didn't work like the K16 or the RT12 (using the controller and more settings). Still only two settings and the hottest simply wasn't hot enough. At 5 degrees, my fingers don't normally get that cold. 3/10
16. Hand guards - I think these need a mention. I believe them to be too small to be fully effective regarding wind / rain protection. Also if the bike takes a small tumble, I'm not sure they will stop the levers being snapped. 3/10
17. Vibration - certainly less by virtue of tighter tolerances. Although the old bike isn't really problematic anyway. 8/10
18. Roadholding - in the wet it was surefooted. No issues. Traction was good and no surprises. Cornering was precise and inspires confidence. Braking was certainly ok and I can confirm the ABS works! 9/10
19. Overall - I don't think another Adventure bike comes close to this but it's going to need significant mods to make it work like I like. BMW seemed to have built a machine that is pretty, pokey and appeals to the masses. 7/10.
If you agree or not, post responses if you feel inclined.
I'm going to have to test ride again in the dry where I can test the suspension and roadholding to a greater degree. I'll update this once done.
Conditions: Very Wet
Ride Time: 1.5 hours
Roads: Motorway, lanes, A and B roads. Surfaces all good quality
1. Looks - love it. It's now better looking than the Triumph - it's closest rival in my humble opinion. But again, this is just my opinion. 9/10.
2. Engine - magic. The old GS, I felt, although adequate, was a little short on power when fully loaded. Not excessively but on occasion I would have liked just a bit more poke. Don't get me wrong my bike is perfectly pokey enough but when i reminisce about the old blackbird days, I sometimes would like a bit more of that grin factor. But the new GS was excellent in terms of power. Again not too much as to be ridiculous but it pulls well in all gears and in all rev ranges. In dynamic mode, it's genuinely fun and puts a smile on your face. 10/10
3. Tyres - the tyres are fab. Anakees. I know this from doing 7k miles on my own and still have 4.5mm left on the rear! Sometimes a bit noisy but hey, I still prefer the longevity. Glad to see Anakees on the new GS as standard. 10/10
4. Plastics - reasonable as far as I could see. Pretty sturdy all round. Not sure on the protection effectiveness of the winglets etc as there seemed to be quite a lot of water splashes behind the screen etc. Important to those of us who attach phones behind the screen and want that protection - but probably not enough to worry even to most rubbish case. The blue version of the bike, the tank colour shade doesn't match the seat colour very well. Seems that could have been done better. Many of the plastic items were intentionally flexible - I don't see an issue with that though. 7/10
5. Screen - it is small, too small. Maybe even 6 inches lower than my old GS. Of course the design may have alleviated the need to have a large screen but the protection simply wasn't there. Even with the full adjustment in effect. It was also very flexible - on the verge of flimsy. I assumed that was again by design but what it does mean is, BMW do not recommend attaching a deflector. This is a problem for me as I remove mine when it suits me - warmer weather, want better view in the mountains etc. So a replacement screen is needed if you want more protection (reports of those being 'flexible' to!). I fiddled with the adjuster which you can do while riding along if needed and it certainly was effective - if you want even more wind that is. 3/10
6. Noise - tyre noise aside, the bike is pleasantly quiet. A nice bark from the exhaust when you request it but otherwise pretty good for the times when you want to concentrate on the view. 8/10
7. Power Sockets - only one. I find I need two so I'd have to fit another. 4/10
8. Compartments - there are a couple to put your credit card but not really any others. So you'll probably end up buying supplementary tool boxes/number plate boxes. 4/10
9. Seat - after 45 mins I was suffering pain. I only solved this on my own bike via a Touratech purchase so it looks like I'd have to do the same with this one. Disappointing. Then again, if I lost some weight, things might be different! 3/10
10. Protection - My boots were very wet at the end of the test ride. This is not the case with mine. But I suspect my front fender extender helps with this. But yet again, another purchase required. But the rear of my legs were also very wet and so was my 'seating region'. I guess there was a lot of water being thrown up by the rear wheel. Looking at the rear mudguard later, I suspect a Mudsling is required. I mentioned screen protection above. I did notice a reasonable amount of wind buffeting at motorway speeds but what the heck. A bigger screen would probably solve this anyway, but the noise level does increase nevertheless. Having said this, the only bikes that do better on this as standard are the RT1200 and K1600 - but I ain't buying one of them! 4/10
11. Handle Bar Risers - I need them as I have an old shoulder injury but of course my old ones don't fit the new bars. But this is fairly unique to me. NA.
12. Feet / riding position. I like it although feet fully adjust anyway. 8/10
13. Switch gear - I like the old indicator setup personally. The reach across the 'controller wheel' to the indicators was fairly long and since it does nothing unless the Nav V is attached, it's always on your mind. The rest of the switches are okish though. 7/10
14. Clocks and data - Nice layout without trying to look like the K16 or RT12. Clocks were pretty easy to see but the data items were a but tricky with the 'spacey' thin font. 7/10
15. Heated Grips - Surprised these didn't work like the K16 or the RT12 (using the controller and more settings). Still only two settings and the hottest simply wasn't hot enough. At 5 degrees, my fingers don't normally get that cold. 3/10
16. Hand guards - I think these need a mention. I believe them to be too small to be fully effective regarding wind / rain protection. Also if the bike takes a small tumble, I'm not sure they will stop the levers being snapped. 3/10
17. Vibration - certainly less by virtue of tighter tolerances. Although the old bike isn't really problematic anyway. 8/10
18. Roadholding - in the wet it was surefooted. No issues. Traction was good and no surprises. Cornering was precise and inspires confidence. Braking was certainly ok and I can confirm the ABS works! 9/10
19. Overall - I don't think another Adventure bike comes close to this but it's going to need significant mods to make it work like I like. BMW seemed to have built a machine that is pretty, pokey and appeals to the masses. 7/10.
If you agree or not, post responses if you feel inclined.
I'm going to have to test ride again in the dry where I can test the suspension and roadholding to a greater degree. I'll update this once done.
....its obviously a whole chunk of cash and the 3 year resale value could be interesting, i wonder how they compare to BMW?
