Just Wanted to Say HI

Last Sunday on my way home from an IAM ride i popped into the a BMW dealer. I tried an 1150 Adventure a couple of years ago and loved it but was persuaded to go for a much newer Kawasaki Versys 650. Since then I've done 28000 miles on the Kwak which is still a brilliant bike for a lot of what I do, commuting, but despite my best efforts it's showing the signs of running through 2 winters. Spending 10k on a GS Adventure to get me out of oiling/cleaning/replacing chains does seem a bit extravagant, I plumped for the Adventure as I think I'll get away with one fill up a week .

Anyway I'm hopefully picking it up on Thursday - bring on the rain - an hour plus test ride was enough to convince that it will be easily as good and probably miles better than the Kawasaki. Concerns, it's a bit wider so will I struggle filtering on the motorway. The topbox looks a bit small for my laptop bag. And will it be easier to keep clean and tidy? I'm also worried about turning it around in my garage which requires an 82 point turn to swing the Versys around in, I think I might get a turntable.

Anyway looking forward to advice, tips and banter and most of all riding even more than I do at the moment. Off to the TT in May which should be a good trip.

Greetings & welcome to the forum....

Hi there from another newbie.

I think you might be shocked at just how easy it is to man handle the GS around. I know I have been. It is so well balanced that I often move it out of my garage by hand and the amount of lock is amazing as well. I would always sit on my previous bikes to move them out as I just didn't feel confident with the weight.

Something you might be interested in checking out in due course is the Abba Skylift. I saw it at the bike show and I think it's brilliant. It's not cheap but then nothing worth having is. They were doing it for a great price at the show so that's probably the time to get one.