Last September, back when the world was normal, I took the opportunity to sell my Grinnall Scorpion three-wheeler and to put the proceeds towards a near-mint, low mileage, one owner, dealer serviced, late 2015 1200 GS Adventure TE. There then followed possibly the wettest winter I can recall, and I couldn't bring myself to take the thing out on the road and get it all grubby (pathetic, eh?). Then, just when it seemed the weather was perking up, along came lockdown, and no riding.
I should add at this point that I've ridden bikes now for coming up 50 years. BMWs since 1995. Since 2000, I've owned three big K1200LT tourers, and still have the latest of these - a 2008 model with all the bells and whistles. I've also ridden many other BMW models as loan bikes when mine's been in for servicing etc. None made much of an impact on me until, in 2017 I had a GS1200 Adventure as a loan bike for three or four days, and I began to think that, if I could ever afford a second bike, I might splash out on one of these.
And so, that's how things have panned out. I plan to keep the K1200LT, which has been my steed of choice for big two-up tours for many years, but I've always had to accept that it's a bit of a bus to wrestle around alpine roads, and I hankered after something more agile and something that I could have fun on riding solo.
My GSA was bought via the BMW web site, plus some very helpful photos from the dealer selling it. It arrived in almost mint condition, with pannier boxes etc, and over the winter, I've fallen for the charms of Nippy Normans and others, to add some bits and pieces, including upper crash bars, and useful bits of weather protection like a Mudsling, etc.
Now, of course, we are allowed out on the roads again, and I've been doing a couple of 100 mile or so outings a week. It didn't take me very long to tweak the GSA to suit my needs on the road - mainly a bit of playing about with seat height and experimenting with the various riding modes. It had the feel of a much larger bike than I think I expected - not rivalling my K1200LT, but really well "planted", get fantastically agile. Favourite rides out feel totally different, and at times, it almost feels like I'm learning to ride again. Why, I've even got used to the "standard" indicator switch, after nearly 20 years of using the LT's three-button system.
I have no plans to take the GSA off road. Not my scene at all, but I'd been planning an extended trip to the French Alps, based loosely around a south-north Route des Grades Alps crossing. I've done the RdGA a couple of times on a 1200LT, and really fancied it without having to "threepenny bit" around a lot of the hairpins, etc! I'm a freelance photographer and seldom travel light, either.
Of course, it looks like my RdGA trip has to go on the back-burner now until maybe next year, but my GSA has certainly given my motorcycling a new lease of life. That's how I've ended up joining the Forum. Give me a nod when you see me on the road!
Tom
I should add at this point that I've ridden bikes now for coming up 50 years. BMWs since 1995. Since 2000, I've owned three big K1200LT tourers, and still have the latest of these - a 2008 model with all the bells and whistles. I've also ridden many other BMW models as loan bikes when mine's been in for servicing etc. None made much of an impact on me until, in 2017 I had a GS1200 Adventure as a loan bike for three or four days, and I began to think that, if I could ever afford a second bike, I might splash out on one of these.
And so, that's how things have panned out. I plan to keep the K1200LT, which has been my steed of choice for big two-up tours for many years, but I've always had to accept that it's a bit of a bus to wrestle around alpine roads, and I hankered after something more agile and something that I could have fun on riding solo.
My GSA was bought via the BMW web site, plus some very helpful photos from the dealer selling it. It arrived in almost mint condition, with pannier boxes etc, and over the winter, I've fallen for the charms of Nippy Normans and others, to add some bits and pieces, including upper crash bars, and useful bits of weather protection like a Mudsling, etc.
Now, of course, we are allowed out on the roads again, and I've been doing a couple of 100 mile or so outings a week. It didn't take me very long to tweak the GSA to suit my needs on the road - mainly a bit of playing about with seat height and experimenting with the various riding modes. It had the feel of a much larger bike than I think I expected - not rivalling my K1200LT, but really well "planted", get fantastically agile. Favourite rides out feel totally different, and at times, it almost feels like I'm learning to ride again. Why, I've even got used to the "standard" indicator switch, after nearly 20 years of using the LT's three-button system.
I have no plans to take the GSA off road. Not my scene at all, but I'd been planning an extended trip to the French Alps, based loosely around a south-north Route des Grades Alps crossing. I've done the RdGA a couple of times on a 1200LT, and really fancied it without having to "threepenny bit" around a lot of the hairpins, etc! I'm a freelance photographer and seldom travel light, either.
Of course, it looks like my RdGA trip has to go on the back-burner now until maybe next year, but my GSA has certainly given my motorcycling a new lease of life. That's how I've ended up joining the Forum. Give me a nod when you see me on the road!
Tom
