New tyres on my RS...

... and was lucky enough to have a loan of the 850 GSA.



What a revelation, couldn’t stop grinning and as much fun as the first ride on my old 1200GSA was.

I’m now sorely tempted despite haven been convinced that the RS was my perfect bike, oh woe is me!

Bikes Required = Current No of Bikes Owned +1

Looks really nice. It may have hard a hard life, but unless mistaken, showing signs of corrosion already?

The 850 is hideous.
Such a shame as the 800GSA looked very different and purposeful.
I’m sure the 850 motor is a step up from the 800 but the looks are dreadful,IMHO of course.
I looked at them at the launch at EICMA in 2018.Not my cup of tea, but we all like different things




Looks very top heavy.Is that the case , Mr OP ?

Arsey said:

Looks very top heavy.Is that the case , Mr OP ?

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The one I rode had about half a tank of fuel and didn’t feel top heavy at all, which was a pleasant surprise. I tried some slow riding around a car park, tight turns etc and it feels well balanced.

Weaving about in heavy traffic, the bike seemed nimble and despite cold and damp road conditions it handled well through roundabouts and bends.

I did manage to stall it once, just after nose diving to a sudden stop as a car pulled out on me.

On the one stretch of dual carriageway, it accelerated smoothly up to the high ninety’s before I was forced to slow down.

For solo riding, and probably with luggage, it accelerated and handled well. Not sure how it would cope with the extra weight of a pillion.

Edit, the brakes are adequate but could do with a little more stopping power.

All in all, it feels like a GSA, with less power/torque than the larger versions, but wonderfully much lighter in weight.

Qjumper said:

The one I rode had about half a tank of fuel and didn’t feel top heavy at all, which was a pleasant surprise. I tried some slow riding around a car park, tight turns etc and it feels well balanced.

Weaving about in heavy traffic, the bike seemed nimble and despite cold and damp road conditions it handled well through roundabouts and bends.

I did manage to stall it once, just after nose diving to a sudden stop as a car pulled out on me.

On the one stretch of dual carriageway, it accelerated smoothly up to the high ninety’s before I was forced to slow down.

For solo riding, and probably with luggage, it accelerated and handled well. Not sure how it would cope with the extra weight of a pillion.

Click to expand...

Ta for the feedback.
Don’t think I could ever own one with those looks though.

Arsey said:

Ta for the feedback.
Don’t think I could ever own one with those looks though.

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They aren’t pretty.