Eh up everyone
I've just been out for my first ride on an 1150GS that I bought this morning. It's the first boxer I've owned - but not the first I've ridden. I went out on an 1200RT some years ago - a 30 minute group test ride from Squires. Me and a mate wanted to ride the GS - but the queue for the GS was too long, so we settled for the 800GS and the 1200RT. I hated the former, and liked the latter quite a lot. I was on a CB500 at that time, so the 1200 felt long-legged, comfy, stable and well-nailed together. Way beyond my wallet though.
Not too long after that I bought a zx9r c2 for £1800, w/ less 20k on it and I enjoyed that a lot for 5 years and put 100k on it. Still got it but it's actually not running at the moment because of some very annoying electrical fault.
My main reason for getting an 1150GS is because I live on rough, narrow single track back lanes - the 9r will do these, and for years I've been happy to ride it on them. Being 900 odd cc it's got good midrange goes really well. They're excellent bikes, actually. But it was time for a change. A proper change, as well. So many of my mates have got GSs (mostly 1250s, and 1200s), I thought ah sod it, let's go over to the dark side.
So for several months I've been on the look out for an 1150gs - they're relatively affordable, and one of my regular riding buds has always had a lot of praise for them, having owned three. He's now on a 850 Tiger cos he needs something a bit smaller and lighter.
I went to view an 1150 last week, and it seemed like a reasonable deal so we shook on it - and today was my first ride. Manhandling it out of the garage was a different job than with the zx9r. But I was soon ready. I had to take a good look at the weird indicator cancellers, and getting some air in the spoked wheels was really fiddly as well. I need a different pressure gauge - it doesn't seem to get on with the GS. Nor does the pump. At first, I was trying to get at the rear valve from the offside with the bike on the side-stand. Wow that was quite annoying. It then occurred to me to try it on the main-stand - so I could get at it from the nearside. This was easier. Still a faff compared to cast wheels though.
Eventually I got the tyres up from 20psi front and back to 32 / 36 psi. I thumbed the starter and she didn't want to idle so I nursed her for a few minutes - then she settled at 1k and sounded content and ready to rumble. My drive is a bit awkward, being steep and short. Most of the time I can get out, on the zx9r, without dabbing - but no way was I gonna try this on my first ride on the GS. So I left her in neutral and coasted down, got a good view L/R, selected first and off we went.
30 through the village, then into unmarked back lane NSLs and gently up to speed. I was doing 75 promptly, and the bike felt happy and settled. The lane is a narrow one with a couple of vaguely tricky turns. The GS just rumbled through them at speed - nonchalantly and smoothly.
My first impressions, in the five minutes of riding were something like this: It's a big bike, but soon feels safe. It's definitely the gentle giant they say it is. The brakes are great. The engine braking is very useful. The mirrors are fantastic (mine has extensions, apparently...NB the mirrors on the 9 are excellent too, but the GSs are even better....I love having good mirrors). The seat is okay. The gearbox is NOT agricultural, as many told me it would be - I found it always selected very positively, and dare I say it, slickly. The suspension is plush but not soggy. The torque is all there, all the time. It's got generous power. It lacks the raw excitement of my zx9r, which was dyno'd a month ago at 130bhp. But even though the GS makes a lot less power, it doesn't feel weak, sluggish or reluctant. My immediate vibe was the GS is a sort of muscular and strong thing - planted, comfy and friendly. Its steering is accurate and light. It goes where you look, without hesitation.
Within 30 minutes I'm thinking yes, this is a good bike. Quite possibly very good. Mild-mannered, obedient and seemingly wanting to please. I was only at the speed limit, but that's fine. This last year or two I'm more than happy to keep things pretty legal. Anyway, having done some back lanes, and 10 miles of flowing A-road I thought I'd see what the GS was like for town work.
I was a bit worried about the eccentric indicator switch gear, also the weight of the bike when pulling up to junctions, and the character of the boxer twin in 20s and 30s (would it surge and run on, for instance). However, I very quickly realised the bike is content to plod, trickle and even tip-toe. The fuelling is very good for EFI. I felt no surging, and the bike seemed amiable in second for the 20s and third for the 30s. I didn't get any filtering in, but wouldn't have hesitated to if the traffic had've been clogged. As for the switch gear, it was okay. What helped was the big instrument panel with very obvious and bright indicator idiot lights, etc. I probably spent 20 minutes or more poddling through housing estates and such like. The bike seemed cool, and showed no signs of getting hot and bothered. Great. I love a bike that can do this sort of stuff (the nine was ace for town work, believe it or not).
Next, I headed for one of my favourite b-roads - loads of dramatic elevation changes and tight turns, it's a good test of pretty much any bike. As I expected, the GS was composed throughout. I wasn't going mad, but was definitely up to and a bit over legal speeds. It will gladly tackle challenging corners - it inspires confidence, leans well, punches out of the bends eagerly, and seems to always be willing to squirt ahead on overtakes. It's not too fussed what gear it's in, and soaks up imperfections in the road effortlessly. In fact, it seems to shrug everything off - nothing phases it. Lovely.
Then it was onto terrible, rough and tight back lanes - which are going to make up the majority of its miles under my ownership. It was good here too. The tele-lever front and the sheer weight of the bike are unshakeable. Nothing seems to bother it.
I might also add that I got none of the vagueness that reviews warn about when coming from conventional front suspension to tele-lever set ups. Everything felt "right" and responsive. I would say that the GS is just as tractable as my nine, if not more so - even though it's a few chunks heavier. The GS isn't quite as eager as the Kawasaki - but it's obviously a big, sweet bike that loves being ridden.
Summarily, I feel like I've already bonded with the GS. I appreciate that sounds pretty daft - I only rode it for an hour. But still - it's not like the nine, which took a little while to fully embrace. No - the GS cossets, and there's the sense that it's looking after you. At least that was my impression.
Some other quick thoughts. It's got grip puppies on it, which I kind of don't like....but I suspect may be hiding deteriorated OEM grips (which may even be cracked and broken). I'll peel them back and see what's beneath. If the original grips are good, the puppies are coming off. The ABS light is flashing all the time. Perhaps because the battery is tired? That's what Google seems to be suggesting. Other than those things, everything seems right with the bike so far. Early days though.
Finally - if anyone has good suggestions for a pressure gauge that works with these spoked wheels, and also a hand pump that will do the job, please let me know. I struggled with it tonight and ideally need an easier way to check and inflate these tyres. Other than that, I'm very pleased with the bike on the strength of this first ride.
PS I love these aftermarket wide pegs - so, so much better than the puny OEM ones. I think these might be those expensive pivoting Australian ones. In any case, they seem very well made and if you have to get up on them to be off the seat for a dire pot hole or similar, they're great. The Remus exhaust is good as well - I thought it might be a bit loud (I actually love quiet bikes these days), but it's fine.
I've just been out for my first ride on an 1150GS that I bought this morning. It's the first boxer I've owned - but not the first I've ridden. I went out on an 1200RT some years ago - a 30 minute group test ride from Squires. Me and a mate wanted to ride the GS - but the queue for the GS was too long, so we settled for the 800GS and the 1200RT. I hated the former, and liked the latter quite a lot. I was on a CB500 at that time, so the 1200 felt long-legged, comfy, stable and well-nailed together. Way beyond my wallet though.
Not too long after that I bought a zx9r c2 for £1800, w/ less 20k on it and I enjoyed that a lot for 5 years and put 100k on it. Still got it but it's actually not running at the moment because of some very annoying electrical fault.
My main reason for getting an 1150GS is because I live on rough, narrow single track back lanes - the 9r will do these, and for years I've been happy to ride it on them. Being 900 odd cc it's got good midrange goes really well. They're excellent bikes, actually. But it was time for a change. A proper change, as well. So many of my mates have got GSs (mostly 1250s, and 1200s), I thought ah sod it, let's go over to the dark side.
So for several months I've been on the look out for an 1150gs - they're relatively affordable, and one of my regular riding buds has always had a lot of praise for them, having owned three. He's now on a 850 Tiger cos he needs something a bit smaller and lighter.
I went to view an 1150 last week, and it seemed like a reasonable deal so we shook on it - and today was my first ride. Manhandling it out of the garage was a different job than with the zx9r. But I was soon ready. I had to take a good look at the weird indicator cancellers, and getting some air in the spoked wheels was really fiddly as well. I need a different pressure gauge - it doesn't seem to get on with the GS. Nor does the pump. At first, I was trying to get at the rear valve from the offside with the bike on the side-stand. Wow that was quite annoying. It then occurred to me to try it on the main-stand - so I could get at it from the nearside. This was easier. Still a faff compared to cast wheels though.
Eventually I got the tyres up from 20psi front and back to 32 / 36 psi. I thumbed the starter and she didn't want to idle so I nursed her for a few minutes - then she settled at 1k and sounded content and ready to rumble. My drive is a bit awkward, being steep and short. Most of the time I can get out, on the zx9r, without dabbing - but no way was I gonna try this on my first ride on the GS. So I left her in neutral and coasted down, got a good view L/R, selected first and off we went.
30 through the village, then into unmarked back lane NSLs and gently up to speed. I was doing 75 promptly, and the bike felt happy and settled. The lane is a narrow one with a couple of vaguely tricky turns. The GS just rumbled through them at speed - nonchalantly and smoothly.
My first impressions, in the five minutes of riding were something like this: It's a big bike, but soon feels safe. It's definitely the gentle giant they say it is. The brakes are great. The engine braking is very useful. The mirrors are fantastic (mine has extensions, apparently...NB the mirrors on the 9 are excellent too, but the GSs are even better....I love having good mirrors). The seat is okay. The gearbox is NOT agricultural, as many told me it would be - I found it always selected very positively, and dare I say it, slickly. The suspension is plush but not soggy. The torque is all there, all the time. It's got generous power. It lacks the raw excitement of my zx9r, which was dyno'd a month ago at 130bhp. But even though the GS makes a lot less power, it doesn't feel weak, sluggish or reluctant. My immediate vibe was the GS is a sort of muscular and strong thing - planted, comfy and friendly. Its steering is accurate and light. It goes where you look, without hesitation.
Within 30 minutes I'm thinking yes, this is a good bike. Quite possibly very good. Mild-mannered, obedient and seemingly wanting to please. I was only at the speed limit, but that's fine. This last year or two I'm more than happy to keep things pretty legal. Anyway, having done some back lanes, and 10 miles of flowing A-road I thought I'd see what the GS was like for town work.
I was a bit worried about the eccentric indicator switch gear, also the weight of the bike when pulling up to junctions, and the character of the boxer twin in 20s and 30s (would it surge and run on, for instance). However, I very quickly realised the bike is content to plod, trickle and even tip-toe. The fuelling is very good for EFI. I felt no surging, and the bike seemed amiable in second for the 20s and third for the 30s. I didn't get any filtering in, but wouldn't have hesitated to if the traffic had've been clogged. As for the switch gear, it was okay. What helped was the big instrument panel with very obvious and bright indicator idiot lights, etc. I probably spent 20 minutes or more poddling through housing estates and such like. The bike seemed cool, and showed no signs of getting hot and bothered. Great. I love a bike that can do this sort of stuff (the nine was ace for town work, believe it or not).
Next, I headed for one of my favourite b-roads - loads of dramatic elevation changes and tight turns, it's a good test of pretty much any bike. As I expected, the GS was composed throughout. I wasn't going mad, but was definitely up to and a bit over legal speeds. It will gladly tackle challenging corners - it inspires confidence, leans well, punches out of the bends eagerly, and seems to always be willing to squirt ahead on overtakes. It's not too fussed what gear it's in, and soaks up imperfections in the road effortlessly. In fact, it seems to shrug everything off - nothing phases it. Lovely.
Then it was onto terrible, rough and tight back lanes - which are going to make up the majority of its miles under my ownership. It was good here too. The tele-lever front and the sheer weight of the bike are unshakeable. Nothing seems to bother it.
I might also add that I got none of the vagueness that reviews warn about when coming from conventional front suspension to tele-lever set ups. Everything felt "right" and responsive. I would say that the GS is just as tractable as my nine, if not more so - even though it's a few chunks heavier. The GS isn't quite as eager as the Kawasaki - but it's obviously a big, sweet bike that loves being ridden.
Summarily, I feel like I've already bonded with the GS. I appreciate that sounds pretty daft - I only rode it for an hour. But still - it's not like the nine, which took a little while to fully embrace. No - the GS cossets, and there's the sense that it's looking after you. At least that was my impression.
Some other quick thoughts. It's got grip puppies on it, which I kind of don't like....but I suspect may be hiding deteriorated OEM grips (which may even be cracked and broken). I'll peel them back and see what's beneath. If the original grips are good, the puppies are coming off. The ABS light is flashing all the time. Perhaps because the battery is tired? That's what Google seems to be suggesting. Other than those things, everything seems right with the bike so far. Early days though.
Finally - if anyone has good suggestions for a pressure gauge that works with these spoked wheels, and also a hand pump that will do the job, please let me know. I struggled with it tonight and ideally need an easier way to check and inflate these tyres. Other than that, I'm very pleased with the bike on the strength of this first ride.
PS I love these aftermarket wide pegs - so, so much better than the puny OEM ones. I think these might be those expensive pivoting Australian ones. In any case, they seem very well made and if you have to get up on them to be off the seat for a dire pot hole or similar, they're great. The Remus exhaust is good as well - I thought it might be a bit loud (I actually love quiet bikes these days), but it's fine.
