It helps to put my comments into context. I bought my first R80GS in 1982 from Motorcycle City. They discounted it to £1999 because nobody quite understood what it was meant to be and they could not shift it. That bike could do anything - apart from drive through the side of a Mini Traveller and remain intact. Fast forward to 2004 and the R1200GS came out. It fired me up like that original R80GS and I bought one. Then Euan and Charlie's little series went viral and the world and his dog followed suite.

The R1200GS Mk1 model was a brilliant bike but it had its faults, mainly due to the complex electronics. Mind you, the use of CANbus, etc. was pretty groundbreaking stuff in the motorcycle world. The thing I really didn't like was the linked, power-assisted, ABS-infested brakes. When they worked, they were brilliant. When they didn't and warning lights started flashing, they were a pain. When you forgot to turn off the ABS on loose surfaces they were a liability. However, I have never known a bike that eats miles with such grace, particularly when it is fitted with the tall Nippy Norman screen.

In 2010 I bought the Mk3 version, with spoked wheels and without ABS - despite being told by the shop that the lack of ABS would damage the resale value. Better that than the bike damaging me. This is the bike I have scored for this review. Just about everything about it is better than the Mk1, particularly the reliability. It is difficult to know how to score its off-road ability. Compared with my KTM 690 it is heavy and clumsy, and the pots get in the way when you try to dab or do a motocross-style turn. However, compared to any other bike of this capacity, it is amazingly good. The two bikes together just about cover everything I would want to do on a bike.

Well, you'll never hear somebody say it's light to pick up!!

It's my first ture enduro and despite my lack of skills both on and off road, the standard GS will make you look like a pro! It's been everything I could have hoped for and more. The bike will gladly fill your hearts desire to go anywhere.....anywhere your not afraid to pick up a 500lb monster. That being said, whichever terrain you throw at it, the GS will make you believe all bikes feel this comfortable while going over jagged rocks! I've ridden across the US twice, going off-road in Death Valley and Moab with zero issues.

The downside to the GS is simply up to you. If you tinker with bikes and do your own maintenance then you'll likely be very happy. If on the other hand you don't then the GS has a high care and feeding cost in my book! 6K oil changes are about $200-$300 depending on where you live and the dealer you take it to. 12K service is/can be $600-$800!!! YIKES!! I guess they don't call it "B"ing "M"y "W" allet for nothing?!

To sum it up, it's large, a bit plush with do-hicky's, is very good on gas if you want it to be, can be ridden anywhere and has a character that isn't in many other bikes. As people have stated, if you wanted just one bike in your stable it's hard to look pass it!

This is probably the best bike I've ever owned and definitely the most comfortable to ride. Add a tall screen, panniers and a top box and it's all you need for touring or daily commuting in all weathers. Great brakes and suspension make the back-roads fun, although the engine isn't as smooth as some, it pulls well enough for a 200kg bike with a fat-boy on top and munches motorway miles all day long.

For true adventure riding it's a bit too fragile, even with a billion bolt-on extra from Touratec. It's too heavy and too wide for off-road use beyond graded roads and a green lane or two. And way too expensive to drop.

The tank is good for about 220 miles but the seat for only about half that. Has a proper pillion seat and handles well two up with gear. Mines been 100% reliable so far, but there are enough complaints about broken brake controllers, rear drives and fuel pumps for me to take it anywhere the recovery truck won't go.

I'd consider buying another one and I'll be keeping this one for a while yet, but it's not head-and-shoulders above the rest, like the 1100GS and 1150GS were. There's a lot of competition in this class now and much of what the 1200GS has to offer is just average; the choice isn't so clear cut.

Despite year on year records sales, second prices are still high - partly because new bike prices are truly enormous, especially when you add in the "must have options". There is a lot of choice now though and bargains can be found if you shop around.

This was one of the nicest bikes I ever owned but it has some slight issues which make it just short of perfect. It's a huge and heavy machine and when you first sit on you quickly realise just how big this thing is. The weight is carried very low in the flat boxer engine so the first surprise is how light it actually feels. The engine is crude, nothing more than what's absolutely necessary to make it turn the back wheel and this is where the slight flaw in this motorcycle is. For some reason BMW feel the need to take an antique, flawlessly reliable engine and stick all manner of electronic gadgets on it that frequently give problems. During my year with this bike I saw a number of problems which necessitated having the bike recovered twice and took the bike off the road a number of times. To be fair the first time the bike let me down was a simple matter of a dead battery which was easily sorted with a gel battery which improved reliability considerably. The second was a simple mistake with the electronic brakes that amounted to nothing more than a design flaw. It also blew out bulbs every few weeks, constantly showed errors in the rear bulbs while it was working fine and had very strange mileage readings which meant I could never quite guess when the fuel was running out. All of these were just silly electronic issues, nothing mechanical and my opinion is that if this bike was simplified and the bulk of the gadgets were stripped away making it more basic this would be the perfect enduro-tourer.
What you do have works brilliantly for the most part. The handling is odd at first and the front is very remote but once you've got the hang of it this bike will handle corners quicker than a sports bike half her size. The engine has just enough power but only just enough, there is room for more but it really has all you'd ever need for any real world situation.
Handling off road is stunning for a machine that weighs as much as a bus. It storms through just about any terrain with a sure-footed determination that inspires confidence. I was fortunate enough never to lose it but my guess is if she had lost her footing there would be no recovering from it and the bike would go over. Of course this is a compromise as a smaller bike might recover from a mistake but also might be more likely to fall prey to one. In any case, with any luggage on there is no issue between this and a lighter machine and you'd be hard pressed to find a better bike to load up and go exploring.
Being a BMW means it both benefits and suffers from holding its value and you can expect to find this a wise investment if you can justify the cost of investing in one in the first place. The other BMW quirk is that there is a wealth of stuff to bolt on that has various degrees of usefulness and it's all too easy to fall prey to the desire to spend a frightening amount on after-market bits.
My overall opinion is that this is a great bike. I loved it but after all it just wasn't for me. If I needed a bike to cover a huge distance I would not hesitate to buy another but budget for the extras you need ahead of time (and include a gel battery on your shopping list.) If I were to buy another I would probably look to the older models which had a better reputation for reliability but slightly less power. After owning one ofr a while you quickly realise that that is not what these are or should be all about.