Calling all GS 1200 owners

[Mike101]

Morning all,

over the past few months i've read a lot about the quality issues with the GS1200 range. One day i might get a GSA as i need the large tank so i'm trying to get to the bottom of the issue.

What i would like to do is to take a quick snap shot of people on here. So if you own a GS1200 or a GSA please can you reply to this post with the following.

Model
Year
Miles
Typr of riding EG 605 road 40% trail
Faults

Please reaply if you have nto had any faults as that info is just as valuable as any faults. A lot of people say how bad teh GS1200 is but lets see what the numbers say.

Mike

[johnnyboxer]

Does it have to be a 12GS................the 1100/1150GS's are still very good and much more simple to maintain and run for the longer term


.... and the 1150GSA is 3kg lighter than a 12GSA :whistle:

[gebrauchtwagen83]

had 2 r1200gs's for a short while. a 2008 r1200gs with 13k miles and a new 2012 GSA. didnt have any issues with either except for a bulb go :woohoo: but didnt run them that long.

[nothingtosee]

Model: R1200 GSA
Year: 2009
Miles: 12000
Type of riding: 70% Road 30% Trail
Faults:
- Rear wheel bearing needed replacing at 7000 miles (common issue).
- Paint flaking off cylinder head covers.
- Crack in cylinder head cover due to too many drops. Engine bars don't quite protect them enough.
- Sheared two frame to engine bolts in Morocco but there was a lot of rough riding.
- Plenty of ACf50 and/or FS 365 is needed to keep corrosion away.

[bimota]

hi,
2009 1200gsa
90% road riding
21000 miles
FUEL GAUGE doesn,t work very common run of trip now
REAR drive bearings changed at 18000 miles £300 hmy: hmy:

[Mike101]

I wanted to keep this to the 1200 for now.

But good stuff so far. please keep it coming.

mike

[coyotedave]

R1200GS.
2007, 57 plate. Owned from new.
66365 miles, and growing.
Mainly all road miles, except for the odd dry trail/track.
No major problems, all updates done at service intervals.
Lamp fail, blown headlight bulb as been the only problem.
Rear wheel bearing seal replaced about at about 40k.
Still on original front pads, 3rd set in rear.
Tyres, original trorances preferred. Fronts last about 14k, rears about 8k. Depends on type of roads, motorway/auto for distance work.
No corrosion problems, but I do a jot of cleaning and polishing, :laugh:
GT85 is good for keeping the water out and good for a light wipe over after polishing.
Scottoiler fs365 is also good.
Keep up with service intervals,and keep checking yourself for any problems.

The shaft will go at some point and I will get it done. If I was riding a chain driven bike I would have had 3 sets of chain and sprockets on by now, even with a Scottoiler. So the cost of replacing the shaft ain't too bad.

My 2 bobs worth.


Cheers Dave.

[wideparting]

1200 gsa 59 reg
90 percent road riding 35000 miles
i final drive,just in warrantee when it went.
2 foglamp switches in warrantee
massive corrosion on front engine case,perhaps i dont clean it enough.if i had another one,i would put a crud catcher on it.
vibey at motorway speeds.
just changed it for a crosstourer,and im not too sure about the ct.yes i would have another gsa.

[bandit1250gt]

Had a 59 plate GSA.

I think I got rid with just over 17500 miles. Final drive went just outside Zurich whilst touring with the wife. I must admit BMW were with me within the hour, replacement GSA and bike sorted out under warranty. We did have a few other "niggles" with it whilst on other Europen trips and the wife got a wee bit pissed off so I got rid. Personally I thought it was a fantastic bike for we used it for, 80% road touring and the rest some very light off road fun.

[AndyE]

2008 GSA, owned from new and now with around 30,000 on the clock.

The only problem has been with an alternator belt failing at around 15,000 miles simultaneously with the front main seal springing a leak. It's not sure whether the seal went and oil contamination damaged the belt, or if the belt failed and in the process damaged the seal. On removing the front plastic cover a load of grit from previous green-laning trips fell out, so possibly this hastened the demise of the belt. Either way it was repaired under warranty.

I've not had any fuel pump or ring antenna failures, and am still on the original final drive bearings. The bike's got ESA and all the other toys, none of which have had any problems. No significant corrosion despite me not really giving it much TLC.

I've green laned it and toured 2-up on it extensively and the bike's just finished an 8500 mile trip in 4 weeks, from Santa Rosa, California to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and back in temperatures ranging from 4c to 43c and didn't miss a beat. I was considering trading it in for another one but will probably keep it long-term and treat it to some new shocks and a remap.