My thoughts on the BMW 1200GS

[Cone]

Didnt you see the videos of Salisbury plain, there are plenty of people who are very capable off road on these machines. I for one was pleasently surprised how good they were and go anywhere they did.

I have too say after riding my f800 when i was commuting to and from Hannover to the UK every weekend on my zx10r i would have died for a bike like the GS, my arse was in bits! :silly:

Personally I have found a fun side now on my beemer rather than hooning around the roads trying to go faster than your mates.

[Mac 60]

Didnt you see the videos of Salisbury plain, there are plenty of people who are very capable off road on these machines. I for one was pleasently surprised how good they were and go anywhere they did.

I have too say after riding my f800 when i was commuting to and from Hannover to the UK every weekend on my zx10r i would have died for a bike like the GS, my arse was in bits! :silly:

Personally I have found a fun side now on my beemer rather than hooning around the roads trying to go faster than your mates.

Oh yea there are as you say plenty of people capable of riding these machines off road but its hardly a demographic of there owners. Especially where i live with no green laning available.

[geoham]

what a good further explanation..there is no need for an in fight.

Yes a very good further explanation and it's refreshing to see that the subject of a certain bike can be discussed on here without the usual crap of running a bike down,I will add mostly by people who have never ridden one let alone owned one!

Not sure where the idea of an in fight has come from unless going by previous threads then I can understand!

[PHILinFRANCE]

I,m with Alan on this , i'm far from hateing them in fact i realy like them BUT the realality is for me they are TO BIG , TO HEAVY and theres no way i could afford one.

[boatman]

I am very very much of the opinion that it's different bike for different folks, it simply depends what you want it for !
What I mean is :- a trials bike could not do this, and this could not do what a trials does
All quite simple really

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[vRSG60]

First of all, its huge. And this was the factory lowered version. I'm 6'2", 17st, and the GS is enormous.

I'm 5'-6" & 65kg wet through, I have a lowered version (thumbs)

[SteveW]

The OP is a little confused. The title is "My thoughts on the BMW 1200GS" He then goes on to talk about his mate's BMW 1200 GSA.
I think that he's got a point, even though he probably doesn't quite realise it......The 1200 GSA is all a bit unnecessary, for me it probably is just a little bit too big. The 1200GS is a fair bit less imposing and would be my choice between the two. I'm sure a fair few of us who've owned both would agree?
Either bike is fantastic though.

[KN0BBY]

Genuinely curious (well thats what the missus calls me).
When I look at bikes like these and I include stuff like triumph tigers, not just BMWs, I see a touring bike.
Apart from Tyres which are changeable on any bike, what parts of the design makes a BMW GSA an adventure bike as opposed to a Tourer (pr-supposing that the term 'adventure bike' indicates some capability not withing a Tourer's ability)

Serious question, I am sure most people buy them for touring plain and simple, so if you bought one just for road touring, why didnt you buy a road tourer? (if there is indeed any difference)

[AlanHolt]

Another preconceived GS hater

Stick with your 'better' bikes, your prejudice stands out a mile

I'm not a hater. I haven't had an off-road capable bike since I was a teenager, prior to buying my XT600 18 months ago. I never go to meets, rallies or bike shows, so this was the first time I've got up close and personal with one. It's actually made me respect their riders even more.

I've been looking at selling my current bikes to get a good all-rounder, but having also not got close to the bikes I'm considering, are they all going to be big, heavy behemoth machines.

[qcnr]

I like your point of view Alan. I have only sat on one in a showroom, then got off and sat on a Honda Africa Twin.
I admit I was intimmidated by the BMW, coming from a Honda XL600V (which I think is big :unsure: ) The AT easily felt much more a thome between my legs, I'm 6ft and have never managed to tip the scales above 85kg, even though there isn't that much weight difference.
Also where I live there is very limited oppertunity to try different bikes, as there are only 2 dealers (Honda BMW Kawasaki Suxuki yamaha and Triumph) Anything else means travelling for hours.
But I certainly won't lift my nose up at people that do buy them. Everyone is different with different tastes and needs. So good effort those people that do ride them, and infact to everyone else who rides a motorbike, no matter what it looks like.