Which GS?

[SteveW]

The LC is in my opinion the best GS.
It's fantastic to ride....all other models seem a bit unrefined and crude in comparison, each stage of its development improved the feel of the bike.
I don't care about it being overly complicated I always have BMW extended warranty.
I've covered 1000's of miles on BMW's and never been stranded. They still are premium products.
I took my GSA800T in for its 12,000 mile service yesterday and Williams gave me a GS1200 as a loan bike.
Defiantly faster than my 800. A better road tourer? Yes, but the 800 is very good.
I'm chuffed that I was happy to get back on my 800 and still feel it was better suited to me.

[Spike941]

Never owned or even riden a BM up until last week. Happy with my Explorer, even its little faults (seat and top heavy) but love it's power. Never wanted to follow the pack, everyone seems to ride a GS nowadays, that or riders of other brands don't get out much. I always claimed not knowing what all the fuss was about. Anyway, called into see my old mate of 50 years in Switzerland last week, he still rides a Harley, a 1955 Ariel and a DR400, but since I've had the Explorer I could see the GS thing was niggling him. We had a few hours to kill before taking the wives out in the evening, so he suggested we visit the local BMW dealership (which is also a Harley and Ducati dealer) and test ride the GS1200, the one with the big tank and all the bells, whistles, panniers etc. Being in Switzerland the roads where superb with some lovely twisties. WOW! Now I know why so many people love the GS. (The 1200 anyway) At 6'5" it seemed to fit me perfectly with the seat on its highest setting, the seat felt extremely comfortable, the lower centre of gravity was noticeably lower than the Explorer, the handling through the twisties was superb and such great torque.
I was impressed, but my mate handed over his Harley and signed on the dotted line there and then. He went for the triple black, which probably means something to you GS guys. Still love my Explorer, but shaln't bad mouth the GS's again. Nice bikes.

[robson]

I don't care about it being overly complicated I always have BMW extended warranty.
I've covered 1000's of miles on BMW's and never been stranded.

never been stranded? well, it's always that first time...it will come when least expected,
and if you're in the middle of nowhere you can put your extended warranty up in your arse

[ChasF]

I don't care about it being overly complicated I always have BMW extended warranty.
I've covered 1000's of miles on BMW's and never been stranded.

never been stranded? well, it's always that first time...it will come when least expected,
and if you're in the middle of nowhere you can put your extended warranty up in your arse

Have to agree with this. No amount of extended warranty is going to stop the thing clapping out when it is least convenient.

Which is why modern adventure bikes are hopeless overland travel bikes.

[SteveW]

ChasF.....how can you say modern Adventure bikes are hopeless overland bikes?
My personal experience.....
GS/GSA1200 Lancashire to my house in Eastern Bulgaria.......6 times No issues (once continued through to Gallipoli Turkey)
GSA1200 Lancashire to South Spain....No issues
GSA1200 Lancashire to South of France....No Issues.
GS 800 Lancashire to Bulgaria twice....No issues.
GS 800 Lancashire to Ukraine.....No issues.
GSA800 8000 miles around USA.....Blown headlight bulb and rear puncture.
Loads of trips around UK and Ireland.....only issues were punctures.
Other shorter trips into Western Europe....no issues.
I've only ever spent money on consumables and servicing.

[ChasF]

Fair enough, and when you're riding around in Europe or N.America, if it does clap out on you there is probablya BMW motorad dealer within a couple of hours. However if you are in the remoter parts of Africa, Asia or South America and the bike breaksdown you stand very little chance of fixing it at the side of the road and a dealer or garage that carries spares is likely to be a couple of countries away. On something low tech. It is easy to identify the things that will actually stop the bike getting you the next town - ignition, cables, electrical (as opposed to electronic) faults etc. and carry the necessary spares. It's not infallible but you stand a better chance of not having to resort to a tow truck.

There are some horror stories on the HU website.

[SteveW]

"Ride what the locals ride" is never a bad policy in remote areas.
If I was riding in India, SE Asia or the more remote parts of Africa, it'd probably be on a Fly/ride organised holiday with a tour company.
If I set off from Lancashire on an old Enfield to ride around India, I'd probably have my first mechanical break down in Cheshire and a nervous breakdown in Shropshire :laugh:

[geoham]

Fair enough, and when you're riding around in Europe or N.America, if it does clap out on you there is probablya BMW motorad dealer within a couple of hours. However if you are in the remoter parts of Africa, Asia or South America and the bike breaksdown you stand very little chance of fixing it at the side of the road and a dealer or garage that carries spares is likely to be a couple of countries away. On something low tech. It is easy to identify the things that will actually stop the bike getting you the next town - ignition, cables, electrical (as opposed to electronic) faults etc. and carry the necessary spares. It's not infallible but you stand a better chance of not having to resort to a tow truck.

There are some horror stories on the HU website.

ChasF Are you saying that it's only BMW's that could leave you stranded ?

As for the horror stories. I think if you go onto any of the motorcycle forums you will find guys running down all makes of bikes, usually from the same guys who have never ridden said bike but prefer to jump on the band wagon because they don't like a certain bike!

[ChasF]

Fair enough, and when you're riding around in Europe or N.America, if it does clap out on you there is probablya BMW motorad dealer within a couple of hours. However if you are in the remoter parts of Africa, Asia or South America and the bike breaksdown you stand very little chance of fixing it at the side of the road and a dealer or garage that carries spares is likely to be a couple of countries away. On something low tech. It is easy to identify the things that will actually stop the bike getting you the next town - ignition, cables, electrical (as opposed to electronic) faults etc. and carry the necessary spares. It's not infallible but you stand a better chance of not having to resort to a tow truck.

There are some horror stories on the HU website.

ChasF Are you saying that it's only BMW's that could leave you stranded ?

As for the horror stories. I think if you go onto any of the motorcycle forums you will find guys running down all makes of bikes, usually from the same guys who have never ridden said bike but prefer to jump on the band wagon because they don't like a certain bike!

No, all modern bikes are suspect. I'm far from anti BMW - I have three in my garage amongst other bikes. I also agree that forums often report the failures and rarely the successes.

Modern bikes are reliable but the problem is that they are not user serviceable. In my view late 80s and 90s bikes are just as reliable, just as capable and not loaded up with lots of electronics, much of which isn't necessary.

[bowber]

All this talk of too complicated to fix in the middle of no where is all dependant on you level of mechanical competence,
If you don't know one end of a spanner from another then it'll not matter what your on when you break down.
If your a mechanical god that can rebuild a blown up motor at the side of the road with no more than a couple of twigs and chewing gum then you'll usually manage to sort something and may even have the kit with you to read the errors etc.

However I've found over the years that most breakdowns are still usually simple broken wires or blocked filters etc.

Steve