Ahhhhhh the R100GS ... lovely, lovely bike and I can see why you have itMagnon wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 3:09 pm Within reason weight for a bike used purely on the road is less important than the balance of the bike. It’s a different matter for a trail bike as you may well need to pick it up on difficult terrain.
My most versatile bike is a 1989 BMW R100GS which I’ve owned from nearly new (ex demo, I think). This bike took us on a year long trip to South Africa and lots of European tours. I’ve also used it extensively off road including a trans France rally. It’s happy enough on the motorway and country roads, very comfortable two up and I’ve always managed to pick it up after spills off road. I looked at the Himalayan as an alternative but really it doesn’t offer any benefits over the old GS and it’s too cramped for two up use.
But still think they are a bike I’d like to own in the future.
When I was doing the Assietta on the XT there was a bloke up there on an 80"s BMW R100 CS ... glided along no problem.
As I said ... I could pick the XT up on my own without too much effort and I'm 63 and no hulk ... I reckon the Himmy would be the same, not a doddle but not too hard.
I would have one but when I compare it to the Benelli then the 502x just ticks a few more boxes for touring ... if I didn't do any Euro touring and just did camping trips in the UK then I would swap.