Bmw Gs

faceman

is it just me or are bmw giving the GS away for free? They're everywhere now! Id be worried they'll end up like the ford focus of motorbikes (i.e. nearly everyone has one!)

I just cant take to the design of the 650 tho. The 1100 is ok. Great fun to ride tho.

Status symbols aside which would you go for?

BWM RT
Pan European

Steffano2002

A friend of mine just bought the 1100RT (we call him the French policeman now!) and I had a spin on it the other day. I found it surprisingly nimble for a big bike (I ride a Bandit 600 so obviously I was a little apprehensive at first...). Good bike if you don't mind looking like a copper!

The Doktor

Eh Pan Euro...

KTRIC

They're usually driven by middle aged guys that just watched "The Long Way around" too much and fancy a bit of "off-roading", but don't have the balls to do it.

The Doktor

Have to say, the GS is a really nice bike. Specially the 1200. Really nice to drive. Dunno bout the middle aged thing, anyone I know who has one isn`t .

KTRIC

The Doktor wrote:

Dunno bout the middle aged thing, anyone I know who has one isn`t .

I love generalising , see my sig.

oh yeah forgot something

*cough* old mans bike *cough*

Kazujo

I recently moved from a Bandit 600 to a Pan and haven't looked back. It's great for the motorway and long distance.

The Doktor

not bad for the twisties too...

fingerdown.jpg

Paparazzo

faceman wrote:

is it just me or are bmw giving the GS away for free? They're everywhere now! Id be worried they'll end up like the ford focus of motorbikes (i.e. nearly everyone has one!)

That's because they're probably the best alround bike there is! Thr 1200's that is.

KTRIC: They're also driven by people who want a good touring bike, but like the GS style ahead of the normal look. In fairness, if you want to do off roading, you're not going go off and buy a 20k gs when you can get a ktm 400 for a 5th of the price, and weights a tenth of a GS!

Idleater

faceman wrote:

Status symbols aside which would you go for?

BWM RT
Pan European

Neither- What you want is one of these: Kawasaki 1400GTR.

If you can't wait till 2008, go for the zzr1400 .

The Doktor wrote:

not bad for the twisties too...

fingerdown.jpg

Check out the vid of that kawasaki.


L.

The Doktor

nereid wrote:

Neither- What you want is one of these: Kawasaki 1400GTR.

zzr1400 .



L.

no thanks, i`ll stick with me Pan

galwaytt

faceman wrote:

is it just me or are bmw giving the GS away for free? They're everywhere now! Id be worried they'll end up like the ford focus of motorbikes (i.e. nearly everyone has one!)

I just cant take to the design of the 650 tho. The 1100 is ok. Great fun to ride tho.

Status symbols aside which would you go for?

BWM RT
Pan European

Pan too big, the BeeEmm is very nimble for it's size, as people have pointed out........but I agree about the pricing - I can't shift my RT either, as they're dumping new ones on the market.

Had a 12GS, but I wouldn't like to see one after an Irish winter - the quality of the paint on the 'exposed' frame is very,very poor...........

Nice to ride, though, and light. Windy & Cold though, compared to the RT........

Garibaldi

Had two 1150 GSs, and they were both rust buckets. Eery single weld was rusty, corrosion on every fastener was shocking (I replaced the vast majority of mine with a stainless steel kit from Desmoparts - some of the stock fasteners literally crumbled as I was removing them). Still, that kind of thing doesn't seem to bother the average GS owner.
Apparently, according to BMW, BMW were the only manufacturer to enjoy a growth in sales over the past 18 months in Ireland. I guess it's partly that old Celtic Tiger/Status Symbol chestnut. I do kinda like the look of the 1200 GS and the GS series, in general, are very capable bikes but, for what you're getting, it's still grossly overpriced, and the cost of servicing is heart-stopping. I suppose that if you think the Beemers are a bargain, though, the cost of running isn't going to bother you too much.
I'd take Honda quality any day. I've been stung by buying bikes with "character" enough times. So, to answer the original question, it'd be Pan Euro all the way for me.

galwaytt

OK, I do my own servicing, so I don't see the cost, but for the amount of servicing it, there is no justification for them being expensive to service. If they are, it's just 'cos they've got to pay for all that glass'n'mirrors'n'stainless showrooms somehow, and, I suppose, it's because they think you can afford it if you bought a BeeEmm in the first place.....

I wouldn't say a service is 'cheap' on a Pan, either, but I'm open to correction on that one........

Krusty_Clown

It's horses for courses really.. I've had my gs for a year and a half now, and although the service cost is a little high for my liking, the service interval is infrequent, and everything is by the book. The prices of all replacement parts, hourly rates, specific service costs etc are all fixed and published, so you know what you are getting into (which is not something I could say for my previous 5 bikes). Tyres are very cheap (over the 'net) and last a very long time. It is fond of oil though, but my insurance costs have gone down enough, that it's not costing me much more than any of my other bikes to run.

There have been a lot of issues raised about reliability, and things going wrong (the GS12), but for me, so far, after 18 months of ownership, I've had one indicator switch replaced. There are arguments for over-engineering though, and things like the servo breaks, ABS, canbus system have been known to cause problems. I am glad it comes with a 2 year warranty.

Would I buy another one? I honestly can't think of any bike (within reason!) that I'd rather have, but they are expensive, so I plan on holding on to this one for a couple more years (I'd generally lose interest in my other bikes after two or three years, but this one is holding my attention!). At the end of the day, buy the bike you want to ride, not the bike you want others to see you on.

If you must have a gs, then learn to put up with the comments about pipes, slippers, McGregor wannabies. The thick skin will help you cope with those artic conditions on you're round the world trip. (to Tescos).

Garibaldi

The service interval is only infrequent if you're not on it that much. I'm doing approx 2000kms a month, so they tend to roll around pretty quick for me.
I'd actually be interested in hearing what the average (if there is such a thing) service costs for a Pan, or any big-bore bike, for that matter.

Paparazzo

Service interval on the GS1200 is every 20,000km. Haven't paid for one on this one yet

Garibaldi

I don't have a 1200GS manual to hand, but the highest figure for service intervals, that I've so far managed to find, states that it should be done every 16,000kms. Some go as "low" as 10,000kms. Still, if 20,000 is what it is, then that's pretty impressive, and a massive improvement over the 1150. Probably reflects the riding style of the pipe-and-slippers brigade fairly accurately.

Garibaldi

It's a bit of a tenuous link to the OP, but I hear that the Gardai are replacing their Pans with FJR 1300s. (Translation: The oldest bikes are being scrapped, and the current Pans are being sent to various rural stations, with the top bike cops getting the FJRs) Apparently the Police Pan variant has a disturbing habit of wandering off in unplanned directions, above 80mph. The Police FJR is supposed to be far superior in terms of stability and power.

The Doktor

Garibaldi wrote:

It's a bit of a tenuous link to the OP, but I hear that the Gardai are replacing their Pans with FJR 1300s. (Translation: The oldest bikes are being scrapped, and the current Pans are being sent to various rural stations, with the top bike cops getting the FJRs) Apparently the Police Pan variant has a disturbing habit of wandering off in unplanned directions, above 80mph. The Police FJR is supposed to be far superior in terms of stability and power.

I wouldnt be to sure about the FJR, cos i seen a couple of Garda BMWs.. saw what looked to be 2 brand new 1200RTs riding with a Pan(1100).

Idleater

The Doktor wrote:

I wouldnt be to sure about the FJR, cos i seen a couple of Garda BMWs.. saw what looked to be 2 brand new 1200RTs riding with a Pan(1100).

Yup, but I also know from a source that the BMW's are on test and are not liked because they are air cooled.

And when a garda stops for example to direct traffic, the bike is left running mostly to power the electrics and radio etc.

This leads to melted fairings.

I'd pick a fjr any day.

L.

The Doktor

nereid wrote:

Yup, but I also know from a source that the BMW's are on test and are not liked because they are air cooled.

And when a garda stops for example to direct traffic, the bike is left running mostly to power the electrics and radio etc.

This leads to melted fairings.

I'd pick a fjr any day.

L.

Id pick the pan, but then i am biased. Just if it was a police pan, id want the LED strip removed
Though I dont see why they want to change, since you can still get the ST1100 police bike new.... but then again.. we are talkin about Honda Ireland.....:rolleyes:

Hotblack Desiato

nereid wrote:

Yup, but I also know from a source that the BMW's are on test and are not liked because they are air cooled.

The new Garda BMWs I've seen (Stephens Green area) aren't Rs but Ks...

faceman

ninja900 wrote:

The new Garda BMWs I've seen (Stephens Green area) aren't Rs but Ks...

mmm i like! Feck the pan and the GS!!!

DanThe

Well I had a F650 for two years, A very under-rated bike in my opinion. It has lots of low down torque and is great middleweight bike. It's easily manoverable in trafic and can handle some off road work too, but it's no motorcrosser.

I have never been on an 1150 or 1200 gs but from looking at them they seem to be quite heavy bikes, maybe more suited to long distance work.

for aroung town or back roads I'd go for the 650 and use it to the full, rather than spent twice the price on the 1200 and only use half the performance.

demosuzki

I'm on an F650GS for 2 months now and am very happy with it.

I do about 40km commute every day on a mixture of country roads, motorway, and city.
and find it perfect for all three.

I'm 6'2" and find the riding position is much better, especially in traffic, than anything else I've had.

I haven't tried the 1200 but my guess is its a bit heavy for the commute.

I also haven't had the pleasure of a BMW service but I'm sure it will lighten my wallet.

/ds

Krusty_Clown

I've found my 12 very agile and perfect for commuting. Great for flicking through the M50 car-park on the way South this evening... You have the added advantage of being able to see over most of the traffic.. Wouldn't mind trying one of the 650s though.

faceman

The GS has an adjustable seat too?

greg-h

The Bmw gs 650 comes with 3 different seat heights-ex works.

The question I have is this, Is the Bmw gs 650 Dakar:D suitable for on-road use I absoutley love that bike it's everything a bike should be(In my view) however I am jumping the gun quite a bit as I am only looking at my first Bike, And no insurance company is going to insure an 18 year old kid on one.:mad:

demosuzki

greg-h wrote:

I am jumping the gun quite a bit as I am only looking at my first Bike

I think you are.
I'd recommed dropping a 250 a few times before you smash up a 650.

/ds

art

Garibaldi wrote:

... I guess it's partly that old Celtic Tiger/Status Symbol chestnut. I do kinda like the look of the 1200 GS and the GS series, in general, are very capable bikes but, for what you're getting, it's still grossly overpriced, and the cost of servicing is heart-stopping. ...

When I was deciding on a bike last year, I kind of had my heart set on the GS - it was a bike I'd fancied for a good few years, right back to when I was on just a 250. But I rapidly came to the conclusion it was simply not worth the money - for roughly 6,000 euros less, you can get the same spec Tiger (well, bar the ABS - though a lot of GS owners post complaints about that anyway), same bhp, good panniers, heated grips etc etc.

The fact that the roads are now crawling with the things does make me think it has come down to just a status symbol type thing to get one. Good bikes, no doubt, but not very good value for money*.



(*do people in Ireland still care about "value for money" these days??? )