R1200GS BMW are they worth the extra money?

[rocketman1]

Been looking at the R1200GS BMW's. There are an amazing amount of good reports, reveiws going around about these bikes.
Are they as good as they say they are and are they worth the extra money. $34K new??
Also how good are they for pillions.

Appreciate educated replies from those that know.

[Oscar]

Been looking at the R1200GS BMW's. There are an amazing amount of good reports, reveiws going around about these bikes.
Are they as good as they say they are and are they worth the extra money. $34K new??
Also how good are they for pillions.

Appreciate educated replies from those that know.

Depends on what you wanna do with 'em.
Touring, some gravel, easy off road = Fantastic for GS.
Not so much touring, gravel, harder off road = Orange

I know where there is a low kay 1200GSA for sale in Hamilton, btw.

[Toureg]

I had a 2004 1200GS for just over a year. Better bike than I thought it would have been on the road but a total compromise off road. I mean by that it was great on a rough gravel 'road' but on tracks or unformed ground, you really had to have your wits about you. They are heavy once they get off balance. My 10 year old did about 25Kkm on the rear seat and loved it. Prefered it to mums K1200RS for comfort. Great for high KM days and can really cover some ground when pushed. Not impossible to scrape your toes on the odd corner, they are that good on the tar. Oh, and you wont regret the ownership of this bike.( until you get to pay for a full service.)

[YellowDog]

I think they are great bikes but as has been said, it really depends upon what your actual usage will be over the perceived usage.

The K1200 made my shortlist and didn't dissapoint. But I bought the Tiger which was a compromise as I prefered the great road handling and power balance. Loads cheaper also

I never did buy the touring luggage and probably never will.

[Taz]

They are the best of their genre. All roads bikes with the emphasis on roads as opposed to trails.

[BMWST?]

if the road performance of my old r 100 gs is anything to tgo by they would be a fantastic all round bike esp if you are over 6'
The way my old girl just eats up the road is fantastic.more horsepower more brakes what more could you need...mine feels fine as long as its not slippery off raod(road biased tyres)PM devil

[Youngjim]

Great bike you will not regret buying one, fantastic on the road and for touring, just eats up the miles, but heavy and high geared for more than gravel roads.
I dont know where you got the price from but they start at around $26k but it depends on what options you choose I suppose, and also if you are looking at a 1200GS Adventure which are more expensive.

[Kokopelli]

It's not hard to service these bikes yourself. The ABS may need to be done by a dealer, but other than that it's pretty straight forward, unlike the Orange competition. It is clearly not an off-road bike, but neither is the 990, which is more capable off-road. Usually the rider is the limiting factor :-), on both bikes.

Have had my 1150 from new since 2003 and it now has 120000km on it. It's not the cleanest bike anymore, but it does the job.

I have no idea if they are worth the extra money. Je ne regrette rien

[YLWDUC]

Get in touch with GunnyRob on the site. He's put about 50,000km on his GS this year alone and is a fountain of knowledge. He may also tell you a good tale or two about his electrics!

[James Deuce]

And gearbox. Don't forget the gearbox.

[Kokopelli]

Rob has bought an ex-rental and his bike seems to have had more than its fair share of problems. I don't really know anyone else who has been so unlucky. But yes, the 1150 is a bit more robust than the newer model.

[bikemike]

New since Jan 05.
Several electrical faults leading to flat batt. All fixed under warranty of course. Unexplained unsolvable ABS unit error - completely replaced under warranty. Dead stop failure of Fuel Pump Relay. Elastic seat adjusters perished after only 3 years. Losing pressure on tyres more than expected.

Otherwise all good now. Best bike I ever owned.

However, agree gearing too tall for anything other than a good gravel road, bars a little too low for me (new ones have adjustable?) and early models had guards that 'prevented' you from safely rolling the clusters down a bit and BMW have been adding warning stickers to the inside of the hand guards. Annoying having to stop to switch ABS on and off; would prefer safety catch arrangement! Also, get neutral with blank gear indicator a lot. is physically in neutral, but electronics aren't sure - can de-clutch but side stand would result in cut-out. Annoying but harmless. Apparently common.

Very flick-able, even/especially with the front suspension set up - twisties are great fun with little dive. Feels quite different to ride than the 1150. Main thing is the throttle-engine relationship: the 1150 feels very directly connected to the throttle, with power on and with engine-braking coming on immediately. On the 1200 there is a fraction of a second delay on the roll off before the engine-braking function is engaged!

Fuel economy is better, than the 1150, and I get over 300 per tank in all cases, and around 350 is possible on a fairly modest road ride.

No experience with traction control, though mate has just switched from 1150 to 07 1200 - hope to find out:-)

[Kokopelli]

New since Jan 05.

Fuel economy is better, than the 1150, and I get over 300 per tank in all cases, and around 350 is possible on a fairly modest road ride.

The tank is slightly smaller, so the overall range is similar. I've seen an indicated 400km on a tank, but that could be up to 10% less. Either way, it's plenty.

[Taz]

I also have had 400 kms out of a tank on an 1100 and the speedo definitely reads 10% high.

[bikemike]

Yes, there is fuel more capacity on the older bikes.
The economy comment comes from parallel tank filling on big rides with both bikes. So that's disregarding tank capacity or anything. Riding style is similar, pace is identical, max is similar and the 1200 always comes in with less juice to be replaced. I do have the figures, but not here.

BTW - the comment on engine-braking should have been more about re-clutching than roll-off. If you de-clutch and then re-clutch, it's then that the delay in the engine-braking is most obvious.

Others get the same blank gear indicator?