Ride on a new R 1200 GS

[AllanB]

erm----please explain how one waves with one hand,whiile simultaneously holding a cup of coffee in the other AND piloting an oversized trail bike past some hapless tarmac dwelling japinlinefour??

answers on a postcard please .......

Well I understood that the third computer was actually a hi-tech autopilot to allow the Beemer rider to have both hands free so they can change the Blueray (DVD is too low-tech) movie their passenger is watching. Thus surely the right hand wave could apply.

[reofix]

two capital coasts .... all the challengey bits (08 was tough though)
mangatapu,pokira,rainbow , nevis ... alone and loaded
60k with only a couple of offs.. low speed overconfidence
its love alright!

[NordieBoy]

erm----please explain how one waves with one hand,whiile simultaneously holding a cup of coffee in the other AND piloting an oversized trail bike past some hapless tarmac dwelling japinlinefour??

Throttle lock.

[Taz]

but I guess the beemer is more dirt orientated than I want.

Wow never thought I'd hear someone say the beemer is too dirt orientated!!. Basically a road bike (sealed Gravel etc are still all roads) but a comfortable, superior all roads bike to everything out there IMO. 2 up touring over any surface and this would be my bike of choice provided I could afford one. Luckily the value drops like a stone in a couple of years and makes good 2nd hand ones (any thing up to 150,000kms) more affordable for tight arses like me.

[Gremlin]

Wow never thought I'd hear someone say the beemer is too dirt orientated!!.

Vast majority of the roads I do are sealed (as in, 95%? if not more), but rapid long distance, so 17" (120/70/17 and 180/55/17) wheels suit me, wide range of rubber, but the bike is fast steering, making mincemeat out of the countless corners.

Weapon of choice? KTM 990 Supermoto (but urr... modded ). Under 200kg, still 1L, luggage etc, but eats the full dressed tourers through the corners. The BMW is an option, but a bit heavy and LARGE, as in, with no panniers its half as wide as a car. 33L tank is very appealing tho. SM has a 19L, plus an extra marine 11.5L tank on the back seat. Same on the BMW could give you around 45L

[warewolf]

Round peg, square hole.

[Devil]

Vast majority of the roads I do are sealed (as in, 95%? if not more), but rapid long distance, so 17" (120/70/17 and 180/55/17) wheels suit me, wide range of rubber, but the bike is fast steering, making mincemeat out of the countless corners.

Weapon of choice? KTM 990 Supermoto (but urr... modded ). Under 200kg, still 1L, luggage etc, but eats the full dressed tourers through the corners. The BMW is an option, but a bit heavy and LARGE, as in, with no panniers its half as wide as a car. 33L tank is very appealing tho. SM has a 19L, plus an extra marine 11.5L tank on the back seat. Same on the BMW could give you around 45L

Heh, remember we're talking about the standard gs here, it appears a whole lot less bulky than my Adventure.
Your SM is 195kg or so with no gas, so 215 or so with? A standard GS is about 229kg with 20L of gas on board.

Bet you you'd go further on the beemer even at high speed!

Pfft, tyre choice, there's plenty out there that'll do the job in the beemers size. It's because of the gs that there's a decent selection of tyres in its size.

:P

[Big Dave]

Round peg, square hole.

f'n aussies. Square PEG!

[warewolf]

f'n aussies. Square PEG!

Sorry, put the neg in back-to-front. Should have said 'ELOH erauqS'

[Gremlin]

Heh, remember we're talking about the standard gs here, it appears a whole lot less bulky than my Adventure.
Your SM is 195kg or so with no gas, so 215 or so with? A standard GS is about 229kg with 20L of gas on board.

Bet you you'd go further on the beemer even at high speed!

Pfft, tyre choice, there's plenty out there that'll do the job in the beemers size. It's because of the gs that there's a decent selection of tyres in its size.

:P

But if you're going to go that route, why buy for a measly 20L tank? KTM is more road going, fooken great suspension - accessories are a bit more generic, and cost less . At least the adventure has a massive tank. Its true that its apparently good on gas... an adventure, with 45L (main plus 11L extra fuel tank) could get over 700km in a leg, by my calcs (6L/100km)... pretty damn tempting I have to admit. Can't think of anything with a better range.

Yet to find a better tyre than the Pirelli Scorpion Sync. Wasn't that particular about choice, until the wrong ones landed me in a ditch. Syncs handle wet, dry, etc, no problem, and don't come in BMW sizes.

[Taz]

But if you're going to go that route, why buy for a measly 20L tank? KTM is more road going, fooken great suspension - accessories are a bit more generic, and cost less . At least the adventure has a massive tank. Its true that its apparently good on gas... an adventure, with 45L (main plus 11L extra fuel tank) could get over 700km in a leg, by my calcs (6L/100km)... pretty damn tempting I have to admit. Can't think of anything with a better range.

Yet to find a better tyre than the Pirelli Scorpion Sync. Wasn't that particular about choice, until the wrong ones landed me in a ditch. Syncs handle wet, dry, etc, no problem, and don't come in BMW sizes.

Why the fetish for a huge range? Anything over 300kms is more than enough for NZ especially if like you say you rarely leave the seal. Do you just not like stopping?

[Oscar]

Why the fetish for a huge range? Anything over 300kms is more than enough for NZ especially if like you say you rarely leave the seal. Do you just not like stopping?

It always makes me laugh that the guys I know with the 30 liter tanks on their BMW's stop for a coffee or a smoke every five minutes...

[Gremlin]

thousand km a day (or night) and more, there are big areas where there is no gas at night, south island is a good example. Stops also kill your average speed, so less stops, food, water, gas, get going again.

[warewolf]

Most SI places now have after hours eftpos fuel. 10 years ago it required more planning, not these days.

Very few people do that kind of endurance riding. Even fewer ppl could outride a 300km range without wanting to stop. And those that do it seriously know that lots of short stops is better. Get gas, ride for a while. Stop to eat, ride for a while. Repeat. Fuel range is hardly a limiting factor except on sprotsbikes or enduros (or Sherpas ).

[Eddieb]

I prefer 300km's range minimum, preferably 350. Less doesn't suit my preferred way of riding. It's purely a personal preference not because I am an endurance rider as I'm far from it. I just don't like having to plan stops around going to a town for gas, When I'm riding towns are just in inconvenience to get to the next bit of backroad.

I don't drink coffee so don't get cravings like the addicts, I prefer to pack a roll or sandwich at the beginning of the day and take my stops somewhere scenic in the middle of nowhere. It's very convenient to not have to plan a town stop in my day to refuel and just being able to explore wherever the roads take me and not have to worry about it.

The PD gets at least 450km to a tank. It's great being able to fill up in the morning, get completely lost yet still be able to get home on the same tank of gas.