A friend for my 1150GSA...

[Torque]

So, bought another bike, was thinking of the new F800GS, but it's to costly right now, the KTM has as many problems as the average 1200GS, that one is also too expensive new, and unreliable second hand, the new T?n?r? is cheap, reliable, but just to slow for me, so...

...I've bought a fast enough, comfourtable, and nice looking thing, which is this one









I've got the feeling my black and yellow 1200GS won't be moving the next months, so I'll better buy an Optimate, or I'll have a flat battery when I'm gonna ride it next time.

Grtz, Philip!

[Michael J]

Interesting - what do you prefer in the 1150GS over the 1200GS?

[Torque]

Euh, reliability

I'm not saying that the 1150 won't have it's problems, but compared with wath I've allready seen, and had changed on my 1200

I'll give you a list if al the things I can explain in English which are replaced on the 1200 in those three years it's been with me:

Topcase, 'cause the underside was tearing in peaces.
Fuel pump controller, just a precoution.
Alternatorplate, 'cause the paint was coming of, like in a cauliflower appaering in the paint.
Valvecovers, same as the alternatorplate.
Front brake discs, 'cause the weren't strait no more.
Both left and right turnsignal buttons, and that's the entire unit, which is about 200? p/p.
Gearbox was dismanteld, and put back together, 'cause I was more likely to shift in between the gears, instead of from gear to gear.
Fuellevelindicator hasn't been working right for the last two years. Trust me, falling without gas on the French motorway isn't funny, especialy when you're doing about 150 to 160, and the engine just dies on you. Fuelthingy said I stil had for about 20km's of range.

Al of the above was fixed under warantie, but stil, isn't gonna make me trust the bike more

Fuel pump controller died on me two months ago, bike out of warantie, costs me 150?.

I'm pretty sure these things aren't gonna happen on the 1150, it was the last of the 1150's, and al the faulty bits were replaced after years of using the customers as testdummys

Besides, I absolutely wanted a bigger fueltank, the fuelrange wasn't enough. And it handels perfect, just as good as my 1200. Don't even know why they made the 1200, 1150 is great, I love it

Grtz, Philip!

[dogman]

That list is shocking. BMWs have a reputation of being ultra-reliable.

I had the fork seals done on my GS, not that they do too much work, but that's not the point. On my GT I've just had a new clutch and a new fuel map and air box last year. Not good but the problems were fixed quickly without an argument, which makes them easier to cope with.

The only bike I've owned with no warranty claims was a VFR800 V-Tec.

[Michael J]

That list is shocking. BMWs have a reputation of being ultra-reliable.

Wrong tense - "had" is the operative word today - they've even admitted that they are having QC problems.

[Torque]

So, the old 1200 was sold after noticing I didn't use it anymore.

Since than it was back to one bike, but my adventures in the Alps on dirt and stoney roads made me think of something else to buy.

To make a long story short, just ordered a new BMW F800GS, with lots of Touratech bits 'n pieces on it.
The new one will be delivered end of august, to make it off-road wurthy when I leave for Morocco athe the end of september.

No pics yet, but it's a white one, and I'll be adding some blue stickers, to give it a personal look.

Grtz, Philip!

[ssi]

The new 1200 GS models are now similar to the later 1150's in that the customers have now done all the road testing for the company. Most issues have been found and rectified by recalls or replacements.

My 09 GSA was fault free but the 08 was in the workshop often for many things.

[Michael J]

Have you seen the new Super Tenere? Looks like Yamaha is aiming at the big GS pretty hard.

[ssi]

You might find this link interesting for a comparison.


http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/adven ... comparison

[Torque]

And after only two years the F800GS has been sold.

I thought my ex-1200 had a long list of repairs, the F800GS wasn't any better, instead.

Finnaly made the decision to part from that nice looking do-it-all bike, and swapped it for a R1200RT Yeah, I know, something completely different. This doesn't mean I won't be doing anymore all-roading, still have the R1150GSA here. But now I can go to wrok on the RT, and use the GSA as a holliday bike.

Will post some pics whenever I gett around of making some, than again, we all know what a BMW R1200RT looks like don't we

Grtz, Philip!

[Michael J]

But now I can go to wrok on the RT, and use the GSA as a holliday bike.

Or put knobbies on the RT

[Rasher]

Wrong tense - "had" is the operative word today - they've even admitted that they are having QC problems

Recently got shot of my 1200GS, bought with 6k at 2 years old, on the clock and sold with 18k on the clock at 4 years old, in the 2 years and 12k I had it I managed:-

Warped Discs (Both)
Blown Fork Seals (Both)
Clutch Problem
ABS Problem
Gearbox Oil Leak
Knackered Heated Grip

I actually thought the finish was reasonable and better than many bikes I have owned in the past, but the niggles put me off (most under warranty or extended warranty) and the knowledge that many bikes have issues with final drives, dropped valves, clutches and all manner of veru expensive problems (hence extended warranty)

With the average GS service costing close to £400 in the UK, plus a real need to extend the warranty every year (£300) and still having a £100 excess on warranty claims meant it was costing about £1,000 a year to keep on the road - not what I expect on a modern low mileage vehicle.

Have you seen the new Super Tenere? Looks like Yamaha is aiming at the big GS pretty hard.

Indeed, got myself this little beauty:-



A 6 month old ex-demonstrator with a mere 150 miles on the clock, and a saving of £2600 over new I could not resist, and to cap it all the dealer did not even charge for parts on the 1st service (Yamaha provide first service free by default, but you normally have to pay for the parts) so a big thumbs up to Slocombes in London on the deal and post sales service.

Loving the bike, far better than the reviews tend to suggest (probably due to BMW having a huge advertising budget in the UK press)

The motor is wonderfully grunty down low (can be improved further with ECU remap - or by shorting clutch switch if your on a budget ) with a smooth power curve all the way to the redline. Some argue it lacks character, but in the real world it is better than the GS motor, but I do agree the GS can feel more fun to thrash due to the way it wobbles and vibrates as you get into the powerband.

Handling is pretty good, not as fast turning as the GS (even with a load more pre-load) but the bike feels lighter on the move and is unbelievably stable, pegs go down a shade early but as I added a line of pre-load to help the steering this is now far more difficult to do unless really pressing on - I will add a shock with ride height adjuster at some point to lift it about 10mm which should sort it out nicely.

Fuel consumption seems very similar to the GS, if anything the Tenere is slightly better at higher speed like 80-90mph motorway cruising, and a shade worse when on back lanes and predominantly in lower gears, overall range will always be better (as it has a 4L advantage over the GS) and it should over 200 miles between fills on the motorway, where the GS was on fumes at about 160 miles when crusiing at French motorway speeds meaning I was often looking for fuel after 90 minutes.

I have already fitted a Givi Airflow screen as it worked so well on the GS (and seems equally as useful on the Yamaha) and have a full set of SW-Motech luggage going on next week.

Biggest gain is I am confident the bike will get me where I am going, I no longer need to carry spares and do not fear regular repair bills will eat into my petrol money.

I know in many countries the bike is cheaper than the GS and I really cannot see why anyone would but the BMW over the Yamaha, in the UK the bike is a bit pricey, but there are deals to be had.

I almost forgot the electronics, although I am not too bothered about such stuff, but the Yamaha impresses, with 3-stage TC, fully on I can open it to the stop in first on loose stuff and the bike just rides normally, as if you were just riding more gently, you don't feel anything being backed off, the GS TC used to almost throw you over the bars, when it came on the engine just cut out for about a second, with the Tenere you only know it activated because of the light on the dash. In TC2 it allows some spin, not tried this out yet but I am sure it works fine, and you can turn it off.

The ABS is also very smooth, much better than that on my GS and the ZZR1400 I had before that gave you s fright as it felt like the bike was running on as the shut off times seemed very long, the Tenere setup feels very confidence inspiring and apparently even works well enough on dirt for gentle off-roading.

[Torque]

This is it, hopefully this one isn't as poorly built as the F800GS





Grtz, Philip!

[mingy]

This is it, hopefully this one isn't as poorly built as the F800GS





Grtz, Philip!

Looking good,