BMW R1200GS (2011)
December 2013 - January 2015
BMW R1200GS – One Year On
Back in December 2013, Nick broke with his bike tradition of new Triumph bikes and replaced his Tiger 800 with a second hand R1200GS <link to purchase story>. How has life over the past 12 months with the Bavarian boxer been and have there been any regrets at parting company with Hinckley’s sweet triples?
Firstly a comparison with the Tiger (and it fact all of the 4 Triumphs I have owned):
When I arrived home from collecting the bike in Plymouth, a journey of some 250 miles and nearly 4 hours, I could honestly have turned around and ridden back again. Of all the bikes I have owned, none are as comfortable for me (11.5 stone, 6 feet tall) as the GS.
Shortly after buying the bike, I purchased a BMW top box to accompany the supplied panniers, BMW spot lights and an after market hugger. The first two items came from the official on-line BMW parts and accessories store. A great buying experience, so much BMW stuff listed and at very reasonable prices. The top box, mounting kit and lights came to just over £xxx. There was a slight delay in delivery as the lights we out of stock; when they were, the whole lot arrived the next day from Karlshrue in Germany.
The lights came with the BMW switch and wiring; the switch replaces the back of the existing switchgear to look factory fitted and the instructions for wiring into the existing loom were a doddle to follow. The top box looks good, it is not that big though and struggles to swallow a full face Arai helmet. A lid will go in, but only if there is nothing else in the box and scratches have appeared on the outside of the helmet. I have found memories of the (admittedly not so good looking) Givi aftermarket top box on my previous Yamaha Fazer that would swallow two full-face lids without drama. And waterproofs too…
The hugger came from www.motoworks.co.uk and wasn’t cheap at £xxx. It does however look fantastic and of all the huggers I found on-line, most looks like original equipment. It has drawn admiring/positive comments from other GS riders and the BMW specialist workshop that services my bike (see below).
Some 6 months in came the next Passport Tour and the opportunity to really test the GS mettle. You can read about the 2014 tour <link here>; on tour, the BMW was everything I wanted and more. 50+ mpg at c85mph, super comfortable (especially with the electronic suspension set to comfort) and yet solid and assured on the passes (suspension set to sport). BMW give the option to attach the top box on the pillion seat and I think that makes a big difference for weight distribution. Plus the engine is mounted much lower in the bike than the Triumph Tiger and that clearly helps the centre of gravity. Pulling out of hairpin bends in the mountains in second and opening the throttle wide, the engine makes the most amazing noise, I never tire of it! No doubt at all that the GS is the best bike I’ve toured on.
As well as touring, I use the bike for commuting into central London from St Albans, a journey of 23 or so miles, blood delivery for SERV Herts and Beds and advanced rider training and observing. As all rounders go for all of these uses, the GS is hard to beat for nimble handling, comfort, character and practicality.
In the time I’ve had it, I have had one service (12,000 miler at just over 11,000 miles) undertaken by Steve Grover at www.motoscot.co.uk; Steve is an ex BMW and Honda chief mechanic and definitely knows his onions. He uses genuine BMW parts and so any warranty is not affected. A very reasonable £335 for the full 12k service including brake fluid change. The bike came with a new rear tyre and I replaced the front before the 2014 tour. Both are about half worn now after 6000 miles. Nothing has gone wrong although the bike was recalled by BMW in late 2014 for a possible fuel leak from the fuel pump. A clip was replaced very efficiently and courteously by Cannon Motorcycles in Braintree <link to story here>.
The GS cost the same money at 2.5 years old and 5,600 miles as my Tiger 800 cost new. It did look new though (and still does at 3.5 years and 12,000 miles) and is much better equipped, coming as it does with electronic suspension, traction control and tyre pressure monitoring over the fully loaded Tiger I bought. The boxer uses more oil than any bike I’ve owned and on tour particularly, does need a watchful eye on the oil level.
So, in summary, a very comfortable, practical, super sounding bike that I am extremely pleased I've bought. I have been heard to say during the first year with the bike that the GS is a keeper; that remains to be seen. When the recall work was being done at Cannon Motorcycles just before Christmas, I test rode the BMW K1600GT <link here> and after being blown away on the ride, Adam at Cannon offered me £7,500 trade in for the GS. On a PCP, that would mean £1300 back to me (so deposit of £6,200) and £87 per month for 3 years for the K…very tempting! We will see….
Back in December 2013, Nick broke with his bike tradition of new Triumph bikes and replaced his Tiger 800 with a second hand R1200GS <link to purchase story>. How has life over the past 12 months with the Bavarian boxer been and have there been any regrets at parting company with Hinckley’s sweet triples?
Firstly a comparison with the Tiger (and it fact all of the 4 Triumphs I have owned):
- The BMW is much better built than any of my previous Triumphs
- The switchgear and controls are all much nicer
- It is the most comfortable bike I have owned; on every previous tour I have needed an Air Hawk to avoid a numb bum; the GS didn't need anything
- The flat twin engine is not for everyone; it does take some getting used to and when I collected it from Ocean and began the 250 mile ride home, I did wonder if I'd made a dreadful mistake. As the miles progressed however, it was clear nothing could be further from the truth. It's fabulous, for real world riding. Full of character and torque, especially low down, and pulls strongly to the (admittedly relatively low) red line of 8500 rpm.
- It does vibrate at idle, that disappears as soon as you get moving. If you want massive power and/or high revs, look elsewhere; it's not a slow bike though; with full luggage I saw a sat nav confirmed 135 mph in Germany and it will cruise comfortably all day at 100 mph. As for the mountains, I don't want to go any faster!
- There is no hint of the steering wobble when accelerating or braking (something that the Tiger 800 did suffer from - its (very heavy even when empty) top box being well over the back of the bike).
When I arrived home from collecting the bike in Plymouth, a journey of some 250 miles and nearly 4 hours, I could honestly have turned around and ridden back again. Of all the bikes I have owned, none are as comfortable for me (11.5 stone, 6 feet tall) as the GS.
Shortly after buying the bike, I purchased a BMW top box to accompany the supplied panniers, BMW spot lights and an after market hugger. The first two items came from the official on-line BMW parts and accessories store. A great buying experience, so much BMW stuff listed and at very reasonable prices. The top box, mounting kit and lights came to just over £xxx. There was a slight delay in delivery as the lights we out of stock; when they were, the whole lot arrived the next day from Karlshrue in Germany.
The lights came with the BMW switch and wiring; the switch replaces the back of the existing switchgear to look factory fitted and the instructions for wiring into the existing loom were a doddle to follow. The top box looks good, it is not that big though and struggles to swallow a full face Arai helmet. A lid will go in, but only if there is nothing else in the box and scratches have appeared on the outside of the helmet. I have found memories of the (admittedly not so good looking) Givi aftermarket top box on my previous Yamaha Fazer that would swallow two full-face lids without drama. And waterproofs too…
The hugger came from www.motoworks.co.uk and wasn’t cheap at £xxx. It does however look fantastic and of all the huggers I found on-line, most looks like original equipment. It has drawn admiring/positive comments from other GS riders and the BMW specialist workshop that services my bike (see below).
Some 6 months in came the next Passport Tour and the opportunity to really test the GS mettle. You can read about the 2014 tour <link here>; on tour, the BMW was everything I wanted and more. 50+ mpg at c85mph, super comfortable (especially with the electronic suspension set to comfort) and yet solid and assured on the passes (suspension set to sport). BMW give the option to attach the top box on the pillion seat and I think that makes a big difference for weight distribution. Plus the engine is mounted much lower in the bike than the Triumph Tiger and that clearly helps the centre of gravity. Pulling out of hairpin bends in the mountains in second and opening the throttle wide, the engine makes the most amazing noise, I never tire of it! No doubt at all that the GS is the best bike I’ve toured on.
As well as touring, I use the bike for commuting into central London from St Albans, a journey of 23 or so miles, blood delivery for SERV Herts and Beds and advanced rider training and observing. As all rounders go for all of these uses, the GS is hard to beat for nimble handling, comfort, character and practicality.
In the time I’ve had it, I have had one service (12,000 miler at just over 11,000 miles) undertaken by Steve Grover at www.motoscot.co.uk; Steve is an ex BMW and Honda chief mechanic and definitely knows his onions. He uses genuine BMW parts and so any warranty is not affected. A very reasonable £335 for the full 12k service including brake fluid change. The bike came with a new rear tyre and I replaced the front before the 2014 tour. Both are about half worn now after 6000 miles. Nothing has gone wrong although the bike was recalled by BMW in late 2014 for a possible fuel leak from the fuel pump. A clip was replaced very efficiently and courteously by Cannon Motorcycles in Braintree <link to story here>.
The GS cost the same money at 2.5 years old and 5,600 miles as my Tiger 800 cost new. It did look new though (and still does at 3.5 years and 12,000 miles) and is much better equipped, coming as it does with electronic suspension, traction control and tyre pressure monitoring over the fully loaded Tiger I bought. The boxer uses more oil than any bike I’ve owned and on tour particularly, does need a watchful eye on the oil level.
So, in summary, a very comfortable, practical, super sounding bike that I am extremely pleased I've bought. I have been heard to say during the first year with the bike that the GS is a keeper; that remains to be seen. When the recall work was being done at Cannon Motorcycles just before Christmas, I test rode the BMW K1600GT <link here> and after being blown away on the ride, Adam at Cannon offered me £7,500 trade in for the GS. On a PCP, that would mean £1300 back to me (so deposit of £6,200) and £87 per month for 3 years for the K…very tempting! We will see….
