Probably works out better in the long run to get the Adventure. All of those options are quite expensive on the non Adventure model. I bet it's a bugger to balance when full of petrol. I would never (intentionally) take it off road though, so I would never use it to its limit. Thanks. They look ever so slightly old. If I was to go for a BMW other than a GS Adventure then I'd probably look at the BMW F 650 GS Dakar in black or yellow (870mm seat height) £5,650 rrp otr Or the K 1200 R which looks MEAN, but the seat height is too low.
I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know in a week. From their construction they look like they'll be waterproof, and I just went through 15 minutes of pissing rain to get home and they didn't leak, but that's hardly definitive. They are biased towards trousers going on the inside of them, and have an elasticised leather bit at the top that would appear to aim to stop water getting inside and it worked well today. They are *very* supportive, in that they're difficult to walk in and your ankle can't move in any direction that isn't needed on a bike, they also have a hard armour on the inside of the leg which will definitely provide good protection if you happen to be unlucky enough to plant your leg between the road and your bike one day. The build quality looks great (confidence inspiring, even) and I forecast a long life for them. However, as a new boot, changing gears and using the rear brake is *very* difficult due to their lack of flexibility. I'm sitting down here wearing them while bending my ankles in hope of them being more useable tomorrow. They come in decent sizes too, its so difficult to find anything decent in size 13. And they look lovely. Shit kicker effect. Thought has gone into them, if you look on the inside you can see that it's textured and has a pattern (there's no need for one, but someone must have thought it was a good idea, and makes a nice touch). The (what I assume is the) waterproof layer inside is a thin leather-like (if it's not really leather) material. The Sidi's I tried on seem to just have a plastic membrane which looks a lot more flimsy, these Diadora's look built to last. I'm glad I chose these. I just hope they get easier to function in. Looked okay around the office though, and I could put my trousers over them. These Diadora ones are a bit too in your face to do anything useful with in every day life unless you're wearing leathers. I doubt anything but flared trousers would slip over the top. They don't look like something you'd want to hide.
Opinions differ, but I tend to agree/ Not really, no. But then I'm 6'5" and 19st[1] Anyone much shorter than that would have trouble flat-footing it, mind and then, yes, I'd say it would be more, er, fun. <shrug> Nor I, normally, although it has been up and down a grassy bank at Snetterton and along the "beach"of the Dordogne near Grolejac. Thing is about most all GS' is that they're intended to be as good on the road as they are off -- Gelande Strasse, see? It's generally acknowledged that a well ridden, bone-stock GS is damned near unbeatable cross-country on the types of road we have in this country. Plus, even if you load it to the gunwhales a la McGregor and Boorman, it's reasonably useful off-road in all but the boggiest or rockiest terrain. Well, yes. Others might describe them as "characterful". But they are pretty simple devices that happen to last and last. Not ridden the Dakar but have it's fugly cousin, the CS "Scarver". Others on here also have some experience with the "plain" F650, too. Why not go have a browse over at www.ukgser.com ? Might spot a few familiar names in there, too. ;-) Heh, or butt-ugly. I'm growing accustomed to them when I see 'em in mags and think it would be a hoot to ride, but haven't seen one on the road, yet. Really? What's too low for you then, Nick?
Hello you. I am 1" taller than you without shoes. Fancy doing 8,000 miles on an ickle ER-5? Finding a bike that is the right size feels funny to me. Everything is in the right place, it feels odd. And we have some shit roads! Made for Kent! I'll have a butchers. I'll be very interested when I see one in the real world. 163bhp, and it's not as tiny as a Speed Triple, which can only be a good thing. Anything less than 34" I think.
I'm surprised you're still using it. Fortunately my work profile means that I no longer need to worry about wearing boots all day. Cheers for the feedback -- Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3 Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply) Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 156 TS S2 Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
I didn't expect them to be perfect in just three 15 minute rides. Ovenpaa had a similar problem with his boots too. This is why I need a new bike
No I meant the rear brake. After being told that I'd killed a set of rear pads in 6000 miles, probably by dragging the brake, I studied my riding and found that I was. Now I don't use it at all, except for low speed maneouvers. We all need new bikes -- Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3 Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply) Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 156 TS S2 Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
BGN says... In all fairness to Nitro boots, one man's falling apart is another man's just broken in. No Nitro boot is sold as guaranteed waterproof, so you can't justifiably complain when they start leaking. BGN has crashed quite heavily wearing Nitro boots and walked away with no feet or ankle damage. A certain degree of damage is likey to have occured. BGN has admitted he didn't care for his boots and abused them in the time he owned them, so he can't expect to get years of service from them. The NB40 race boot, which is the most expensive Nitro boot, has an RRP of 49-99 ukp, not 90 quid. They are budget boots, so you can't expect them to last forever, but they do very well compared to many boots at twice the price.
Heh, hello, luvvie. Ah, no. I could just about tolerate a day on a CB500 every now and again when the ZX12R was in for its fettlings. I rode an ER5 once and that was enough. [snip] Yeah, I know what you mean. I had the older 1998/9 Speed Triple (955i) and found it pretty comfortable. Italy and back was hard work, mind. 2000 ZX12R was /damned/ comfortable for what it was, however, the GS is in a different league of "comfy" by comparison. I have similar trouble.
I'll let you know when I'm there. Riding one depends on how my riding day had gone so far, and if I could fit on it.
I do still use it, but the rear isn't all that useful anymore. It's a drum and all I get a little braking and then some squeeking. It's still well within its marked "usable range" so perhaps it needs new shoesies. Nice big shiney ones.
Deffo falling apart. I never intended to imply that I expected them not to leak. After all, they're not wellies. It did. This is why I qualified the paragraph with a statement that I abused them. I direct Mr. Lozzo to Alford Bros. upstairs, far wall, size 13 shelf. I'm not sure how much I paid for mine as I got them with a load of other stuff. I considered replacing them with the same model and that was the price on display, which if why I chose something £20 more. Perhaps Alfords have a price in the wrong place? They were very comfortable.
That does sound rather more reasonable. -- Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3 Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply) Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 156 TS S2 Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
