R1200GS and RATS

Does CalBMW/Triumph still have a RATS riding group?

Has anyone seen the new R1200 GS, which is supposed to be 66 pounds lighter
than the R1150 GS?

Anybody ride one?

Impressions?

 

MarinBMW has one, Diablo in WC has one - those are the ones I've seen, I'm sure most of the dealers
have them now. I've seen a couple write ups at advrider.com


http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40072
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40138
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39978

look around a bit - there's more.

ukgser has a forum for the R12
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/


-Bill

 

Larry:

Check it out.

http://bayarearatpack.com/

Regards:

Mike Nelson
2003 Triumph 955i

 

Larry:

I thought you had given up motorcycles?

Regards:

Mike Nelson
2003 Triumph 955i

 

Here's a first ride article from Motorcyclist:
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/firstrides/r1200gs05first/

Motorcycle Consumer News has a 6-page article in their April issue,
which includes thorough coverage of technical aspects as well as a
riding impression.

Bike featured a riding impression in March. Rider does the same in the
May issue (on newsstands now).

From the accounts I've read, it sounds like a virtually brand new
motorcycle, with major mods everywhere, and all have given rave reviews.
MCN projects a full-tank weight of 515, down 60 from the previous model
and about the same as your '98 VFR.

 

Now if only they could also knock a good 20-30% off the price...

After riding my GF's Vstrom, I've so fallen to the cult of the giant
trailies.

 

Thanks, Dan. It looks like a winner.

 

Yes, in looking back on all the motorcycles I've owned, probably the "best"
bikes were the VFR 800, the Honda 929 RR, and the Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3.

The bikes I was most smitten with on a "poseur" level, was my Ducati Monster
900 with all the carbon and aftermarket exhaust stuff.

But when I find myself missing 'riding', I find myself going back to some
of the long rides (Yosemite for lunch) on the Triumph Tiger, and all of the
miles done on the ST 3s I owned.

I've always liked the GS line, but thought they weighed too much, and didn't
have enough power. But at this point, with the weight coming down, and
the power going up, they seem more appealing than ever. I like the 950
KTM twin, but I think it would be too tall for a predominantly street
riding, sometimes trail use. This just may be the best of its type at this
point, although the price is stratospheric.


Larry

 

Most likely. But I'm toying with the idea of another adventure tourer.
Just finished the Skip Barber Viper Day, and am enjoying the four wheel
experience. But I have my days when I miss two wheels. But for the danger,
two wheels are still more interesting than four, even at the top of the food
chain in the four wheel sport experience.

 

Long travel forks can make a bike unstable when its braking hard.
When the forks compress the steering rake and trail are reduced.
Less rake and trail means less stability. Longer travel front forks
increase this phenomenon. Ride a 12" front travel dirt bike on pavement
(where you can brake harder than on dirt) and it's very apparent.

The BMW front suspension is set up to have less dive under braking
than standrd forks.

Eric

 

It's a good do-it-all street bike. It's comfortable, deals
with backroads well, and handles a passenger and luggage with ease.
If you want to do everything with one street bike, it's
a good choice.

I don't consider it a dirt bike. Its just too heavy and I have
real dirt bikes for off-road riding. But I can't ride them to washington or
new mexico for two weeks. With a passenger.

The V-strom wasn't around when I got my GS. If I were looking
now, that's what I'd start with.


Eric

 

BMW has always favored soft springs with a lot of preload. This gives
the bikes a plush ride. But under braking, it it causes the nose to
dive quite a bit. The telelever manages to take braking force needed
to generate 100 pounds of weight transfer and convert it into 100 lb.
of additional spring force. This allows them to keep the cushy springs
without suffering from excessive brake dive.


The magazine is just pointing out the difference between the telelever
and conventional forks.

 

Absolutely not. I've ridden dozens of different motorcycles which have
different missions, all of which are terrific for their calling.

The Adventure tourer holds some attraction to me because the one I owned
protected my hands from the cold, had very comfortable seating, had a plug
in for my electric vest, and a spot to put a rain suit, some water, and a
few power bars, with a large enough gas tank to let me explore some roads
that could be dirt, a little mud, or asphalt with ease.

The attraction for me of the BMW over my once and former Triumph Tiger is
the paralever and telelever systems, and the way they take some of the long
suspension travel out of the braking equation by controlling dive more
effectively in aggressive braking situations.

This is probably just a trip down nostalgia lane, in any event.

But it is certainly NOT an effort to make any bike "better" than anyone
else's.

 

most dealers have sold at least the first dozen already, so there won't be
any test rides for awhile. the one at Marin BMW belongs to occasional
ba.poster and ADVrider regular 'kbasa'.

 

Yeah, the price is just outrageous IMO.

$15k, for the motorcycle WITHOUT bags, heated grips, stereo, and other
luxury features (in a bike which, for all its capability, is ugly as
sin) is just, umm, gouging.

Especially when the competition is so much cheaper: Caponord is $11k
MSRP, the VStrom 1k is <$9k, tiger is $11k, and the KTM Adventure is
$12k.

Which is a pitty, because if it didn't cost such an arm and a leg,
because I find it a really attractive bike.

 

Actually, the SUV bikes in some ways give the best-of-all-worlds.
Comparing my GF's Vstrom 650 (so cheap and low-powered mind you) to my
VFR, the VFR beats it handily in straight line acceleration, and
somewhat in handling.

But for real world riding, you gotta love that comfy seat for two, the
long travel, pothole eating suspension, the wide bars, the great
visibility, the amazingly smooth engine, and suprisingly agile
handling.

If something happened to my VFR (and I could no longer steal my GF's
bike when I want something cushy), I'd get a giant trailie in a hot
second.

(Of course, since I HAVE access to a big cushy bike now, I'd probably
get a Tuono if I replaced my VFR.

 

Here's another riding impression, Larry:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=770&Page=1

Check the MCUSA message board under "Bike Reviews" for discussion.
Tester Kevin Duke sometimes answers questions raised on the board.

 

Thanks, Dan.

Nice write up.

 

The GS kicked ass a few times in the Paris-Dakar rally and the mystique
was born. As a GS rider, I have to admit it is the SUV of motorcycles.

I agree, the GS is far too heavy to be a dirt bike: it can't jump or
crawl up rocks - and if it falls downhill you'll grind off the paint
getting it up again. But let's not forget tires: stock GS tires are
basically road tires. I have only once seen a GS with knobbies (outside
of a showroom) that guy used to ride around the Nevada desert and he
said a thousand miles of road destroyed the tires. So, the ability to
ride a GS 1,000 miles to an off road site is moot (unless there's a
dealer there to replace your tires). If you are going to haul a GS
with knobbies, why not haul a real dirt bike and have more fun?

BTW: I rode my GS to southern Utah and went off road with my teenage son
- he has a XR400. It was a major victory going up a river bed without
dumping it. When we swapped bikes I had much more fun and my son was
too afraid to try anything since he didn't want to dump my big black bike.

 

Can it be true that you cannot start the 12GS while holding the brakes?
Yikes, that sounds like a major design flaw.

JGB