89 replies to this topic

[Matrix Monkey]

There were 44 out of 63 coming back on the Santander ferry last month..

Oh how I laughed at the fear and wobblyness (made up word) that was displayed as they navigated an 'on' ramp onto the boat..They have too much money and not enough skill, trying to live the escapism dream....Sorry guys you couldn't escape out of Tesco's on our Messerschmits....Time to go and buy a Volvo and a caravan........

[Spongey]

Mine is the 1150GS and I prefer it to the 1200; That felt much more like a revy Jap job. A lot of the panniers fitted to GS machines are not QD and that is why they tend to be left on. If you are not in a hurry, why filter? I always filter if there is a "jam" and the bigger problem with the GS is white van man's mirrors are shoulder height, if the bars go through so do the panniers. It seems to me that some filter just because they can. Why add risk if it is not necessary? I do not include "surfing" in this because that is just fun! The front end does come as a shock to a new rider but when you get used to the feel; just great! Try one on really bumpy, poorly surfaced back roads and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[SteveOne]

Yes, the GS crowd annoy me - they're just so loved-up; with their bikes, with each other and all the bits of toura-tech (?) kit they've spent a fortune on. Touring with some earlier this month, the TDM did everything the GSs did - except blow light bulbs and give perturbing signals on its display. But all this just gave the GS crowd something to chat about all evening.
The Tom-Tom Rider SatNav *mount* on one GS cost more than my top-box and mounting bracket !

I have no doubt that the bike is seriously good at touring - and has a very impressive set of extras available
I would certainly look at buying one, if I didn't have the TDM.

[wicklamulla]

one of the guys at work is on his 3rd GS, the electrics keep going and they cant fix them so replace the bike under warranty

Tony you are joking, left ??

[TonyDevil]

Tony you are joking, left ??

nope, both failures happened within days of buying the bike new

[ChrisG]

I took the 1150 for a test ride when they first came out and liked it, but couldn't afford it. For a long time I did want one but I must admit I have gone off them due to the fashionableness of them, which is quite worrying as it means I'm being influenced by what other people are buying not by how good it is Having Spongey's 1150 fillimg my mirrors the other day reminded me how good a bike they are. As for the price in a year or two a fair few of the Ewan/Charlie wannabies will have moved on to the next fashion accessory and there'll be loads of them available second hand.

[jht]

in London this years summer biker must have....


big BM with EVERYTHING on it

99% time ridden by biggest bunch of knuts to ever swing a leg over a tractor

however....


oh what joy, what sport to filter past said summertime knut

as then sit back and enjoy the show as the twat tries to remove himself from the gene pool via a series of manouvres that even crack Kamakaze pilots woulda blanched at at Pearl Harbour....

all so he can get back in front of you by a car or two....

hang back a bit, and then roll past him as he jams himself between two cars at the next lights

enjoy his fuming visage in your mirror, and delight as the show starts again as the lights change

boy look at him GO!!!!!!

Wucking fankers they are

Me, go BM baiting on porpoise never....

[stormy]

Mind you though, if you are in the market for a shaft driven "pseudo go anywhere" type of bike, then lets face it, what else is there to buy?

I maybe swapping the Strom this year, and the 1150/1200 GS are very near the top of the shopping list*, but only because I want/prefer/desire a shaft drive this time.











*tis a short list, about 2 at the moment!

[RevvinKevin]

Thing is, are GS owners any different from the Harley and clone riders or the Kawzukaha gpxyzfrr mega zillion rider? They bought a life style. How many Gixxers or 'Blades are run anywhere near their full potential? None. But the power rangers still buy them because they dream of being the next Rossi.
Harley/clone riders dream of long straight Arizona roads just plugging along, but very few will get further than the local cafe where they stand and chat about how shiny it is and how one day they are going to do "that long trip".

At least GSs can't be ignored. They're huge................and very visible. We should thank them for making cagers aware of bikes.
What if they bought into a lifestyle they'll never have? Let them dream. At least they are out there riding.

Edited by RevvinKevin, 30 June 2008 - 07:39 pm.

[Baron]

I ride because I love riding, it's that simple and as a result I ride every day without compromise to the weather or work comitments( except in extreme circumstances), So by comparison I could say that a lot of you, and other bikers have bought into a lifestyle("look at me I'm a biker") because you only ride on weekends or when you feel like it or when going for a meet.
The point is, that its only our perception of others that pidgeon holes them into a category.
If they want to spend their money on a fully loaded GS then who are we to say it's right or wrong, how may of you bought a TDM because it was recommended by someone else?



One of they would have been handy on the Snowjoke meet.

Hear, hear. There's a bit of poseur and fashion attraction in most of us bikers. There's no getting away from the fact that the 1100/1150/1200GS is a very well designed and engineered motorcycle that is currently the subject of a fashion fad. In 2 or 3 years time there'll be a raft of fully speced 1200's on the market when they're no longer seen as a fashion icon. Bring 'em on say I.

Edited by Baron, 30 June 2008 - 10:09 pm.

[jht]

What if they bought into a lifestyle they'll never have? Let them dream. At least they are out there riding.

Ya know I can't disagree with that, nor the comments by celticbiker and baron either

in fact i probably agree with them

my only issue with the current crop of BM riders that i have seen is their riding 'style' (fer want of a better word)

even the crotch rocket boys don't do the things I see BM twats doing in traffic....

we are all guilty of moments of daftness when riding..... (even u RoSPA + IAM boyz)

the GS lot just seem to be doing it more... and fer longer

[Guinness]

friend of mine fried the electrics on his brandnew GS ... supposedly because another mate hooked up the satnav onto the wrong cable (which this mate had done on a dozen other bikes)
friend A also put diesel into his few week old bike, that is after he backed his car into it on dayONE.
what a maroon ...

i like the "uncommon" looks of the GS, even more of the smaller GS's
but too expensive, just have the feeling im paying for that litle black and white plaque.
they are omnipresent, on that note : anyone know of a GS get to gether in the south of France or in Spain? spotted truckloads of em on the péage going south while we were caging it home from Andorra.

GS is too "offroad", GSXR is too "circuit" to be on the road.
TDM is ... too weird?

[k2col]

Well, watching the Long Way Round was one of a couple of things that inspired me to get my bike license a couple of years back. I mention this because the popularity of that series seems to be one of the reasons people knock GS riders.

Charley REALLY wanted to ride KTMs but KTM turned them down.. oh how KTM must regret that decision!!

So yeah, my point is yes you can knock the GS because of the Ewan/Charley thing but if it inspires people to get on two wheels then who cares...

For what it's worth I don't see too many GS's on my local roads - it's mainly sports bikes down here.

Edited by k2col, 01 July 2008 - 06:22 pm.

[Geomorphologist]

I mean, its just like the bike god has pointed down at numerous easily influenced people round the uk and said ' you boy, you have a small nob and you care too much about what people think of you - you, my son are a potential GS owner'

Surely that's a joke, along with "their pee brained minds".
If anyone ever questioned why i was riding my bike, or why i had a popular machine, i probably tell them to get fucked.
One of my best friends rides a GS, rides it off-road, and has just returned from doing 17,000 miles in 5 weeks on and off-road through the Baltic states. How do you know that a proportion of the 113 GS owners you saw hadn't done similar?

What if they bought into a lifestyle they'll never have? Let them dream. At least they are out there riding.

Well said Kevin.

[Geomorphologist]

Try one on really bumpy, poorly surfaced back roads and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

As soon as i can afford (current value) £4k then i'll have an 1150 in yellow.
Love the look of them, and all of the roads round by me are poorly surfaced!

[Matrix Monkey]

Thing is, are GS owners any different from the Harley and clone riders or the Kawzukaha gpxyzfrr mega zillion rider? They bought a life style. How many Gixxers or 'Blades are run anywhere near their full potential? None. At least they are out there riding.

Yes on reflection, this is a very valid argument as I don't ride my black Tuono like a hooligan with my white RX7 Arai and black visor, but I have bought into that image - for now -

Guilty as charged ..... sorry GS owners......

M.M.

[dapleb]

Seems like your mechanic friend is unable to fix modern motorcycles. The 'electrickery' is only CAN-bus. Wich means that all the sensors and whatnot communicates on a serial bus instead of a separate cable for each item. Finding a fault on a modern system is easy. Hook up a CAN diagnostic tool and each component will say if it works or not.

Err you might want to look up where TONGUE is on tut map. I was lucky to find a 10amp fuse.

friend of mine fried the electrics on his brandnew GS ... supposedly because another mate hooked up the satnav onto the wrong cable (which this mate had done on a dozen other bikes)friend A also put diesel into his few week old bike, that is after he backed his car into it on dayONE.what a maroon ...

Name begins with 'Sssss' and ends in 'tefan'?

[Guinness]

-//- Name begins with 'Sssss' and ends in 'tefan'?

and the points go to dapleb :-)