TDM v. 1200GS Options

[nitram]

That does include reserve down to about 20m left on the warning indicator thingie. The faster you go the more it drinks, but you know I'm very sensible when I ride Wickie. Always suprised me that they put such a small tank on it to tell you the truth. You can get a bigger tank but I just cant be arsed!

Now that I've done my emulsion tubes my crappy old school TDM850 will do 200miles from a tankful if I ride sensibly.
Yesterday and today I rode up the M20 at about 85-90 then had to suffer the rush hour traffic. I did 135 miles on 13.2 Litres
Today I'm gonna try my best and stick to 75 home and back to work tomorrow and see if it'll be around 12 litres.

Windy....
I think the reason people look to the GS as a replacement for the TDM is because they are a similar stylee. Plus of course they are flavour of the month
When magazines do a comparison test the TDM is never there, it's the KTM, Varaderro and the VStrom. The 900 never get's a look in, which is a shame, it's a mighty fine bike. Hey ho, their loss, our gain.

The F800 is such a TRX ripoff it's amazing. And there was me thinking it was the Japanese that copied the Europeans

[alunl]

there is always talk of more power or grunt from the GS over the TDM's, well that shouldn't really be a surprise should it, what with 300-350cc's more engine capacity, I personally can't see why the GS always seems to be the bike people want to move to from the TDM, if you want more power or grunt why not just choose any one of the many sports tourers or retros or one of the other big trailie type bikes from any other manufacturer, a KAWASAKI ZRX1200 will annihilate a TDM or a BMW GS in terms of performance, it's smooth, it's comfy, it's fast and it can be loaded up with as much luggage as any bike and still be comfy with a passenger, plus you can pick them up second hand in good condition for not much more than £3000 and then sell them again a year or so later for almost what you paid for them as long as they're still in good condition.
so why does the GS seem to be the bike chosen to replace the TDM ?, is it just the media hype and heresay or have people really tried all of the many varied options of motorcycle on the market to make up their mind.

I have tried an XJR1300 and a CB1300, which are similar to the Kawasaki, but they just don't do it for me... You cant see over hedges and parked cars, they ground out with luggage and pillion and remind me of my old CB900F2B (SEE PICS BELOW)...

When I went to Morocco 2 years ago, there were guys on GSs, Tigers, Caponords and KTMs, lots of sports and retro type bikes... And me on my TDM... and the GS riders always seemed to be able to stay riding longer than anyone else without any signs of discomfort. And I had a go on one on the way back through Spain and I was impressed with the 'feel' of it. So when I decided I could afford to replace mine, I looked at a brand new TDM900 and a second hand (shaft driven and more comfortable) GS Adventure. The rest is history!

Biking, like any other love is a very personal thing and if we all wanted the same bike what a boring thing life would be

[laughin in a win...]

Biking, like any other love is a very personal thing and if we all wanted the same bike what a boring thing life would be

exactly, so why do so many people want a GS

[sidestand]

If it's any help, I don't want one Storm

Wouldn't mind a K1200S though

[duibhce Kaelann]

If it's any help, I don't want one Storm

Wouldn't mind a K1200S though

that's a license-killer...
I'd go for the K1200R so that the wind will keep you at sensible speeds

[laughin in a win...]

don't get me wrong, I've nothing against the GS apart from the fact that to me it's ugly, I'm just trying to find out the reason why so many people want one, whether it be because of 'fashion' or 'knowledge'.

[Emmett]

don't get me wrong, I've nothing against the GS apart from the fact that to me it's ugly, I'm just trying to find out the reason why so many people want one, whether it be because of 'fashion' or 'knowledge'.

It's also a bit of a status symbol for middle aged men, "I can afford a 1200gs".

This post has been edited by Emmett: Tue 1st Aug 2006, 04:16 PM

[ROB1]

It's also a bit of a status symbol for middle aged men, "I can afford a 1200gs".

ditto

[dbninja]

BLOODY HELL!

i started something with this thread! never seen so many replies on here for a long time!

so i am going to be as honest as i can about owning my GS...........

ITS EXCELLENT

I bought it cos i like it..........
looked at all the others but they didnt tick every box especially in the seat height department'

is it a status symbol?

sure as hell IS,

i worked hard all my life for everything i have, never had a handout, been married 24years brought up 2 kids and they are doing fine so yes i could of bought a cheaper bike but they just didnt quite do it for me, still own my restored gpz900r, just sold my xjr13 and tdm, have owned a lot of bikes in 32years holding a full bike license..

never thaught i would see the day when i bought a BMW, had all the predjucises i just heard on here and a few more besides!

but, BMW have it right for me now! its a bike that has evolved over 20years and about 10 models. it has got a real prescense both on the road and when you park it up! and i think its superb. i wanted the 1150GS that came before it but it was just too damned big and heavy for a shortarse like me so i had to wait for the 1200, then i had to wait 2 years till i could afford a used one!

damned right i like it

strange how so many TDM riders are also drawn to the GS.......... i am not alone!

dbninja

[ChrisG]

That does include reserve down to about 20m left on the warning indicator thingie. The faster you go the more it drinks, but you know I'm very sensible when I ride Wickie. Always suprised me that they put such a small tank on it to tell you the truth. You can get a bigger tank but I just cant be arsed!

The 1200 is supposed to have much better fuel economy than the 1150

Localish dealer to me has a 3000 mile ex demonstrator CBF100F for £5500, much as I loved it when I took one for a test ride the other week I still love the sheer size of the GS. KTM990 looks very nice too but the prices are similar to the GS. Anyone tried one of them?

[wicklamulla]

this is a good thread !!!

[ROB1]

this is a good thread !!!

itis agood thread.so many opinions about one thing....ilove it. I said i alsoquitelikethem.cant syaiwould buyone cosireallycant afford it.come to mention it there is a fully loaded s/h one for sale at bmw shipley

[dbninja]

cos i really cant afford it

there was a yeller un on ebay at bmw cardif with lotsa extras and it didnt sell for £5500 no reserve

full service history but ............................. 31000 miles

still only a 2year old 1 owner bike, well looked after still available, it only finished tonight

db

This post has been edited by dbninja: Tue 1st Aug 2006, 10:18 PM

[TDMBob]

Well I get mine next week some time but hope you guys won't mind me coming to RT's and joining in here now vo ist mine motterad magazine und mine bratworst

[Mark]

Often, parked next to my TDM in the bike shed at work, is a mid-90's R80GS. It's the later model with the small fairing.

It's a lovely bike, compact, nice looking and very well put together. If it were to come up for sale, I'm buy it like a shot.

If you were to put this alongside the modern GS, you'd see where BMW have gone horribly wrong. The new range is ugly and over complicated.

Nope, think I'll keep my mk2 TDM thanks very much. By not buying a GS, I can afford to have a few interesting bikes...

Mark.

[wicklamulla]

Well I get mine next week some time but hope you guys won't mind me coming to RT's and joining in here now vo ist mine motterad magazine und mine bratworst

congrats Bob a new baby fer Alun L and yerself too i see (well read actually!!)

[Big Bird]

It's also a bit of a status symbol for middle aged men, "I can afford a 1200gs".

If you really wanted a status symbol wouldn't you go the whole hog and get the HP2 full-on Enduro? Anyone one who could ride one of these things the way they're meant to be ridden can park his boots under my bed any day of the week . . . especially if I could steal it for the occasional dirty weekend I reckon the HP2 is one of the most totally wicked, bare bones, extreme machines out there at the moment. 25kg lighter than the R-GS and it puts out more ponies. Also $5k more than the GS, but when you're throwing around that much mulah, who cares?

[Pict]

congrats Bob a new baby fer Alun L and yerself too i see (well read actually!!)

Don't say that word - you'll waken Guinness!

[laughin in a win...]

If you really wanted a status symbol wouldn't you go the whole hog and get the HP2 full-on Enduro? Anyone one who could ride one of these things the way they're meant to be ridden can park his boots under my bed any day of the week . . . especially if I could steal it for the occasional dirty weekend I reckon the HP2 is one of the most totally wicked, bare bones, extreme machines out there at the moment. 25kg lighter than the R-GS and it puts out more ponies. Also $5k more than the GS, but when you're throwing around that much mulah, who cares?

not surprising it being lighter, it has propper forks and only one mudguard

[wrex]

exactly, so why do so many people want a GS

I can only speak for myself on this point and in no way am I trying to provide the definitive reason that people ride a GS. South of the great divide I'm sure that the status symbol that the bike has is probably the main reason thanks to Charlie and Ewan.
I bought mine after test riding as many bikes of the same ilk that I could get my hands on. Varadero, excellent over long distances - crap in town. Tiger, nice an tall - front end like a suprised rhino and an awful finish on the engine. TDM900, toomuch like a sports bike. V-Strom, very mannerly and was seriously tempted. KTM Adventure, great bike but very skittish in the back end and two petrol caps! 1150 Adventure,too heavy for me but excellent bike.

R1200GS, perfect for me. No matter what riding you do on it, long distance, a-roads, b-roads, through town, Applecross-M6 it just does it no problem. Bought it a year ago and seeing as I don't have a car it's been through all weathers and even got me to work through a foot of snow. The balance of the bike is confidence inspiring and it suits the way I ride though I don't ride particularly fast. You can get lots of bits for it if you want to, but you don't have to, all I bought was a taller screen, engine guards, panniers and a touratech nose guard cos the front end is ugly. My daughter loves the pillion and reckons it's even better than the Varaderos. It's got it's problems, ABS takes some getting used to, indicator switching(nuff said!) but on the whole I would honestly say it is the best bike that I have ever ridden it's the definitve Jack of all trade's. It's easy to clean and after a winter on British roads the only rust I could find was on one of the nuts that holds the pannier on and before you ask, no I didn't clean it every day! Yeah the engine sticks out but as far as I'm concerned that just means I've got somewhere to rest my legs when going down the motorway! The cornering is exact though the bars can feel a bit wide if you're not an orangutang(luckily, I am). Yes it's ugly but I want to ride it not marry it! And like they say 'marry an ugly woman because they will always be grateful'
I've got to go now cos the kid wants a lift to town where I will park it by TK Max and guaranteed people will stop and look at it, and either love it or hate it, but they will stop all the same! Maybe they'll go on and on and on about it aswell


Nice one Bob! What colour you getting! The new silver grey is quite pretty. Guiness, at this rate you're gonna have to change the name of the site

This post has been edited by wrex: Thu 3rd Aug 2006, 10:35 AM