Bmw 1200 Gs

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Azdiscovery

Guest
Anyone here have a BMW 1200 GS? Im looking at purchasing one (pref. used) early next year and would like any opinions on them. Im looking to ride from canada to mexico next summer vacation with it. Ive heard its a great bike for that.
 
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marc olivares

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,535
0
very good bikes.
a bit tall and heavy for my liking, which is why i ride a Triumph tiger.
nice thing about beemers, is the "jeep" like aftermarket support.
lots and lots of goodies available for the GS.
 
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Azdiscovery

Guest
Thanks Marc,

Hey Im from S.Ogden/Layton UT. Hows the weather up there right now? Any more news about the miners that may not be on the tv?
 
benlittle

benlittle

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2005
4,086
7
Draper
Marc this is still an open discussion at my house.

So far though, I'm still losing. :mad:

I think I'll be riding a GS next spring though ;) Tentative... very tentative.
 
spydrjon

spydrjon

Well-known member
Nov 9, 2004
1,223
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Dacula, GA
www.oysterroast.com
Just please don't be one of these guys

"A grisly early morning accident in Gwinnett County leaves a motorcyclist dead.
Gwinnett County police believe the motorcyclist was speeding in excess of 100 mile an hour when he squeezed between two tractor trailers on I-85 northbound near the Hamilton Mill Road exit.

After pulling past the eighteen wheelers, the motorcyclist lost control, wrecked on the interstate and was struck by at least one of the big rigs.

Witnesses at the scene describe it as gory, with body parts scattered along the highway.

The accident happened just before 4 o'clock Wednesday morning. The identity of the motorcyclist has not been released. Neither of the truck drivers were hurt. "

15 August 2007


I live off Hamilton Mill Rd and I saw this accident before I heard about it... The fire dept was spraying off the road. I thought it was another car fire.

It is a-holes like this guy that give the good riders a really bad name!!
 
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iDood

Guest
What exactly are you planning on doing with it? It's not a dirt bike. It's a dirt-road bike.

That said, some people use them as dirt bikes. Some people take stock LR3s off road in Moab too. Some people wipe their asses with sand paper... and so on...

It is a fantastic motorcycle. Simple to work on. Awesome.

All that said, I ride a heavily modified F650... it's the cat's ass for my "riding requirements."

If you want to waste a shitload of time, here's a report we're still working on from our recent trip to Colorado, Wyoming and Montana... I'm "NB" over there... and nothing really starts happening in the report until page 8 or so... just a lot of shit talking...

And if that doesn't put you to sleep, here's Moab on the F... and here's Mexico... yada yada...

I'll repeat myself, though... the big GS is awesome (for what it is). Really awesome!

And, if you want to look at other options...
  • Real dirt... look at the Katoom 990 (the S model)
  • Dirt roads... check out the new Tiger too (but it'd have to be well-graded roads for the new model... might want to look at the old model...) The GS Adventure is also nice for what it is... and part of what it is a big tall big... still awesome though...
(This list could get long... I digress...)

But, as stated above... what exactly are you planning on doing with it? ... besides riding from Canada to Mexico...

Peace.
 
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Azdiscovery

Guest
Probably a squid on a kawi(or other sport) Back when I had the gixxer I used to ride with a group who looked to be expirienced but on day they just started monkeying around with wheelies and the rest of that crap... Never rode with them again.

I agree bikers like that give the rest a bad name and raise our insuance rates across the board.

Let me further expand upon the reason Id like a GS.

as metioned above I have briefly (6mos) had a sport bike and even though it was cool, was damned uncomfortable around town and extended periods of the highway. Ive since joined the Air Force and am in AZ with the Disco.
Well, Ive been missing riding for a long while now and would like a second vehicle(saves on gas...etc) for the week which would also give the ability to take a short off-road trip or so. I was thinking about a little 650 gs but I dont think that would do very well on an extended trip uphill (say to flagstaff from phoenix az.)
-Also ive heard they have decent city manners so If I did wind up getting stationed somewhere else I wouldnt have to sell it( in other words it would still be somewhat comfortable for street riding)

Im not new to dirt riding alltogether having had a breif stint with a RM250.
 
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marc olivares

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,535
0
iDood is dead on w/ his comments on the 07 tigers (they are more street than dirt) mine in an 05 and in my opinion alot like the 99 d1 (last of the best).

i've spent alot of years on motorcycles, and when i got back into it just recently, i was very specific w/ what i wanted.
i wanted the upright seating style of the dual sport bikes (very comfy on long hauls)
i wanted something i could use 80% on highway and 20% off
here in utah we have miles and miles of nicely graded roads, so my 20% off means 100% graded roads.
the GS is 500lbs dry and about 32" in the seat height
tiger is 400lbs and 30" in height.

something to keep in mind, is that these are road bikes that do well off highway. but are far from being "dirt" bikes.
i would never take my Tiger places i took my YZ...lol
check out ADVrider.com, it's the dweb of adventure riding. and again, mostly GS stuff there ...lol

another thing about the that drew me away from the 650 was the power. on the highway, i feel safer w/ a 1000cc bike (955 in my case :) ) it's nice to always have power at the ready.


oh and it's hot here in SLC and the miners have not been found.
they are now drilling a 4th hole... fingers crossed!
 
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Azdiscovery

Guest
X2 on having power. Nothing like trying to grab some throttle to get you out of a situation and not having it. such as trying to go from SLC to Park City on a Ninja 250:eek: ...:banghead:

Friend that bought it was too scared to ride it back home so I got stuck with it... never again.. never again... I swear the semi trucks were trying to pass.
 
ptschram

ptschram

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2004
21,955
50
In the shop doing the Lord's work one broken Rover
www.ptschram.com
I am trying to swap my 109 for a R1000 GS/PD. He's on the hook, now to get him in the boat.

SWMBO is only going along with it as she thinks the BMW bike will be easier to sell than the Series truck...

The seat height is a major issue for me as I won't feel comfortable without my feet flat on the ground. Going from a lowered raked KZ1000 drag bike to a GS/PD will be a big jump.
 
MUSKYMAN

MUSKYMAN

Well-known member
Apr 19, 2004
8,277
0
OverBarrington IL
there is a BMW bike shop in my town, the owner and one of the mechanics have run Dakar and a NUMBER of times. thier bikes are often out front.

pretty cool seeing someone DD a bike that has run one of the toughest races in the world.
 
msggunny

msggunny

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2007
2,978
3
Holly Ridge, NC
Weird, i was actually going to ask something about this bike, and this type of bike here.

Been looking at the BMW's for a while now, really like them but the price tag is a bit much for me. Although with the ABS, that alone i think is worth it. Had my front tire lock up in a patch of sand on a turn and put me into a guard rail at 35MPH, not fun.

Anyone know anything about the Buell Ulysses? Something different.

I have read lots of reviews both bad and good on them. Just havent talked to anyone who has ridden one.
 
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Azdiscovery

Guest
PhillyRover that looks really really tempting. Only problem I have with renting motorcycles is the damage clause, esp. if im going to be renting it for dual purpose use to test it out. You never expect to drop a bike, but scratches are common offroad with rocks etc... and it costs big $$ to get it fixed most of the time-even if you do get the 'insurance'.

But other than that is very very tempting.
 
ptschram

ptschram

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2004
21,955
50
In the shop doing the Lord's work one broken Rover
www.ptschram.com
Azdiscovery said:
PhillyRover that looks really really tempting. Only problem I have with renting motorcycles is the damage clause, esp. if im going to be renting it for dual purpose use to test it out. You never expect to drop a bike, but scratches are common offroad with rocks etc... and it costs big $$ to get it fixed most of the time-even if you do get the 'insurance'.

But other than that is very very tempting.
Click to expand...

In 1990, I dropped a KZ750 Turbo at a dead stop onto gravel. I did $2000 damage to the bike. Due to its being a very limited production bike, many of the parts had to be ordered from Japan. the turbo boost gauge was NLA-and, of course, I busted the case on it.

All of the damage I did was cosmetic, yet it still cost me near $2K to get it close to back together.
 
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Azdiscovery

Guest
PhillyRover said:
I consider this the Defender of motorcycles.
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God I wish I had 20k+ to fork over for that! Add the GPS, heated grips, all the additional parts from bmw and it adds up to a pricey bike, but can you imagine... Hell of a bike to ride from Phoenix to Flagstaff to the cafe and just look at the mountains while having a cup of coffee outside. Same thing applies from a trip from SLC or Ogden to Park City. Awesome vistas and great bikes/drinks!
 
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Azdiscovery

Guest
ptschram said:
In 1990, I dropped a KZ750 Turbo at a dead stop onto gravel. I did $2000 damage to the bike. Due to its being a very limited production bike, many of the parts had to be ordered from Japan. the turbo boost gauge was NLA-and, of course, I busted the case on it.

All of the damage I did was cosmetic, yet it still cost me near $2K to get it close to back together.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they rape you no matter what type of coverage you take with them. (unrealistic I know but...) I wish they offered the same type of rental agreements they did like budget rent a car-- but then again they would go out of business with all of the damage.
 
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