April 16, 2004

First ride... BMW R1200GS

I had a chance to ride a BMW R1200GS thanks to my friends at California BMW. It is a very different bike from R1150GS.

A sort list of difference that matter when you are riding (the bike looks totally different). The front end geometry is much quicker, the combined with the 60lbs weight loss. This makes the bike much more alive in the twisties. However, it also means that bar input on the freeway can lead to the bike shifting and being less planted. The 100 horses in the motor are a nice improvement. The power is less linear then the twin spark 1150s. It is centered squarely in the middle of the tach making there no reason to wind the motor out. Actually, if you shift before the redline but close you actually get more acceleration out of the rpm drop then holding the gear. The motorcycle wasn't the only thing that lost mass. The motor while having a bigger displacement acts as though it has less rotating mass. It revs quicker, it takes more blip to down shift, and it pulls the bike less to the right when you rev it when stationary. The bike feels smaller when you are on it, due mostly to the thinning of the seat tank and midsection. You can definitely feel that there is less there. The bars are also very different. They are oversized bars. and seem flatter then the bars on the 1150. They also seem to be closer to the seat so your arms will be more bent and relaxed. The heated grips are the new style. They don't have the oversized feel of the ones on the 1150. They are the same grips you will find on the Rockster. The transmission is also very different. It feels less like a typical BMW tractor gearbox and more like motorcycle transmission. It also has stops to its ratcheting. On the R1150s you can keep going down once you are in low gear and up once you are in high gear. The 1200 has hard stops. This seems to be more common now. Triumph and Yamaha seem to have adopted this.

Did I like it? Yes, I thought it was a great bike. However, it is a different bike. I would love a new GS but I would also want and RT. The new GS has such sporty handling and motor I would also want a bike for going on long touring trips that was more rock solidly stable for going two up. As far as a sporty hooligan it wins hands down. It again will lift the front end the way the old R1100GS did. It seems to have almost the same power band as the R1100GSs I've ridden just more power in the band.

Posted by pqbon at April 16, 2004 7:49 PM | TrackBack