BMW R1200GS Test Ride
A friend of mine just picked up 05 R1200GS and we switched bikes yesterday for about 15 - 20 minutes. I came away VERY impressed by the bike, it’s everything I expected it NOT to be. It was really hard to get back to riding Multi again, such a strange feeling when you ride two bikes side by side.
First thing that really surprised me is how light BMW feels once you are on it. It’s sheer size looks very intimidating when you are standing next to the bike, but throw your leg over and you forget about it right away. Start rolling, and it becomes even lighter. Unlike some other bikes that take a while to get used to them, big Beemer inspires confidence straight away. I felt very comfortable if not outright aggressive is slow corners, and that is telling something because I usually struggle with this category of riding.
Seating position is very relaxed and comfortable. The bike feels very long, and you are sitting right in the middle of it. Handlebars are pulled back and much wider than Multi handlebars. I think this is one of the reasons this bike is so easy to handle.
The bike is not particularly fast or responsive. It is certainly slower than my 1100 Multistrada. However that didn’t bother me a bit, it still has plenty of power to keep things exciting. There is virtually no vibration at any RPM’s once you get out of lumpy idle, it almost feels like the motor is attached to the bike miles away from you. You know it’s there because it makes the noise (quite pleasant by the way, but the note doesn’t really change with RPM increase) but you do not FEEL it under you. This is 180 degree difference from Multistrada where you know that engine is alive as it sends it’s vibes to you.
Brakes are OK but nothing to rave about, with the rear brake being non responsive to me pushing on the pedal. Yes, the bike doesn’t dive as you brake, but it doesn’t make it better. ABS, on the other hand, is something I wish my Multistrada had. Not that I got a chance to use it, but it’s nice knowing that it’s always there guarding you from your poor braking.
My favorite thing about this bike (besides it’s easy handling) was how comfortable of a cruiser it was. Despite the fact that the windscreen didn’t feel much taller than the one on my Multistrada, I felt absolutely no wind pressure on my chest. In stark contrast, on Ducati you really have to hold on to the handlebars as the wind is blasting you fiercely. This makes the latter bike questionable long range cruiser. BMW gives you a feeling that you can ride it all day long without any wind associated fatigue.
Things I didn’t like about GS: well, I really had to think about it pretty had to come up with something negative.
Gear box didn’t have the best feeling, which is from my experience is very typical for boxer BMW’s. It was shifting fine, but the shifts were missing the refinement and sharpness of some other bikes (Ducati is not a benchmark here either, to me it’s Honda with it’s perfect gearboxes)
Instrument panel wasn’t very readable, but this could be attributed to the fact that I wan’t used to the bike.
Engine could be a bit more lively, and it probably is on 2010 model with it’s HP2 4 valve heads.
So overall I could really see why R1200GS is such a popular bike and why it has such a following. While I’m not hurrying to sell my Multistrada to buy GS, I could see myself owning one sometime in the future.
Meanwhile I will concentrate on making my Multi more freeway friendly. Ugly barn door aftermarket fairing or Laminar lip is out of question, but since I know exactly what works (and have donor GS that I could use for parts 
) I will try to design something similar. I think it’s mostly windshield angle that needs dramatic change. I wouldn’t mind getting rid of that poor headlight and robot looking fairing either. Stay tuned….