£4000 all rounder - commuting/touring/weekend blasts

Sandycheeks · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:21

CGrieves said:
Hehe, funny how localised bike stereotypes can be. Was over in Sicily a few weeks ago and nearly everyone has a GS, young and old, and they all ride them like proper loons (in shorts and T-shirts usually).

When my VFR800 gives up I might get a cheap GS to partner the S1000RR. I like boxers, my R1100S was one of the best all-round bikes I've owned.

Good luck with that!

I'm looking at them at the minute and can't really afford one.

Sagalout - Is there any particular year to avoid?
Like the OP I'm looking at around £4000 but less would be awesome.

IC3 · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:32

Sagalout said:
Oh, and in that time not one single thing has gone wrong. The closest was on a service last year when BMW said they were replacing the centre stand as it had unacceptable corrosion (I never even noticed!)

A bit of an offtop, hows the schuberth helmet? By any chance do yo uhave a comparison to Shoei helmets e.g. GT Air?

Sagalout · 11 Sep 2015 at 14:35

I'm about to replace it. It's a very comfy, push and quiet helmet but it has one massive flaw. The visor ratchet is quite soft, meaning that it automatically closes above about 55mph. Schuberth say this isn't a fault but a 'design safety feature'. Personally I like to ride with my visor up all the time when its dry - I wear glasses so if something flies in its fine.

There is a fix, which is to put a rubber O ring into the mechanism which creates more friction, and I've run with that for the past year. This allows me to ride at 90mph with the visor up (on a private road obviously!). The problem with the fix is that it compromises the visor seal, meaning that when you get very hard rain, or rain with high wind, it can get through and runs down the inside when closed.

This was a big problem in Iceland, and has led me to order a new helmet (I've had the Schuberth 3 years now anyway). So I've gone for the NEXX XD1, which is getting really great reviews, and they do a colour scheme that matches my bike hah. It should arrive today so will report back. Not sure if I'll miss the flip up, but hoping the wider and deeper angle of vision will compensate. I only use the flip up at petrol stations anyway to be honest.

Sagalout · 11 Sep 2015 at 14:38

Double post

Sagalout · 11 Sep 2015 at 14:45

Sandycheeks said:
Good luck with that!

I'm looking at them at the minute and can't really afford one.

Sagalout - Is there any particular year to avoid?
Like the OP I'm looking at around £4000 but less would be awesome.

Not really - they are all sound bikes. You have to realise that BMW sold shed loads of these, so if you look on forums you'll always find people with complaints. Some didn't like the ABS on early 1200's, saying that it was too intrusive. My mate had one (a 2005) and it saved his life.

Any early bike will have had any recalls seen to and should be a solid reliable bike. You might want to consider going for a late 1150 though at the cusp of the £4000 budget. You'd probably better off with a mint 1150 than a rough 1200. I personally love the look of the 1150's.

The Twin cams are a fair bit quicker, but they are 2010 onwards so still 7K plus.

With a GS though you have to look at total cost of ownership. Tyres are cheap, servicing is really cheap (and very easy to do at home, especially the pre-twin cam bikes where even the valves is only a 30 minute job) insurance is cheap and as you've seen they hold their prices really well.

Griffo · 12 Sep 2015 at 23:14

I like the sound of them replacing your centre stand due to corrosion. My pannier bars on the k1300s are starting to corrode! Was this manufacturer warranty or the ongoing used approved insured thing now?

More and more stuff seems to be out of cover now I'm getting on for 46k miles :/.

Sagalout · 12 Sep 2015 at 23:56

It was whilst under the manufacturers warranty. I never bothered extending it and just self service it now.

Tefal · 13 Sep 2015 at 02:07

CGrieves said:
If you're still thinking about another bikes, don't get hung up on CCs/power. The throttle works both ways. Back in the day I started out on a CBR600F2 and quickly moved up to an FZR1000Exup. I got in far less scares on the Exup, purely because I wasn't wringing it's neck everywhere. There's a lot to be said for rideability when you're learning the ropes.

if you were ringing the neck of a cbr600 i doubt you were anything close to road legal speeds lol

Sagalout · 14 Sep 2015 at 14:05

TallPaul_S said:
He's got the GS, his fireblade track bike, the KTM 1290 superduke, GSXR1000 and an old late 70's BMW. So yeah, plenty of choice over what to take out on a weekend. I bet the GS doesn't get much look in at the weekend unless it's raining.

Check out his latest video - tackling the Swiss passes....on his GS