Is the BMW 1200 GS the right bike to take around the world?
 

I have travelled thru most of Southern and Eastern Africa on my 2007 GS 1200 without any problems. I am now planning a RTW trip and have been told to remove the catalytic converter and a few other electonic bit's and bobs... Is this necessary ?

Motogypsybiker

I rode a R1200GSA through China, Russia, Ukraine, didn't remove the cat or anything else. Worked fine, but I would bring a spare fuel pump controller and EWS ring just in case.

I've used 20 or so tank fulls of leaded fuel in my 1200GSA with the cat in place and no sign of problems, though the cat is now probably buggered.

The cat is in the downpipes. Removing it in advance would release some power, probably help fuel economy, but you would either need to open up the existing system to do this (and weld it back up again afterwards) or buy a third-party set of downpipes.

+1 on the need for a spare FPC or at least the knowledge on how to wire around the problem. See post #55 on this thread: Fuel pump controller workaround - ::. UKGSer.com .:: Shame on BMW for not acknowledging this as a problem (over 250 reported instances of failures in the UK)

The EWS problem has now been acknowledged by BMW and your bike should be updated by your dealer with a new ring antenna free-of-charge irrespective of whether it is still in warranty.

Tim