Would you GSA if you could ??
 

I crashed my Vstrom DL1000. The accident was not my fault and I received a large settlement. I really liked my DL on road, but off was a rattling beast. I've done a trip to C.A. My next one in my sights is to Alaska.

I love big, powerful adv. bikes from my time spent on my DL.

If you had all the money to p/u a low mileage used GSA would you do it?

I have my eye on a '04 R1150 GSA,18k mi. with all the up grades seat, Ohlin, guards, GPS, carbon fenders and so on for 12k.

Thanks, Rob

IMO, 100% YES! Especially if you want to do Alaska/Canada. I've don 3 Alaska trips. I am on my second GSA. Of course, off-road the GS/A is every bit of a beast as the Wee.

Personally I am a fan of smaller 650 singles however for your kind of trip I would have to concede that the 1150 GSA would be an entirely sensible choice and you are unliley to come up with a better option. It is surprisingly capable off-road as well - I have seen one doing very well in the Sahara so have seen first hand what it is capable of.

Bought a GSA in 2007 and have done 36k miles on it. Love it and would recommend to anyone as long as (a) your legs are long enough (I'm 32" leg and it's fine) and (b) you make sure it's had the recall work done on it. (For the 07 model this includes EWS ring and Fuel pump controller.)

I know they look big and heavy but they handle brilliantly even when loaded right to max.

I could have and I didn't. Two KLR's and a V-Strom instead.

It's not for everybody... :innocent:

I'd buy another DL and pocket the extra money. You can buy 2 lightly used DL1Ks for what you could buy that GS and still have money left over. Plus (and I'll prob PO some folks with this) you'll spend WAY less money and time maintaining the Zuk.

IMHO I'd rather buy a 650 and put the savings towards travel expenses of a longer road trip...
just MHO.

if you fancy it go for it,the right bike is the one that floats YOUR boat

loz

How about F800GS?
Lighter than GSA and engine is really nice.
I have -05 1200GS and still love it. Have done over 160 000km with it.

Buy it, try it !!!

You won't lose any money on it. Although it will probably need a $1000 service every 6 months if you stick to BMW guidelines and no interest from them if it breaks.


No one can tell you if you will like a bike, you just have to give it a go..

Hey Ted, where did you pay that kind of money for service every 6 month??? :laugh:

That's the local BMW stealership's discount price... :cool4:

I've never owned a BMW....

However, I've seen plenty of service books and invoices for services that have made my eyes water.

It reminds me of my friend who owns a Evo 10. He takes it to the Mitsubishi dealer for 'genuine parts' screen wash. SCREEN WASH ! It cost 3 times more than the local car shop.

I own 2 beemers, and have never been to a dealer since I've owned them. (though mine are older, '97&'96 models) $1000 service? Certainly possible. But what do they do for that kind of money? Oil and fluid change, valve adj.? (Recalls should be free?) Might cost all of $30 if diy. Easy to do as well, IMHO. Even changing out big $$ items like final drive bearing and seals, is realitively simple and not expensive, (did mine @ 85000 miles as preventive main., and cost me all of $110, and a couple of hrs) I keep reading about how 'expensive beemers are' but I personally have yet to see it. I also own a Kawi, and many parts are just as much, or more. Just sayin'.
Disclaimer: IMHO :innocent:

Yup... DIY is definately the way to go. :thumbup1:

How much does a BMW charge for labour ? About £70-80 per hour if I remember correctly.. Independent franchise dealer about £55 an hour and your honest back street bike shop (who are often far far superior) about £35-£40.

And yeah you're right. All the manufacturers have your pants down on the cost of spares. The average dealer makes 30% on them alone.

Although, if you want to do anything but an oil change on a newer BMW, you might end up needing quite a lot of specialist equipment and know how..

Look, I have a '07 GSA with 50.000km on it, I had a 800GS that I sold after a year... I have still a bunch of other bikes as well and NONE I kept as long as my GSA. I like to switch bikes every now and then (read: almost every year) I just love her (I'm a guy, so my bike is a she...), made some esthetical modifications (Touratech and Wunderlich parts) and just can't get rid of her.

The high prices of maintenance? WTF? I mean, She always go to the BMW dealer here, last time the 50k i paid 200 and something € for the 10k maintenance... But then I indeed paid almost 600€ for the 40k, but everything was checked, changed and so on... Don't forget that she has to get her maintenance only every 10.000km or once a year, my other bikes need more maintenance, but in the end you pay nearly the same for a Jap or the BMW.

I had Ducati, Honda, ... and in the end, riding a GOOD bike, does cost a bit of money, but she has NEVER EVER let me down, and I would by a 1200 GSA again in a heartbeat!

If you want, you can always mail me for more info, pictures or whatever concerning the 1200GSA!

Seb@fotografix.be

And you think that is cheap ??? If you do, I need your bank balance my friend.:rofl:

I don't think the difference is in the origin of manufacture, but the amount of lubrication they give you when they bend you over the till. BMW are INFAMOUS for their high servicing and parts prices and don't supply as much KY jelly as other dealers.

You need to buy a manual and a tool kit mate. :thumbup1:

Hi Ted,

I never said it was cheap, I just said that in my opinion it's not worse than any other brand... big difference!

The 600€ was a big slap, that's true, but then again, When I bought the beemer and the first winter came, there was a small crack in the windshield at the bolt that keeps it in place, it was only like a few mm... but I wasn't pleased with it (although I rode in -8°C and 20cm of snow) and went back to the dealer, they changed the screen without any charge whatsoever... when I have a small problem, go to the dealer and they fix it for free... I mean, I just can't say anything bad for BMW dealer here... but yes, I will also fix things myself, but on the big beemer, not so happy on doing it, on all the other bikes, I do...

Just a matter of perspective etc, BMW isn't cheap, but then when I go to my car dealer to change something, I even spend more... pffff.....!!!!

Just as a bit of balance - the parts for my Yamaha XT600E (which I erroneously assumed would be peanuts given its agricultural simplicity) are EYE-WATERINGLY expensive. I don't even want to think about what I recently paid for replacement plastics. And the money for tiny wee bushes in the rear suspension linkage...

...sorry, I'm going to have to and lie down...

:)

TUT TUT if you bought genuine parts Matt... The great thing about the XT is that there isn't much that you can't buy off a multitude of shelves.

'ALL BALLS' make bearing sets. You could of done all of your linkage for around £25 inc seals etc.

I certainly wouldn't worry about Ted's constant bleating against BMW's. He's like a broken record round here, and I really have no idea why, since he's never owned one.

I've had two, and my F800GS is the best bike I ever owned for the type of riding that I do. I also have a couple of Honda's and a Yamaha, and they all get home serviced. If you go to ANY main dealer these days they are going to charge you a fortune, it's the nature of the business these days - very little profit is made at the point of sale, but it is clawed back through parts and servicing.

Everyone has their own idea of what is acceptable, so it's really up to you to test ride, and buy if you like the bike. I found the 1200GS too big and heavy for my needs...