Well, after a looooong day of discussions and phonecalls I will go back to my "first and only love" the GSA.

The reason being that my wife still wants do to smaller trips (up to two weeks) and then it will be 2up on the bike. In that case the ténéré scores less than the GSA and she was always happy on the back of the GSA. She doesn't want to drive herself anymore, that's being the biggest problem.

Another thing is that my BMW dealer just got a 2nd hand GSA full option in with only 20k on it and I can get it for a really good price. 2nd hand ténéré's are almost non-existent here in Belgium so it would be a new one and then the €€€ is almost the same as the 2nd hand Beemer...

@ Pekka: keep me in the loop then for next years GS meeting in Finland that you organise, I might just come by this time with a GSA...

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I have a 1991 3AJ Tenere and although I love the bike very much and have become very attached to it, it does have a number of problems when it comes to travelling. In no particular order:

No centre stand. I have a lift stick and can balance the bike on top of one of my panniers but I'm really not looking forwards to the day I have to take the front wheel off at the side of the road.

The front end flexes very badly when carrying a heavy load. It handles very well with just me on the bike but when I strap all my luggage on it's another kettle of fish. I'm wondering whether a fork brace would improve matters.

5th gear pitting. I have just over 50K km on the bike and my 5th is already badly pitted. David Lambeth can sort this out.

Starter clutch. Difficult to find spare parts and the drive gear is now a discontinued part. Fit a kickstart before you set off.

Some routine maintenance tasks are a nuisance. You have to remove the seat and side panel in order to check the oil level.

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I have sometimes complained when people just have narrrowed the choice to a brand (BMW), no matter what, and still have tried to justify it.

Now i can only say the opposite: congrats for finding out the right bike for you after a Well thought análysis. Enjoy the bike of your love, the 1200gs, the right tool for you, as Well as trip.

Happy travels,

esteban

@ Esteban: I don't have any involvement with any brand... ;-) I owned Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and BMW. But all things considered I had most fun for me personally riding the GSA. I also had the 800GS, which I didn't like and I have a F800R which is not what I expected, in that area there are better bikes from the Japanese manufacturers!

Basically you can travel with any bike, no? You just need to adapt to the bike of your choice. I thought the DRZ would be my number one, but now, after 12000km in 53 days I can honestly say it is not. At least not for me. I do have a soft spot for the bike and it will be hard to sell it, but I really do miss some other stuff that the bike just doesn't have.

The decision seems maybe 'quick' but I've been wrestling with it since the last 3 weeks or so everyday when riding... the only thought I had almost everyday was "wish I was here with the GSA" and then you just know what is the right bike and which is not.

But I agree with you, people shouldn't buy X or Y because it is from brand X or Y or because other people tell them to! They have to find out for themselves! Did you know that 98% of the GS owners in Belgium only use their GS for commuting everyday??? But then we can deduct buying a motorcycle from our taxes, that's why everybody buys expensive bikes and sell them again after 3 years; so if anyone ever wants to have a good deal, here's the place to be for 2nd hand Beemers...

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Tim, firstly many thanks for sharing your wisdom here and on other sites.

Is the Tenere suitable for a rider who weighs 100kg? I have read a few reviews that say it is under powered.

Depends what you expect it to do. If you want sportsbike acceleration or to do 100mph two-up, then it's underpowered. In all other reasonable circumstances, it's got plenty of power.

Put it this way, although I'm about 15kg lighter than you, I've done thousands of miles on mine loaded up like this...


(trust me, that's more than 15kg worth of luggage)

... then come home and rallied it against people on KTM 690s...



(Also worth noting, there might be 15kg rider weight difference, but we're both sat on top of 200kg bikes (plus any luggage). 285kg vs 300kg is only 5%)

Basically, I don't see why it would be an issue, unless you have unrealistic expectations, in which case any single cylinder is probably not the bike for you.

Thanks Dash - that's reassuring.

Hope you're still happy with your choice now that a year and a half has gone by. Did it work out as you hoped?
Moss