Just bought a GS1200 to ride to Alaska from Argentina
 

Which bike is a good question ... below is a brief overview from me.

I just bought a GS1200 in Ushuaia to ride from Argentina to Alaska.

As far as long trips go, I'm a novice. I'm also pretty inexperienced on a bike this big, having only done one trip before in Oman for 7 days on a GS1200 ... without a pillion.

So this time there is a LOT MORE WEIGHT, although my missus only weighs 62kg (or at least that what she told me).

My previous trips were on much smaller bikes, such as KLR650, Enfields and a busted Daelim.

We have been and are planning on wild camping as much as possible and so far have been very successful. Spending so much money on a bike meant that we have to save it elsewhere.

So we have tent, bags, mats, cooking gear, etc.

When we loaded the panniers in Ushuaia and realised we didn't have enough space, we bought three dry bags to mount on top of the panniers, and now we are pretty sweet.

But damn she felt heavy in town and when manoeuvring, but great on the road.

Since then we have done about 800k's, in rain, gale winds, gravel, dirt, a bit of mud, and I am totally stoked. The bike is awesome, and handles like a charm. Sometimes it feels like the bike is riding me ;-)

The bike (2014 GS1200) feels brilliant compared to the 2008 GS1200 I rode in Oman last year ... even with about 80kg more than my last trip.

It's expensive for sure, but the plan is to treat it like gold with regular service, etc, and hopefully get a good price when I sell it too. But let's see.

cheers,

P

congratulation! and good luck on the trip, get a good insurance and assistance in case something breaks, this bike is rather hard to fix on the road.
If you're planning to go off the tarmac I'd get better tyre then stock, because this bike is heavy to pick it up :)

Well done Pedro.....enjoy the ride :thumbup1::mchappy:

bmw
 

well done pedro, enjoy your journey. there are bmw dealers now in a lot of places in south america. and there is hu mini meeting here in Bolivia in April, maybe it fits your time schedule. all the best mika:mchappy::scooter:

Argentina to Alaska
 

Pedrosglobe,

Rosa and I wish you the best. You might want to check http://globebusters.com web site
for route selections and maintenance locations...
These high end groups of primarily BMW riders have ridden from Alaska to Argentina -many times... and manage to schedule maintenance en route and
are always welcomed by BMW agencies.

We helped source parts and gave assistance from Buenos Aires during a couple of their rides. Anyway, there are great Globebuster videos on YouTube and you should be able to discover the routes they have ridden.
Just curious - is your BMW Argentine registered?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WefanV36meA

Keep us posted - And look at each day as an adventure - no matter what happens. If you are like us, we have always started out with way too much kit, and soon learned we could do with a lot less.
Bush camping is no problem, we did it in 8 South American countries. We use hammocks - for ease of set up and quick exit if needed. Photo here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-camping-87600

Buena Suerte, xfiltrate and rosa del desierto.

So true you need lots of luck. A BMW loadet with electronics is the worst bike to take on a trip like that. You should have better informed you in motorcycle magazines such as

http://www.tourenfahrer.de/index.php?id=639
Dauertest-Abschluss BMW R 1200 GS - Motorrad-Dauertests - MOTORRADonline.de
Dauertest BMW R 1200 GS Getriebeschaden - Motorrad-Dauertests - MOTORRADonline.de

Ta-rider, I'm going to request that you stop chiming in on every thread in which a BMW is mentioned. It would be fine if you entered into constructive discussion about the relative merits of electronics vs. no electronics. Merely telling people how extremely bad their choices are doesn't help anyone.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Mark

Have fun, Pedro.

I own a 1200GSA since 7/15 and have used it about 50 000 km til now. Using bikes since 1989, this has been the bike with no trouble at all. Only regular maintenance, which means mostly fluid changes.

Very few mods to the bike. I have raised and moved back the handlebar a little bit due to the length of my arms. There is heated sheepskin, warmnsafe jacket and socks installation, a second electrical socket parallel to the first one for charging stuff, and a third hotwired socket. I use alu paniers or soft bags depending on my mood.

I am not racing the bike and always run it below 3000 rpm the first 15 km til the engine is perfectly warm.

There have been only two breakdowns due to nails in the back tire. The first time my buddy was joking that it may be an electronic fault, because the tire pressure warning was on at 2.2 bars and I did not notice any strange behaviour of the bike. But it was a nail. It happened a few kilometers before entering the ferry at Calais. I could repair it before entering, without the tire pressure warning I would have been on the ferry finally with a flat tire.
So electronics have their advantage.

I also think that tire problems may be the number one. I am prepared for this to plug the tire from the outside, but also be able to remove the tire on the road and repairing it from the inside. I also carry tubes as a last option.

Otherwise the bike is just as reliable as a high quality car.
See a picture of my bike at the German HU meeting in May 2016.

Regards, Reinhard

cheers Mika, we plan on being in Bolivia the first two weeks of April so if that lines up with the HU meet it would be great to attend!

thanks for the website info Xfiltrate. Will definitely check this out.

thanks ta-rider, I'm also worried about the electronics because if there's a problem then not much I can do. But I'll hope for the best and keep the thread updated of any problems if they are encountered.

thanks for the feedback and pic Rebu999. Nice ride and yeah I love watching the tyre pressure indicator for an extra piece of mind.

Hu Meeting Bolivia
 

Hola Pedro,

the HU meeting is 21. to 23. of April 2017 in Samaipata (120kms from Santa Cruz).

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/events/bolivia-2017

58 days to go. You are more than :welcome:

enjoy your ride
mika

Just completed over 20,000 kilometers on 2014 GS1200 in South America
 

So back in February when I purchased the 2014 GS1200 to ride two up from Argentina to Alaska there were a lot of unknowns.

What I know now, after more than 20,000 kilometers, and quite a few stacks is that the bike is brilliant and was a great choice for two up travel both on and off road in South America.

There is still a long way to go, but to date have not have any issues with the bike that were not self inflicted :-)

I am knocking on wood now, but the GS1200 has not failed me once.

cheers,

P