R1200GS vs. R1200GS A
 

In early stages of trip planning. Entry to North Africa from Europe, down to Cape Town and back up the East coast.

Question #1- Anyone with experience out there have thoughts/opinions on whether GS or GSA is better for a 2 up trip?

Question #2- Thoughts/opinions on new or used?

Appreciate thoughts in advance.

John

Hi,

New 20.000 $ BMWs are the worst bikes to travel third world countrys with. Way to much electronics which nobody in Africa can repair http://www.motorradonline.de/dauerte...en.559102.html

Rather get a more relyable bike from Japan. Any old Honda AfricaTwin, or Yamaha Tenere for just 1000 bugs can do 2 up as well (if one can ride the offroad parts along the west coast 2 up is a different question. I would go with 2 Suzuki DRZ 400).

Allways use used bikes for adventure trips. Nobody cares in africa if you have the newest "coolest" model or not but the loss of value per mile and per scratch in the paint is wors on new bikes.

You can only say a bike is good after it had proved this for 20 years such as Honda Afrika Twin or Yamaha Tenere so get a good bike with no electronics if you want a good trip ;)

Enjoy your trip, Tobi
Adventure experience - motorcycle trip riding across Africa

There will always be horror stories about a particular bike, I took my 1200GS and my 1200GSA both past 90,000 km with no major problems. London to Cape Town and back is less than 40,000 km.

I rode both the 1200GS and GSA in Africa, my preference would be the lighter 1200GS. It has to be said that once you get away from the motorways of Europe and North America there's no real need for more than 700cc, even two up.

Tim,
I appreciate the response. Would actually prefer a smaller bike, was concerned with weight capacity and fuel capacity. Doesn't sound like the extra fuel capacity is that big of a concern though.

I don't know enough about the countries on your route to advise on fuel station frequency, but generally the poorer the country, the less fuel the locals can afford to stick in the tank, and the more frequent the stations need to be.

Although the 1200GS comes in for a lot of bashing it's still quite a remarkable beast. The early models are not so massively heavy for what it can do, and it is particularly well suited for two-up touring with loads of luggage, however fuel economy of 19-20 kpl is NOT its strong point.

You would be better off with a F650GS twin or F700GS which bumbling along two up at 70-75 kph should be getting 23-24 kpl which would be quite a financial saving over 40,000 km. Some real world comparisons (post 32 on the thread): ► Fuel efficiency, range and octane questions

Are you 2up?

I disagree with the notion of second hand/ old is better. I've done both and I'd go new any day. Off course it depends which bike. I'm doing Africa this May on 250's with 18l tanks. Will never do any trip like that on a bike larger than 650cc. Unless they start making 300 pound 800cc bikes.

As a professional BMW dealer technician and someone who has done a similar route, I would list a big 1200 BMW near the bottom of the list for taking to Africa. Great for poncing around Europe with BMW assistance a phone call away but more of them don't make it through without significant issues than do... Of course, if you can throw money at it all day long and are happy to wait weeks for parts that no one knows how to fit it, then it will get you anywhere. But so will a Chromed up Harley Davidson or a Ducati race bike..

They're too heavy to enjoy the best of Africa on. Restricting you to highways and girlie trails. And they make you look like a t*at when you roll into a village on a bike that costs more than their town hall. Its also a massively expensive commodity to be attached to if it all goes pear shaped. And then there's the carnet cost.

Yes, there are lots of blogs and videos of 1200s riding in far off places, but you rarely get a GS rider admitting they bought the wrong bike or they're heavily supported with fat wallets or a tour company carrying spares and a mechanic.

You never see a 1200GS parked next to hammock at a serene moonlit lakeside in Ethiopia at the bottom of a rugged trail. Because unless you're an excellent rider, they just cant get there.

Same goes for all the big super 'adventure' bikes. I'm not just picking on BMW. They should be called touring bikes like they used to be before the 'adventure' bandwagon got rolling.

Africa is wild and rugged and those massive bikes are built for Starbucks.

If you're taking anything bigger than a 650/800 then you're really limiting your adventure...

Have you done similar trips ???

Welcome to the HUBB :)

As the guys have mentioned, unless you are both physically too tall/big to fit on a 650/800cc, then taking a 1200 is total overkill. Yes riding across Europe on a 1200 will be nice, but as soon as you leave Europe, your average speed drops drastically and try to ride deep loose gravel, slick mud or sandy tracks on any bike with 2 people and luggage, it becomes a different ball game. Don't believe the advertising hype of these big "Adventure" bikes

A few factors though, what is your time frame and route- are you planning on riding dirt pistes or sticking to asphalt?

I would try out as many bikes as possible with your partner and pick the smallest, lightest bike you can get away with - making 100% sure that your partner is comfortable on the back of the bike.

We rode South America 2up on a DR650 and we met a Czech couple 2up on a 350 Enfield in Bolivia, people have done longer 2up trips on much smaller bikes.

As for new/used, I prefer used bikes as they are cheaper and you can walk away from them if they break, get written off or stolen, without losing a big chunk of cash. A good way to look at it is: don't take anything that you cant afford to lose. Don't forget about Carnet costs with a new expensive bike also.

On the smaller bike side of things I'd encourage you to at least look into getting your partner licensed and on a second bike. With a spot of off road training (either with a company or with you) to build confidence it shouldn't be a problem. Unless you are some kind of riding god no matter what you ride doing your trip two up will be massively limiting as to what roads (or non-roads) you can take.

With two bikes you have two bikes, which can't be beat for safety and reliability - for obvious reasons. You can share the luggage between you, further reducing weight. Don't give in to the temptation to just take more. You can go super light on the bikes, with 690s, x-bikes and similar light / plastic subframe models becoming viable riding solo or potentially even go as low as 250cc.

If you are considering a new GS you can afford the training and the two smaller bikes and probably still have change.

That and you'll both have a whole stack more fun. Riding isn't rocket science, anyone can do it so assuming there isn't something specific preventing your partner from riding it really is the way to go.

Edit: I don't know what Tapatalk thinks it's doing but it seems to have managed to post this under an account I don't even remember creating and have never used before. Awful piece of software. Ah well, Arma out.

Great post. Never doing anything 2up. Well, on a bike that is. If she wants to come she needs to ride.

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