I'm going to keep going with this thread....
A bike is an incredibly personal object. All opinions are my own... and they are opinions, not facts. You may have a totally different experience...in your opinion.
I am trying really hard to keep ergonomic out of my comments. Things like wind protection, seating position, and reach to the bars are all things I expect to have to adjust on any bike. Not fair to penalize a generic dealer setup on any bike.
Recap of bikes tried to date:
2019 BMW F 750 GS: Phenomenal bike. Refined, easy to ride, advanced technology is all there, fit and finish are superb, power more than adequate to cruise on the western highways at 83 MPH all day long with no uncomfortable vibrations. Bike is a true home run across the board. Impressed every time I throw a leg over it. Dirt Mom was initially nervous about giving up her beloved Tenere, but has come to love this bike much more. Her comfort level, and willingness to ride have increased dramatically over the too big Tenere.
Wheel setup: 17/19
Drive: chain
Wow factor (1-10): 10
2020 BMW F 850 GS: Same engine and frame as the F 750 GS (which is running a detuned 850 engine). The 850 is a horrible ride. Rides like you are holding a 25 gallon fish tank on your lap. Geomerty just feels wrong on this bike. Could not get off the demo ride fast enough. I was schocked becuase I expected it to be my wife's bike with a stronger engine. It is not in any way the equal to her 750.
Wheel setup: 18/21
Drive: chain
Wow factor (1-10): -1
2020 BMW 1250 GS: Did not even intend to ride this bike on the visit to the dealer. Sales guy offered it and I said, sure why not. In my 10 minute test ride I was shocked and completely blown away by the power, immediate confidence, and amazing 'fit like a glove' feeling of the bike. It felt smaller and lighter than the Tenere, and was way more powerful. Did not expect any of that, but it's a wonderful bike.
Reality sets in when you realize the price of the bike is a minimum of $22K and problably more like $23+ before you pay freight/setup/taxes/licensing and whatever other fees, then do whatever you need to do to set it up for you. Even if I can afford it, I struggle with the idea of spending that much money on any bike, then alone one that does not have a reputation for Japanese level of reliability. I'm aware there are many people who never have any problem with their GS, but...man that's a lot of money. I haven't ruled it out, but that price is difficult to swallow.
Wheel setup: 17/19
Drive: shaft
Wow factor (1-10): 10
Thanks to the famous Bob's BMW for a great test ride experience. The clear gold standard of BMW dealerships in the mid-Atlantic region. Unfortunately we did not buy DMs bike from Bob's, but we will not make the mistake again. They are head and shoulders above everyone else.
Yesterday's Rides
Heading out to meet Checkswrecks for breakfast I was asking myself, what am I really looking for...what's important in the next bike. Ignoring the obvious chain vs shaft, the things I care most about are stability and fun in the twisties. I ridden the Tenere cross country many times, the stability is critical to that type of riding. It's gone through weather fronts with crosswinds gusting at over 50 MPH, my gen 1 hit a deer while riding 75 MPH which resulted in totaling the bike that stayed up through the ordeal, even ridden a gen 1 in a hurricane. The stability of the Tenere is very important to me. The other thing critical to me is ability to make me happy on the twisty roads. I get to ride WV all the time and I love a twisty road, and I do them on nearly every ride. It's how I entertain myself on a bike.
Dirt capability is also mandatory. I'm not looking to do anything hardcore on my primarily travel/twisty road bike, so I'll only test ride bikes that can do the generic dirt that I'm interested in doing on my big travel bike. A rock crawling bike has no interest to me for a replacement of the Tenere.
2020 Triumph 900 Rally Pro - great looking bike. Nice and light, very well setup out of the box. The bike felt well balance, and had much better geometry than the similar 18/21 setup of the BMW 850. No comparison, the Tiger felt good. The "twisty" portion of the salesman led demo ride was painfully slow (right around speed limit), but it was enough to realize the 21" front wheel was very sluggish going into the turns. I've always had 18/21 dirtbikes in my arsenal and I've always enjoyed them in the twisties. They don't ride as fast at the 17/19 bikes in the twisties, but they are still fun. I think between the BMW 850, and now the Tiger, I'm realizing the 18/21 probably isn't going to meet my needs on a big bike.
The other thing I'm finding on the Tiger is the vibration is getting my throttle hand to tingle. I'm not a short shifter. I tend to use higher RPMs in my general riding. This Tiger is just a constant vibration at my natural selection of RPM range on the bike. Repeatedly needing to shake out my hand and get some feeling back in it.
For me I'm finding that even with the nice TFT, and all the technology packed into it, this bike feels pretty crude. I would feel like I'm giving up a lot if this were my replacement for the Tenere. I know this bike is working for a lot of people, but it's just not for me.
Wheel setup: 18/21
Drive: chain
Wow factor (1-10): 5
Thanks to Fredericktown Yamaha and Triumph in Frederick, MD for letting me take the ride.
2020 KTM Super Adventure S: I find the bike right out front waiting for me. Larry, who a lot of you knew as the GM of Romney Cycles, now is the GM at a KTM (and other brand) dealership much closer to my house. That's very convenient for me. For those of you who know him, he's still kicking ass just as he was at Romeny, and good relationships still exist all around.
I'm impressed with the look and feel just sitting on the bike. The specs are listed in dry weight, vs the wet weight of the Tenere. It's probably 60lbs lighter than the Tenere, but it feel even less. It's definitely less girthy looking than the Tenere. Has a good fit and finish.
Curious about the 160hp of this bike, I'm set to Road mode as I cautiously leave on my solo test ride. Don't want to do anything crazy before getting out of the parking lot. I quickly realize this is an easy to manage power plant. After a bit I pull into a parking lot and figure out how to get it into Sport mode. It's quicker, but still completely manageable. Responsive as hell, but never giving you the idea it's going to be out of control.
I have an empty 4-lane ahead and I take it up to 72 MPH. Even with the joke of a windscreen set to the highest position, the bike is rock solid stable with very, very low vibration coming through. The wind was smooth, and it was obvious this bike could clearly be a cross country mile muncher with the regular setup I do on every long distance bike I've ever owned.
Next I repeatedly ran the bike up and back through some familiar twisties. The bike was very willing, but due to the unfamiliar ergonomics I was not able to ride at my normal pace. Regardless, the bike clearly is capable in this environment.
The motor is amazingly fun. You nail the throttle and it goes faster...a lot faster...the kind of response that makes your arms an inch longer when you get off the bike. I struggled to find the way to turn off the traction control, so unfortunately I never really got the front wheel to launch while in the play area. That was disappointing, but that sweet engine gave me confidence that it would comply when I figured out how to turn off TCS.
The concern that CW and I discussed earlier in the day about the FJR/FZ1 power issue was not a factor. Those bikes tempt you to get to 90 MPH in 1st or 2nd gear by the end of the highway ramp, then you're stuck riding a bike that doesn't need 2nd gear to run at 'keep your license' speeds. I found it dull on my blindingly fast FZ1. This bike does not suffer from that. It's so much fun shifting through the first 3 gears that's it's hard to image ever getting bored shifting this bike even and reasonable speeds.
I never felt any heat. Of course, it was already 98 degrees on this ride, so that may or may not be relevant. Everything was hot. It's possible on a 70 degree day you may feel heat, but not sure.
Riding back I was impressed with this very sweet bike. I didn't feel the 'wow' I felt getting off the big GS, but I was impressed with this nice, nice bike. I briefed Larry, thanked him for the ride, recommend he take it out, hung around and talk to him for another hour, then got on the Tenere headed for home. That's when I experienced the similar feeling I felt on the Tenere when getting off my KTM 690. It's a question of...is my clutch slipping? Am I still in Sport mode? Followed by testing the trottle to make sure the clutch isn't slipping...nope, it's just that slow a bike.
As I briefed DM on the day's rides, I heard myself talking about the KTM and started an internal dialog about...why am I not interested in this bike? I need to give this some thought. I've looked up the price of everything to setup the bike...interesting. Larry told me there is $2K off on the 2020s and $3K off on the 2019s if you can find one...interesting.
Wheel setup: 17/19
Drive: chain
Wow factor (1-10): 8 (and growing)
If anyone is in the mid-Atlantic and wants to try, MotoMember in Purcellville, VA now has a 2020 KTM Super Adventure S on demo. I highly recommend it. They also have a 390 and a 790 on demo. Just call and ask for their sales department to setup a demo.
Thanks to MotoMember in Purcellville, VA for a very entertaining demo ride.