BMW GS Update

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ballisticexchris

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Speaking of BMW GS fails.... District 37 has a Barstow To Vegas ride every year. Around 10 years ago an expert rider decided to take the hard way route on a GS. He only made it a few miles of the first hard section when the cylinders on one side snapped off on an outcropping of rocks. I have noticed countless videos of having to really pay attention where you plant the GS in any kind of technical terrain. Those cylinders are in a really bad spot. Even with guards they just get in the way.
 

Mak10

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My brother in law works for a beer distributor and said Corona sales have all but stopped. X)
 

twinrider

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The only guy I know with a 1250gs had a lowside accident on sand at 25mph and it was deemed totalled. He went to the FJR1300 now. BMW too fragile to even think of riding too fast in corners even if it does handle real great which is probably true. When I heard he had the 25mph slide I knew no way in this world that motorcycle would ever see another mile on the road without even seeing a picture of it.
Any other brand I would not assume this. Well Ducati I would also condemn any accident even at stand still as most likely totalled.
I know a few guys who crashed their GSs and didn't have any issues. Smart riders put engine guards on them.
 

EricV

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Smart riders put [non-BMW] engine guards on them.
Fixed that for you. The pretty looking BMW crash bars don't even protect the valve cover in a grass tip over. Wife's GSA learned that during her first training course with the big beastie. We fixed that as soon as she got home.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Fixed that for you. The pretty looking BMW crash bars don't even protect the valve cover in a grass tip over. Wife's GSA learned that during her first training course with the big beastie. We fixed that as soon as she got home.
Rocks are an equalizer. They seem to get past any protection you might have.
 

steve68steve

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Before I bought my 2016 Super Tenere I took an extended test ride on a R1200GS. There were plus or minuses for each bike but I ultimately chose the Super Tenere. But, I did prefer the handling characteristics of the BMW over the Yamaha.

I took a test ride of new the R1250GS as soon as it was available and found it to be substantially improved from the 1200GS and it tipped the scales from the S10 to the GS. I am not brand loyal and will buy whatever works best for me. There are a lot of things I don't like about BMW as a company but I really like the way the R1250GS performs while riding it. They can be slow to fix problems and their parts prices are stupid expensive. If you have a real problem with a BMW it can be a nightmare to get resolved although most owners will not experience this possibility.

Adding a little background and color: I was going to meet a guy from the FZ09 forum (I used to own one) for the first time and we were going to go for a ride on some of his favorite roads in FL. He is 73 and told me he rode like he was 60. At the time I had the S10 and a BMW S1000XR. Due to his description of riding style I brought the S10. Upon arriving at his house I noticed his FZ had a pipe and complete suspension upgrade and he was wearing full leathers. About 10 minutes into the ride I knew I should have brought the XR. He didn't ride like he was 60 but more like 25. On a particularly tight section I was working the S10 pretty hard just to keep up. The shortcomings of the S10 became very apparent that day. It is not designed for what I was doing so I don't see it as a fault of the bike. The 1250GS would be better but if I was going to ride with him today on the same route I would still take the XR.
I went to an ADV rally in FL years ago. As novice on sand, I was looking for a tame group to tag along with. I was least intimidated by the group with a 75+ yr old guy in front of me.

At one point, the old guy biffed in the sand - bike went over HARD and he flew off, rolling in the sand. I was thinking, "we're going to be carrying this guy out - he probably broke some bones."
I IMMEDIATELY stopped, jumped off, and hurried to the guy to assist. Before I could get to him, he was up, had stood the bike back up himself, and was up on the pegs pulling out.
 

Bokerfork

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It has seemed to me for awhile now that selling an adventure bike without adequate tip over protection is like selling a car without bumpers. Why they don't design it with engine protection in mind is silly since most of the aftermarket bars are fugly as hell. Don't believe me? See Erics pic above.
 

Boris

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I'm not a Beemer fan, but I didn't think you could rip a cylinder off the block.
Yeah, it’s surprisingly common. On some of the greens lanes and fire roads in the UK, you can’t walk more than a few yards without tripping over a wrecked GS cylinder. Some places have warning signs.

I guess it’s worse in the US, being that you have far more off road areas than we do here. Be careful where you’re walking.
 
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ballisticexchris

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I'm not a Beemer fan, but I didn't think you could rip a cylinder off the block.
I searched high and low and could not find the picture of it. I think I remember it happening in Red Rock Canyon. It really did happen though. It was when I was racing the Hare & Hound series in the early 2000's. It's on my bucket list to do the Barstow To Vegas.
 

bmac

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Yeah, it’s surprisingly common. On some of the greens lanes and fire roads in the UK, you can’t walk more than a few yards without tripping over a wrecked GS cylinder. Some places have warning signs.

I guess it’s worse in the US, being that you have far more off road areas than we do here. Be careful where you’re walking.
It is getting bad out there. A riding buddy was telling me about a fellow BMW rider that hit a pothole. The bike just exploded. Both cylinders fell off and when they did the rest of the bike followed suit. The only thing left was two wheels rolling down the road. But, that is not the strangest thing. While they were assisting the distraught BMW owner here comes a Ducati and the same thing happened to him. Now the road was completely covered with BMW and Ducati parts. When the local law enforcement arrived they stated it is far more common than one might think. They went to the trunk of their cruiser and pulled out a ready made sign and pounded it into the ground. It Read: Caution: BMW and Ducati owners watch out for potholes, pebbles, and twigs.
 

bigbob

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It is getting bad out there. A riding buddy was telling me about a fellow BMW rider that hit a pothole. The bike just exploded. Both cylinders fell off and when they did the rest of the bike followed suit. The only thing left was two wheels rolling down the road. But, that is not the strangest thing. While they were assisting the distraught BMW owner here comes a Ducati and the same thing happened to him. Now the road was completely covered with BMW and Ducati parts. When the local law enforcement arrived they stated it is far more common than one might think. They went to the trunk of their cruiser and pulled out a ready made sign and pounded it into the ground. It Read: Caution: BMW and Ducati owners watch out for potholes, pebbles, and twigs.
Lol
 

scott123007

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It is getting bad out there. A riding buddy was telling me about a fellow BMW rider that hit a pothole. The bike just exploded. Both cylinders fell off and when they did the rest of the bike followed suit. The only thing left was two wheels rolling down the road. But, that is not the strangest thing. While they were assisting the distraught BMW owner here comes a Ducati and the same thing happened to him. Now the road was completely covered with BMW and Ducati parts. When the local law enforcement arrived they stated it is far more common than one might think. They went to the trunk of their cruiser and pulled out a ready made sign and pounded it into the ground. It Read: Caution: BMW and Ducati owners watch out for potholes, pebbles, and twigs.
Don't quit your day job...
 

EricV

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It has seemed to me for awhile now that selling an adventure bike without adequate tip over protection is like selling a car without bumpers. Why they don't design it with engine protection in mind is silly since most of the aftermarket bars are fugly as hell. Don't believe me? See Erics pic above.
Because buyers want things to look pretty. Bikes w/o crash protection look prettier then ones purpose built. This is why Touratech and the OEM BMW crash bars look very nice, but provide poor protection of the actual bike. the other reason is simply cost. Yes, you can easily pay $30k for a fully loaded GSA, (my wife did), and it still doesn't come with decent crash bars and skid plate. But the bean counters will trim where ever they can. Cheaper bearings the buyer can't see, no crash bars, etc. And the factory crash bars are more driven by marketing to make the bike look just so, then by engineering to actually protect the bike.

I'm personally not a guy that looks for 'pretty'. Form follows function. If it doesn't do the job it's supposed to do, I have no interest in it. But for me, the bike is a tool, not a toy, so that perspective drives my beliefs/opinions, and purchases.

The only parts littering the roadways in Europe are left over MG parts from the '70s. :cool: And most of those have been recycled by now.
 

twinrider

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I have a friend who flipped his 2009 GSA doing a hill climb and nothing broke. Another friend dropped his 09 several times and it also fared well with the OEM crash bars. Every crash is different but there's that.
 
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