It all depends on the bike my friend!

YES i know, I'm a short ar8e bought a GS serves me right

Dangling feet was an auto super-rollicking all those years ago when I did my police riding course. Can't stand it even now and even castigate myself if both feet aren't on pegs almost immediately. I can still hear the instructor shouting at me!!

Scared for life then....what's the box like on yours Kev? can't be any worse than mine.....

Scared for life then....what's the box like on yours Kev? can't be any worse than mine.....

Box is very smooth Ade although I am only at 250miles as I have been to Luxembourg hot air ballooning!

The last BMW I had was the rt1100 and prior to that the r800. Both were clunky gearboxes as I recall.

To date, all seems good with the new bike. It fits my needs perfectly. Very light and enjoyable to ride.

My first refuelling turned out at 71mpg which is an added bonus.

Hope you are well

Have you tried selecting neutral on a BMW GS gearbox while stationary...1st, 2nd,1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd oh f*ck it I've found the green 'N' on my display stands for not a chance Tommy! If you do manage to find it you've then got the 'bang and lurch' sensation when selecting 1st before you set off again. One of the joys of having a GS! Fortunately the rest of the time the gearbox is fine. So when I'm coming to a stop in traffic I'm very often already in 1st as I've been holding back hoping not to stop, so for me if it's likely I'll be there for some time left foot down, bike in 1st so hit kill switch and let clutch out. Bike can't go anywhere as it's in gear and I'm also applying the back brake with my right foot. Lights change, pull in clutch put kill switch to start and off we go. Maybe not text book but simple to do providing you have electric start and your bike always starts straight awayon the button which mine does. I get what Chris does but he's got a Triumph gear box, not an agricultural BM one :peek:

Ah yeah. The watercooled GS clunk that ive heared so much about. Something to do with taking some shaft through the middle of the gearbox i seem to remember reading?

A Jag did an emergency stop at the traffic lights when my test rode an early water cooled one.

Strange really. His air cooled one is plenty smooth enough into first. Maybe even smoother than my T

Box is very smooth Ade although I am only at 250miles as I have been to Luxembourg hot air ballooning!

The last BMW I had was the rt1100 and prior to that the r800. Both were clunky gearboxes as I recall.

To date, all seems good with the new bike. It fits my needs perfectly. Very light and enjoyable to ride.

My first refuelling turned out at 71mpg which is an added bonus.

Hope you are well

Only 250!........Hot air ballooning eh, a man of many talents... went up a month or so ago from Worcester and ended up just short of Bromyard downs in a field full of sheep. Yep I'm fine thanks. Having a relaxing day today and might go to Aber tomorrow for a bimble if the weather looks reasonable. I don't bother looking to see what the GS does TBH though it did show over 60mpg when we went to Scootland in May

Ah yeah. The watercooled GS clunk that ive heared so much about. Something to do with taking some shaft through the middle of the gearbox i seem to remember reading?

A Jag did an emergency stop at the traffic lights when my test rode an early water cooled one.

Strange really. His air cooled one is plenty smooth enough into first. Maybe even smoother than my T

Big revision to the whole bike for the WC model mate. The clutch is now between engine and gearbox and is a multiplate wet one where before it was at the front and single dry. The 1st gear bang does have its uses if you're waiting at lights and filtering as the cage driver can hardly say they didn't know you were there when that goes off

Only 250!........Hot air ballooning eh, a man of many talents... went up a month or so ago from Worcester and ended up just short of Bromyard downs in a field full of sheep. Yep I'm fine thanks. Having a relaxing day today and might go to Aber tomorrow for a bimble if the weather looks reasonable. I don't bother looking to see what the GS does TBH though it did show over 60mpg when we went to Scootland in May

I am a man of little or no talent.........was crewing for a friend at a competition. Mind you he is a two times world champ. I just do what I am told. Bit like being at home!

Yes a meagre 250 miles and I am away again soon to see world rally championship in Deutschland. Afraid I cannot match a mile muncher like you.

I am a man of little or no talent.........was crewing for a friend at a competition. Mind you he is a two times world champ. I just do what I am told. Bit like being at home!

Yes a meagre 250 miles and I am away again soon to see world rally championship in Deutschland. Afraid I cannot match a mile muncher like you.

Well you can't be that bad if a world champ lets you near his kit!

 

More mile nibbler me....around 2.5k now. I went into Rednall for some gloves last month and the salesman thought I'd come in for the 6k service......I did larf

So i'm awaiting saturday morning for the proper test ride, but to hear Neeves talk about the Tiger Sport in this way, especially when mentioning the Tuono, it doesnt make it seem like such a stab in the dark for comfort, tank range but still fun afterall. 

 

 

Makes me more ambitious to thrash about a demo bike. 

 

I'll give that thing death on Saturday morning and see how it goes! Think i'll run back to mine and back again as the roads are great and i know them like the back of my hand. 

Looking forward to hearing your views on it Ollie. They look to have done a good update on it compared to the old model. Don't forget your debit card

Long while since I passed my test but sure I was taught to keep the rear brake applied at junctions or stationery and left foot up straight away. I see plenty of riders skipping away at junctions with the feet constantly up and down and worse still those that are trailing there feet in slow traffic with the legs in front of the pegs. I can almost feel the pain of pegs making contact with the back of the leg. I actually spent two weeks in a hospital bed next to someone who done just that and managing to turn his foot the wrong way round 

 

I thought the idea of using the back brake was not just to hold the bike stationery but also to stop you been shunted if you're rear ended.

I hate to see danglng legs when people pull away about as much as I hate to see people stop too quickly at junctions due to not being prepared.  They then have that race to get both feet down in the hope that one of them will find terra firma!

 

My understanding about the use of the back brake is the same.  I don't agree with it though because the impact will transfer through the locked back wheel to you rather than just push the bike forward.  I always try to leave sufficient room between me and the vehicle in front just in case and if I am on the slightest curve where viw of me stationary is restricted I keep it in gear ready to move out of the way should I need to.

What did I do to my bike today?  Rode it for 143 miles, picked up a split pin in the back tyre 500 yards from our destination that instantly deflated the tyre, waited 2 1/2 hours to be taken 3 miles to have a new tyre fitted because they couldn't repair it!

 

Oh and scrubbed the new tyre in on the 40 odd mile journey home!

 

Happy days. :no:

The main thing is you were ok Chris. was there much life left in the tyre? 

 

Interesting info on the rear brake-I never thought of that.....

Loads of life left in the tyre Ade.  Never happens when it is knackered does it?  Luckily we were in a 30 area and doing a lot less than that when I actually heard it go bang.  The TPMS lit up straight away though.  We were literally 500 yards away from our destination which meant we could park up and do what we went to do without having to sit at the roadside for over three hours!

Wasn't an Avon, was it Chris?

Some of their tyres have a warranty which even includes track days!

Sadly no.  Bridgestone which because it was Z rated could not be repaired.  The recovery firm offered me a temporary repair which is good for 100 miles at no more than 50mph.  Err hello you know I am 143 miles from home so why are you offering me that?  Doh!

Loads of life left in the tyre Ade.  Never happens when it is knackered does it?  Luckily we were in a 30 area and doing a lot less than that when I actually heard it go bang.  The TPMS lit up straight away though.  We were literally 500 yards away from our destination which meant we could park up and do what we went to do without having to sit at the roadside for over three hours!

Not to me either as the ones I've had on the car seem to choose the best tyre though touch wood I've not had one for years. Was it a road only tyre or a dual purpose one as some road ones seem more prone to punctures than others. Good to see it didn't mess your day up completely

The joys of biking and having no spare in the boot to just swap over eh! Glad you got sorted eventually though Chris. 

 

Just been to a customers house who's just traded in his 16 plate (so brand new in march) Multistrada for a brand new (still on a 16 plate!) KTM 1290 Super Adventure thingy majig. Very nice it is too. But he must of just thrown a few thousand pound away doing that? 

 

Tryna talk me into buying a new one. At £16k. Must be havin a feckin larrfff

Road tyre Ade as I have no intention whatsoever of going off road on the TEX.  I leave green laneing to Madrunner in his Landy!

 

 

But he must of just thrown a few thousand pound away doing that? 

 

Probably save that too on the running costs of a Ducati. 

Probably save that too on the running costs of a Ducati.

With a KTM? Cant be that much cheaper can it? Haha

KTM has been one of the cheapest bikes to own, hence why I went for another. Ducati was my most expensive and by far least reliable. Never, ever again.

Test rode a Tiger Sport 1050.

The bike was great, if not abit soft compared to the T, but still cornered well. Took some getting used to but once i got into it i did really start enjoying it. I found the visibility and the fact its so easy to ride with such a smooth torquey engine came to my advantage. Exploiting overtaking opertunities was easy as pie, and it went forward as appose to wheelieing.

Question though. Fly-by-wire... Ive never ridden a bike with it before. It felt sort of, too easy to move the throttle. Not much resistance (i guess the cable gives the resistance usually?) are they all like that? The different power modes just made it less or more snatchy, but the throttle was still too easy to twist. Maybe its just because im not used to it.

Whats other peoples views on it?

daves XR will have it lf course? But who elses has?

Edited 6 August, 20169 yr by fabiamk2SE

Test rode a Tiger Sport 1050.

The bike was great, if not abit soft compared to the T, but still cornered well. Took some getting used to but once i got into it i did really start enjoying it. I found the visibility and the fact its so easy to ride with such a smooth torquey engine came to my advantage. Exploiting overtaking opertunities was easy as pie, and it went forward as appose to wheelieing.

Question though. Fly-by-wire... Ive never ridden a bike with it before. It felt sort of, too easy to move the throttle. Not much resistance (i guess the cable gives the resistance usually?) are they all like that? The different power modes just made it less or more snatchy, but the throttle was still too easy to twist. Maybe its just because im not used to it.

Whats other peoples views on it?

daves XR will have it lf course? But who elses has?

Me sir, I have it....I rode the GS in rain mode for the first  few hundred miles when i first got it to get used to the bike (on the GS it doesn't restrict the power, just alters the throttle response and tweaks the TCS a bit). Now I just leave it in road mode unless it p1sses it down and have now got used to it. I like it because I also have cruise control which is brill on long trips and certainly on the BM I got used to it fairly quickly, plus you can only get the various maps if you have it (to me it's worth it for the rain mode as I use that too when SWMBO is on the back as it gives her a smoother ride) but as you're a ham fisted hooligan it might take you a bit longer 

 

I've also ridden the R1200RS, Explorer and 800 Tigers and didn't have any problems there either. they were all light too but you just have to be a bit more careful over the bumps etc and keep your arms and grip relaxed. 

 

So are you getting one?

Me sir, I have it....I rode the GS in rain mode for the first few hundred miles when i first got it to get used to the bike (on the GS it doesn't restrict the power, just alters the throttle response and tweaks the TCS a bit). Now I just leave it in road mode unless it p1sses it down and have now got used to it. I like it because I also have cruise control which is brill on long trips and certainly on the BM I got used to it fairly quickly, plus you can only get the various maps if you have it (to me it's worth it for the rain mode as I use that too when SWMBO is on the back as it gives her a smoother ride) but as you're a ham fisted hooligan it might take you a bit longer

I've also ridden the R1200RS, Explorer and 800 Tigers and didn't have any problems there either. they were all light too but you just have to be a bit more careful over the bumps etc and keep your arms and grip relaxed.

So are you getting one?

Ah so you just got used to it then, so to speak? I found it felt sort of detached from the bike, but maybe that was just because im not used to it?

I found the rider modes s gimmick tbh on the Tiger. Rain mode made it 100bhp and it felt a complete pansy of a bike. Road and sport are 125bhp and sport just felt snatchy. Road was the one. Easy to wind on out of bends.

Ive never had rain mode before though so i just ease off if the wheel starts spinning :D.

Cruise control is something id like. Even though i couldnt figure out how to work it.

I think ill be getting the slightly older model. No fly by wire, no tc or rider modes or any gimmicky stuff. And a £3-4k saving.