GSA Test Ride
- Thread starter Big Nick
- Start date
I went in trundle mode
and thought just off tickover its perhaps not as torquey/flexible, higher gearing could have something to do with it. Once you get it going, riding it how it wants to be ridden torque compared to the older model is off the scale. I am talking about the first few couple of hundred revs over tickover only....twas my seat of the pants experience only, so probably complete bollox!
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Yes load more torque and far 'punchier' - gobs of engine braking too, never noticed the slipper clutch, either it is really smooth in operation or I have never changed down too quickly - I tend to blip anyway to get a smooth down-change.
Sooty09
Registered user
Running in rain mode makes the LC behave like an older model, it feels to have more torque and easier power delivery.
Its only when you set to road mode and apply more revs you appreciate the extra power available.
Its only when you set to road mode and apply more revs you appreciate the extra power available.
Well I succumbed yesterday and went up to Dalkeith for a test ride on the new R1200gsa te spec bike. The test was two up and consisted of mainly A and b class roads on the A68 to Lauder then cutting across the A697 and then onto b roads to Duns and past Whiteadder reservoir and over the tops.
Bear in mind I had a 90 minute run up there on my 2011 r1200gsa tc followed by a 2 hour run on the demo and then a 90 minute run home I think it is a fair comparison.
First thing I noticed was that with the seat on its lower setting and the esa set to two up that the seat height is lower than my bike and it is very easy to get both feet on the ground.
Next was that the throttle is typical of fly by wire technology a lot more sensitive and that the bite on the clutch lever all seems to be in the last 1/4 of its movement unlike the older bike with is in the first 1/2 of its travel.
Once underway I noted straight away that the screen vibrates very badly, however, on its highest setting it gives a load of protection with no turbulence and to be honest after 15 minutes I no longer noticed the vibration.
I was a bit disapointed with the esa initially as on the two up setting (normal) the suspension was very harsh and the front end almost rigid- changing it to soft mode was a huge improvement and I later tried it on the the solo with luggage mode and it was better again (typical factory suspension that has to cope with riders ranging from 10 to 20 stone)
In all handling was no better or no worse than my own bike (mine does have full maxton kit on it)
As for the gearbox- it did need a fairly slow deliberate change from first to second and second to third both up and down the box but changes further up the box were very slick and dare I say Japanese in quality.
That said the box on my tc is very good so I would say the new integrated box and wet clutch are no better nor worse than a good older set up.
Engine wise the bike thrives on revs and is much smoother , losing a bit of the older bikes character and I have no doubt it will be considerably faster when road conditions allow, as for the riding modes it was fine in the road mode and you could tell the difference between settings , rain mode really softened off the response of the throttle and would make a nice relaxed mode for pottering around , as for dynamic yes there was a change but to be honest it didn't feel that great or suit the character of the bike or the roads I was on
Ergonomics wise the bike felt little different from my own although there appeared to be slightly less room for the pillion although my wife says it was probably down to the factory top box that forced her further forward on the bike that she would of liked, she also said that the pillion sits lower than on the older bike and that she got more wind protection from the screen and rider but the panoramic view she gets on my bike was lost slightly.
Back to the seat it is obviously narrower than the older bikes but still suffers from BMW's typical set up of canting forward and forcing the rider into the back of the tank and after 45 minutes I found it a literal pain in the proverbial.
All in all the bike although obviously totally new and looking much fresher and modern appears to be an evolution of the older bike , rather than having the level of change and difference between say a r1150gsa and a r1200gsa
That said probably the greatest compliment I can give is that I rode some of the same roads on the way home on my own bike and I struggled to notice a difference except my bum wasn't sore, so overall a thumbs up for the bike
Bear in mind I had a 90 minute run up there on my 2011 r1200gsa tc followed by a 2 hour run on the demo and then a 90 minute run home I think it is a fair comparison.
First thing I noticed was that with the seat on its lower setting and the esa set to two up that the seat height is lower than my bike and it is very easy to get both feet on the ground.
Next was that the throttle is typical of fly by wire technology a lot more sensitive and that the bite on the clutch lever all seems to be in the last 1/4 of its movement unlike the older bike with is in the first 1/2 of its travel.
Once underway I noted straight away that the screen vibrates very badly, however, on its highest setting it gives a load of protection with no turbulence and to be honest after 15 minutes I no longer noticed the vibration.
I was a bit disapointed with the esa initially as on the two up setting (normal) the suspension was very harsh and the front end almost rigid- changing it to soft mode was a huge improvement and I later tried it on the the solo with luggage mode and it was better again (typical factory suspension that has to cope with riders ranging from 10 to 20 stone)
In all handling was no better or no worse than my own bike (mine does have full maxton kit on it)
As for the gearbox- it did need a fairly slow deliberate change from first to second and second to third both up and down the box but changes further up the box were very slick and dare I say Japanese in quality.
That said the box on my tc is very good so I would say the new integrated box and wet clutch are no better nor worse than a good older set up.
Engine wise the bike thrives on revs and is much smoother , losing a bit of the older bikes character and I have no doubt it will be considerably faster when road conditions allow, as for the riding modes it was fine in the road mode and you could tell the difference between settings , rain mode really softened off the response of the throttle and would make a nice relaxed mode for pottering around , as for dynamic yes there was a change but to be honest it didn't feel that great or suit the character of the bike or the roads I was on
Ergonomics wise the bike felt little different from my own although there appeared to be slightly less room for the pillion although my wife says it was probably down to the factory top box that forced her further forward on the bike that she would of liked, she also said that the pillion sits lower than on the older bike and that she got more wind protection from the screen and rider but the panoramic view she gets on my bike was lost slightly.
Back to the seat it is obviously narrower than the older bikes but still suffers from BMW's typical set up of canting forward and forcing the rider into the back of the tank and after 45 minutes I found it a literal pain in the proverbial.
All in all the bike although obviously totally new and looking much fresher and modern appears to be an evolution of the older bike , rather than having the level of change and difference between say a r1150gsa and a r1200gsa
That said probably the greatest compliment I can give is that I rode some of the same roads on the way home on my own bike and I struggled to notice a difference except my bum wasn't sore, so overall a thumbs up for the bike
I had the GSA for the day today while my bike was at Vines.
It's a great bike, and if you want the extra fuel range, and size, you won't be disappointed. You sit on top of it rather than in the seat of the normal GS. The handling and accelerating are quite docile compared to the regular GS. Low speed handling was great though and I can imagine that this would be very comfortable for 400+ mile days.
Seeing all the pictures, I must admit I was quite tempted to see what all the fuss was about, and if it was love at first ride would have ordered one, but for me, the regular GS is my preference.
It's a great bike, and if you want the extra fuel range, and size, you won't be disappointed. You sit on top of it rather than in the seat of the normal GS. The handling and accelerating are quite docile compared to the regular GS. Low speed handling was great though and I can imagine that this would be very comfortable for 400+ mile days.
Seeing all the pictures, I must admit I was quite tempted to see what all the fuss was about, and if it was love at first ride would have ordered one, but for me, the regular GS is my preference.
Well 5 years have gone by.....and I now have a GSA LC!!
To be honest it’s a hugely superior bike to the 2009 GSA I previously had, albeit all the electronics whilst great while they are working, will be hideously expensive to fix outside of warranty no doubt.
I did 200 miles on the bike the other day and found the comfort fine as standard.
The Gear Assist Pro is a great feature and linked with the quicker bike feels great when on a blast down your favourite road.
The ESA is also much improved and does a great job of levelling the bike and ironing out the bumps.
The TFT largely worked fine although I have to have my headset on first before I switch it on for it to automatically link up, the Navigator VI also works well and the music from the TFT mutes when you get a Nav voice prompt.
I’m still unimpressed by the riding modes which all seem a bit pointless for a road rider.
The only other thing was a got vibrations through the peak of my Tour X which never happened on my 2009. I tried many variations of screen height without success so the peak is off which sorted the issue.
Overall I’m pleased with the bike but can’t afford to risk trying a shift cam GSA!!
To be honest it’s a hugely superior bike to the 2009 GSA I previously had, albeit all the electronics whilst great while they are working, will be hideously expensive to fix outside of warranty no doubt.
I did 200 miles on the bike the other day and found the comfort fine as standard.
The Gear Assist Pro is a great feature and linked with the quicker bike feels great when on a blast down your favourite road.
The ESA is also much improved and does a great job of levelling the bike and ironing out the bumps.
The TFT largely worked fine although I have to have my headset on first before I switch it on for it to automatically link up, the Navigator VI also works well and the music from the TFT mutes when you get a Nav voice prompt.
I’m still unimpressed by the riding modes which all seem a bit pointless for a road rider.
The only other thing was a got vibrations through the peak of my Tour X which never happened on my 2009. I tried many variations of screen height without success so the peak is off which sorted the issue.
Overall I’m pleased with the bike but can’t afford to risk trying a shift cam GSA!!
Funny I find the Modes make a difference . I leave it in Dynamic as it seems best in that
you get a lot of noise up through the cockpit , especially with a TC helmet .
Great bikes . Enjoy it
you get a lot of noise up through the cockpit , especially with a TC helmet .
Great bikes . Enjoy it
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