fred_jb
Registered user
I bought my first GS, a 2017 TE low chassis model in March, and have just got back from my first long tour on the bike, so I thought I would post a few comments, likes and dislikes, etc, plus a few pictures. Not sure if this is the right place to post this, as it is partly about the bike and partly about the tour, but hopefully it will be of some interest.
I bought the bike specifically for two-up touring, and fitted it with a low level RT exhaust which allowed me to fit my favoured luggage which is the Shad panniers and SH58X adjustable topbox. These panniers give an equal 36 litre capacity on both sides which was just adequate, and a total width only about 3 cms wider than the bars. I have tried a dedicated touring bike, a Triumph Trophy, but just didn't bond with it, and found it too isolating with the large fairing and screen, and lacking airflow in hot conditions, so decided to not to go for the very similar RT. Having originally decided that I wanted an RS instead, the GS proved to be more suitable for two-up use and in fact my wife says that it is actually more comfortable for her than the Trophy. I have fitted the Exclusive comfort seats, which may have something to do with that.
The trip started with an escorted tour around Northern Spain and Portugal, taking in the Picos, and was organised by Global Motorcycle Tours. Apart from a rather rough crossing to Bilboa, this was excellent, with great routes and quality accommodation, as was the tour of Greece we did with them last year, so I can highly recommend them. They are very flexible and are happy for people to ride in the main group, or do their own thing and meet up at lunch stops and hotels, which is what we generally did, as I don't enjoy riding in a group, especially with a pillion on board, when I like to go at my own pace. Most days were 180-190 miles though varied terrain, some of it reasonably demanding riding conditions. We had a couple of riders down in the first two days, and although injuries to the riders were not too serious, one rider and both bikes were too damaged to continue. This was all efficiently dealt with by the organisers, and after that everyone seemed to calm down a bit and there were no further incidents. The group was a varied bunch but everyone was very friendly and got on well, so we really enjoyed the social aspects, which is one of the reasons we like this sort of tour.
We had arranged to only do the outbound ferry crossing so that we could extend the trip, so after the tour returned to Bilboa we carried on across northern Spain to the Mediterranean coast, making two stops along the way, the second one at El Pont du Suert, at a biker friendly hotel called Hotel Cotori, which coincided with some sort of fiesta involving entertainments and singing and dancing in the square outside the hotel. The end destination was Sitges, on the coast just south of Barcelona, as we have a friend who owns an apartment there which we had arranged to rent for a week while she was away in England. Great place to chill out for a week, and the bike stayed parked for the whole week we were there. My wife then flew home from Barcelona, and I rode back over three days, though the first 400+ mile day was a bit of a nightmare with heavy traffic and delays due to police checkpoints at toll stations on the motorway following the terrorist incidents in Barcelona. I ended up doing a lot of filtering to get through holdups, but the relatively narrow panniers proved their worth, and both Spanish and French drivers are incredibly cooperative towards bikers, and many would move over in their lanes to ensure I had space to get through, even the lorries.
So the end result was a trip of 2850 miles over three weeks, though the bike was stationary for one week of that. Regarding the verdict on the bike, the first thing to say is that the bike never missed a beat and generally performed almost flawlessly. I did have several instances in the first few days when I initially got no response when pressing the starter button but it always operated on the 3rd or 4th attempt, but that problem thankfully disappeared and didn't return. I also had, and still have, an issue whereby the tyre pressure readout for the front tyre goes missing for extended periods of time. Thankfully the rear one was reliable, as I had a puncture in my new rear Roadtec 01 on the first day in the Picos, probably caused by debris from the first rider off incident. I plugged it at the roadside, but it still had a slow leak so the pressure readout was very useful to know when I should stop and top it up using the compressor I carried. I later replaced the plug on the one rest day we had which stopped the leak. Incidentally, after I got used to the lighter steering feel the Roadtec 01s I fitted for the trip were excellent, with never any tyre related moments, even in the only heavy rain of the trip on the last 100 miles or so to Calais.
The bike averaged 48 mpg overall, and tended to drop to about 44 mpg on fast motorway stints, but did over 50 mpg on slower roads, despite lots of hills and carrying a pillion and luggage. The two-up handling was the best I have experienced from any bike, and I believe the self levelling suspension and semi-active damping adjustment is a major factor in this. It is a little more difficult to start off fully loaded, particularly in difficult situations like on slopes, when the directional stability was sometimes just a little wayward until speed picked up, but nothing like as bad as previous bikes. Solo it was just a joy to ride, and I feel I have really bonded with the bike now. I have always liked twins, and I just love the reliable high torque thrust you get whenever you ask the engine to respond, no matter what speed or within reason, what gear, and I love the noise it makes when doing so. I also like the highly effective and predictable engine braking which when riding in relaxed mode with a pillion makes it easy to set the bike up for turns without the need for much if any braking. Comfort was fine for at least the maximum tank range of about 180 miles, and a brief stop was all that was needed to ease the slight discomfort in knees and backside. The aftermarket screen to which I have added a Givi AirFlow secondary screen was excellent and meant that as I always wear sunglasses I could ride at any speed with my visor open if I wanted, which is how I ended up with a sunburnt nose! The other thing I ended up really appreciating for its convenience when touring was the keyless ignition, after initially being a little sceptical.
Regarding clothing I went with kevlar reinforced jeans from JTS and lightweight Furygan jacket with multiple perforated panels, and built in D30 protectors. The jacket has no thermal or waterproof lining, so was as cool as possible. We just relied on water and windproof lightweight overjackets and trousers for adverse conditions (actually designed for cycling/walking) which pack very small and worked perfectly when required. The overjackets being hi-viz also met the requirement to carry a hi-viz jacket/waistcoat. I've come to the conclusion that outfits designed to work in all conditions, as well as being very expensive, are too much of a compromise, especially in hot conditions, and my leather gear is too hot and heavy, so to me this was an effective and low cost solution.
Overall then the bike did everything required, though for me it is not perfect, and has a few minor issues which can become more annoying on a long hard day of riding. First and foremost is left grip ergonomics. My hands are not particularly large, and my left hand does have a tendency to go numb from time to time which doesn't help, but even just the effect of wearing gloves is enough to make the use of the indicator button very hit or miss. There is not a lot of mechanical feedback from the button to know it has operated and the worst aspect is having to reach over the multi-controller wheel to find the indicator button, as on feel alone hitting the former can feel very much the same as the latter. Time after time I ended up jogging the wheel instead, so as well as getting no indicators I also lost my satnav display which I found I was increasingly relying on for checking speed and speed limits. I thought this was something I would get used to, but I think this trip proves that I won't. To be honest I would remove the wheel if it was an easy job, but apparently to do so needs a different (and expensive) grip to be fitted. The only function I would really miss would be the rotation to zoom in or out of the satnav display. I also find the heated grips switch inconveniently placed and have to change my grip on the throttle to reach it, but that's not so much of a problem due to not using it so often. Another niggle is that my bike still has a rather clunky shift from 1st to 2nd which hasn't really improved with the miles, with the bike being on 5,800 now. The only other negative I can think of is that the throttle has a rather abrupt on/off action when nearly closed, which can make low speed maneuvers a little jerky. Could just be clumsyness on my part, but on other bikes with cable operation I have been able to adjust the slack in the throttle to minimise this effect, but I guess this is not going to be possible if the GS has a full ride by wire system. It also seems to me that the throttle is over-sensitive at low openings and could do with being a little less linear with more movement needed at low throttle so as to give finer low speed control.
Anyway, I hope that was of some interest to fellow LC owners, and below are a few pictures from the trip.
Fred
Arrival at Bilboa
Puncture repair - three (grey) heads are better than one!
Hotel in the hills above Covilha, Portugal
I bought the bike specifically for two-up touring, and fitted it with a low level RT exhaust which allowed me to fit my favoured luggage which is the Shad panniers and SH58X adjustable topbox. These panniers give an equal 36 litre capacity on both sides which was just adequate, and a total width only about 3 cms wider than the bars. I have tried a dedicated touring bike, a Triumph Trophy, but just didn't bond with it, and found it too isolating with the large fairing and screen, and lacking airflow in hot conditions, so decided to not to go for the very similar RT. Having originally decided that I wanted an RS instead, the GS proved to be more suitable for two-up use and in fact my wife says that it is actually more comfortable for her than the Trophy. I have fitted the Exclusive comfort seats, which may have something to do with that.
The trip started with an escorted tour around Northern Spain and Portugal, taking in the Picos, and was organised by Global Motorcycle Tours. Apart from a rather rough crossing to Bilboa, this was excellent, with great routes and quality accommodation, as was the tour of Greece we did with them last year, so I can highly recommend them. They are very flexible and are happy for people to ride in the main group, or do their own thing and meet up at lunch stops and hotels, which is what we generally did, as I don't enjoy riding in a group, especially with a pillion on board, when I like to go at my own pace. Most days were 180-190 miles though varied terrain, some of it reasonably demanding riding conditions. We had a couple of riders down in the first two days, and although injuries to the riders were not too serious, one rider and both bikes were too damaged to continue. This was all efficiently dealt with by the organisers, and after that everyone seemed to calm down a bit and there were no further incidents. The group was a varied bunch but everyone was very friendly and got on well, so we really enjoyed the social aspects, which is one of the reasons we like this sort of tour.
We had arranged to only do the outbound ferry crossing so that we could extend the trip, so after the tour returned to Bilboa we carried on across northern Spain to the Mediterranean coast, making two stops along the way, the second one at El Pont du Suert, at a biker friendly hotel called Hotel Cotori, which coincided with some sort of fiesta involving entertainments and singing and dancing in the square outside the hotel. The end destination was Sitges, on the coast just south of Barcelona, as we have a friend who owns an apartment there which we had arranged to rent for a week while she was away in England. Great place to chill out for a week, and the bike stayed parked for the whole week we were there. My wife then flew home from Barcelona, and I rode back over three days, though the first 400+ mile day was a bit of a nightmare with heavy traffic and delays due to police checkpoints at toll stations on the motorway following the terrorist incidents in Barcelona. I ended up doing a lot of filtering to get through holdups, but the relatively narrow panniers proved their worth, and both Spanish and French drivers are incredibly cooperative towards bikers, and many would move over in their lanes to ensure I had space to get through, even the lorries.
So the end result was a trip of 2850 miles over three weeks, though the bike was stationary for one week of that. Regarding the verdict on the bike, the first thing to say is that the bike never missed a beat and generally performed almost flawlessly. I did have several instances in the first few days when I initially got no response when pressing the starter button but it always operated on the 3rd or 4th attempt, but that problem thankfully disappeared and didn't return. I also had, and still have, an issue whereby the tyre pressure readout for the front tyre goes missing for extended periods of time. Thankfully the rear one was reliable, as I had a puncture in my new rear Roadtec 01 on the first day in the Picos, probably caused by debris from the first rider off incident. I plugged it at the roadside, but it still had a slow leak so the pressure readout was very useful to know when I should stop and top it up using the compressor I carried. I later replaced the plug on the one rest day we had which stopped the leak. Incidentally, after I got used to the lighter steering feel the Roadtec 01s I fitted for the trip were excellent, with never any tyre related moments, even in the only heavy rain of the trip on the last 100 miles or so to Calais.
The bike averaged 48 mpg overall, and tended to drop to about 44 mpg on fast motorway stints, but did over 50 mpg on slower roads, despite lots of hills and carrying a pillion and luggage. The two-up handling was the best I have experienced from any bike, and I believe the self levelling suspension and semi-active damping adjustment is a major factor in this. It is a little more difficult to start off fully loaded, particularly in difficult situations like on slopes, when the directional stability was sometimes just a little wayward until speed picked up, but nothing like as bad as previous bikes. Solo it was just a joy to ride, and I feel I have really bonded with the bike now. I have always liked twins, and I just love the reliable high torque thrust you get whenever you ask the engine to respond, no matter what speed or within reason, what gear, and I love the noise it makes when doing so. I also like the highly effective and predictable engine braking which when riding in relaxed mode with a pillion makes it easy to set the bike up for turns without the need for much if any braking. Comfort was fine for at least the maximum tank range of about 180 miles, and a brief stop was all that was needed to ease the slight discomfort in knees and backside. The aftermarket screen to which I have added a Givi AirFlow secondary screen was excellent and meant that as I always wear sunglasses I could ride at any speed with my visor open if I wanted, which is how I ended up with a sunburnt nose! The other thing I ended up really appreciating for its convenience when touring was the keyless ignition, after initially being a little sceptical.
Regarding clothing I went with kevlar reinforced jeans from JTS and lightweight Furygan jacket with multiple perforated panels, and built in D30 protectors. The jacket has no thermal or waterproof lining, so was as cool as possible. We just relied on water and windproof lightweight overjackets and trousers for adverse conditions (actually designed for cycling/walking) which pack very small and worked perfectly when required. The overjackets being hi-viz also met the requirement to carry a hi-viz jacket/waistcoat. I've come to the conclusion that outfits designed to work in all conditions, as well as being very expensive, are too much of a compromise, especially in hot conditions, and my leather gear is too hot and heavy, so to me this was an effective and low cost solution.
Overall then the bike did everything required, though for me it is not perfect, and has a few minor issues which can become more annoying on a long hard day of riding. First and foremost is left grip ergonomics. My hands are not particularly large, and my left hand does have a tendency to go numb from time to time which doesn't help, but even just the effect of wearing gloves is enough to make the use of the indicator button very hit or miss. There is not a lot of mechanical feedback from the button to know it has operated and the worst aspect is having to reach over the multi-controller wheel to find the indicator button, as on feel alone hitting the former can feel very much the same as the latter. Time after time I ended up jogging the wheel instead, so as well as getting no indicators I also lost my satnav display which I found I was increasingly relying on for checking speed and speed limits. I thought this was something I would get used to, but I think this trip proves that I won't. To be honest I would remove the wheel if it was an easy job, but apparently to do so needs a different (and expensive) grip to be fitted. The only function I would really miss would be the rotation to zoom in or out of the satnav display. I also find the heated grips switch inconveniently placed and have to change my grip on the throttle to reach it, but that's not so much of a problem due to not using it so often. Another niggle is that my bike still has a rather clunky shift from 1st to 2nd which hasn't really improved with the miles, with the bike being on 5,800 now. The only other negative I can think of is that the throttle has a rather abrupt on/off action when nearly closed, which can make low speed maneuvers a little jerky. Could just be clumsyness on my part, but on other bikes with cable operation I have been able to adjust the slack in the throttle to minimise this effect, but I guess this is not going to be possible if the GS has a full ride by wire system. It also seems to me that the throttle is over-sensitive at low openings and could do with being a little less linear with more movement needed at low throttle so as to give finer low speed control.
Anyway, I hope that was of some interest to fellow LC owners, and below are a few pictures from the trip.
Fred
Arrival at Bilboa
Puncture repair - three (grey) heads are better than one!
Hotel in the hills above Covilha, Portugal
I christened my 2017 rally with 2700 miles in 6 days in June all solo so a tad easier. my gearbox clunks into first from neutral (like all bikes) but otherwise very nice (done 4500 miles now).
