The R and the GS
After 3 GSes (2 x 1200 and 1x1250), I decided to take a break and try a R1250R the last 6 months. The R is a great bike: with the taller BMW Sports seat and ditch the awful PR4 standard fit tyres, and the R carves twisties with the best sportsbikes. In comfort. The R is really just a very mature sportsbike for those who no longer wish to be folded up origami-style but want the direct steering of traditional forks and a 17” front wheel. It has all the torque rich drive of the 1250 motor with the best gearing of any R1250 imho (it is 15% longer than that of the GS), and the geometry makes it downright fun - a short wheelbase combined with D-ESA keeps it on its nose and flicks from side-to-side like a hooligan in a grey suit. Many here may have ridden a RS but not the R, and although the RS has the same drivetrain it is vastly different in feel because the RS has a longer wheelbase tuned for motorways and A-roads instead of the B-road tomfoolery of the R. The up-handlebars of the R also make a big difference.
Just as I was thinking that the R was perhaps all the bike I needed, an upcoming offroad tour had me searching to make the R more GS-like and improve the ergos. Handlebar risers improve the steering position, and enable you to stand reasonably comfortably if needed for short times. But the biggest deficiency over rough ground came from the lack of suspension travel and 17” directness. All that made the R brilliant on tarmac were its undoing over rough ground. The reduced width handlebars compared to a GS also accentuate the direct steering and feedback that is too much over broken ground.
My GS’d R:
A rideout with a good friend on his GS and me on the R really highlighted these differences. We swapped bikes over the same roads, and it was clear that the GS easily kept up with the R over the same tarmac. Whilst the R was a dynamic roadster, the GS was also a hoot like a giant motard. The R1250 drivetrain is certainly one of the best traffic-busting drivetrains out there with instant torque on-demand and the Paralever keeping squat to a minimum when aiming for the next 3-car overtake. But when the roads became broken and in patches downright sketchy, the weaknesses of the R came to the fore. The GS floats with remarkable aloofness and the wider handlebars slow the steering down fractionally to give you more mental time to navigate hazards. The GS 19” front calms where the R 17” jitters and thumps, and the GS Telelever enables you to maintain progress and control without backing off, whereas the R’s traditional USD forks (electronically damped and adjustable) still cause front end patter that has you backing off as it struggles to manage the broken surfaces.
Instead of trying to convert the R into a wannabe GS, I very quickly realised that the GS really does 95% of what the R does - minus 5% for the alacrity and excitement of a direct steering sportsbike - but the R only delivers 65% of what the GS does as the R fails to handle offroad/broken surfaces with confidence, lacks the same stretched out ergonomic comfort, and provides negligible wind and weather protection.
So by the end of that same day’s riding with my mate, we ended up at a Motorrad dealer. Supply chain shortages mean build-to-order GSes are a challenge and it is heavily rumoured that ECU-chip shortages may threaten availability of the LED headlights. Earlier that day the R had delivered a fractured performance that put it at risk, and my mind was made up that there was a reason I had already enjoyed nearly 75k previous miles from the Nurburgring to Romanian forests - on a trio of GSes. The boys at Reiten Motorrad were superb, and had a lovely 40y Bumblebee GS complete with all the farkles including the extra Shadow Billet 2 pack. A bit more tweaking to give it the fuller JPS-spec and I was happy.
But after all of this, I come away a bit sad. Just 2 weeks ago, I spent several days testing alternatives to the GS back-to-back. This included the KTM 890 Adv and 1290 Super Adventure S. Both of these are an embarrassment in build quality, with highly strung motors although good chassis. The Ducati Multistrada V4S was a stunning road bike. The V4 motor is a howler, but suffers from low down fueling that had it juddering at town speeds, and always wanting to stay above 5k rpm. But above that, it just stayed there and 10k rpm screaming like a total hooligan - epic motor that I found hard to ride slowly. My license would be gone by tomorrow. Notably, the Multi had the best aero package of any bike I’ve ridden with a standard screen.
So why am I sad? I am sad that the GS has taken the fun out of riding other motorbikes. It is just so good at doing everything really well. As an all round package, other bikes are always found wanting. The MultiV4 is a more intense and faster road apex hunter, but it doesn’t ride with the same comfort or less manic necessity of the GS when you need/want a bike to. The GS will scratch and play with the sportsbikes over any road, climb and wade through mountain forests, and soothe on the motorway when needed. It really is a jack-of-all-trades and master of doing everything in the top 5 percentile. There is no better bike out there… for now.
Thanks for reading.
/TLDR: If you are undecided, forget other bikes - the GS is the finest do-it-all motorbike yet made.
So here she is, my 4th GS… a JPS-spec Bumblebee. So great to be back.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
After 3 GSes (2 x 1200 and 1x1250), I decided to take a break and try a R1250R the last 6 months. The R is a great bike: with the taller BMW Sports seat and ditch the awful PR4 standard fit tyres, and the R carves twisties with the best sportsbikes. In comfort. The R is really just a very mature sportsbike for those who no longer wish to be folded up origami-style but want the direct steering of traditional forks and a 17” front wheel. It has all the torque rich drive of the 1250 motor with the best gearing of any R1250 imho (it is 15% longer than that of the GS), and the geometry makes it downright fun - a short wheelbase combined with D-ESA keeps it on its nose and flicks from side-to-side like a hooligan in a grey suit. Many here may have ridden a RS but not the R, and although the RS has the same drivetrain it is vastly different in feel because the RS has a longer wheelbase tuned for motorways and A-roads instead of the B-road tomfoolery of the R. The up-handlebars of the R also make a big difference.
Just as I was thinking that the R was perhaps all the bike I needed, an upcoming offroad tour had me searching to make the R more GS-like and improve the ergos. Handlebar risers improve the steering position, and enable you to stand reasonably comfortably if needed for short times. But the biggest deficiency over rough ground came from the lack of suspension travel and 17” directness. All that made the R brilliant on tarmac were its undoing over rough ground. The reduced width handlebars compared to a GS also accentuate the direct steering and feedback that is too much over broken ground.
My GS’d R:
A rideout with a good friend on his GS and me on the R really highlighted these differences. We swapped bikes over the same roads, and it was clear that the GS easily kept up with the R over the same tarmac. Whilst the R was a dynamic roadster, the GS was also a hoot like a giant motard. The R1250 drivetrain is certainly one of the best traffic-busting drivetrains out there with instant torque on-demand and the Paralever keeping squat to a minimum when aiming for the next 3-car overtake. But when the roads became broken and in patches downright sketchy, the weaknesses of the R came to the fore. The GS floats with remarkable aloofness and the wider handlebars slow the steering down fractionally to give you more mental time to navigate hazards. The GS 19” front calms where the R 17” jitters and thumps, and the GS Telelever enables you to maintain progress and control without backing off, whereas the R’s traditional USD forks (electronically damped and adjustable) still cause front end patter that has you backing off as it struggles to manage the broken surfaces.
Instead of trying to convert the R into a wannabe GS, I very quickly realised that the GS really does 95% of what the R does - minus 5% for the alacrity and excitement of a direct steering sportsbike - but the R only delivers 65% of what the GS does as the R fails to handle offroad/broken surfaces with confidence, lacks the same stretched out ergonomic comfort, and provides negligible wind and weather protection.
So by the end of that same day’s riding with my mate, we ended up at a Motorrad dealer. Supply chain shortages mean build-to-order GSes are a challenge and it is heavily rumoured that ECU-chip shortages may threaten availability of the LED headlights. Earlier that day the R had delivered a fractured performance that put it at risk, and my mind was made up that there was a reason I had already enjoyed nearly 75k previous miles from the Nurburgring to Romanian forests - on a trio of GSes. The boys at Reiten Motorrad were superb, and had a lovely 40y Bumblebee GS complete with all the farkles including the extra Shadow Billet 2 pack. A bit more tweaking to give it the fuller JPS-spec and I was happy.
But after all of this, I come away a bit sad. Just 2 weeks ago, I spent several days testing alternatives to the GS back-to-back. This included the KTM 890 Adv and 1290 Super Adventure S. Both of these are an embarrassment in build quality, with highly strung motors although good chassis. The Ducati Multistrada V4S was a stunning road bike. The V4 motor is a howler, but suffers from low down fueling that had it juddering at town speeds, and always wanting to stay above 5k rpm. But above that, it just stayed there and 10k rpm screaming like a total hooligan - epic motor that I found hard to ride slowly. My license would be gone by tomorrow. Notably, the Multi had the best aero package of any bike I’ve ridden with a standard screen.
So why am I sad? I am sad that the GS has taken the fun out of riding other motorbikes. It is just so good at doing everything really well. As an all round package, other bikes are always found wanting. The MultiV4 is a more intense and faster road apex hunter, but it doesn’t ride with the same comfort or less manic necessity of the GS when you need/want a bike to. The GS will scratch and play with the sportsbikes over any road, climb and wade through mountain forests, and soothe on the motorway when needed. It really is a jack-of-all-trades and master of doing everything in the top 5 percentile. There is no better bike out there… for now.
Thanks for reading.
/TLDR: If you are undecided, forget other bikes - the GS is the finest do-it-all motorbike yet made.
So here she is, my 4th GS… a JPS-spec Bumblebee. So great to be back.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I bought my wife a 40th Anniversary after I bought my GSA Rallye
