I had a happy accident

Stonesie

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I decided to go with a couple of friends as one wanted to test a MK1 S1000xr and found a beautiful 2019 Triple Black and then the salesman pointed out that my F900xr had no chance, 15 mins and £15 later I'm handed the key to a 2022 1250GS anniversary aka "Bumblebee"

Many twisty roads, a bike swap or 2 and some power wheelies out of corners later we get back to the dealer, the XR has rinsed a full tank, Bumblebee still has just under 1/2 and a grinning chimp on it's back. The GS handled every road condition with ease and blew the mirrors off my friends Tiger 1050 sport... It highlighted the power of the 900xr as being adequate but no more, and the comfort even with a custom made seat is just not a patch on the GS.


So I spent a couple of hours this afternoon talking to a salesman and finding a new R1250GS, Triple Black with some nice extras for a reasonable monthly payment, I have until Wednesday to make my decision, but I've been looking at accessory's for the GS all evening so I think I've already made it :thumby:


Oh and my friend got the BMW bug too, he didn't buy the XR he rode, we found a much lower mileage one for the same money so he negotiated a lot of extras for it, and bought it.
 
I decided to go with a couple of friends as one wanted to test a MK1 S1000xr and found a beautiful 2019 Triple Black and then the salesman pointed out that my F900xr had no chance, 15 mins and £15 later I'm handed the key to a 2022 1250GS anniversary aka "Bumblebee"

Many twisty roads, a bike swap or 2 and some power wheelies out of corners later we get back to the dealer, the XR has rinsed a full tank, Bumblebee still has just under 1/2 and a grinning chimp on it's back. The GS handled every road condition with ease and blew the mirrors off my friends Tiger 1050 sport... It highlighted the power of the 900xr as being adequate but no more, and the comfort even with a custom made seat is just not a patch on the GS.


So I spent a couple of hours this afternoon talking to a salesman and finding a new R1250GS, Triple Black with some nice extras for a reasonable monthly payment, I have until Wednesday to make my decision, but I've been looking at accessory's for the GS all evening so I think I've already made it :thumby:


Oh and my friend got the BMW bug too, he didn't buy the XR he rode, we found a much lower mileage one for the same money so he negotiated a lot of extras for it, and bought it.

Good choice.....enjoy your time here. :thumby:
 
After a delay to get my financial ducks in a row and a big European tour I did the deed today, I put a deposit on a new Triple Black with the fog lights, black spoked wheels and have already been on eBay ordering a top box mount from GIVI and a tank lock ring, I like my little tank bag.
So far the delivery date is the 28th so a little over 2 weeks to get it in to the country and prepped, then the running in process can begin.

The Euro tour was a great trip on the little XR but it really was not the tool for the job, that and it's warranty being about to run out gave me the nudge I needed to go and sit down with my friendly salesman (Tony at BMW Rotherham) and talk numbers, then buy my 3rd bike from him.

You will see a bit more of me around here now that I have one on the way.
 
I like the fact that you considered the xr in the same vein as the gs - I think the gs is amazing at what it does, but I really do miss that top end rush and I think the xr delivers that, but not the long distance comfort/capability of the gs. I wouldn't tour on the xr, but I would have fun on it whilst being in an upright position that could be considered comfortable. I am starting to think I need 3 bikes in my garage to meet my needs...a GS for touring/handling. Possibly an M1000R as a naked, balls out fun bike and, wait for it...a chinese Kove 450 Rally to do TET's on....... (I will keep my honda xr650R supermoto that I converted for sentimental reasons only)....but that is me!
 
Mine is the 900XR, a friend on the tour had metal panniers and his wife on the back of a 2019 S1000xr and it handled it just fine, but at some fuel stops he had used twice the amount of my 900.
We went down the East side of France, across into Italy to Lake Como, then up through Switzerland, liechtenstein, Germany, Belgium and home again 2615 miles for me in 2 weeks.
 
"Oh and my friend got the BMW bug too, he didn't buy the XR he rode, we found a much lower mileage one for the same money so he negotiated a lot of extras for it, and bought it."

and your last line is what you should do ! check in with other dealers who will have the same model ,maybe cheaper ? maybe some extras thrown in ? on a new bike sale ,if the dealer wont budge on price, he should be at least able to throw in a three year service plan ? a new helmet ? a new nav v1 etc . If he wants to sell he will negotiate
 
Mine is the 900XR, a friend on the tour had metal panniers and his wife on the back of a 2019 S1000xr and it handled it just fine, but at some fuel stops he had used twice the amount of my 900.
We went down the East side of France, across into Italy to Lake Como, then up through Switzerland, liechtenstein, Germany, Belgium and home again 2615 miles for me in 2 weeks.

Why was your XR not the right tool for a European tour ? In what way was it lacking ?


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What rubbish stonesie.
I was talking to a chap from Birmingham on a Himmie. This was in Italy 2 weeks ago.
you can tour on anything, you just have to adjust your expectations re mileage etc.
 
What rubbish stonesie.
I was talking to a chap from Birmingham on a Himmie. This was in Italy 2 weeks ago.
you can tour on anything, you just have to adjust your expectations re mileage etc.

Agreed .
I did a trip recently on my ADV350 and it was brilliant .
In recent years have toured on varying bikes such as a TMax, Husky 701, Guzzi Audace, Road King and Wing .
All great in their own way .

Really cannot see why a 100bhp 900 XR isn’t up to the job .

Perhaps the OP will enlighten us


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What rubbish stonesie.
I was talking to a chap from Birmingham on a Himmie. This was in Italy 2 weeks ago.
you can tour on anything, you just have to adjust your expectations re mileage etc.
Read Orinoco's ride reports re touring on a Himalayan. He manages ok.
 
I will be touring on a 900xr soon with the wife on the back. So will see if its not up to the job. It would seem some struggle changing riding style to match bike / conditions. For me touring is not about speed. I will say I have changed the seat and lowered the foot pegs
 
Well it was not the tool for the job for me on the tour I did, I need more comfort because despite a remodelled comfort seat with an airflow cover it was not comfortable for me, I have long legs for my height (33" inseam at 5'9") so I fit the GS much better, it's the most comfortable bike I've ever thrown a leg over.

Also we do like to enjoy the ride, my XR with a heavy load was using oil and coolant, I also mentioned that it's coming to the end of it's warranty...
I have previous experience with a KTM SDGT which suffered a total electronics tantrum just out of warranty, literally a week!
KTM were as much help as throwing a lead weight to a drowning person, their answer was "Our first thing will be a complete new wiring loom, this will cost you £1500 and we give no guarantee that will fix it, the bike is out of warranty so it will all be at your expense and we will not supply a loan bike whilst we do the work"

We all want different things from a tour, some will be perfectly happy plodding along admiring the scenery on a Himalayan, others want to scrape pegs to dust on a Ducati Streetfighter (I met one doing just that in Switzerland, riding with a H2sx and S1000RR, BRAVE considering the way they deal with fast riders over there). Hell, my uncle toured Europe on a Matchless G3 in his prime, many many years ago.

I like to get a move on and enjoy the scenery in equal measure so I'm somewhere in the middle, towards the sporty end but also like a torque laden engine, not really a fan of 4 cylinder screamers which is why I didn't buy the S1000XR.


And yes I negotiated a deal that I was happy with, £2k off the bike, free spoked wheels and fog lights, full tank of petrol and a years tax.
If anyone wants a set of SHAD panniers/mounts or a Givi top box rack for a 900xr I have those, and a Leo Vince exhaust with a sprint air filter.


To sum up why the XR was not the bike for me on this tour.
Comfort, that's the main issue I got a fully remodelled custom seat and it is still an issue, a BMW gel seat with a cover was a little better but still I am not the right shape for this bike.

I was also working it too hard because it's a fun and punchy bike on twisty roads, but at altitude it should have been ridden more touring and less sport. one pass was near 2.8Km up, over 9000Ft.
 
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I can see your problems. I might feel the same after my tour :nenau I am only a short arse and both me and the wife are light weights. Time will tell. I did have a r1200rs before this and found it heavy
 
I once went touring to the south of France on a bandit 600 and it was garbage, I sold it as soon as I got back home, all its shortcomings became clear - naff windshield on the peage giving me neck ache, wallowy suspension, Oxford soft panniers causing it to weave, and having to wring its neck everywhere, so I get where you are coming from.

congrats on your new GS , Stonsie.
 
I'm still about 2 weeks from getting my leg over this bike and already there is a collection of boxes gathering in the garage, tank bag mount and some budget friendly Mudslinger's so far with more incoming and a trip down to somewhere near London next weekend to collect some SW Motech crash bars, upper and lower. I will have to re-mount the fog lights to get the upper ones on but I have that in hand already. I drive a Diesel car so it will appreciate a 400 mile motorway journey.

I think the bike comes with a tank pad but I'm not sure, as it happens the Rotherham dealer is next door to Motografix HQ so I can just pop in and pick one up if need be.
 
While we're using up bragging rights .... I rode a Ducati Monster 900S to World Ducati Weekend in Italy in 2000. I was younger lighter and bonier back then and it hurt like fuck! Good fun though.

By the time we were getting nearer to the venue on the east coast, there were several dozen Ducatis in a long line, riding through mountain villages where the locals came out and lined the streets to cheer us all as we went past! Lovely.

Halcyon days, long past.

More recently but still a generation ago (WTF !!) I joined Steptoe and others of this Parish in Algeciras, on his 2007 Moroccan Dash. Reading to Biarritz on day one and Algeciras on day 2. I had one of those Alaska bear skin things and it hurt like fuck.

I then tried Airhawk and my world changed. No problem all day riding, none, not a shift of cheek, not an adjustment to tackle. Wonderful product, as long as you don't over inflate.

There's many on here who will quite rightly scoff at these epic :ROFLMAO: journeys, having traversed continents, in all weathers and climates, for weeks and months on end. Lucky you, I say.:beerjug:
 
Yeah... I did a thing on Thursday


MUMyEqn.jpeg



It's a new Triple Black TE and 70 miles in I don't regret it at all.

I did have a S1000xr as a loan bike for a couple of days but it just reinforced that I don't get on with inline 4 bikes... Amazing as it is and blisteringly fast above 6k I prefer the power down low.

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I will actually miss the 900xr but it was time to scratch the itch for the GS, it's been niggling at me for years since I tested a 1200 back in 2018.

Today was a tinker session with many farkles fitted, but not the crash bars as they need some custom bushings for the fog light brackets I have to fit the bars... Should give me something to do in the next week.
 
What rubbish stonesie.
I was talking to a chap from Birmingham on a Himmie. This was in Italy 2 weeks ago.
you can tour on anything, you just have to adjust your expectations re mileage etc.
Tour on anything?

my wife who owns an F900 XR would disagree with that because she was seriously pissed off by the end of our trip to the WSB at Most. Not by her bike but by me taking the RE500 :D
 
After the happy accident came an unhappy one, on 09/09 I had a crash with a Yaris, I don't remember hitting it as such.
I remember seeing it then being on the ground feeling like something had tried to rip me in half, 7 weeks on I still get the odd pang of kidney pain and my leg is almost healed from a nice 4 stitch cut, I also had a bruise around my left temple and the helmet fractured my right collar bone... So I got off lightly really.

4lR8GXu.jpg

9PYgbND.jpg


The bike has been written off and transported to Newbury, the accident happened near Moffatt.
I had a trip down to Newbury to get my accessories and mods off the bike before the insurance pays out.

So, what next?
I did a lot of thinking and re-thinking then decided to order another GS, an adventure this time since I have a lot of farkles for a 1250 and managed to make the financials work so that my monthly outgoings are about even, higher insurance balanced out by lower PCP payments.

It should be in my garage in a week or 2.
 
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