BMW R 1200 GS

There is a reason this is the world's best selling adventure tourer – At a certain time in life, when you ride motorcycles, you realise: a) The body is getting a bit too old and sore for those bum up nose down sports bikes and b) an upright sitting position actually makes a heck of a lot of sense! I found myself in that position earlier this year. I had sold my Honda Blackbird because it was too uncomfortable to ride (pity: great bike otherwise). I did not want the bulk of a tourer as I would be using the bike for commuting ,so that left adventure tourers. I ruled out some bikes (Ducati Mulitstrada- wife said NO Ducatis; Triumph Tigers- didn't do it for me; others like the Aprilia Caponord and the Guzzi- too eclectic; Suzuki V-Strom- bit ordinary and underpowered.) That left three, all of which I test rode: the Honda Africa Twin: a lovely bike with a silky gearbox but a bit underpowered for a 1 litre bike: the KTM 1190 Adventure: a rocketship of a bike, but too frenetic and rattly with a less than ideal seating position; and the R1200GS Liquid Cooled.

One ride and the GS blew me away.

This is a big bike physically-make no mistake- but once on the move it feels like a MUCH lighter bike. It is very flickable, probably due to its low CoG, and the telelever front end feels like it runs on rails. The ride is VERY comfortable, and the upright sitting position gives an excellent view of what's going on around; in fact, it is this point which makes you realise that the low slung sports bikes make no sense around the city. It brakes well and safely with its ABS, and the ESA adjustable suspension can not only give you different ride characteristics when solo, but can cope with passengers and luggage at the touch of a button. And did I mention the different ride modes also at the touch of a button? The windscreen is adjustable from the riding position, and works very well at low and high speed, and even the heated handgrips (which I thought were a bit of a gimmick) are terrific on cold Melbourne winter mornings.

And then there is that engine: What an absolute gem! Making great purring growl when started, it has bucketloads of torque almost from idle: That means it is fabulously usable engine on the road. With 125 hp on tap, it is no slouch either- though the Multistrada and KTM will leave it behind, that is not what this is all about. It has reasonable fuel economy, great luggage capacity with the well designed BMW Vario panniers and top box, and is just a pleasure to ride. I know it sounds like I'm hooked, and I guess I probably am! Seriously though, if you are considering a bike in this class, you MUST test ride one of these before you make a decision, and if you are a bit older with a bit of a sore back or shoulders, you will find you probably enjoy riding all over again, unlike being on a cramped sports bike.

VERDICT: Consistently rated at the top or top two in its class, this is a fantastic bike which is worth serious consideration.

Excellent , love it – I have a 2007 model R1200GS BMW motorcycle, it has covered 100,000km I have owned it since 72,000 km about 4 years now. During that time I have had no problems with it, except in the last 2 months the fuel gauge is playing up a little. The bike is very comfortable to ride, you can ride it all day with ease, the seat is comfortable , has a nice relaxed upright riding position. The suspension in stock from has no issues at all and soaks up bumps with ease.

This bike soaks up very bumpy roads with ease, you can brake late, or during cornering if you like. It has very good handling and can hustle the tight roads as good as a lot of smaller sportier bikes. The seat height is quite high, I am 5 ft 10" and find it no real problem, though I cannot place my heels on the road.

The motor has its own BMW opposed twin feel, shakes a bit at idle, but runs very sweet on the move. The motor has good torque and can pass cars easily at 100km/hr without changing out of 6th gear, at which speed it is revving at about 4,000rpm.

The gear box is sweet and shifts easily at all speeds, but shifting from 2nd down to 1st at slow speeds can be a bit clunky, common to alot of bikes though.

Handles two up with ease, but if the pillion is a heavy one the bike can feel a bit top heavy.

Great to have a shaft drive, no chain or belt to worry about, oil in the rear drive needs changing every ~20,000km.

If are you into your own maintenance, gear box and engine oil changes are a breeze, also valve clearance checks are easy because of the motor configuration.

The bike can easily cruise for long periods at 140-180km /hr if you were allowed, and the windscreen takes most of the wind.

If you are going to ride one of these bikes for the first time, do not ride it for a short time as they do take a wee bit of time to get used to them, they feel a bit strange to start with, but they grow on you very quickly.

There are better bikes to ride around the city, but not many better to ride for hours on end on the highways and backroads.

I always like to ride it, and dont worry if I go on metalled back roads, it handles them easily.

Overall they can be a bit heavy for some riders who may be short and weak, the motors are not as smooth as some inline 3/ 4 cylinder bikes, but they have their own personality. For long rides, I always take the BMW.

BMW R1200GS – I have a 2016 model GS with all the factory electronic options. So far only 3,000 klms but coming off an 800GS after 35k I'm loving the 1200. Two things are a stand out, the telelever front end and the shaft drive. No other bike in the world offers these together. It is the world's number one selling adventure bike for good reason. It is everything the Professional reviews say about it. I love it for comfort, fuel economy, functions, low centre of gravity - Yes it is easier to pick up than the 800GS. Mine is factory lowered. Hard to explain how good these are but once you ride one, and I mean a good ride out in the country, you WILL fall in love. The negatives? At first I thought the boxer heads sticking out would be a problem - not so. Once you're riding it, you don't even know they are there, unless you try to stretch your legs out. Then they're a problem. Well perhaps the price. I've sunk about $30K and if you drop it, it will be expensive to fix back to new unless it's an insurance claim. Also, the negative comments are most likely from people that haven't ridden one. If I buy another one it will be the GSA. I test rode the GSA but only bought the GS and partly regret not getting the Adventure. You don't buy these to do single track dirt riding but a good rider will take it there. See BMW Safari on you tube. These are the supreme comfort adventure tourer that can include some off road. I've seen these do extreme such as the BMW Trophy - see you tube. If you can afford to buy, maintain and repair outside of insurance claims, then buy one. Service costs are about $400 AUD. As an on road bike, have it factory lowered like mine and it will carve up sports bikes on twistys without giving you sore wrists and a lower back ache. With a seat height of 830mm (standard seat in low position) I'll still go easy off road. Eg Cameron Corner, Barrington Tops road and Finders. Go around Australia or the world, go GSA. This is a bike that you can ride all day.