That damn gs

[Ralph]

Hi all. Ive posted a couple of times but I've mainly been a lurker for the last few years. I felt the need for a confessional and this and triumphrat.net seemed the right places. So here we go:



Forgive me triumph for I have sinned........I finally bowed to my own inner desires and took a R1200GS for a 2 hour test ride yesterday. Now before I start let me just say; I love my tiger I've had it 2 years and covered a fair mileage. I love triumph's I had a Bonnie and a Sprint RS prior to the tiger and I love flying the flag, but.......



About a year ago I tried a R1150GS and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. It was big, awkward, slow and vibrated like a tractor. I was totally underwhelmed and very happy to ride my tiger from the showroom.

However this R1200Gs is a completely different beast.



Its smaller and lighter (and it feels it) although vibey low down at 70+ its as smooth as the tiger. Performance is up and feels like it matches the tiger for overtaking and acceleration (i certainly rode it as I would the tiger and it never felt lacking). (truth be known I think the triple is better though) I did seem to ride faster, everytime I looked down I was doing 80. I really know when I'm doing 80 on the tiger.



As for the handling; I was very impressed I managed to touch down the pegs on a couple of occasions without really trying. I dont know if its the big pots sticking out low down but it feels really comfortable and secure cranked over. As for looks they are in the eye of the beholder. Although I love the tiger I always though it was ugly, the gs is not pretty but at least it looks like an enduro bike (a bit like a land rover is ugly but its voted on of the coolest cars) and the finish was every bit as good as the triumph.



The accesory list is extensive (and not that expensive) but the stuff is good and the expanding panniers/top box is brilliantly clever (and cheaper than the triumph luggage).



And most amazingly its fitted with a screen which worked (yes I've read all the treads regarding ceebailey, mra vario, extended bolt, cut downs, etc. etc. and I still cant figure out which is best) the instruments can be read at night time, it has a centre stand which doesnt give you a hernia, the heated grips swith is in a sensible place, it comes with very clever abs and it doesn't nose dive everytime you brake.



All in all I'm hooked and I will be placing an order. Sorry guys but Triumph have not managed to keep the tiger fresh enough. When I got back on my bike it felt like old technology (and of course it has been basically the same since 89-ish). They are moving it more and more away from the enduro/off road image which apeals to me and they're not going to carry out a major update for some time to come because of the efforts put into the sprint and 650 daytona.



Its going to cost me a fair bit because the residuals on the tiger arn't that good but you pays yer money and yer takes yer choice.



The tiger is still brilliant, compared to the 1150 there was no contest but it has now been well exceeded by the 1200 (imho). Following Mr. McGreggor and Mr. Boomans little stunt sales of the BM have rocketed it is now the 3rd best selling bike in the uk, beaten only by the gsxr1000 and the fireblade. You would have thought that someone at triumph would have noticed this and looked at producing a tiger adveture, enduro styled machine.



What I'd really like is a r955gs i.e the bmw chassis, image, accesories but with the triumph engine. But it seems my hopes are in vain.

 :(  :(  :(  :(

[WildeKurt]

Keep in mind, BMW speedos are notoriously optomistic.  My oilhead reads more than 7% high.  That means at 80 indicated on mine is really 74.  The Tiger on the other hand is very close:  Within of a mile checked against my GPS.  When 80 is indicated, thats about how fast your going.



I've never met anyone with a BMW that had an acurate speedo.



Kurt

[ridin gaijin]

The engine's bigger than the Triumph's but makes less hp--there's that brilliant German engineering for ya. Anyway I think off-road or on-road, performance has a whole lot more to do with rider skill, experience and adventurousness than details of the specs. Many of us have tested the GS 12 and compared it to the Tiger. I believe most (myself as well) came to the conclusion that it's a terrifically capable bike for those who don't mind paying literally half again as much...

[looch]

Whatever floats yer boat, mate. I would like to make a few comments, though. I don't want to offend, but you kinda opened that door when you began spouting the virtues of that "other" bike.  

The accessory list is extensive (and not that expensive) but the stuff is good and the expanding panniers/top box is brilliantly clever (and cheaper than the triumph luggage).

I thought the Triumph luggage was free. Mine was - save the topbox. If I had to pay, I would choose neither Triumph's nor BMW's which I believe to be over-priced and of inferior quality. Jesse's, Happy Trails, or Touratech's would be my preference here.

...it comes with very clever abs and it doesn't nose dive everytime you brake.

I'll take a pass on the ABS, thanks, and the nose-dive is no longer an issue in later model Tigers.

Sorry guys but Triumph have not managed to keep the tiger fresh enough. When I got back on my bike it felt like old technology (and of course it has been basically the same since 89-ish).

I'm taking that "89-ish" as a typo and assuming you mean "98-ish." If you would have said 2001, than I would be in agreement. What did BMW do to the GS between '00 and 04'?

They are moving it more and more away from the enduro/off road image which apeals to me...

Does that image appeal to you because you go offroad? Personally, I wouldn't ride either too far from cell-phone coverage or the support vehicle. I'd offer that neither sees very much dirt (save for some very unique characters who may or may not frequent this site :-#). If that were my bag I'd be looking at a KLR or KTM. I like this style of bike simply for the riding position.

Following Mr. McGreggor and Mr. Boomans little stunt sales of the BM have rocketed it is now the 3rd best selling bike in the uk, beaten only by the gsxr1000 and the fireblade.

I really hate this. Just like Dalmation sales skyrocketed after the Disney movie. It is completely meaningless to me what the masses are rushing out to buy before it becomes uncool to do so. In fact, what piques my interest me is that which is uncommon. I LIKE that some people find my bike ugly. I LIKE that I have yet to have a chance encounter with another Tiger.



Like I said though, to each his own. Riding is supposed to be fun, right? What better way to ensure that then by getting a bike you actually like to ride?



Enjoy - no matter what's under yer bum. Just don't come back here  :lol: (kidding)

[abell]

I would not be surprised if it was a better bike on many respects. I would expect nothing less, particularly since it's not a cheap toy.



However I was confused by this:



>i.e the bmw chassis, image,



I can definitely live without the BMW image  : )

[Foxy]

Got to agree, you've got to be pretty odd to want the BMW image[/i]

[bwvtom]

Hi all.



BMW riders / people are       different,   (no insult intended),   I bought my wife a 1981 R80 GS (I had my mountain bike stolen and the BM with panniers was cheaper than a new mountain bike!).



I sold my beloved 1978 Ducati 900ss, (someone made me a very attractive offer), and so took over the BM for a while.  It did everything asked of it, commuting, rallying, two up touring; it broke down all the time. (To be fair it had done 450,000 kms when I bought it so it was worn out).  But I just slowly fixed the bike up over time, and continued to ride it every day.



But I never caught the ÏBMW BugÓ, Other BM owners would always say great bike etc etc. And they had all spent time fixing theirs as well.  Bottom line is yes, it did it all, but it wasnÌt that reliable, it was boring to ride, it didnÌt handle well at all, the brakes were horrible, I was convinced the frame was made of rubber.



It was light 165 kgs. (Dry).   And I / we had a lot of fun going places on it.   I will be eternally grateful to that bike because it was what sparked my interest in dual sport motorcycles, the rest is history, I test rode all the available ones on the market at the time (2002) and settled on the Tiger.



Cheers B-Burl

[ArizonaKid]

Geez, another GS v. Tiger thread!  Can't we move on?

[Guest]

Ralph,

Consider this ; they've had brake servo failures which leaves you with EFF ALL braking. AND the GS12 costs 50% more than a Tiger for less standard equipement. Check out the "UKgser" website to see what else goes wrong.

[TigerPilot]

AND what's this double the price crap?????  The high MSRP of a brand spanking NEW GS is $15,200 OTD but yet last time I checked Tiger is

almost $11,000 then add all the other deler crap on top and you go figure!!!  I don't get this Triumph fanatic fuzzy math!!!



AND for your information--



1rst service on a GS= $139 (just called the dealer)

1rst service on a Tiger= ($280 + parts + shop fees again just called the dealer)

 





SOOOOO PLEASE!!!  like I've said in the past-- "you can dress them as you want or call them what you want. truth is- there is nothing like a BMW; it  IS thee ultimate riding/driving machine!!!!  (How's that for German engineering)

Try again.  You can buy a new Tiger for around $10k if you know how to shop.



How many final drives have you heard about failing?  20-30?  I am not into BMW's and I know of at least 6 that failed with less than 30k miles and in really ugly areas.



The BMW is a great bike.  I will not argue with that.  But to say it is the end all be all of ADV touring bikes I really wonder how you deal with the smell.  I was ready to purchas a pair of them for my father and I and all it took was to ride a Tiger and it changed our minds.  We are both very happy and the savings fully outfitted our bikes and paid for a good trip.

[Brock]

Bloody hell...here we go again. Arizonakid; by the look of your collection of bikes, it's pretty obvious where your loyalties lie. You may well be right about prices in your neck of the woods but over here GS12's are about nine and a half grand. You'll pick up one of the new Tigers for £6,999. In fact for cash, my dealer will let one go for £6,500. And bugger me if it aint got luggage thrown in. Toddle along to a beemer dealer and they wouldn't even piss on you if you were on fire.

Let's all be mature about this shall we? the GS12 is a good bike. Possibly even a great one. But it is not worth another two and a half grand over the Tiger. And it aint the ultimate riding/driving machine. That's hype.