Test Ride On 2018 Bmw Gsa

Intro:
(if you're too busy, feel free to skip to the 'pros n cons' below. If you're in the shitter you may have the time and inclination to read this through)

First of all, I absolutely love my Speed Triple. That being said, I have two issues that have recently made me consider a bike change.
First issue is my age, my depleted lower back and the fact that I have become a father. This has shifted my priorities and now comfort and practicality rank much, much higher than sexy looks and power/weight ratios. The second issue is the fact that I lack the space in my garage and the cash flow to afford having my Speed Triple + another, more comfortable bike. Hence this test ride.
When I pickup test bikes I try my hardest to be open minded and unbiased. However, this was the second time I haven't been able to (the first was during a KTM SuperDukeGt testride. I wanted to love that bike, but unfortunately quality and price didn't match, by a looooong shot!). This time, I effectively wanted to hate the bike. Like most of you, I'm sure, I have grown up hating BMW in general and GS in particular. However, today I ate a huge slice of humble pie. And boy did it taste good!

Test Ride Specs:
- Bike: 2018 R1200GS Adventure (all extras + TFT)
- Duration: 2 hours
- Weather: mid 20 degrees, scattered clouds, dry surface
- Distance: +/- 100km of twisties, highway and city.

Pros:
- Feels much lighter than I expected. I immediately felt at home and was even filtering quickly through traffic. I had to remind myself I wasn't in the Speedy so that I would slow down. Only at very, very slow speeds (crawling) do you actually notice the massive weight of the thing.

- AMAZING brakes!! I was absolutely stunned by the brakes on this bike. Makes the BREMBO's on my Speed feel like absolute garbage! And the GS weights a whole lot more! WTF?!

- Engine is good, noise is ok. Up and down (especially the down) quickshifter is mega-smooth.

- Everything feels crisp and quality is everywhere.

- The suspension is ultra plush without being too bouncy. Shift it to dynamic and it rides on rails!

- The looks are growing on me. The standard GS is boring but I fancy the Adventure. It looks like a mothertrucking TANK!

- Super snazzy TFT. And you can have navigation on it, for free!

- Tire Pressure Monitor actually monitors and displays the tire pressure in PSI or BAR. Not the garbage I have on my VW Golf: "Pressure Loss!". Has my tire's pressure finally sunk below VW's threshold and I should top-up my tires after months of neglect or do I have a flat? No clue.

- Possibility to venture onto some light off-road or unpaved roads. Opens a whole new universe to be explored around where I live.

- Possibility to fit a couple of cases, throw a towel, a pair of flip-flops, mask, snorkel and a six-pack inside and head to the beach in the summer months beating all traffic jams.

Cons:
- The brand. I'm uncertain and uncomfortable regarding BMW. Too many horror stories. And I'm having a hard time forgetting this is the brand that supplies all the 4-wheeled twats of the world.

- Vulgarity. Kick a stone, any stone and at least 5 GS's will crawl out from underneath.

- The way to operate the menus in the TFT is super clumsy. I'm guessing it's a question of getting used to but it feels as if it was designed by 3 different engineers with 3 opposite ideas and none of which spoke the same language.

- The seat is a bit stiffer than I had hoped.

- Screen could be 5cm taller for my taste. I'm 1.83m tall. Easily fixable with an aftermarket screen or screen extension.

Conclusion:
I was blown away by the sharpness of this bike. It rides and feels much better than I had ever expected. It's actually a lot of fun around the twisty stuff, and everywhere else its just easy and comfortable.
I have tried a 1200 Multistrada which I liked a lot but I have been warned about Ducati and the dealer was rude, nonchalant and downright ignored me. I can only imagine the after-sales service. Grabbed my money and ran for the hills!
I have also tried the new Tiger 1200 which was O.K. Not exciting, not particularly good at anything. And it felt much slower and more sluggish than the GS. Even slightly unstable on sharp corners.
In the end I have to say that if my Speed Triple was not such a formidable bike and if I was not so keen to not give up on my youthfulness I would have gladly switched bikes today. Anyways, I've got another ride on the GSA on Monday, just to be sure...

Thoughts and comments are welcome below!

 

Yeah, I did try the GT's outgoing model. I was disappointed by a few quirks like the cruise control being on the right side of the handlebar, finding neutral was a pain in the ass and the lcd screen reflected too much sunlight. But it was the "plasticky" feel of the bike (some pieces were already falling off like the sidestand prong and one of the mirrors. On a brand new test bike!) and a noticeable dip on the power delivery at around 5000rpm that drove me away.

New bike may have fixed those issues but man is it FUGLY! Based only on the looks I would take the GS anyday. Not sure what's happened at KTM's design department but the latest flock of bikes should be forced to wear paper bags over the headlights!

 

Nah, there was something definitely wrong with the fueling on the bike I test rode. I set the cruise control to about 5000 rpm and you could clearly feel the bike hiccuping.

 

The news of a new 1250GSA is exactly why I'm expecting a good deal on a used or pre-registered 2018 1200GSA.