WURTY Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 just came home from a 700 mile dirt road ride on my Vstrom 1000. Let's just say that it isn't a dirt bike It's so frickin top heavy I have arms like Popeye after lugging it around Nevada and Utah for a week. Gleno was right as usual. You get what u pay for.. It's a great street bike but not the best in the gravel. Knock on wood I never scratched it so it's still pretty and That baby is outta here ... I want a GS. What I don't want is that fancy canbus computer or electric brakes... what year bmw GS is the one to look for with the least likely amount of things that break? I dont need no stinkin cruise control but hand warmers would be nice .. who's the GS guru that can tell me what year bike I should look for ??? Help me recover from Vstromarmpumpitis Link to comment
Burt Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I'm certainly no guru, but I've been doing some research on the same thing. I've been looking for a 2000-2002 1150 GS. They don't have integrated or servo assisted brakes, just plain ABS with independent brakes. You have to go to at least a 2007, I think, to get a 1200 without servo assisted brakes. I'd really like an 1150. The negatives are tgat they are heavier than the 1200, and have quite a bit less power. On the plus side, they are also less complicated. Cycle trader usually has a couple 1150 GSs for sale. My other option would be a KTM. Link to comment
johnlt Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I believe they made a 2006 1150 GS Adventure which was also the first year they made the 1200 GS Adventure. I think that one would fill the bill. Link to comment
FlyingFinn Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I've been really happy with my 2005 1200GS. It has no ABS, no ESA, no computers etc. The no-ABS is really nice if you're riding the bike often off-pavement. Yes, the ABS can be turned off but you need to do that every time when starting the bike. Seems to be quite the hassle when doing lot of dirt riding. Invariably at some point everyone forgets to turn off the abs and on loose surface that pretty much = no brakes. -- Mikko Link to comment
RTinNC Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yep ... the 1150GS sounds like what you are looking for! Here are a few beauties! You get what you pay for! These are extra nice so not a bargain price but fair! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=793423 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18773535#post18773535 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=793475 Link to comment
Whip Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 1988 R100 GS Paris Dakar? I like that Link to comment
moshe_levy Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Some of you guys have some awesome off-roaders. That picture is great, Danny. I've never gone off road - on purpose! One day..... -MKL Link to comment
Kathy R Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 You haven't had a good time until your Wee is stuck in dry farm field furrows. Link to comment
tallman Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Some of you guys have some awesome off-roaders. That picture is great, Danny. I've never gone off road - on purpose! One day..... -MKL Round here, those are the roads. Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 When I started shopping for a GS, I narrowed down what I wanted to a '05-'06 1150GSA. They seemed to be the creme of the crop, and its hard to find anyone that will say a bad word about them. I shopped for a few months and found a few I liked, but the price tags were through the roof compared to what I thought they were worth. It finally got to the point that I was starting to see prices on low mileage R1200GS's drop down to equal or below what some were asking for high mileage R1150GSA's. I then decided I was shopping for either/or. A few weeks past and a good deal came along for a low mileage R1200GS, so thats what I bought. I really liked the 1150 models, but the reduced weight and extra power of the 1200 is a nice perk. So far it has been trouble free and I don't have any regrets.....even with all of the electrical nannies. My '06 is a pretty stripped down version. As far as options go, it only has ABS and heated grips. Link to comment
outpost22 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Gotta agree with Keith and the lighter weight of a 1200. '05 and '06 were nice. My buddies rode his '05 to 100,000+ with only a drive line failure at 90K. His was a non-abs model. I liked riding it. It acted much lighter off road than I expected. It still felt heavy when jumping back to the F650 though. It's hard to doubt the versatility of a GS, no matter which size. Whip started with the pictures, so don't blame me for the hijack Link to comment
Huzband Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Some of you guys have some awesome off-roaders. That picture is great, Danny. I've never gone off road - on purpose! One day..... -MKL Thanks, Moshe. Keith is right, though. 1150's do pretty well also. Link to comment
BrianT Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Don't forget to look at the Yammie Tenere. Might be easier to get parts and service up in your neck of the woods. Link to comment
lkchris Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I have an '84 G/S, so the lightest, smallest boxer GS ever made. On road it's the lightest, most nimble bike I have--a real canyon carver. Off road it's the world's heaviest motorcycle. A pig. Gears are all wrong, too. Very. (You can't just change a sprocket) Doubt many later GS are much different, except possibly the singles. "Dual sport" is an oxymoron IMHO. Get something specifically designed for the task at hand. Link to comment
OlGeezer Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I have an '84 G/S, so the lightest, smallest boxer GS ever made. On road it's the lightest, most nimble bike I have--a real canyon carver. Off road it's the world's heaviest motorcycle. A pig. Gears are all wrong, too. Very. (You can't just change a sprocket) Doubt many later GS are much different, except possibly the singles. "Dual sport" is an oxymoron IMHO. Get something specifically designed for the task at hand. No, you can't change a sprocket, but you can change a final drive. Back then, the final drives were interchangeable. After riding my KLR off road, I tend to agree with you about there are no dual sport bikes. Unfortunally, the better off road bikes suck on the highway. The solution is either to spend a lot of money on a Super Duke or KTM 550 EXC or 650 Enduro. I think a better option is to spend less money on the bike, spend some on suspension and protective gear, then spend the rest on training. It takes a lot of that, plus plenty of seat time to get good at off road riding. It is a totally different animal than road riding. My friends who have gotten really good over the years have not skipped any of the above. There are no shortcuts. BTW, those friends don't do their serious dirt riding on their BMWs. They are riding smaller KTMs that they haul to the boonies with their toy hauler. Jim Hyde has a great class. So does Jimmy Lewis. I understand the food is better at Jim's shindigs but at a price (literally). Link to comment
outpost22 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 ........... I think a better option is to spend less money on the bike, spend some on suspension and protective gear, then spend the rest on training. It takes a lot of that, plus plenty of seat time to get good at off road riding. It is a totally different animal than road riding. My friends who have gotten really good over the years have not skipped any of the above. There are no shortcuts. BTW, those friends don't do their serious dirt riding on their BMWs. They are riding smaller KTMs that they haul to the boonies with their toy hauler. Jim Hyde has a great class. So does Jimmy Lewis. I understand the food is better at Jim's shindigs but at a price (literally). Rich, I would agree with most, but add this to it....add good tires and tuning your stock suspension first before spending money on a suspension upgrade. Most of these "dual Sport" bikes come with 80% street tires. This makes a huge difference when off-roading, along with air pressure. Change to more aggressive tires, lower the air pressure by about 25% under street pressures and set your suspension tuning to your weight and style. I fiddled for 2 months with the stock suspension, changed fork oil weights 4 times, set preload spacers over the stock ones and fiddled with the rear shock preload and rebound damping adjustments. What a world of difference a proper set-up can make. There is no substitute for off road riding experience. Any great rider on a 80cc mini can smoke a good rider on a 250 motocrosser on an MX track. Link to comment
Whip Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Y'all are missing some important info. Wurty can ride an LT up the side of a mountain on a single track. ...or Killers clapped out KLR across Boulder Mountain in a thunder storm on greased snot. Link to comment
WURTY Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 After many ideas I read here I think I am going to be leaning towards a KTM 950. I'm retired and can spend 4 hours changing the oil on the giant Katoom.. It can't be much worse than taking the plastic off of an RT and syncing the throttle bodies. When I really started thinking about hoofing a big GS across no mans lands I remembered why I sold my BMW. Worry of pending Rear drive failure and weak batteries causing abs flashing lights. After last weeks 600 mile trek across Nevada's dirt roads I am all good to do it on the most dirt worthy big bike I can afford that can also haul the mail when I do reach a paved road. Link to comment
Whip Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I have 50,000 miles on mine and like it so much I bought the 990 to go with it. 2006 is the best and last year for the 950 Adv. The 990 fuely maybe a slight improvement, but not much. Link to comment
lkchris Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 No, you can't change a sprocket, but you can change a final drive. Back then, the final drives were interchangeable. "Back then" the G/S final drive was different than all the rest (wheel bolts) and the 3.56 it came with was the lowest there was. Link to comment
Burt Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 If you aren't doing a lot of long distance riding on the road, the KTM 690 Enduro would be a pretty nice bike too. http://www.ktm.com/enduro/690-enduro-r-eu/highlights.html Link to comment
hANNAbONE Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Don't forget to look at the Yammie Tenere. Might be easier to get parts and service up in your neck of the woods. ...b I N G O -- however, it might be outta his price range via new vs used... I'm lovin' mine. Link to comment
outpost22 Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 If you aren't doing a lot of long distance riding on the road, the KTM 690 Enduro would be a pretty nice bike too. http://www.ktm.com/enduro/690-enduro-r-eu/highlights.html This is my choice for "next bike" for local riding. I think you're right about it's dislike for the long road. I understand it's fairly "buzzy". Also, it would be nice to know the service intervals and the alternator output (think heated gear). The seat height (36.8") may also be an issue for a lot of riders. Link to comment
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