Our new bike - finally.

Yeah, ours were fully loaded too. It was 10,000 but we part-ex the SV for about 2,800. There was another adventure, exactly the same butility without all the extras for 7,000 but it was rough! The windacreen had cracks where they have tightened it too much and there was more scratches and scuffs. Were lucky qe got this one that has got one tiny stuff on the side that's hardly visible.

I canne wait till were going to France on it!

Originally Posted by femaleacid

I just hope that we find something that cushions my back on the top box because when the front wheel lifts up I end up with bruises!

Easy way to solve that is to share the love and bruises... It'll soon calm down after a few rides

Originally Posted by orose

Easy way to solve that is to share the love and bruises... It'll soon calm down after a few rides

I guess so!
I may just put my back armour in so its less direct on my spine since I wear a textile jacket now.

Well, I meant punch him in the kidneys when he's riding like a knob, but you could do that instead

Hey, don't mean to bud in, but I will..
@Jackie_Black If you're thinking about getting yourself a GS, why don't you try some of the competition as well:

1. For on and off road, there's the Triumph Explorer 1200(just as pricey as the GS) and the KTM Adventure 990 (could be had for a lot less then the gs)
2. For the on road only :
- KTM 990 SMT (a lot less than a GS)
- Triumph Tiger 1050 (a lot less than a GS)
- Ducati Multistrada 1200 (pricey)
- Suzuki VStrom 1000 (doesn't get abs) & 650 (has ABS and cost probably ~1/3rd of the GS, 1/7th if you get a used one)

If you're gonna buy yourself GS, I'd say you should at least convince yourself it's exactly what you want.
The biggest drawback I see with them is their infamous service costs and the very high rate of shaft drive failure (they stopped publishing the actual service numbers once the failure rate went over 2% of machines... it's probably around 4-5%). I would think a GS is for the very well off and you can get the same bike for a lot less. I say you should think about it.

Originally Posted by orose

Well, I meant punch him in the kidneys when he's riding like a knob, but you could do that instead

LOL, I don't mind him driving giddy, just not when Im smashing on my back. (nobody play on those words)

Originally Posted by andreis

Hey, don't mean to bud in, but I will..
@Jackie_Black If you're thinking about getting yourself a GS, why don't you try some of the competition as well:

1. For on and off road, there's the Triumph Explorer 1200(just as pricey as the GS) and the KTM Adventure 990 (could be had for a lot less then the gs)
2. For the on road only :
- KTM 990 SMT (a lot less than a GS)
- Triumph Tiger 1050 (a lot less than a GS)
- Ducati Multistrada 1200 (pricey)
- Suzuki VStrom 1000 (doesn't get abs) & 650 (has ABS and cost probably ~1/3rd of the GS, 1/7th if you get a used one)

If you're gonna buy yourself GS, I'd say you should at least convince yourself it's exactly what you want.
The biggest drawback I see with them is their infamous service costs and the very high rate of shaft drive failure (they stopped publishing the actual service numbers once the failure rate went over 2% of machines... it's probably around 4-5%). I would think a GS is for the very well off and you can get the same bike for a lot less. I say you should think about it.

I've had a V-strom thou, loved it should never have sold it. I was in the market for a 990 adventure too and fully loaded new they cost the same as a GS. Nothing is standard on the KTM same as a BMW, so with everything its £12k. The multistrada is just a brutal sharp thing, probably too much for touring but hilarious for scratching.

I'm in a bit of dilema to be honest. I rode the GS it fit like a glove and felt awesome straight away. I would be geting it serviced by an independent mechanic not BMW, but had no idea they had a 5% failure rate on the shaft drive. That has probably put me off quite a bit as i expected that to be completely bullet proof as they have always made shaft driven bikes.

To add more to this I have have found a 340 hp BMW M car for the same money that I would love to own and chop my Diesel in for.

Which decision is the correct one!! and what a nice position to be in!

I should be more clear about the shaft drive. It's not the shaft drive itself that usually fails, but a valve that is used for servicing the oil. When it fails, the oil starts to leak. This in itself would not present a big problem, but unfortunately, the amount of oil is rather small (220ml) and it leaves the shaft unlubricated quite fast, which leads to the failure of the shaft.

If you're careful with the bike, you can catch it in time. BMW redesigned the assembly in 2009 and is has somewhat curbed the amount of failures, but did not eliminate them and this is still a hot topic on advrider.

I do not have all the facts. If you like the bike, you should invest some time in researching it out. For instance, I didn't know about the price of a 990 fully kited and I mostly researched second hand values (as I'm not in that stage of my life when I can afford new shiny toys). I think that decisions taken in the heat of the moment bring huge immediate satisfaction but are also a huge gamble in the long term. I saw that you were willing to buy the bike after you rode it, which is great, but if you really liked it, you should research out the quirks

Best of luck and cheers

Funnily enough the guy has just rang me back and the man that bought it on monday has pulled out (and lost his deposit) so if I want it I can have it!! I have a few more bikes to check out first though and that crazy sportscar as well. Think i'll just see what floats me boat!

[BoltonSte]

Originally Posted by Jackie_Black

Funnily enough the guy has just rang me back and the man that bought it on monday has pulled out (and lost his deposit) so if I want it I can have it!!

Discounted by his deposit I hope?