BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Two questions for you : I'm in the market for a new bike. Currently, it's a draw between the R and the GS. I'm looking for a bike that I can put the camping gear on, the wife, and go for miles and miles and miles (more pavement than not). I know that some of you have had experience with both and I was wondering if I could tap into that information for a valuable review? Ergonomics, distance, torque, the works....

Lastly, I was wondering if you find this sentiment true : Many riders move from the R to the GS in the end.

Any input/ideas on these questions would be very much valued.

Best..

You really need to ride them both before buying. The GS handles differently than the R and you should decide which you like better.

Yes, in my case, its true, but I kept my R1150R when I got the R1200GS because the R is still the best overall bike in the BMW line and I wasn't ready to part with mine.

geo

The R and GS are very similar bikes (same engine tune) but slightly different gearing. The GS is obviously taller, has slightly different gearing, and offers an OEM topcase. I like both, but the R is cheaper and I doubt I would rarely take mine off road. Therefore I felt the R was better suited for the street.

As geothepencil stated, go test ride them both and see which one fits you the best!

I was in that position two years ago. I ride on a lot of gravel and packed dirt roads so I thought of the GS. I did not like the height, couldn't get but one toe on the ground, decision made! The R goes fine on gravel and OK on dirt and on one occasion through a hay field, don't ask. I think they will both be fine for touring. Never do two up so can't speak to that. As said ride both, one will feel better.

Unless you are a bit "height challenged" for two-up with gear riding you can't beat the GS.

Although the R will handle some gravel road stuff (and more if you check out one of ChiTown's ride reports! ), I would have to say the GS sounds like more what you want, if you are tall enough! I went from the GS to the R simply because I got tired of dropping the bike due to the height and high center of gravity and I seldom do anything but the occasional gravel road.

One other thing - if you are traveling two up, the Jesse Bags or something similar hold a ton and look right on a GS. Not so right on the R.

Engines and trannys are nearly identical, except the gearing John mentioned.

One thing you may want to consider is that the GS will probably retain a significantly higher resale than the R/R.

geo

You should read ChiTown's excellent write-up on this site:

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=11564

After studying this trip, I came to the conclusion that the R is the perfect bike for 90% highway and the occasional 10% off-highway.

As far as riders moving from a R to a GS eventually, maybe it's true, but the R is a much more affordable bike if you are shopping used. I can't believe the asking prices for used GS bikes. I guess it's supply and demand. The GS is a much more popular bike as far as sales numbers.

The GS is a much more popular bike as far as sales numbers.

Another reason to keep the R!

Everyone talks about re-sale value of bikes when they're buying. I've never bought a bike based on what I can sell it for in the future (hey, nobody ever said I was smart!).

I buy a bike based on what I'm looking for in a bike. I intend on riding the crap out of the bike until I can find a model that better suits my needs. As we all know, needs change as time goes on. Saying that, it takes me a long time to decide on a new bike. My previous bike had 50,000 miles on it when I traded it in on the R, and I was undecided on what to get for the last 15,000 miles! Now I have 55,000 miles on my R and it still suits my needs (but I'm considering adding another bike within the next year).

High miles brings down resale value (although I can't believe the prices used GS's are still going for ).

Buy the bike that you can picture yourself on for many miles/years to come!

Go for the K1200LT. It is the BEST two up pavement eater.

I had been searching for a GS this past summer. I found a nice 2001 with 31k on it. Looked to be in decent shape. Slight tear in the stock seat. Windshield had a hairline crack around a bolt. It was down to $7100, but I would have had to spend some $$ on system cases and maybe an after-market seat. I was close to pulling the trigger but when I took it for a test drive, I felt it was a little tall for me, and I didn't like the feeling of balancing all of that weight when I was on my toes a bit. I let it pass, and it was gone shortly thereafter. I have rarely seen a GS for that price.

Then I found my 2003 R1150R and have never looked back. It's a super bike, with tons of aftermarket goodies, such as a Russell daylong seat, Aeroflow windshield, Remus Revolution exhaust, etc. It does everything I could want and I believe it is one of the best values around. Someday maybe it will have a GS to keep it company in the car port but for now it is stuck with my 72 Yamaha 650. No complaints.

I think you can do what you have in mind on the R/R. I had one for 3 years and put 70k km on it, at least 1/2 of that riding 2-up.

I recently traded the R for a GS for a number of reason. If you want details PM me or email me via my site (some issues with my particular R, or I would certainly have kept it).

One of the reasons for going to the GS though, was that I thought the 2007+ version of the R (R1200R) was less suitable for 2-up touring than previous years, mainly due to the stock pillion seat.

The R is great for nearly anything and will handle fine when the pavement ends (most of the time, and more on gravel than dirt/mud). But than again, see some of Chitown's reports as mentioned above.

Sebo.
If you are looking for a new "NEW" bike for riding 2-up, your best bet would be, I think, R1200RT. I was tempted to get the new R1200R but quickly realized that it is a great bike for SOLO riding and it will be hard to customize it for 2-up. I was ready to get an LT and found one for a good price, but something stopped me from making the deal. It was too much of a bike for me. On another hand, if you are looking for a new "USED" bike, R1150R with proper setup would do just fine. I have near 70k on my R1150R and about 40K of it was 2-up. If you are planing to ride with you wife (not a girlfriend) and your wife is NOT comfy on the back seat, there are no earplugs on the market that will save you. GS is a nice bike, but too SUVish for me. I would ride them all 2-up before pulling the trigger.
Whatever you buy, you can not go wrong with the BMW.
Good Luck.

TicTac50 wrote:Sebo. I would ride them all 2-up before pulling the trigger.

TicTac makes many good points. You may have a better chance test-riding a used bike two-up than a new bike. I don't believe our local dealer will allow two-up demo rides. Or at least they wouldn't last time I checked. They will, however, usually take your wife or SO on the back with one of their salesmen as the rider. Just my experience and may not be the same with other dealers.

Definitely need to try both.

I've had several 1200GS as one/two day loan bikes from Dealers & I just don't really get on with them at all. If you are both long enough in the inside leg, then I can see that it would be a great choice for two-up big miles though - I've never been on an 1150GS, but they seem heavier, though still go well (!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Cu8BZJ_hw

The GS the best selling non-sports bike in the UK (the R never made much of a dent in the UK) and they are everywhere over here - much as I admire it, I don't think I could ever love it.

The GS is by far the best selling bike in RSA. and consequently re sale values are higher than for the R. Only problem is I have heard some bad reports about the new GS leaving their riders stranded in the middle of nowhere due to electronic problems. Otherwise the GS is indeed the Uberbike in all other respects.

I rode the R12GS for several years and switched to the R12R last year. Both are great bikes but the R12R is the most entertaining bike I have ever owned.