I finally had occasion last Saturday to give a 2010 GSA a good workout, and was amazed at the handling quality of the bike. Having watched a lot of discussion on several boards about the height, the weight, high center of gravity, etc. and the comparisons on several threads of going from a GSA to the RT or RT to the GSA, I had to see for myself.
The Beast is a great bike, for anyone reading this who has not tried it yet, do yourself a favor and go grab a ride on one. I am 5'11" with a 29" inseam, so it is a bit of a stretch for me, but I can get the balls of my feet down on both sides, and simply sliding off to either side results in getting a foot fully down. You need to watch foot placement when stopping but it is no big deal.
Weight: With a full gas tank there is a lot of weight up high. Since I teach Riders Edge classes, a lot of my students are into the larger Harleys, and many of them comment on having to pick the bike off the side stand and the weight. We simply have them rotate the handlebars fully right and then lift the bike, and the weight has magically disappeared. One guy we showed that trick to actually threw his Ultra over on the right side engine guard by accident because he used the same force he was used to using and was surprised by how light the pickup weight had become.
Handling:
Street riding is easy. The suspension is outstanding. In the comfort mode, it is as plush as any good touring bike. Set the sport mode, and you will feel the bumps, but it is not objectionable, and gives a good feel of the road. Riding one of our best motorcycle roads along a bayou, the machine handles tight turns easily and you feel very comfortable at speed. The wide handlebars make steering input very easy, and I found myself with a big wide grin throwing around a huge beast like a sport bike. The only noticeable difference is that the roll rate is slower, but still lively. The physics of mass and Mr. Newton's laws of motion really come into play with this beast!
Slow speed maneuvers: This usually concerns everybody, regardless of the particular motorcycle. For a bike this tall and heavy, it becomes a concern for most people because the bike is seriously intimidating due to its size. I am happy to report that the change of gearing in first gear is a vast improvement. The original first gear was a bit too tall and required a lot of finesse in the friction zone to work properly. The new gearing makes slow speed maneuvering quite easy, and having the big fuel tank up high makes for balancing the bike very easy by use of light rear brake and proper friction zone and throttle control. Walking the bike slowly at a stoplight is quite fun, and the looks I was receiving by the car drivers was amusing !
I did not go mud puddle hopping because it is a new demo bike, and the dealership probably would not have appreciated me delivering a mud-caked bike back after 4 hours!
There was rain about, and I got a good test of the weather protection, which is not too bad. The stock windscreen was in the fully up position and resulted in good protection without a lot of helmet buffet, and the wind seemed to be right over the top of my Shoei, and was giving good airflow into the helmet vents. There is a bit of wind on my shoulders and that is good in southern Louisiana when the temperature is 98 degrees with a 119 heat index. In summary, this bike can be comfortably ridden in temps that I find the RT to be miserable because its wind protection is so good. In the rain, that huge tank acts as a very effective fairing like the RT does in the knee area, and the windscreen deflects most of the rain nicely.
Something I really prefer in the GSA over the RT is that my legs have more room to step forward when stopping. On the RT, I find that the plastic fairing behind the cylinder heads force me to actually step straight down at stops because the chin armor in my riding pants (Motoport Air Mesh II Kevlar, tri-armor) essentially fills the available space to move forward any degree. On the GSA, there is plenty of room for my legs to extend slightly forward as I like to do, so the stops feel more secure than on the RT, even with the height of the GSA.
Gripes: Only the usual BMW seat situation. The stock seat is way too soft for me, so would have to make a run out for Rick Mayer to build me another one quickly. Having gotten used to more modern instrument displays, this bike could use some work. Black and white hard-to-see-in-bright-sun LCD is so passe now ! Vertically challenged folks need not apply. I can get the balls of my feet to the ground in comfort mode, one-up. Anything else is slide off one side or the other to flatfoot it, so if you are uncomfortable doing the dirt bike thing, this is not the bike to ride.
Summary: This is a fine machine if you need the capabilities or want to intimidate your peers. It is really cool to ride up to a tall SUV and look the driver in the eye. The ability to stand up on the pegs comfortably while riding at 70mph for a leg stretch is pretty cool too. The off road capability is a nice plus too.
