1200GS vs 1200R...highway riding question

[NorCal]

I'm looking for a bigger bike (used). I have a G650 xCountry and it's great around town, but I'm seeing longer trips in my future, with the wife riding along sometimes.

I just can't bring myself to get a big ol' touring bike. The big fairings just aren't my thing. Then again, I don't want to go totally naked.

I'm kinda torn between a late model 1200GS or 1200R. To be honest, I won't be riding lots of offroad miles -- I just like the GS styling (and also the R). My offroad riding will be limited to rolling down fire roads now and then to get to a campground -- something almost any bike can handle. So, I don't *need* a GS -- I just like the looks of them, along with the R.

So...does anybody have any feedback about the comparitive comfort of these two bikes on highway travel? Is the wind protection similar, after, say, a good aftermarket screen?

I know the R has the advantage on around-town riding since its lighter and more nimble, so I'm mostly wondering about open-road riding. Wind protection and passenger comfort....any other issues/concerns about living with these two models that would steer me one way or the other?

Thanks!

[Boxer-Lust]

If you put a Wunderlich S-fairing on the R you have much better wind protection than on the GS which gives you some buffeting since you sit so far away from the windshield (GS).
If you have long legs the GS gives you a little bit more legroom.
The high comfort seat makes the R comfortable enough with 36 inseam...
I would always prefer a R over a GS unless you plan to travel on roads where knobbed tires would be beneficial;like some roads in Baja or Alaska...I.M.H.O.
Find a new "old" 2010 R and get a good discount!
Just as good as the all new one which only has a beefier fork,symmetrical gauges and a great sounding stock exhaust (if you can go by the 09 vs 010 GS exhaust system with exhaust valve)as real improvements over the "old" model...
Have the dealer throw in bags,luggage rack,comfort seat and windshield to clear out old stock

[deilenberger]

The answer is simply a test ride. Find a dealer with an R12R. The same dealer will undoubtably have an R12GS (they're common as ticks on a hound..) Take each for a nice long ride. Come back and buy the R12R.

It's really that simple.

[NorCal]

You'd be surprised how few R1200R's are sitting in dealers in the SF bay area. Even harder to find a used one for sale. You can't cross the street without being hit by a speed triple, but these R1200R's are hen's teeth...

[oalvarez]

You'd be surprised how few R1200R's are sitting in dealers in the SF bay area. Even harder to find a used one for sale. You can't cross the street without being hit by a speed triple, but these R1200R's are hen's teeth...

NorCal is absolutely correct.....i called what seemed like 20 dealers in all of California and was only able to find one black w/pinstripes in the entire state. there was a black without abs in san diego, a couple of blue ones, and a couple of white ones. that's it.

[ka5ysy]

You thinking about something like this? :

Same luggage as the RT, 80 pounds lighter and a whole lot cooler in hot weather ! I can also follow GS's most places unless they go wallowing in the mud and have TKC-80

[Rocket]

If looking for a used R1200R, and there is a limited choice, don't worry about the colour, it's a simple job for a paint specialist to re-spray. I changed mine from Silver to Black for just over £300. Decals included. Looks fantastic, and still a standard colour so re-sale value is intact (in fact, probably enhanced because black is more sought after).

[Stef.]

My husband rides a GSA 1200 and I have the R1200R. When it comes to highways I am miles ahead of him. He has much more issues with wind than I have. Off- road: obviously he excells but than most of the roads I can do as well just a little bit slower.
Stef.

[goo]

do you really think the extra $5.0k for the gs will be money well spent?

[snag]

I hate to disagree with Stef, being a fellow Canuck and all, but I like the GS better on the highway. I rent a GS every year down south and every year I find it more comfortable than the R. The buffeting is way less and I have the sport, the touring and a 20" Cee Bailey. The stock GS windshield is better than them all for me, yrmv.

I've left more than one accomplished sportbike rider in the dust in the twisties on the GS and find that it's as good as the R there, but for some reason more comfortable; it seems to fit me better. Again, yrmv. Take a looong test ride on each, back to back, and decide for yourself.

Doug

[peckhammer]

I like the GS better on the highway. I rent a GS every year down south and every year I find it more comfortable than the R

I couldn't agree more. I've also spend quite a bit of time in a GS saddle, and I can eat up way more miles on it. It's just roomier, and better suited to the long haul. I still love my R in the twisties however.

The Adventure Bike category keeps getting more and more interesting. Honda is supposed to be coming out with an Adventure bike based on the V4 Interceptor motor. Triumph has a new one, and of course Yamaha has released the Super Tenere in Europe, with a 2012 due date for the US market. I was up close and personal with the Super Tenere on Wednesday and Thursday (a perk of the job), and it's an interesting bike. Here's a short piece I put together about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWUIc5ROYqI
>--
Peckhammer

[HEk]

My husband rides a GSA 1200 and I have the R1200R. When it comes to highways I am miles ahead of him. He has much more issues with wind than I have. Off- road: obviously he excells but than most of the roads I can do as well just a little bit slower.
Stef.

I find it to be the opsite! My GSA is better, way better, for hiway use due to more wind protection, lots more. Where I live roads are not mantained and for most riding the GSA is better when the riding is outsidei the city. Now in the Well mantained twisty roads the GSA is no match to the 1200R, this thing is a sport bike with manners. I harass the litter crotch rockets in the twisties and some time (like today) I even mange to pull away. But for long trips and battered roads the GSA is a better choice.

Oh and don't get me wrong! I love my R1200R 2010 in mate gray. I e ven sold my K1200R because I find that the R1200R is a better sport ride! I think the Tuono Will probably go too. And originally I bought the R1200R as a replacement to my KTM 990 SM. Now I find it takes the place of many different bikes in my garaje, just not the GSA.

[HEk]

And pardon my spelling, this iPad is configured for spanish and keeps changing the words I type. I know it's hiGHway not hiway. But tell that to the iPad!

[Chumley]

I am going to follow this thread with interest.

I just came off of 6 years riding GSs. I had a '04 R1150GS Adventure that was just too big and traded for a standard '05 R1200GSA. I outfitted the GS over the years until it fit me almost perfectly. I never found a seat that could accomodate my height and be completely comfortable. I've had a couple nice 3,000 plus mile tours with my wife (on her own bike) and really loved that bike on the open road.

But for me the GS was always a compromise. I had to add a lot to get the wind protection just right (Cee Bailey 20" screen, Adventure wind deflectors).

For me the big difference is the GS has a substantial dash area. This provides a visual mass that is psychologically very comforting. You are sitting in something.

I just got a 2010 R yesterday (47 miles on it this morning) and the first thing I noticed was that you have no visual mass in front of you - truly naked feeling.

That feeling of mass also carries over into the weight issue. The GS feels a bit heavier and less lively on the freeway but the R just feels more responsive, not less stable. I think I am feeling a little less weight on the R along with the lighter steering and it adds up to a more dynamic ride on a busy bumpy freeway with all of the associated buffeting from car wakes (which is huge, ever try backing away from a another bike/car on the freeway until you find clean air - amazing how much dirty air effects the ride). Just try riding an old R1150GS compared to the new R the R feels like a 650.

So what do you want on the freeway?

I look forward to this...

[Don C]

I think that his is why the GS series sells so well, once you get used to riding a GS, anything else feels too small.

[ContraMoto]

I just noticed something...I had registered to this forum a few months ago, before I got my R12R. I posted the original question, as "NorCal"! I was shopping for a bike at the time. I registered up again when I got my R, without remembering I had already registered on this board. Anyway...

I ended up getting a GS in early Nov. I liked it a lot, but it is a tall heavy bike. It handles OK, but is a handful at slow speeds. I put an Aeroflow screen on it, and it is RT-quiet. Just amazing. Could ride for days...

I liked sitting up tall and didn't mind the stretch to the ground. I did NOT like all that plastic. I just hated looking down at it all the time. But, it goes down the highway very nicely.

Still, it was not the sporty everyday bike I wanted. I also don't want anything that has a hint of "poseur" to it. To be honest, I will never go off on an offroad adventure or to the pipeline highway in Alaska. That big overgrown dirtbike made me feel like I was faking something. Like guys with giant jacked-up pickups that go no farther than the Safeway to get groceries...

I thought about getting lower shocks for it to improve the handling. I also looked into installing 17" road wheels. But, the cost of doing all that, when there's another model right over there....

So, I got a R and rode both bikes for a coupla weeks. Sold the GS and am now on a bike that not only rides great, but is more "me." Very simple; function over form. Metal tank. Modern old-school looks. Just a nice basic bike, but still something "special" since it's a BMW and the R's are pretty scarce (must be a dozen GS's just in my little town).