| Author | Message | ||
     Tankhead |
I will be renting a GS in Spain in the spring. If any of you could add any relative thoughts in comparing the GS to the Uly I would appreciate it. | ||
| Rwven |
I rode an R1200GSA for about an hour this weekend. Ergos are about the same as the ULY. Very little feedback from the Telelever front suspension. This is both good and bad. The good is that when you are in the rough stuff you aren't getting beat up so much, the bad is that it's difficult to tell what the front wheel is doing. The suspension is very good though so if you just trust it you won't be thrown any surprises. The ride is very plush. The antilock brakes are fantastic. Just for fun I slammed both front and rear breaks on at speed. It stopped straight and unbelievably fast with no front end dive (the Telelever again). Turns very tightly. Full lock turns are done easily, just look and go. The GSA is tall. I holds 8 gallons of fuel. Still, it didn't feel especially top heavy to me and it had a nearly full tank of fuel onboard. Plenty of power. The Uly feels a lot torquier, the GSA's rider even commented on that. Lotsa gadgetry. For example the owner got an indication that a rear light was blown out. He checked and he had both a tail and a brake light. Thinking that perhaps he had two lamps back there he removed the lens and there was only one 1157 lamp, with a blown taillight filament. The computer was sending 20% voltage to the brake light filament so he would still have a taillight, but it would go to full bright for the brakelight. | ||
| Hooper |
Definitely report back - I'm hoping to ride in Spain sometime in the near future as well. Who are you renting from? An English friend of mine who used to ride there a lot warned me about the Sunday afternoon drunk drivers out in the countryside - one of them got him good several years ago. Now my wife says we have to rent a car when we go. We shall see... | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
Turns very tightly. Full lock turns are done easily, just look and go. I have to disagree here. During my BMW off-road class I was able to make steering lock turns that were significantly smaller than what even the instructor could do on his GS. The Uly turn radius is a real Plus when riding tight off-road compared to the GS, and easier to turn around in the drive-way. } | ||
| Rwven |
Matt, I have an XT so I don't have the increased steering lock that you have. The GSA turns tighter than mine.... | ||
| Blackdog |
I have both GS and XT, The GS turns WAY tighter. | ||
| Wbrisett |
I've only ridden the GS on the street (a loaner from the BMW shop), but it handled very similarly to my RT. That's not bad, but it didn't have the character the Uly has. That said, it handled fabulously and I could certainly see getting on at some point if the Uly ever gave up the ghost. Wayne | ||
| Bzrider |
i have both a gs and an xt the gs turns way tigher than the buell | ||
| Tootal |
Sounds like some folks need to do the 08+ X triple tree swap. Makes a bigger difference than dimensions would seem to indicate. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I wish my 06 had come with the tighter turning triples but to be honest, I've just never had a problem with the originals. | ||
| Buewulf |
Rwven summed it up nicely. The front end feels vague, but you learn to read it nonetheless. You'll be dragging metal well before you overwhelm it, so just have faith. The GS is an amazing handler. I know it seems counterintuitive, but you can really flick the bike around on a twisty road. Great wind protection, plush ride and almost no brake dive (an interesting sensation). Great stock seat. The ABS are awesome. Really. Grab a handful just to try them out. The seat feels five feet closer to the ground than the Uly. (Granted the bike had the low seat + suspension option. 5'8 and two flat feet on the ground. Woot!) The bike carries its weight very well. It feels like a much lighter machine from 1 mph on up. It isn't as torquey as the Uly, but the payoff is a wider power band. Don't forget there is a 6th gear! | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
Just remember to DISABLE the ABS & TRACTION CONTROL as soon as you touch anything but tarmac. You'll be sorry the first time you try slowing down from 30 on gravel and the bike just keeps driving on and on and on... I have witnessed this 1st hand. Also we had demonstrations by our instructor during my BMW off-road class. Scary how the wheels just keep turning even with full on brake pulling. | ||
| Buewulf |
You'll be sorry the first time you try slowing down from 30 on gravel and the bike just keeps driving on and on and on... I have witnessed this 1st hand. I've experienced this first hand. There is probably still a crease in the seat from the pucker. Very good point to bring up. | ||
| Towpro |
Me too on the ABS. My driveway is stone, 20% grade, and currently covered with egg-corns. The ABS kicks in and the bike actually speeds up  But on the blacktop, you can grab a whole lot of brakes and the ABS works perfect. |
