spasm said:
u know im getting tired of people and reviews comparing the xt1200z to the gs1200
THERE IS NO COMPARISON, the bmw is shit man, the super tenere looks miles better, rides miles better, handles miles better, and its a YAMAHA
Although I sort of agree with you on the bottom line, I assume you have never owned a GS, and probably never ridden one.
I am no BMW fan, and agree with some of what your saying, I am worried at 15k about reliability - which is proobably why most the Tenere riders who have switched from the GS did so, and not because the GS is actually shite (although looking at the ugly beast or reading the spec sheet implies it should be terrible, the truth is they ain't)
I bought the bike with 8k on the clock and had 3 things fixed under warranty (all went wrong on Euro-Trip in summer) OK nothing major (Fork Seals, Clutch Problem, Warped Discs) but at dealer prices this would have been well over £1,000 if the bike was not under warranty.
I then paid another £300 to extend the warranty again - which ties me in to £300 - £400 a go services and from what I gather the Final Drive is likely to go at any time as few seem to last past 30k, and then they also have fragile (and expensive) electrics. The £300 is an insurance policy on the inevitable £1500 Final Drive Failure which hangs over every 1200GS owner (it is like driving along with the Grim Reaper in tow)
Ignoring reliability, dealer prices (and attitude) and the bike is actually pretty damn good, I chose it after trying a MTS1200, Tiger 1050, VFR1200 and Sprint 1050 (looking to replace ZZR1400 with something more comfy and less likely to get me locked up)
The GS handles pretty good, I have since had two tests on a Tenere and with one of them I rode my GS to the Yamaha Dealer, rode the Yamaha, then took my bike to the local BMW dealer and tested the latest GS and GSA's - all back to back on the same day and both my GS (2008 model on Wilburs Suspension) and the dealers 2011 GS (with ESA) handled better IMO than the stock Yamaha, most tests also praise the GS rate of turn and road handling compared to the Tenere and also note the lack of ground clearance from the Tenere (I decked out the first demo bike within ten minutes - I can't deck my GS with sticky road rubber - even two-up with luggage)
When being caned the bikes perform similarly, I used a junction - lampost test (far more reliable than drag strips you know) and the Tenere and my GS both reached about 80 @flat stick in third over the same distance, I think past a ton the GS is probably a shade quicker, but the Yamaha a load smoother, back to real world the top gear roll ons are probably similar (The latest GS may even be quicker as it definately pulls better than mine)
Getting all practical the GS has all of the control on the bars, the heated grips and not some horrible afterthought (it really does look like Yamaha forgot until after the production run started) - and they don't cost £400 either!
The BMW luggage is also supurb, even the "small" vario setup I have is about 25% larger than the Yamaha setup with easy to use locks, and even seem reliable (probably the only part of the bike I so not expect to fail at any time)
The Yamaha wins on smoothness, although I am used to the GS "character" and it happily cruises at 85mph all day long, it does feel buzzy if you try going much faster for long periods (although for me this was a bonus as I was looking for a bike that would not encourage me to cruise at 3 figures) I think with a Diapson remap it will kick arse in the performance stakes, a shock with a ride height adjuster will solve the lazy steering (even with preload jacked up 2/3rds of the way it steers much slower than the GS which feels like a race bike in comparison) and some aftermarket luggage will solve all my touring problems.
The bottom line for me is if it was not for high servicing costs and poor reliability I would just buy another GS and throw all my farkles on it, but as even the latest ones have had issues and recalls (and still cost a fortune to service) the Yamaha looks like a fantastic bike to replace it and allow me to
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