Exorcising the GSA demon
- Thread starter snakebitten
- Start date
Do it. I know how you like to ride. I know how big you are. I know how the S10 behaves with big boys off road.Tallgears said:
I've had a wake-up day. Off road portion was by far the most revealing. I expected good things. I expected better control.
I wasn't expecting how much better the rear hooks-up. I guess I should have. It's like you put a different rear tire on. More bite.
I gotta slow down.
Do it.
And heck yea, me n you are gonna go bash rocks in Colorado. (I shoulda went with you on old iron road at Big Bend. Next year for sure)
Not a ride report. It's been done before. A lot. So no Blah blah blah from me.
But, I will say the Beemer Demons have been driven at bay.
I doubt I could catch me on the GSA now. This Big Blue Beast will just rip while composed now. Totally composed.
You can run entirely too fast across the terrain.
Probably how you feel upgrading to the Raptor from an F150. Same motor. Same seat. Same view. Same trail you have blazed a few 100 times.
It's just such a large leap forward. It's not subtle.
So much for the Tenere making me behave. Hooligan bike with a drive shaft now.
But, I will say the Beemer Demons have been driven at bay.
I doubt I could catch me on the GSA now. This Big Blue Beast will just rip while composed now. Totally composed.
You can run entirely too fast across the terrain.
Probably how you feel upgrading to the Raptor from an F150. Same motor. Same seat. Same view. Same trail you have blazed a few 100 times.
It's just such a large leap forward. It's not subtle.
So much for the Tenere making me behave. Hooligan bike with a drive shaft now.
EricV
Riding, farkling, riding...
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Happy Suspension Day SB, (oh, and that birthday thing too, ya old fart). Enjoy the wonders of a really good suspension, but try not to rub it in to us folks that can't quite go there yet. 
As for the GSA. <sigh> BMW makes very nice, feature rich bikes that are wonderful to ride. For a short time. Then they start to break. It's really, really expensive. If you really start to feel an overwhelming need to own a GSA, PM me and we'll have a good long talk about the wife's GS and how the repairs exceed the cost of the bike. Hell, the farkle bill did too, but that was way more fun for her than the multiple failures and towing incidents and warranty claims, etc. The BMW dealer's Quotes of the Day: (They all do that.) Coolant overflow bottle spewing coolant back at the rider when properly filled. Still no fix after 3 years. (You ride too much in 6th gear.) Transmission failure at 35k. 1st/6th gears galled due to improper heat treating. (1st dealer - The charging system is fine, we just charged the battery.) (2nd Dealer - Wow, you got 45k out of the stator!?, they usually fail before that!) Complete stator failure - fried to a crisp with only heated grips and rare use of heated jacket liner. $1000 parts bill. (Well, you do have 49k on it) Complete engine burn up after water pump failure, complicated by radiator cap leakage, (both known issues with BMW) The last one was over $10k in repairs to build a complete new engine from parts sourced from Germany, including engine cases. Lots of little things in between. Like the dealer installing the wrong sprocket with 10mm holes an 8 mm bolts, causing damage to the wheel hub.
As for the GSA. <sigh> BMW makes very nice, feature rich bikes that are wonderful to ride. For a short time. Then they start to break. It's really, really expensive. If you really start to feel an overwhelming need to own a GSA, PM me and we'll have a good long talk about the wife's GS and how the repairs exceed the cost of the bike. Hell, the farkle bill did too, but that was way more fun for her than the multiple failures and towing incidents and warranty claims, etc. The BMW dealer's Quotes of the Day: (They all do that.) Coolant overflow bottle spewing coolant back at the rider when properly filled. Still no fix after 3 years. (You ride too much in 6th gear.) Transmission failure at 35k. 1st/6th gears galled due to improper heat treating. (1st dealer - The charging system is fine, we just charged the battery.) (2nd Dealer - Wow, you got 45k out of the stator!?, they usually fail before that!) Complete stator failure - fried to a crisp with only heated grips and rare use of heated jacket liner. $1000 parts bill. (Well, you do have 49k on it) Complete engine burn up after water pump failure, complicated by radiator cap leakage, (both known issues with BMW) The last one was over $10k in repairs to build a complete new engine from parts sourced from Germany, including engine cases. Lots of little things in between. Like the dealer installing the wrong sprocket with 10mm holes an 8 mm bolts, causing damage to the wheel hub.
Dang Eric, that's a miserable story. A motorcycle nightmare.
But in a way, it's just another birthday gift for me. Sorry, but thanks! You have contributed to the cause.
By Sunday evening, I predict total defeat of the demon.
But in a way, it's just another birthday gift for me. Sorry, but thanks! You have contributed to the cause.
By Sunday evening, I predict total defeat of the demon.
Oooohhh......It's like looking at PORNsnakebitten said:I am the bull's-eye target candidate for the BMW GS. (GSA to be more accurate)
Ironically, I didn't know it until I got my Tenere. I might have suspected it before then, a little, but I was still in a "that's for when I really am an old man" denial stage.
But to be really honest, the more I found the Tenere to be MORE of a perfect fit, I simply had to keep pushing back the feeling that the GSA is my nirvana. After all, the Tenere is the imitator. Not that imitation is equivalent to inferior, since there are many obvious attributes that the Tenere has convincingly more than matched. The most obvious example being overall reliability. More specifically, "big ticket" reliability.
But that alone just wouldn't squelch the desire for the GSA. I just can't get out of my head that unfarkled, it is the one I really want down deep inside. And I flat out think it is the eye candy KING of the big adventure bikes. (I define it narrower than current marketing types. I absolutely am talking about dirty adventure bikes) I can stare at it for hours. Every bit as much as a Ducati Desmosedici.
But it's my birthday. 55
I can have anything I want. (within reason, of course)
My wish is to finally, and completely, erase the GSA as the best Big Adventure Bike. And I don't mean convince someone else. I have to convince ME!
I'm giving it the best shot I know how.
I'm actually sincerely optimistic.
Yeah - I'm doing it! Waiting for everything to be finished up as we speak. Old Ore Road was nuts. Lots of fun but I actually spent a lot of time waiting for my pals to catch up. Guy on the KLR dropped his bike like 4 times and it was getting near the end of the day so fatigue levels were rising. I had fun though, lots of steep rocky hill climbs and switchbacks with steep elevation change.snakebitten said:
Next time sir, next time!
Scooted out of the office before noon and went home to do a fast "adventure pack" for a solo adventure weekend.
Have 3 legitimate waypoints to hit, with lots of flex time between each one. (Alvin to Kingsville. Kingsville to San Antonio. San Antonio to New Braunfels. [hint] Then back to Alvin before Monday)
That first 240 mile leg had a tough start. A monsoon came through just as I HAD to leave to make Kingsville by 4pm. Had no choice but to go full rain gear. The whole county went into duck-n-cover mode while I pulled out voluntarily right into the teeth of it.
Hilarious.
No worries though. 80 miles into it, the sky parted and sunlight fought for equal time.
OK. Of course the Tenere has been transformed. Yes, it's a different bike. Nobody has exaggerated when they try to describe the changes.
But there are a couple of things that I didn't expect. I probably should have, but I wasn't looking for them.
First is what I mentioned earlier. The new rear end suspension improvements have an unmistakable influence on getting power to the ground. It makes sense, I guess. But I just don't remember anybody bringing it up. Maybe I wasn't listening. I suspect it won't improve tire wear.
The second surprise is a BIG BONUS for me! I often must ride in very stiff crosswinds. That Alvin-Kingsville run is a 4 hour east-west road that basically runs the Texas coastline. The surface is pretty good for most of it. And the traffic is light 99% of the time. Combine that with lots of 75mph posted parts, you can FLY without dealing with a lot of crazies. But you MUST find your technique for riding in crosswinds. Done it so many times. My pulse doesn't even quicken. I just let the bike set itself against each gust. (Light on the bars) Then when the gust ends, she just takes a new more upright set. It's not unusual for the bike to cover about 2-3 feet laterally for these strong gusts.
(You can kind of judge what you are going to be dealing with based on the crops growing on both sides of the route. This time of year it's mostly corn. Today it looked like ears could have been ripped from the stalks and turned into rpg looking projectiles. It was blowing pretty good)
But everything was completely un-dramatic. I was ready for one of those dancing runs. But it just never really materialized. The Tenere just behaved composed. (sorry, it's the right word again) I estimated the lateral movement to be LESS than HALF of what it used to be on oem suspension. I marveled. It was a really cool feeling. I KNOW the bike was dramatically different handling wind! Again, not something I had been looking for or necessarily wanted. Thus, it was a bonus.
There is one last thing about todays ride on Ohlins that was fun to measure and contemplate in my head. You don't have to hit a bump, or brake hard, or hit an apex, or even fight a gust of wind, to feel the change. Truth is, the whole time you are on a bike you are receiving a data-stream into your brain. In fact, riding bikes wouldn't be one bit exciting if it were not for that data-stream. Open cockpit, fresh air, acceleration, deceleration, engine sounds,..........All of these stimuli are part of the data-stream. Combined, they can exhilarate. (why we ride) But the data from the road travels through your suspension as the conduit. Today, the data is just different. It's cleaner? (Looking for the right word) Less vague. Very defined and accurate. I mean it is much easier to interpret, and that is somehow more gratifying. For me anyways. Wish I had a better way to describe it. But other fellas here know exactly what I'm saying.
Doesn't matter if I say it right. Just know that I'm the latest convert to express that it is worth the time, trouble, and expense.
Have 3 legitimate waypoints to hit, with lots of flex time between each one. (Alvin to Kingsville. Kingsville to San Antonio. San Antonio to New Braunfels. [hint] Then back to Alvin before Monday)
That first 240 mile leg had a tough start. A monsoon came through just as I HAD to leave to make Kingsville by 4pm. Had no choice but to go full rain gear. The whole county went into duck-n-cover mode while I pulled out voluntarily right into the teeth of it.
Hilarious.
No worries though. 80 miles into it, the sky parted and sunlight fought for equal time.
OK. Of course the Tenere has been transformed. Yes, it's a different bike. Nobody has exaggerated when they try to describe the changes.
But there are a couple of things that I didn't expect. I probably should have, but I wasn't looking for them.
First is what I mentioned earlier. The new rear end suspension improvements have an unmistakable influence on getting power to the ground. It makes sense, I guess. But I just don't remember anybody bringing it up. Maybe I wasn't listening. I suspect it won't improve tire wear.
The second surprise is a BIG BONUS for me! I often must ride in very stiff crosswinds. That Alvin-Kingsville run is a 4 hour east-west road that basically runs the Texas coastline. The surface is pretty good for most of it. And the traffic is light 99% of the time. Combine that with lots of 75mph posted parts, you can FLY without dealing with a lot of crazies. But you MUST find your technique for riding in crosswinds. Done it so many times. My pulse doesn't even quicken. I just let the bike set itself against each gust. (Light on the bars) Then when the gust ends, she just takes a new more upright set. It's not unusual for the bike to cover about 2-3 feet laterally for these strong gusts.
(You can kind of judge what you are going to be dealing with based on the crops growing on both sides of the route. This time of year it's mostly corn. Today it looked like ears could have been ripped from the stalks and turned into rpg looking projectiles. It was blowing pretty good)
But everything was completely un-dramatic. I was ready for one of those dancing runs. But it just never really materialized. The Tenere just behaved composed. (sorry, it's the right word again) I estimated the lateral movement to be LESS than HALF of what it used to be on oem suspension. I marveled. It was a really cool feeling. I KNOW the bike was dramatically different handling wind! Again, not something I had been looking for or necessarily wanted. Thus, it was a bonus.
There is one last thing about todays ride on Ohlins that was fun to measure and contemplate in my head. You don't have to hit a bump, or brake hard, or hit an apex, or even fight a gust of wind, to feel the change. Truth is, the whole time you are on a bike you are receiving a data-stream into your brain. In fact, riding bikes wouldn't be one bit exciting if it were not for that data-stream. Open cockpit, fresh air, acceleration, deceleration, engine sounds,..........All of these stimuli are part of the data-stream. Combined, they can exhilarate. (why we ride) But the data from the road travels through your suspension as the conduit. Today, the data is just different. It's cleaner? (Looking for the right word) Less vague. Very defined and accurate. I mean it is much easier to interpret, and that is somehow more gratifying. For me anyways. Wish I had a better way to describe it. But other fellas here know exactly what I'm saying.
Doesn't matter if I say it right. Just know that I'm the latest convert to express that it is worth the time, trouble, and expense.
Isn't that just amazing? I've been trying to explain it, but you just can't put it into words as well as you can experience it.snakebitten said:OK. Of course the Tenere has been transformed. Yes, it's a different bike. Nobody has exaggerated when they try to describe the changes.
But there are a couple of things that I didn't expect. I probably should have, but I wasn't looking for them.
First is what I mentioned earlier. The new rear end suspension improvements have an unmistakable influence on getting power to the ground. It makes sense, I guess. But I just don't remember anybody bringing it up. Maybe I wasn't listening. I suspect it won't improve tire wear.
There is one last thing about todays ride on Ohlins that was fun to measure and contemplate in my head. You don't have to hit a bump, or brake hard, or hit an apex, or even fight a gust of wind, to feel the change. Truth is, the whole time you are on a bike you are receiving a data-stream into your brain. In fact, riding bikes wouldn't be one bit exciting if it were not for that data-stream. Open cockpit, fresh air, acceleration, deceleration, engine sounds,..........All of these stimuli are part of the data-stream. Combined, they can exhilarate. (why we ride) But the data from the road travels through your suspension as the conduit. Today, the data is just different. It's cleaner? (Looking for the right word) Less vague. Very defined and accurate. I mean it is much easier to interpret, and that is somehow more gratifying. For me anyways. Wish I had a better way to describe it. But other fellas here know exactly what I'm saying.
Doesn't matter if I say it right. Just know that I'm the latest convert to express that it is worth the time, trouble, and expense.
It's called "feel". Now you have a small idea what racers mean when they speak in interviews. You know what "feel" does? It translates directly to "confidence". Just hang on. In no time you will be flicking the TSC off, trail braking deep into turns and sliding the rear on the exit...on pavement. Kiss your tires good bye. Buy stock in Michelin.
ac
You're almost there Tall Gears. I know that feeling though. Hard to sleep the last few days waiting for shipments.
Having coffee in New Braunfels this morning.
You know what is in New Braunfels.....right?
The perfect weekend on a Tenere.
Having coffee in New Braunfels this morning.
You know what is in New Braunfels.....right?
The perfect weekend on a Tenere.
YOUR AT SCHLITTERBAHN?!?!? Hey while you are there you should go to AF1 Racing ::025::snakebitten said:You're almost there Tall Gears. I know that feeling though. Hard to sleep the last few days waiting for shipments.
Having coffee in New Braunfels this morning.
You know what is in New Braunfels.....right?
The perfect weekend on a Tenere.
That's a great idea!coastie said:
I can relate exactly to your input on the crosswind control. The improvement was even more pronounced for me yesterday two-up on I-35 with 35-40mph crosswinds. The bike still got caught up in the gusts, but the butt-pucker level was definitely less. Say 5 out of 10 instead of 9 out of 10. Rather than blow all over the lane, it seems like the bike just plants itself...
Now, what'd ya do in New Braunfels? ::017::
Now, what'd ya do in New Braunfels? ::017::