GrahamD said:
This guy is on the money. What has happened lately is that the press, have been all "road bike" parameters obsessed.
So what does a company do?
Well there is light weight etc, which reduces rigidity assuming a similar price.
That's both a nice thing and a marketing thing these days. So you lie a bit and quote non optioned weights and build things a bit light. (see FD housings, shock struts breaking, sub frame issues. etc)
Then there is "test ride" syndrome. It feels great in that 10 minutes around the block. See sharper than ideal geometry for a ADV bike and engine characteristics that aren't ideal.
Then there is the "boy racer" press days, which means big HP, probable high compression and snappy response.
And that's all before you get to the Gadget wars and lack of transparency about this stuff. See don't upset the Sponsor.
So I see a bike that has been pushed too far to try and cover all these bases backed by Mags looking at the Advertising Dollar and accessory companies that know that there is many cashed up people willing to buy the hype and lot's of Kool aid drinking backed by the above.
As Warren Buffet once said..
I wonder how long it will be before the tide goes out?
If Harley is any indication, probably a long time. People buying an image aren't buying a bike. The bike is just the thing supporting the image. So no need to look further than that I suppose.
Very well put.
It's funny, you cannot convince the BM faithful of riding anything else. You talk to it's owners, the dealers, the mechanics. Same thing day in day out. There's an air of superiority.
A riding buddy bought a second hand GSA. Three or four years old, close to 60xxx km, and accessorized to the hilt. Thing looked like a tank, drove ok.
Anyways, I asked him why he chose to buy the GS, over a new tenere. His response was that to accessorize the new ST to the level the used GS was, would cost him a lot more (it wouldn't).
Then I asked him about being concerned about the reliability. He said he has no worries. The previous original owner replaced the rear drive at his own cost, since it blew up a month after his extended warranty ran out and bm would not cover it.
Keep it and the attitude.
I could go on....so I will.
My buddy rides a new 650 vstrom. Lovely little bike. HIs wife is a new rider, and they tried all sorts of bikes for her. HIs v-strom lowered, a nc700, the new 500 Honda, and the only thing that seemed to fit her was the new Gs700. WEll after searching the province, they drove 800km round trip to a dealer in Edmonton to pick it up.
He brought it over to my place, to install some crash bars and what have you. If you take a closer look at the bike, it looks like it's made out of playdoh and pig iron. Crap finish, and the cheapest components possible.
In order to join the club, you're essentaily buying a traded up klr with a bmw badge on the tank. Scratch that, I'm offending a good bike. Maybe something made in china, with the bm badge. Keep it.
I might go raise some hell over at the bmw booth to quiz them about the new GS and frame problems... >
