Hi folks!
I'm new to this forum and new to biking too.....
I passed my bike test in November last year and I was unsure about what bike to get. I knew that I wanted to get something which would see me and my weary bones alright on a longish journey, a CBR 600F or something like that....then, for my Christmas, I got both of Ewan McGregor's and Charlie Boorman's DVDs (Long Way Round and Long Way Down) and now I have the bug and a have been branded "obsessed" by my girlfriend!! Is this normal???

Anyway, I have now booked a test ride on a BMW 1200GS Adventure and I am looking for somewhere to go to really get a feel for what it will be like to go on an adventure. I plan to leave Rochester in Kent (England) at 10am on Saturday 17th January and I have the bike overnight until I have to be back in Rochester at 2pm the following day.
Can anyone suggest a route which will have a bit of off road that I can go on for my first journey? I have a tent and sleeping bag but there will be no panniers on the bike, a cheap B&B might be an idea en route.

This, to me, is a really exciting trip and I would love to hear from anyone about their first time adventures and suggestions on where i could go.

It feels great to have a purpose and a goal and I now know why i wanted my bike licence so much.

Speak soon,

Scottie

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Home is a place to be when there's no where better to go.......

Hi Scottie

I'm new to HU too and glad to hear you're so enthusiastic about your first trip and welcome to the motorcycling fraternity!

I and many others on here will agree with your girlfriend that it all is a bit of an obsession and once the bug bites, your girlfriend may become a lonely lady, unless she mounts up and joins you on the forthcoming advetures you have in store.

For a real pannier packing insight into what you may get into, buy a great read, "Uneasy Rider by Mike Carter" as a non biking 42 year old, entering his (first?) mid life crisis stage, he passes his test and a month later wobbles off towards Europe on an R1200GS and writes a hilarious account of his brilliant first attempt that covers 20,000 miles in 6 months, that sees him ride to Mount Arafat and back!

However, although Mike Carter got away with it, the only reservation I have about your first journey is that you are doing it on an R1200GS, a great all rounder, but just about the biggest bike out there, apart from Wings and things!

As for taking it off road, I would say you'd need a few hundred miles under your belt before contemplating that ambitious undertaking, as you may find out the hard way how much BMW's test ride insurance excess is!

Mind you, I'm only 5'10" and about 14 stone and find them a little intimidating, but fantastic once on the move. However, if you are a big bloke, say 6' plus, with relative weight and long legs, then you should find the bike easier to handle then us shorties.

Perhaps you should switch your first ride to a F800 GS, as that's what I would be looking at if I was buying a new BM to tour on, a lightweight twin, that can cope with all that a tour has to offer, plus has the badly needed extra horses compared to the F650GS. Did your BM dealer offer this as an alternative?



Just some friendly advice from a life long biker and if you are plotting a route that takes you through the Cotswolds, you are welcome to call in for a cuppa and a sarnie.

We are between Chipping Norton and Banbury, Oxon and if I were you, I'd leave the camping for later on in the year, as I can book you in at the Ellie, one of our local pubs for about £25 B&B for one night, one person or a bit more if the other half decideds to join you.

Good luck with your trip and look forward to reading about it when you return.

Cheers


Chris
01295 722272

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[/SIZE] "Live dangerously for as long as you can!"

I hadn't realised till I popped into the local BM dealer yesterday that the F650GS is actually 798cc just like the F800GS. Aside from a few bits of plastic, it seems the only difference is a detuned engine, the wheels and the ability to have the 800 set for 91RON petrol. What's the point in that? Surely if you're going to lug round the extra weight of an 800cc engine you may as well get the oomph out of it?

Mind you neither of them looked like the one you posted above

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That picture posted was a photoshop lash-up from ages ago, before the bike was actually released...

As for the differences between the 'F650' and the F800 - I agree, and the name (or rather miss-naming) of the cheaper bike is just stupid...

I think the reason for having two versions is that the cheaper bike is considered an 'entry level' machine - it also has a lower seat and is aimed and those people who might be intimidated by an 800 as a first bike (don't you dare say women!) - personally I think it borders on insulting the intelligence of potential buyers, but there you go...

(btw. the ability to run on lower octane fuel is a nod towards those who might wish to travel out of the first world... that said, 91 is actually considered 'super unleaded' over here in the USA - regular 'gas' is only 87 for goodness sake!)

xxx

Bikes definitely are a great way to travel, if you dont mind being a little uncomfortable sometimes!

But you dont really need a very big and heavy bike, like 1200GS, to be able to do that. I´m not saying you should not get it - just saying that there are plenty of other good options around, and people do big trips on much smaller bikes. Its very important that the bike feels right for you, and that you´re comfortable with your travel bike.

When people recommend something, or say they dislike this and that, it´s their own opinion or experience, and these may or may not be true with you. For example, how good is the wind protection, whether you´re 5 cm taller or shorter, can make a big difference, which only becomes bigger, when spending long days on the saddle.

So I´d advice to test as many bikes as possible, before making any decision.

A smaller bike can use less fuel, can be easier&cheaper to maintain, can be sent a bit cheaper by sea or by air (very hard to avoid having to freight sometimes, if you plan to travel around the world) and can be more easily managed, when doing some river crossings by small boats, for example. Whether or not you need big power from your bike, is once again fully up to you (and also depend a lot on where you plan to go)... but I know many places, where you most certainly would be able to do the trip just as well on a smaller bike.

I couldnt find any place to insure my bike, when heading to Asia, so I would´ve lost all money invested in it, had it been stolen, or otherwise completely lost. For me, that´s another good reason not to get a very expensive bike, when planning trips to faraway places. New and shiny bike probably wont look new and shiny after coming back, and its resale value will plummet, so another reason to get one, that´s already seen some traveling.

To echo what everyone else is saying, and I'll say it stronger, forget the actor and his friend and whatever staged photo's BMW's marketing put in your head. The Insurance on a new R1200GS is going to be a total killer unless you are loaded and even after you've been on the BMW off road course and bought half the Touratech catalogue, the only thing it'll do much better than a three year old generic large trailie is exceed the speed limit on the motorway. As your first off roader, I will guarantee you will drop it and break something. This is less hassle if it doesn't involve the Uber dealer wanting to respray it, or being unable to get hold of some electronic bit. If you want new, I'd seriously suggest the Yam Tenere and BMW F's for comparison.

BMW dealers BTW ALWAYS try and sell the R1200GS to anyone who asks about any bike, it's part of their strategy to keep a bike in the top ten sellers.

Back to the point. On your test ride, head up the A-roads and get round London inside the M-25. Then hit the Motorway and head for Cardiff. Before you get there, turn off and head into the hills towards/past Hereford. There is a decent (basic) campsite at Llanthoney Abbey that should be open. My idea would be to get the feel of the beast then get onto smaller and smaller roads until the bike feels too big for them. The South Wales routes IMHO give the option to get back onto the bigger stuff if it all gets too much. Likewise, if it's a pig in traffic round London you know you might as take it home before you waste a load of petrol.

Sorry to rain on your parade. If you really want the big BM, go for it. In terms of advice, I've had litre plus bikes (R1100's) and all they seem to do is cost money and get me points. I went "back" to 650's then "up" to the 790 and am much happier as a result.

Andy

Trust a Yorkshire man to say it as it is! Not like us soft shandy drinking Southerners, pussyfooting round the subject that has to be said!

Also a really good point about trying the bike through traffic, coz if the mirrors don't get the cars on each side of you, the pots will!!!

Chris

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[/SIZE] "Live dangerously for as long as you can!"

Remind me to buy you a pint of Shandy if we ever meet

Andy

Hi Scottie

You never mentioned your age cause if your young then the ins is going to kill you (unless your stinking rich lol)

I passed my test 5 years ago at the age of 42, for years I had wanted to get back into biking.

My first bike was a yamaha virgo 535 but within a year i had grown out of it. my next bike was a suzuki intruder 1500 which i did a couple of european tours and then I found the love of my life

My 4 year old Suzuki Wee strom (DL650) Within a couple of weeks my Intruder was sold as I could never go back to riding a big ol heavy bike

The Wee is a delight to ride and even though Im only 5'6 I have got used to riding it and it doesnt seem so big now. Im using the winter break to fit it out with all my little luxuries like cruise control etc.

I now have 5 years riding experiance and I think thats why I find the wee easy to ride.

So take the GS on the test ride but open your eyes to other good bikes out there.

Have fun

Cheers
Geordie

Why does everyone think you need a GS to go touring???

I agree with all the great advice given here. The image of Ewan McGregor repeatedly dropping the GS always sticks in my mind. New rider + expensive new bike = huge insurance premium too.

Enjoy your test ride but don't sign on the dotted line until you've ridden something to compare it to. Try the previously mentioned Suzuki V-Strom and BMW F800GS or even a Kawasaki Versys. After that, if you're still dead set on a GS, there's a couple of 1100GS's on Autotrader going for around the £2.5k mark. At least that way, it's not going to be too expensive when (not if) you drop it

CBR-F's are a great first big bike and very reasonably priced now everyone wants the more focused RR version. If you're still after something like that, also look at the Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat which is a very similar kind of bike. The Kawasaki ZZR600 is more upright and focused towards long distance touring than the other two which are more sporty but the ZZR is still a great bike. My pick would be a 2002 model, 636cc version of the Kawasaki ZX6-R before the whole 600cc class went all race track focused.

Let's not start the Ewan & Charleyy wars again. If they've attracted someone to something we love we should rejoice, and take the time to welcome them.
I say welcome in mate, and ignore the grumpies (feel free to search for Ewan & Charlie though).

Like you they pulled me into the thought of motorbike touring, but unlike you I didn't opt for a BMW Panzer-tourer and until yesterday I'd never ridden one. God, they're heavy, I've only been riding for about 6 months and the thing is a pig, or maybe two pigs, on roller skates. I'm sure it's lovely, but God is it heavy, I can't imagine trying to ride one fully loaded, let alone off-road. Made me laugh though parking it next to my 125cc Derbi.

Anyway, just wanted to say, welcome, and hello, and good luck, but don't be fixated on the need for cubes, while my 125 might be a bit small, having ten times that might be a bit much (and a bit expensive too).

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Cheers mate Did you go for a test ride or use a mates 1200?

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Home is a place to be when there's no where better to go.......

No, they kind of sneer at me in the local BMW place, I don't know why, is it the lack of wallet bulge or the fact I turn up on one of these?


So I had a go on a mates new Christmas present to himself.

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Nice.......Santa is good to some!

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Home is a place to be when there's no where better to go.......

Scottie, to the dark side. You're sure to fall in love with the Behemoth but i'd just crank up a few miles (tour the Weald to, say, Hants?) and find a bit of soft waste ground to fall over on...will the bike be on road tyres or semi-knobblies? Are you also getting the loan of some warm clothing as it looks like it'll be pretty Baltic . You'll likely need to enlighten the Significant Other or any future adventures may be somewhat foreshortened . If the test is a success then i'd look to doing the BMW off-road course (as per the DVD's) or having the summer holiday doing a novice off-road tour with an operator in Morocco/Crete/Spain/wherever, or hiring a bike for a spot of tarmac-touring somewhere nice. Don't lose track that E+C's trips are self-financing and flash destinations really cost to the rest of us in the real world, Bugger. Keep the faith.