That's a lot of miles Big Ups to you!
At all the big BMW rallies here we'd always met guys like you. But my question is ... has your bike done much hard ... or even semi-hard dual sport travel?

I've followed GS's since 1981 (owned a '81 R80GS) and have dozens of current and former friends that have ridden BMW 30 years. (old guys! )

The early GS's (and other models) had fewer shaft, driveline and trans failures. But starting with R100GS and beyond ... we have seen A LOT of failures ... of all kinds actually.

The Oil Heads were even worse. Dunno about latest LC models but I do know BMW finally wised up and ditched the Getrag gear box and now use a Japanese gear box. The irony of that cracks me up!

Once guys started running the GS's on rough off road tracks whilst loaded up ... well shafts, gear boxes and bearings began to fail at a HIGH RATE. It's not a myth or made up by haters ... it's well documented FACT.

In my riding group we have 3 long time, certified BMW dealer mechanics and one former dealer owner (now passed on). The stories we would hear from the mechanics would mean you'd never buy another BMW. But man, nothing better to ride than a nicely set up R1200GS! (one of my Fav's ... but one I'd never own)

Things are better now at BMW (public relations wise) and corporate are finally admitting to **** ups and dealing with most of them. In our riding group over the last 12 years about the only mechanicals have been BMW GS's and KTM 990/950. Usually 2 to 4 day mixed rides on very bumpy pavement or off road.
Technical and rough.

You've been lucky ... but I wonder how much you've spent on parts and maintenance? Do you do all your own service or use a dealer. Total costs?
My R12GS riding buddies all paid extra for extended warranties ...getting a total of 7 years cover.

As for hard dual sport travel, no I am no head banging wheelie merchant, in fact I am pretty easy on my machines. Distance travel so far is limited to Europe, Africa, Asia and Siberia. I am more a traveller than a seeker of off road pleasure riding, but I do not avoid unmettaled surfaces.

My GS which I bought with 14500 miles on the clock in 1995 is probably no better than any other BMW of it's era. I have a box file stuffed full to bursting with receipts for service items and replacement parts I have bought over the years. Nevertheless the crankshaft is the un-reground original and as previously reported the final drive has never been touched save the oil seals.

I do all my own work, some of which I post videos of on my YouTube channel, Moto Phoenix

I am certainly no deciple of all things BMW and I would be unlikely to consider a modern one, but out of the many bikes I have owned over 45 years of riding motorcycles most every day this is the one I like the best so far.

I am not a fan of most modern bikes because current designs are manufactured to suit the assembly line which makes them less suitable to work on in the field. I once took my brother's 100 RT gearbox out in a Pyrenean campsite. I'd be less inclined to do that on a 1200 RT.

Like I said, folks should ride the bikes they like, there is no right or wrong. People who make derogatory comments about others because of the bikes they ride are just childish attention seekers.

Lastly, my original post was a response to his chain comment as much as anything.

Right you are regards bike choice. Just wanted to chime in with a "reality check" regards BMW's and their history. Also to point out your experience seems to be the exception, not the rule.

I think I would be more concerned about electronics if I was going RTW. I've got a Tiger 800 xc and the lowest point under the bike is the side stand switch, completely exposed. How barmy is that?

They also so say drown the clocks and it's game over. Hmmm think I better be careful where I take this one. But I bought it for mainly European travel where if it does all go pear shaped, help shouldn't be far away.

That being said, I believe someone has taken an xc RTW with very little problems, so I guess we all worry a little too much.

I spoke with Ian Coates at the Manchester bike show last year, he was explaining how he bypassed the clutch and side stand switches before he went so they couldn't give problems.

I've also got an Africa Twin, and it has always got me home, even when not running right. It's also simple to work on and very basic. I fitted a 36ltr tank when the original sprung a leak so it has very good range. Yes I think that would be what I would take.


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I had the 1100 gs loved it, the five speed was perfect, I put over 120,000 miles on it, on and off road, then I sold it to my m8 tony two years ago he still has it, he loves the bike, I wish I still had it,

I've got the 1150gs now done loads of off road, the six speed box is ok but not as good as the five speed ratio, the suspenion keeps bottoming out with touring boxes when I go off road, I believe the suspension on the 1150 was made in South Korea where the suspension on the 1100gs was made in house,

IIRC, suspension on Both GS1100 and GS1150 are low budget WP items. (WP is owned by KTM). Most owners I know ditched the stock shocks (front and rear) for Ohlins, Wilburs or higher end WP items. Big improvement. Our local BMW dealer had a huge bin full of original new or near new WP shocks off GS's. Small WP logo.

I rode both GS's off road and thought they were a bit scary. But I'm short of leg.
But a skilled rider can make it work. Then all you have to worry about is the failing final drive (bearings, shaft, Trans or rear drive) which so commonly fail or a CANBus problem or F.I. or ABS fault code.

We had some of these issues on our test bikes. BMW fixed them all. The old Getrag gear boxes were not works of art but most times did OK if you could accept the agricultural performance.

Here's the 1150gs, I'm sure I've got a good photo of the 1100 somewhere

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We're (my wife and I) are "in the BMW camp" so to say but not because we like BMW all that much as we're not bothered by "status".
We both started out on a BMW F650 and we did like them a lot. Reliable as sunrise, good on fuel and very reasonably priced to buy and to maintain/fix (I do all the work on our bikes needed)
The only things we wished for were: Less weight and a bit more power.
As we both like the engine I've been doing some looking around to see what would be a good successor to the F's and having tried/looked at a good number of possible candidates we chose the BMW G650 XCountry. It's very light compared to the F series, has about 10% more power (53 to 48 HP) and is used (in XChallenge guise) by various people navigating the globe without much to go wrong reading their trip reports. The main downside to these bikes is the small fueltank but there are solutions to that. A suspension uprade is highly recommended though, especially for the rear shock on the XCountry.
A must do on any of the X range is a change of gear lever because the original aluminium one doesn't bend or break when you drop the bike on it but the shaft does ! Ask me how I know...
We "upgraded" our bikes with a set of 21" and 18" wheels so they roll better off-road.
Service intervals come only every 10.000 km so that's nice too. Valve clearances don't have to be reset very often either, maybe once very 30.000 kms.
Why the XCo and not the challenge ? The XCo is mostly cheaper to buy, has a better seat (which is also a bit lower than that of the XCh and the plastics offer better protection for the radiator IMHO.
The wheels or hubs are hard to come by though so fitting different size rims could be difficult and probably costly.

There are a number of new adventure bikes coming out at the moment and I'm interested if anything comes close to the X.

Cheers, Ard

I've put some orange on my bike simply because I like the colour





Both our bikes also have a high front fender for not getting caught up in mud.

Well I ride an old ´89 beemer R100 GS.
I know every bot on this bike, as I have rebuilt and modified it all by myself (except the motor and gearbox which where refurbished by engineers).
So maybe the comparision with an original BMW R100/80 GS won´t fit.
First of all I like the advantages of the kardan, it just almost dosen´t need any mantainance.
And I can repair almost everything on the roadside.
It´s quite heavy and big and the main emphasis is very high which makes it hard to handle while pushing or manoevering around. But I can ride almost everywhere (at least for some time)

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I haven't read through all this thread, but why not a small cc moto? I have a 250cc Honda Tornado in SA, and it's absolutely perfect for there. So many good adventures would not have happened if I had a 650cc moto, because I would not have gone there. Most of SA, you don't need a big moto, unless you're only riding the PanAm highway and maybe a couple solid surface dirt roads. With that, you miss the best scenery and the best experiences.

Most riders, me included, are not hard ass riders on big motos, and they are too big for the really rough stuff; cross a stream with a muddy entry/exit for example. Very doable on a small moto.

In the States, with fast roads, the bigger moto becomes a good choice, but then that eliminates the slimy road surfaces. Choices then are: where are you going to ride? I have big moto for the blacktop type riding, and smaller for more gnarly.

When the road was all dirt, I've watched liter sized GS riders going down the switchbacks to Batopilis in Mexico, really slow and apprehensive. Small moto, you get to rip and have fun.

So true. BMW is the most unreliable brand for motorcycles: Who Makes the Most Reliable Motorcycle? - Consumer Report

Brand Percent failed Yamaha/Star 11% Suzuki 12 Honda 12 Kawasaki 15 Victory 17 Harley-Davidson 26 Triumph 29 Ducati 33 BMW 40

Good idea. I traveled all of South America and most of Asia on a 125cc Honda: Great bikes. Easy to ride offroad with: http://motorradtouren-suedamerika.de...ka&design=dark

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Nigel
Adventure before Demetia

Traveling around Indonesia and into the wilderness, it is very comfortable riding my Kawasaki DTrackerX, fuel injected 300cc, lightweight, and great performance on curvy tarmac as well as off-pavement. Just need to replace the seat and add a windshield, the bike should be ready for any expedition.


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This thread is older than my last 3 bikes and my vote is wrong accordingly. Here however is #5



Andy

Nice! What a Beauty!
Is that the local town Council posed up the path there? Waiting for plod to come write you up for riding on the walking path?


I thought for sure that Honda would do you for a while. What happen? You were so chuffed with it.

I've had some change of heart moments too ... the Ducati I just bought just a month ago ... lost a belt and self destructed. Good thing for the warranty.

Now you just need the proper outfit to go along with the Enfield style!
Ride On! (My Duck is off the road for another month ... at least! )