I had a BIG ADVENTURE today.....

[happy]

Hello dear friends,

Here is my notes after 4 hours (and about 100km in the hillside roads) on the 2009 BMW 1200GS Adventure today (with a pillion passenger, so it is not a really good control comparison). However I did say (and I still say), I'd surely buy a GS only if I do more 2-up riding.

I have concluded a verdict for MYSELF regarding this bike. (bear with me)
Read on...

Torque comparison (in real life)
BMW 1200GS (2009) = 115Nm / 256kg + 160kg (2 people) = 0.27Nm per kg
Honda NC700X (2012) = 60Nm / 218kg + 80kg (single rider) = 0.20Nm per kg
Difference is 0.07/0.20 = 35% More torque
Winner: BMW (but honestly it did not feel more torquey than the NCX).
If we load up the BMW with luggage, the torque ratio drops even more.

Fun comparison (manuverability)
BMW 1200GS (2009) = big and heavy, good on the highway and stupidly clumsy under 30kmh.
Honda NC700X (2012) = light and floaty, not good on highway but much more nimble at slow speeds (traffic jams)
Winner: Honda

Prestige and presence (feel-good factor)
Winner: BMW
Why? Because it is a BMW and the quality is really visually better overall. Shaft-driven, electronics suspensions, big windshielding, heated grips included, more Onboard computers, etc.

Price comparison:
BMW 1200GS (2009) = 24'000chf (demo bike) with side panniers
Honda NC700X (2012) = 8'500chf (brand new with Honda topcase, centerstand and Honda TourShield)
Winner: Honda


My personal Verdict:
BMW 1200GS Adventure is a monster.
It is way too big for city traffic.
It is way too big for me to even do a turnaround on leveled roads.
It is just TOO BIG!
It is very comfortable at speeds above 30kmh, even at the twisties I could open the throttle up without fear.
It does not feel as "powerful" or as torquey as the specs says on paper.
It cannot go offroad, no matter who tells you, unless you are Arnie Schwarznegger or 6 "10.
(PS: No offence intended to all those big guys riding this bike, it is probably I am too small for it)

Honda NC700X is still way more manageable and more bang for the buck. (for me)
It is still the RIGHT CHOICE.

I will still ride and review the NEW 2013 1200GS (not the Adventure series) soon.
Not now, but soon (I hope).

 

[bamamate]

Nice write up Happy. Question, why do you list the NC as not good on the highway?

 

[CorEnFa]

I wonder how it stacks up to the F800GS. They could be mistaken visually for twin brothers, plus the size and specs are more similar.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I wonder how it stacks up to the F800GS. They could be mistaken visually for twin brothers, plus the size and specs are more similar.

If I was going to go the BMW route I would go for the F800GS. I have never seen one up close nor I have I seen one next to a 1200GS. I imagine it is a tad bit smaller and lighter.

Yes, I based that all off pictures and reviews.

 

[Jeff762]

I sat on them both (R1200GS & F800GS) at the BMW dealer in Bentonville, last month. The 1200gs seat seems an inch or so lower and the weight seems to be carried lower, probably from the boxer engine vs the parallel twin on the f800. They are too pricey for me.

 

[happy]

Nice write up Happy. Question, why do you list the NC as not good on the highway?

It is too light for a comfortable high speed with cross winds.
Relative to the big beemer, it is not as good.
I mean speeds above 120kmh.


BTW a new GS Adventure (2012) is now "only" 18, 800chf.

A new 2013 GS is also at this same price.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Chris]

It is too light for a comfortable high speed with cross winds.

I find the bike performs pretty well on the highway in cross winds. Just as well because the Rhone valley seems to act as a natural wind tunnel for most of the year. I had a run down the Val d'Aosta in very high winds recently and the bike dealt with the conditions fine. I was riding two up and had the speed limiter working - every so often my intercom would announce: "that's 153 kph, slow down you idiot". It seems the bike handles cross winds better than my wife!!!

 

[happy]

I find the bike performs pretty well on the highway in cross winds. Just as well because the Rhone valley seems to act as a natural wind tunnel for most of the year. I had a run down the Val d'Aosta in very high winds recently and the bike dealt with the conditions fine. I was riding two up and had the speed limiter working - every so often my intercom would announce: "that's 153 kph, slow down you idiot". It seems the bike handles cross winds better than my wife!!!

I am a "light weight" person and my bike is all original. Perhaps the cross winds (sudden gusts) frightened me.
With a heavier bike, this problem is less.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[SergeantChuck]

I am a "light weight" person and my bike is all original. Perhaps the cross winds (sudden gusts) frightened me.
With a heavier bike, this problem is less.

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I wouldn't say I don't agree with you. If there was one thing I would complain about it is how much I get tossed around on the highway. It is something I'm not used to but adapted to quickly. Or just got used to.

 

[Wleuthold]

My comparison in cross winds are my Vespa GT and a rental BMW F650GS (with 800cc parallel twin engine).

The Vespa at 310 lbs handles cross winds reasonably well. I have ridden this one 53,000 miles so far, many at its maximum speed of around 75 mph and cross winds create some concerns, especially when over around 25 mph. There have been a few moments where I wished I was home when a sudden gust hits from the side.

The BMW was a rental on a wild west ride. While riding west on I-80 in Wyoming, we had 95 degree heat and a 40 mph cross wind. That mixed with passing many large trucks made for an interesting ride. But it handled it well and kept on pushing. We were running 80 mph on most of this leg of the ride.

I have now ridden the NC 4500 miles including a long ride on the interstate highway system to Detroit and Chicago. On the leg riding south in northern Indiana, it was 44 degrees with around a 25 mph cross wind. The wind was less than that on the BMW ride, but in similar winds I feel that the Honda is more stable.

And after riding the Vespa for the past 8 years, I don't consider the Honda to be light at all.

 

[anglachel]

Really not surprised that a bike going for twice* the price, with twice* the displacement, seems to be bigger, faster, more powerful...

Of course it sounds like it gets half* the gas milage.

Over all I'll stick with the NC... though the BMW GS is a beautiful bike (I park next to one at work) and it's definitely something I wouldn't mind riding, but I can't see it replacing the NC as my commuter, or even on longer trips where gas milage on the NC makes for a cheap ride...

Oh, and it might have 35% more torque, but it also weighs 25% more** (if the numbers I quickly gleaned off the internet are in any way accurate) so that might be part of why it didn't feel that much more powerful, it's got to use some of that power to move the extra weight.


*approximate value
**percentage will change based on weight of the rider

 

[bamamate]

It is too light for a comfortable high speed with cross winds.
Relative to the big beemer, it is not as good.
I mean speeds above 120kmh.


BTW a new GS Adventure (2012) is now "only" 18, 800chf.

A new 2013 GS is also at this same price.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

OK. The NC is the biggest bike I’ve owned so I can’t make that comparison. Saw a 1200 Adventure with all the goodies back in the spring. Good looking bike but with the NC sitting beside it the 1200 seemed huge

 

[lipsee]

It is too light for a comfortable high speed with cross winds.
Relative to the big beemer, it is not as good.
I mean speeds above 120kmh.


BTW a new GS Adventure (2012) is now "only" 18, 800chf.

A new 2013 GS is also at this same price.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

I disagree completely,last night I rode down the A1/M11 on my NC in quite high cross winds and it felt as good as it gets in those conditions,,the low c.o.g helps alot,,as does not having a top box...For me the NC is a great high speed tool at speeds up to about 90mph,and I,v even got use to the crap seat,,,As for the GS ,apart from the fact I have never been a BM fan,,the bike itself is just too big for what it sets out to do,(ie go anywhere ,do anything kinda of bike)I think the nc is much more in tune with that title then the GS anyday...what I do like about the GS and all big BM,s for that matter is the fixtures and fittings and love the switch gear,,,The BM I did like and still do,,is the old GS 800 from the 80s,,small ,manageable and not too flashy!!! all the best

 

[TC3]

Agree with Lipsee. Yesterday was on A roads and M25 in rain and pretty strong winds and the bike handled well

 

[Old Can Ride]

For a short, fat, ugly guy like me - seat height...

 

[SkylineKeith]

For anyone that thinks the bmw r1200 GSA cannot go off road, check out my facebook page at Keith Hudnall. That is me on my big GSA doing a water crossing. I loved my GSA.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

I am a "light weight" person and my bike is all original. Perhaps the cross winds (sudden gusts) frightened me.
With a heavier bike, this problem is less.

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I frequenly ride 35 down from Houston to Rockport, along the coast, with a very stiff wind coming from the Gulf of Mexico. I can tell you that the bigger GS absolutely handles wind better than the NC. Some of those trips with the NC were brutal when the wind was blowing 30mph, stiff neck, bike dangerously leaning, etc..

Another thing, I know this was an adventure, but the 2013/2014 regular GS' are nimble little creatures by comparison. I was very surprised during the test drive on how well it handled at low speeds. No issues what-so-ever for me.

 

[Old Can Ride]

Hey, Jimmy Pop, are you going to the Lone Star Rally this weekend. Nana Chou likes riding with that gorgeous red head R 1200 GS BMW Nazi. You know the Japs and the Nazis lost WW2, but do we really want to drive Harleys? Long live Democracy!

We could ride the blue water highway, long way round to Galveston.
If you or anyone else wants to go, let me know.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Oh damn it, I never thought of us being the Axis of Evil. I was thinking about taking the long way down, but I can't commit right now. I'll send you a PM if I can work something out.