Ride Review: 2015 & 2012 BMW R1200GSA Adventure

2015 BMW R1200GSA Adventure (demo ride)

Ergos:

3 things jump out at you when you get seated:

1. the seat is uber compliant & comfortable (almost squishy & luxurious) with fore & aft room.
2. the cockpit is part way between the very intimate KTM & the roomy S10.
3. that is one huge, wide mass of plastic over the tank that splays your legs more than the S10 but still very comfortable with way more leg protection than ever required, to the point that you could never get any direct air on them. 

The handlebars fall to hand almost identical to the S10 with a similar bar bend. The windscreen is one hand adjustable via a knob on the right side…but it should have been on the left to allow adjustment without reaching across with your left hand. The 2 cluster display is too small with too small markings for the analogue speedo & tach, plus the BMW GPS mount partially blocks the top of the speedo. Knee bend with the seat in the lower position is comfortable with perhaps a little more bend (slightly less leg room) than the S10 & allows flat footing. Mirrors very good & vibration free.

Riding:

Clutch take up is good (light pull) with slightly better feel than the KTM with an engagement point about mid-way of the lever travel. I rode in street rbw mode & suspension set to normal damping & tried soft (switchable on the fly)…equipped with semi-active electronic suspension that like the KTM performs so well that you forget about it, although now that I have been riding with conventional forks again I think the front telelever is slightly harsher on small bumps. The ride is very compliant, controlled & capable of smoothing big hits to the point where you deliberately go looking for them just because!

BMW has done an amazing job of transforming the boxer motor from what was industrial feeling in the 1150 & earlier versions to a legitimate sport touring motive force….fueling is perfect, it’s responsive to throttle input with crisp response & a very wide flat & strong powerband that pulls cleanly from idle on up. It still rocks slightly to the right when revved at idle & is geared a little shorter than the S10 with 4k rpm = 115 kph, while the S10 = 120 kph at 4k rpm. For 2015 BMW did away with the lighter crank of the GS & now all R1200 motors have the heavier crank which smooths the motor a little but most importantly gains back some of the low end tractability that was sacrificed in search of quicker, freer revving power. Not quite as luggable as the S10 which is slower to rev. Having just rode a 2014 GS with the lighter crank it was a smart move by BMW making it more pleasant to live with day in, day out. Speed builds very satisfyingly as the torque curve feels stout & absolutely flat…BUT here is the tradeoff…the motor has lost it’s endearing & to some, acquired boxer feel & aural character that was a soothing companion over the road….it feels busier now. It’s now high tech with new sounds & feel, dominated by induction noise the reverberates up through the mass of plastic above the motor sounding like a muted small pulsed jackhammer, a wet fart & a wet fart on steroids depending on load & rpm. From the riders seat you seldom hear the exhaust because of it, although the exhaust sounds ok when off the bike. There is now a lot more high frequency vibration & mechanicalness as it goes about it’s business, particularly in the bars & tank…BUT, here we go again…lordy it can be fast!!! Maybe it’s me & my aging senses & increased sensitivity to frequencies, noise & vibration but most of the newer bikes require ear plugs to tune out the induction/mechanical noise so that you can revel in the motive force, but a theme is developing…fewer bikes seem to provide a pleasurable aural experience & feel. Although, the oem Akrapovic exhaust on the R Nine T sounds delicious as I spent the entire 60 min demo ride behind it …all boxers should sound this good.

Despite being a little lighter than the S10 (at least by BMW specs) it is noticeably more top heavy (which just reinforces how good of a packaging job Yamaha did), but like the KTM 1290 SA has a much larger fuel tank. Despite this it has impeccable low speed handling. All water boxers benefited from a 2” longer swing arm which has improved the performance of the rear end & eliminated most of the traditional BMW driveline jerkiness. Similar to the KTM 1290 SA it tracks well & is slower steering than the S10, all the while instilling confidence & feels very capable of good lean angles & composed when the pace quickens….unless you require the additional upper body wind coverage of the RT I can’t see any reason to give up the do anything capability of the GSA. Upper arm wind coverage was not as good as the S10, likely due to the different design of the hand guards. The oem windscreen & side deflectors do an admirable job of upper body wind management, although the screen needs to be at least 1” taller for perfection…I found my helmet, which is on the noisy side, to have a little more noise on the sides than when on the S10 which has a lower screen.

Again, for me the S10 provides more of the feel & sounds I want in a big twin…but can’t compete >3500 rpm…it doesn’t mean that the S10 is slow or not quick & it can certainly use some help in the exhaust department…it’s just that most of the other big sport/touring enduro twins are blazing fast, producing power & speed that only 3 & 4 cylinder motors used to….and therein lies the rub…in pursuit of speed they have traded off some of the other big twin intrinsic characteristics that many of us find endearing. The exception may be the New Aprilia Capanord 1200 which most reviewers rave about the sound & feel of the motor…only problem is you have to go to Seattle just to test ride one as no local dealers will allow it.

Would I pay the extra $5-6 k for the GSA…NO & even if the same price I likely wouldn’t switch, but If the S10 had the power of the BMW it would have a compelling argument as a near perfect ride.

2012 BMW R1200GSA Adventure (demo ride)

One very tall behemoth...like riding a cloud, it sort of wiggles around on its suspension a little...you sit higher than in my Honda van...with the ultra plush super long travel suspension you deliberately seek potholes & craters...could never own on though too weird leaning into curves with so much top heavy weight…man would it be squirrely with knobbies on the pavement...in comparison the regular GS feels like a sport bike.