[JmalB]

1st!



Good read. Still too tall and too expensive for my short, poor butt.

 

[55897]

I like that big fuel tank. It be nice to be able to do something with the windshield for the seated technical sections though. Maybe bmw will come up with some kind of fold-down or electric.



Excellent article and great scenic pics, MO! I could actually picture myself doing this kind of adventure.

 

[khomboleman]

Wow, my dream bike! My only problem is 16 grand. As a teenager, I dreamed of having a Porsche 911, but due to my financial state, I had to settle with my old Dodge. It seems that the years haven't changed that fact. I can't afford the BMW, so I'll just have be creative with my old dirt bike and make it an adventure/tourer. And I have! I took my '83 Yamaha XT 600 and put a 30 liter tank on it (Tenere), home made some hard bags (I'm in Senegal, W. Africa at the moment so it was easy to get some local guys to weld it up), invent a way to attach them to the bike with out pushing into the exhaust and oil resevoir, and behold... Adventure/Touring on a shoe string! It's not a KTM or a BMW, but it works. I must say though, that it sure is nice to read about the real thing and dream! Thanks MO!

 

[33225]

Rokon Review?

Don't tease us with reviews of a Rokon unless you plan to carry though. Honestly, I would like to know more about them and what they are like to live with. On paper they seem like a nice ride for getting around the ranch. It is a motorcycle after all. They claim some models can actually float and be used as an ad-hoc PFD for crossing rivers. How is that for motorcycle adventure?

 

[longride]

Nice test Pete. I would love to add one of these Beemers to the stable. One of these days I'll get to the BMW dealer and take one for a test ride. The price is hefty, but considering what people pay for totally non-functional bikes, it isn't that bad.

 

[Auphliam]

Great article MO, and what a great looking bike.



That is prolly the first Beemer that I could seriously see myself owning. It is like they (BWM) finally focused their quirky technological advances for the good and designed a pruposeful bike that multi-tasks better than most anything else available.



With motorcyles, dual purpose usually means doing 2 or 3 different things poorly, while not excelling at any.



At first glance, BMW seems to have trumped that adage.

 

[cstewart77]

Skimmed the article, nice job and sounds like a fantastic ride in to the Grand Canyon.



Wow, no comment on the switch-gear? Did you ride the bike with and without the ABX/Servo's....I don't care for Servo equiped bikes at all....ugh.



Chris

 

[33342]

Good question. My bad for not mentioning that the bike I rode did not have ABS. I'll be more diligent next time to mention such things.

With respect to the switch gear, I figured most people know about that piece of German "engineering" at this point in motorcycling history. --Pete

 

[seruzawa]

Nice enough bike. $17K for a GS or $7K for a 650 V-Strom? $10K will buy an awful lot of adventure. You can ride your $7K V-Strom to Moab and then rent a DRZ400 and really have fun in the dirt for a loooonnng time with the money you save. 'Course owning the V-Strom doesn't get you into the BMW Owners Assoc. I guess that's worth $10K to some people.

 

[oldtim]

Yep

 

[bbtowns]

Seems like the 100 HP motor used in the previous R1200GS actually put out 82-85 at the rear wheel, any reason to think this will be different? 'Course the 85 hp is easier to use offroad, but this bike always seemed underpowered when riding it, especially compared to the RT/ST.

 

[3833]

Or get a $7k WeeStrom, get a $2k custom trailer rigged up and strap a $4k dirtbike on the back of the trailer.

 

[Buzglyd]

Looks like a lot of fun, Pete. I just did the same trip (minus the dirt roads) on the Geezer Glide.

 

[33342]

Gotta go off road buddy. It was immense fun. We'll have to conjure something up to get you involved on getting dirty.--Pete

 

[Buzglyd]

Have you managed to climb aboard a Ulysses yet? Really cool and fits the Paul Bunyon types well.



I'd have to opt for the lower seat to make it work for me. Either that or get a rubberized garaged floor to handle all the tip overs.

 

[Buzglyd]

We can do a "How To" article on putting long-travel suspension on a Geezer Glide.

 

[seruzawa]

My wife and I rode to the North Rim. I was looking at the South Rim through a telescope and saw a guy fan dancing naked. Was that you?

 

[longride]

I got the ride the Ulysses for a bit when I was out there doing the southwest on the Glide. Yes, it is really tall and it's pretty nice. I just checked one out at the dealer a couple days ago. I wouldn't mind having one of those or a GS. Just need to find more room in the garage!

 

[Buzglyd]

Maybe you can pay off the Illinois politicians to add some mountains and curvy roads while you're at it!

 

[Buzglyd]

If it was to the beat of the music, it was me. If it was off-beat, it was Pete.