How Much Better is the New GS?

I've had all previous oil head/cams.GS 1100,1150,05-1200.Plus F650.All had rear drive troubles,(except 650)

350,000 miles on 4 GSs.Bought waterhead two months ago,currently have almost 10,000 miles on GSW.

It's the best of the bunch.Yes,the tranny crunches.Stock seat in typically uncomfortable.I'm running a one man campaign against seeing GSs decked out in Touratech just to run to Starbucks,so I bought Varios.Mistake.GlobeScout/Jesses(4 previous sets) in my near future.

Love the cruise control.Other than that,the tech controls a bunch of problems I don't have.I don't need to change my "mode" when riding in rain or off road.I don't ride two up,so I don't need to change my suspension electronically.

Boy,is it quick.And smooth.My biggest problem is dealing with the risk I take.Do I have the squirt to make that pass of three cars going up hill?.....Yes,I do/did.Can I do four next time? Never seen/felt anything like it.

Cost? Typically I can be concerned with cost pre purchase.Afterwards,never.Particularly if it's something that turns out to be what I'd hoped it would be.The GSW is that and more.

I wouldn't worry about the "new" model criticism.As someone recently posted,that's most likely coming from a guy who can't afford a new bike right now.. The problems I have had with my previous GSs where when they had a bunch of miles on them.

Buy the new bike,if you can afford it.The $3 or $4,000 you might save won't make difference a month from now.Enjoy!

What problems have you had with the Varios? I was with a guy and we were touring the SE usa. Rained the entire trip. He must of had 40 lbs of hair care products in each bag. I swear it took us both to carry them into the hotel. Bags were water tight the entire trip. Same guy on west coast trip with Jesse bags and all his Hair care products rusted.

After 60k on an 09 GS, w/o issues, I feel I know this scoot.
Really enjoyed my time w/ this machine, both cross country touring & riding through back canyon rds following more river bed than actual rd. This 09 was near perfect as a quarter ton ride could be for me. I compared the 09 to nothing. It was & is a scoot to buy at any time.

Now I may not be the rider to listen to regarding the new GSW. Only 5k on it but ratio wise I have put a lot more miles up & down the same canyons & found a more friendly handling scoot across the board. Sorry, but there is just little or no comparison in the GS models of yester years.

I did have to take the GSW back to a different dealer, about one real concern.
At around 2.5-2.8k I was on a paved back rd ride to a place called Beaver Head in NM. I was just empty of thought but for the feel of this new GSW. Started to drop the rpm & staying in higher gears, just to feel the lug factor & to better know the torque band. Have done the same thing w/ my 09 & on the same rd.
The rpm were low, by this I mean under 2k much of the time. My 09 nearly refused to come near this unless going down hill.
The GSW never shuttered, bucked or rattled. I am not going to run this low rpm as a normal duty on the GSW, nor do i suggest it. Again, I wanted to feel what this scoot would do & learn its response. It was a clean feeling. I kept thinking about the 2 oil pumps & the 4 qts of oils moving around.
I was very pleased as to what I found but also very concerned about a side effect. This was only a 190+ mile round trip. My mpg were mid 60s for the Beaver Head run. But later that wk it was 62 mpg & my riding was more spirited.
I made an apt w/ the Sandia BMW dealer in Albuquerque. Service manager (John) took it for a long test ride. My other concern was the vibes through the foot pegs at a mid range rpm. Service Manager said it was all very normal & that there were local owners coming in concerned too about a possible running too lean & they too were getting low 60s mpg.

I have talked to a few other owners & one who was on a tour of the US said he was only getting low 50s. Then he showed me a pix of a very loaded down GSW.

If I have any real issue on the (could have made this better) it would have to be the stock set up of the hand control levers. They should have been angled downward more for standing on the peg riding. I don't care to angle down the now level fluid reservoirs.

This GSW has improved every good aspect of my earlier 09 GS. I would still have my 09 had it not been for a fantastic trade in value. But the test ride was ever so sweet & it has only improved w/ time & miles.

Why? Because it looks bad or you're worried about function of the reservoirs?

My new GS is about a week out!

I've had the Varios before on my 1150 GS and quickly exchanged them for Jesse's.I always carry waaaay too much stuff,particularly on week long trips.I can't fit all my stuff in the Varios.You can squeeze a bunch of stuff in top loading bags,but can't in side loading bags.Half the time,I can't get the door closed without rearranging the load.And I don't like having my contents fall out when I open the door.

Yes, my Jesse's leak.But my biggest problem,as others have said,is customer service.I've bought four sets of Jesse bags for my GSs and F650. On my most recent set of bags,I'd bought the exhaust extension to keep the heat/dirt off the side of the bag.The exhaust extension is held into the exhaust pipe by a spring.My spring broke,causing me to lose the extensions.I called Jesse to see about replacement. "Yes,we have them. That'll be $75,please" .As far as I'm concerned,that is a design issue and should be replaced as warranty.
So,I'm looking at bags other than Jesse to replace the Varios.

I've seen GlobeScout on a GSW and the owner was thrilled with the product.That may be my next set of bags.

Cricket You will be able to tell the difference. I would not worry about the problems that a few have had. Most of the bikes have been reliable. Some of the problems have been third party suppliers to BMW, others have been dealer related. But when you ride both bikes you will find 2 completely different bikes. The better one for you is the one that you like the best and are most comfortable with.

I have to agree with you to a point, and that's where the crappy part of the water cooled boxer, for me. In order to make the brakes work well offroad and not spin yourself into the ditch with all those HPs, you need all the electrical goodies so the ABS and the ASC work well in the dirt. And I dont' want all those electrical gizmos. I don't want ASE at all, and I barely want ABS. But managing this beast off road is a lot easier with all of it fitted. Once all those goodies are working the bike actually runs like a dream offoad. With a lot of assistance. An ASE repair on the side of the track would be something to see.

Maybe they could enter a GSA model without the need for all this fancy electrical claptrap and easier throttle response and a lower 1st gear.

I gently beg to differ, sir. Once you hop on one bike after the other you will be well informed, not just the snap of the motor but the ergos, the weight. Weight being a sort of unfair comparison with a GSA vs a GS but I think you'll notice a substantial difference in the two even with your range of experience. I promise.

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"crates of documentation" was not at all what I said. A crate WITH documentation.

Get involved with the rides they did to debut this bike and then tell me you smell BS. Until next time...

I have a 2011 GSA and just demoed a WC while waiting for warranty work to be done. That was a bad idea. The new model is far superior in EVERY way. It actually pisses me off that I broke my rule of never riding a bike that I'm not willing to buy. When the GSA model comes out it is going to be a rough temptation.

I was fearless. The 1200's I tried didn't tempt me much. I thought they were better, and the camhead was a lot better in some ways, but not quite as 'solid' as the old, simple, 1150. So I hopped on the water cooled version without concern.

That was a mistake.

Because that water cooled bike impressed me before I left the parking lot. The only thing that saved my bank account is my prohibition against 1st year motors.


That and whatever I buy next will have significant fuel capacity. So I'll check out the GSA.

Hilarious post!

Guy's an airplane pilot, 62 and not a grey hair! Doesn't shave for a few days and starts to look like Santy Claus, still not a grey hair on his head. As a matter of fact looks like a beaver parked on it. That takes maintenance dude, and a lot of hair care products. Great guy even if he does look like Paul McCartney.

Cricket ... did the same with a Kaw 400 back in the mid seventies, then a string of BMWs. The 1150 was a great bike but I wanted to try something like my older R80 size-wise. The F650GS was not my cup of tea and my big mistake was riding a GSW. I bought it and have to say that it was the best riding / handling combo bike that I have owned. I am not sure, however, that this particular iteration/specimen has earned my confidence for long distance travel due to all of the electronics. It is currently still sitting at my dealer after a software / computer update gone awry. Unlike aircraft, there is no redundancy engineered into this techno marvel.
** What the 13 GSW does have is improved performance from both the engine and lengthened swing arm; ride it to feel and believe it **

Thread could have been closed on the second post....

If you want a streetbike..and can afford to let it sit at the dealer to be fixed, (if you get one of "those")..get a waterhead..

If you want a bike to ride..that works offroad too..has most the bugs out, will allow you to drag knee..and can live with the same goverened speed..but, more low end power delivery, buy a previous generation..

I cant comment on the wc gs, however ill add my .2, im a hooligan at heart and do some off road but mostly very aggressive on road riding. after many deliberation I was between an s10 and a gsa (regular gs wasn't my cup of tea) since I wanted a mostly simple machine that I could service myself w sensible service intervals that I could spend more time riding on that wrenching on.

at the end I went for the gsa since its been a mostly tried and thru machine that handles and brakes exceptionally well, so much so that makes up for the power delivery that say more performance machines the likes of ktm and ducati can deliver, a machine that holds its value rather well over time independent of new model upgrades, the ease of service when in need of wrench time and lastly because and extra set of 17 wheels was not only easily attainable but also tried to be a very good handling mod for street time only.

6 months and 10k later I can report I could not be happier with it, couple months Into ownership I was having lots of awkward feelings towards the engine, missed the surge of power of all my previous big twins and missed being able to hooligan my way around on certain occasions so decided to address the poor running settings from factory....no more awkward thoughts, my gsa is a hooligan, this machine just grows and grows on ya.

bottom line, It can be as tame as a Harley eating miles on the hwy, as vivacious off road as a middle weight adventure bike, as hooligan in the city as a motard, as aggressive as a superbike on a windy road all the meantime while being fully saddled up w my girl riding 2 up.

I wanted cruse control.

I loved my R80 for 230,000km. Then an RT and now a F800GS which is for sale. I nearly bought a current R1200GS, LC, but having compared the features, I will wait with baited breath for the Intermot announcement of the GSA in the first week of October.

For those who have been looking, the LC GS is a COMPLETELY different bike. The swing arm is on the left and 5cm longer. The screen is adjustable from the riding position. GPS is included. And cruise control. Even Harley has fly-by-wire throttles and cruise control nowadays!

Despite the fact that a good GSA can be had for about $16000 in Australia, and the new LC GSA is likely to be - deep breath - $32,000, I want one. I suspect that by the time the Adventure arrives the bugs will have been largely ironed out. My deposit is down for the GSA.

Over hear the gps is not included. The mount is on one of the packages.