I have been a lurkin' here a while, and now have time/something to post. I bought a new 06 GS-adventure in Late September and now have about 740 miles on it. I wanted to get one of the last 1150 gs-a's as I like the look of the current bike as well as the tried and true mechanicals. I know many have commented on how much more "refined" and improved the new GS12 is, but the old bike is just so cool still. I was a little uncomfortable at first with the ungainly weight. But after some miles especially off road miles it is quite nimble. I have about 325 miles of off road on it now and I am amazed how off-roadable it really is. Even with the "lower" 1st gear I wish it was even a little lower for low speed trolling on trails. One of the other things I have noticed is how well balanced the bike seems to be. I can turn it around on the pegs at full lock in first gear as I can with a smaller dirt bike. It cruises on gravel/loose dirt roads at 50-60 mph with no problem. I have a couple of concerns that someone else may have noticed. During slow trail speed riding I noticed the oil temp guage goes within 1 bar of the top on the RID. It does not go back down to midway up until you sustain speed of 50 or so for 10-15 minutes. That observation was made at 50F. My other concern Is one that someone else discussed a few days ago about clutch smell. I can smell it when I load it into the trailer or slow conditions off road where you are not slipping the clutch but rather fully engaging/disengaging. I took the bike in at 540 miles for the 600 mile service and got the bike back with 1.25qts low on oil! Luckily I had trailered it to my destination because I had my family with me, but I did ride it from the dealership home. Also the valves sound louder than they did before I took it in for service. I told the above to the Service manager and he said to bring 'er in. Hope I get many miles out if it, and have enjoyed all of the other posts so far here. I would post a pic, but do not have a web page and also could not figure out how to post a pic without a URL.
Ask the dealer about the oil temp. I think some guys had a loose or faulty wire that was giving false readings. But if you are smoking the clutch maybe you are working the thing pretty hard. I have 29,000 on my 03 and have never seen more than 6 or 7 bars. The oil level is a subject of many posts here. My friend was sure the dealer shorted him a quart. But it wasn't off by much. Do what the owner's manual says for checking the qty. Have fun you bought a great bike.
Grab a service manual and become familiar with it and a set of tools. As far as the oil is concerned; a. Drain on center stand AND then move to sidestand for more draining. Why? Occasionaly some oil sits in the cooler until you take the machine off center stand. b. Add majority of oil-3.5 qts, and then start machine to fully circulate new oil through the system. Put bike on centerstand, on level ground, to eventually top off oil level through sight glass, with machine turned off.(Yeah, I know, turning the engine off when adding oil is a no brainer for most, but not everyone.) It is a relatively simple regimen to follow but some of these new techs either do not know or do not have the time. The excessive valve train noise you describe; sounds like you had an inexperienced tech. working on your machine. He/she forgot to adjust the clearance on your rocker arms with an actual feeler gauge. The noise is not the valves themselves, hopefully, but the rocker arms. It's a simple adjustment once the valve covers are off. Grab a manual and become familiar with it, you'll be surprised at how easy it actually is to do yourself.
Your bike's gonna run a little hot when it's that new because the engine hasn't run-in much & is still pretty tight. -Chris
