Would you do it again?

Buy that 38% water cooled GS (sans oil cooler?) that is?

Right now that is a now brainer. hell yes. We've had lots of fun together and will continue to have so.

I'm not interested in being a Beta tester. When BMW address the switch gear problem and the problem some have reported with the clutch/transmission I'll
reconsider.

I know those who own this bike will tell ya it's perfect as is, after all it was their decision to purchase. Well that's not good enough for me, nope. My Yamaha S10 shifts smoothly and all the switch gear works all the time. Not convinced the GS LC risk is worth the reward for me.

As always, YMMV.

Regards, Paul

Yes, I have lots of fun
8400 km now - been working very good!

Excellent bike. Not perfect but close enough for me and my riding wants/needs.

Can't wait to be a beta tester for the next iteration....be it from BMW or....?

Dave

How did this answer his question?

Jim

Just finished 6000 miles on my GSW. Only problem so far has been the gas cap falling apart. It was replaced under warranty, no further issues. Oh, the shifting was clunky when new in the 1-2 and 2-3 gear shifts. That has cleaned up nicely and at 5000 miles those gears work as smoothly as the other gears when shifting up or down. I figure the clutch needed a bit of break-in polishing. Everything else has been working as designed. The bike is an absolute pleasure to ride. Not at all remorseful on trading my very nice 2011 RT for this bike. No beta testing here to report.

100% satisfied with my decision to buy this bike. I would do again if needed.

It didn't, he wasn't even trying to.
He was trying to impersonate my ex-wife.......not bad either.

I have a slight clutch issue and I'd still buy another GSW if this one went over a cliff, except I'd get me a blue one next time.

Tnks for the input-roadscum 's reply was appreciated and his concerns/thoughts are close to my own.


I fully intended to buy, even went to the dealer with enough credit to do a deal BUT when I discovered the marginal extent of its water cooling I got bummed big time and got the idea out of my head-I was expecting something much different. Not a negative comment, just that it was a let down for me.

Comments on the bikes low speed manners/engine temps, especially in hot weather would be much appreciated-does it really lack an oil cooler? could someone describe the engine sound compared to the oilhead-I did not take one out for a demo for fear of doing something impulsive...

Mine has been great and I would buy it again. Low speed maneuvering feels like an F650GS (the twin) and the engine seems to run at 180 degrees no matter if it is 70 out or 95 out. I attribute that to the water cooling.

I am not a BMW fanboy. I have no problem criticizing BMW if their bikes have problems, especially if they fail to own up to the problems. I beta tested the K1600GT for BMW and regretted it. 5k mistake.

Ok, you're not making sense. The cooling system is not marginal. BMW designed this thing to go thru deserts without batting an eye. In addition to the traditional air cooling, it has just enough water cooling to keep the engine temp down in hot weather, tighten the tolerances and pass future emission standards. It doesn't burn oil during breakin like the older models, and it has much less vibration at higher rpms, among other improvements. The radiators are small enough to tuck in well and not dump scads of heat on the rider like lots of fully liquid cooled bikes do. When the (nicely quiet) cooling fan is going, the air flow is almost perpendicular to the bike, none of it hits the rider at all. Coming off a fully aircooled ducati, and having ridden many other liquid-cooled bikes in summer heat, IMHO this bike has the best designed cooling you could want for this engine configuration. They really did their homework.

I would buy this thing again in a heartbeat, no regrets. No major issues with it, just a minor lean surge at one small rpm range. Its everything I was shopping for, cash was in the bank, so why wait? So far nothing I've read in various forums and magazines about any of its competitors makes me think I would have been happier on one of them, even the ones I didn't bother test riding (ST, Tiger12) or waiting for (1190, caponord). YMMV.

I suggest you buy an S10, I think it is more your style!

Jim

Yes !

I wouldn't call it "impulsive" if

it reads more like you had concerns of possible buyers remorse... nothing wrong with that, sit on the fence a bit and keep gathering your data.

I don't believe it to have "marginal water cooling" though. I do find it interesting they went to the extent of actually putting a figure as a percentage of cooling assisted by water. after all.... everything is really "air cooled", it just uses water or oil internally to assist in the transfer of heat to the air. the particulars of this is in no way discouraging to me.

but I will wait a bit and let things get sorted out. (have purchased new models totally redone and got screwed in the process before... the risk is higher than I feel like biting off on again)

I have never been one to buy the first year of anything but when I bought my 08 Adventure used, my long term plan was to buy the new GSW. I was going to wait until the 2014, but I started thinking about my age, what I really wanted in a bike and decided to pull the trigger.

At my age I figure I have maybe 10 good riding years left if I am lucky. Waiting a year would have taken away a significant chunk of that time. I very badly wanted cruise control since I had it on my RT and much of what I do on any bike is long distance touring. I wanted the adjustable windshield and I wanted enough power to be able to get around slower moving traffic quickly.

This bike has it all and then some. I have had one very minor glitch so far but the dealership was right on top of it.

All I can say is that I could not be happier with the bike and its performance. We live in a risk v reward society. As motorcyclists we understand that as well as anyone. The purchase of any first year model clearly involves some risk. Is it worth it? Only those who actually buy the 2013 can decide. For me the answer is not just yes but hell yes.

sure, it's like"bruup" and then "vroom vrooom vrom" and then "brup brup brup brup brup"

I guess when I think of a water cooled engine it isn't 38% water cooled, perhaps I wasn't clear enough with the request for a discription of engine sounds; is the valve noise muted compared to the oilheads?-but I do appreciated the post with the description. As for an oil cooler is it there or not-and does anyone else besides me think it is a good idea to have one on an 'off' road bike??

Yes, in a heartbeat.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely!

I had a Rallye Edition GS and was very happy with it but I had to sell it for personal reasons. When I test rode the 2013 Liquid-Cooled GS, I could not believe how different it was than my cam head. Engine is a lot smoother with power all over the rev range and it revs a lot happier too. No oil burn and great electronics safety net to boot. It is a different bike than its predecessor.

The GS is a tourer, adventurer and a sporty bike all rolled into one; many describe it as the swiss army knife of motorcycles. It does everything well but it doesn't excel at any particular role, IMO. If I had lots of money, I would buy a bike for each mission; since I don't have that, I bought the best swiss army knife that my money could buy. Besides, my wife would kill me if I had more than one bike in our garage!

I guess, to each according to his/her needs.

Hope this helps you a bit.

I disagree. This might have been true of the previous model but the GSW excels in the power and handling departments.