- Joined
- Mar 21, 2004
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- 12,164
- Reaction score
- 1,401
- Location
- Cleburne
- First Name
- Leon
- Last Name
- Hogan
thought I would start a thread for the new mini me GS and update as the miles build up.
I think BMW is going to have a big hit on their hands, already they are having trouble getting enough of them, two days is as long as they last on the floor.
when I had pretty much decided to get one they had two, a red one and one with the optional pearl white with red and blue stripes known as the rally version, the next morning the red one was gone and two other guys were looking hard at the rally one when I snatched it out from under them.
a lot of people are concerned about it being built in India, I can say so far that there is nothing to worry about. BMW has a large group of engineers on site to make sure they are up to their standards.
I say it is built better than the BIG GS as there is no final drive gear box to fail in flames and it does not have the can bus electrical system.
one week in pluses :
this is not a little bike, it is a full size bike but is no where as tall as its bigger brothers, so people like me who are semi inseam challenged fit it perfectly.
this is hands down the most comfortable stock seat I have ever sat on.
the relation of the seat to pegs to bars geometry is dead on perfect. this is a all day any day comfortable bike.
some reviews have called the engine buzzy at speed, the reviewers must be used to riding goldwings and K1600's as they have no clue what a buzzy engine is. yes there is a bit of high frequency vibration but it is very mild.
the headlight pattern is pretty good, the bulb is not the brightest but as you can change it without needing a single tool, it is very easy to fix the brightness.
the gauge cluster gives you speed (appears to be pretty accurate) RPM bar graph, gear display, fuel gauge, and you can toggle between odometer, two trip odometers, engine temperature, average fuel economy, instant fuel economy, average speed,range till empty,and the date.
it also has a low fuel light that came on at 34 miles remaining and it is supposed to switch to the miles remaining when the light comes on if it is not already in that display mode.
I ran it down to where it showed just 15 miles remaining and it took 2.6 gallons to fill up so there should have been 3 tenths remaining.
some reviews complained about the brakes, I did a unintentional stoppie during the demo ride, these econo brembos (bybre= BY BREmbo) work just fine and the ABS is quick and smooth. the rear pedal is fixed and not adjustable, that is the one negative about the brakes. the front lever is not adjustable but I have no issue with the reach and I have smaller hands.
negatives:
the side stand needs a better lever than the little stud it has, putting it down is very easy and it pops into the down position quite positively but that requires a pretty heavy shove to get it back up and the foot peg is in the way.
it has a pretty light fly wheel, you have to have it at 3000rpm or above when you start off or it can and will instantly die right there at the green light.
the clutch is smooth and has a good even take up once broke in so you do adapt, and the engine is less prone to stalling once it is warmed up.
a big negative is there are going to be tons of aftermarket parts available for this bike to suck my bank account dry with
I already have Hepco and becker engine and tank guards on order from germany for it and SW-motech skid plate from England.
and after hours of research about to order a GTR Lighting Gen3 LED conversion for it and Denali DM spots.
I think BMW is going to have a big hit on their hands, already they are having trouble getting enough of them, two days is as long as they last on the floor.
when I had pretty much decided to get one they had two, a red one and one with the optional pearl white with red and blue stripes known as the rally version, the next morning the red one was gone and two other guys were looking hard at the rally one when I snatched it out from under them.
a lot of people are concerned about it being built in India, I can say so far that there is nothing to worry about. BMW has a large group of engineers on site to make sure they are up to their standards.
I say it is built better than the BIG GS as there is no final drive gear box to fail in flames and it does not have the can bus electrical system.
one week in pluses :
this is not a little bike, it is a full size bike but is no where as tall as its bigger brothers, so people like me who are semi inseam challenged fit it perfectly.
this is hands down the most comfortable stock seat I have ever sat on.
the relation of the seat to pegs to bars geometry is dead on perfect. this is a all day any day comfortable bike.
some reviews have called the engine buzzy at speed, the reviewers must be used to riding goldwings and K1600's as they have no clue what a buzzy engine is. yes there is a bit of high frequency vibration but it is very mild.
the headlight pattern is pretty good, the bulb is not the brightest but as you can change it without needing a single tool, it is very easy to fix the brightness.
the gauge cluster gives you speed (appears to be pretty accurate) RPM bar graph, gear display, fuel gauge, and you can toggle between odometer, two trip odometers, engine temperature, average fuel economy, instant fuel economy, average speed,range till empty,and the date.
it also has a low fuel light that came on at 34 miles remaining and it is supposed to switch to the miles remaining when the light comes on if it is not already in that display mode.
I ran it down to where it showed just 15 miles remaining and it took 2.6 gallons to fill up so there should have been 3 tenths remaining.
some reviews complained about the brakes, I did a unintentional stoppie during the demo ride, these econo brembos (bybre= BY BREmbo) work just fine and the ABS is quick and smooth. the rear pedal is fixed and not adjustable, that is the one negative about the brakes. the front lever is not adjustable but I have no issue with the reach and I have smaller hands.
negatives:
the side stand needs a better lever than the little stud it has, putting it down is very easy and it pops into the down position quite positively but that requires a pretty heavy shove to get it back up and the foot peg is in the way.
it has a pretty light fly wheel, you have to have it at 3000rpm or above when you start off or it can and will instantly die right there at the green light.
the clutch is smooth and has a good even take up once broke in so you do adapt, and the engine is less prone to stalling once it is warmed up.
a big negative is there are going to be tons of aftermarket parts available for this bike to suck my bank account dry with
I already have Hepco and becker engine and tank guards on order from germany for it and SW-motech skid plate from England.
and after hours of research about to order a GTR Lighting Gen3 LED conversion for it and Denali DM spots.