Hexhead vs Oilhead
Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 7:41 am
Hello all
just back from 16 days in New Zealand, which surely must rate amongst the greatest rides on earth. And it was on an R1200 GS, hired for the duration. I had a lot of choice, but opted for the GS to see what all the fuss is about. My wife was pillion; bike was fitted with 36 litre Givi panniers and a large topbox. We did 3,500Km in 15 days riding--nothing, some would scoff, and certainly very little by West Australian standards, some days were little over 100km to the next attraction, longest day was 500, most were about 300, (after a very leisurely start!) Speed limit in Un zud is 100km/hr, tolerance is reputedly 10 percent, and 40km/hr over will see on-the -spot confiscation! Roads are generally very grippy, and very winding; on anywhere but the few motorways, 80km/hr average can be optimistic. And nothing was passing me
Firstly, the GS has to be one of the most versatile rides around. Never a fan of upright riding positions, I was won over to this one. Screen and instruments initially seemed a long way off, but screen was ok without being totally tourer, a bit of wind noise around the helmet. 110 Km/hr was the usual speed, but I did one fair stretch on an empty road at 130-135, and it was totally happy. Power was certainly never a problem; it mostly lived between 2500 and 4500, and never seemed to need more--top gear would pull away strongly from 100km/hr --3500 rpm approx--up the steepest main road hill I could find. Remember, this is all two-up and well-luggaged. Towards the end, I tried a full throttle run thru the lower gears after a gentle take-off, and the front wheel was clear of the deck ALL the way thru the first two gears. There is a real surge above 5000, even in GS tune. I did one inadvertant wheelie coming out of a U-turn, purely on the throttle, never done that on the Rockster Handling was very good, firm ride with no wallow, great lean angles with nothing grounding, chuck it thru tight esses or bank it over on endless sweepers, nothing fazed it. ABS brakes seemed a bit soft compared to my Rocksters non-ABS , but none of the grabbiness at low speeds complained of with earlier BMW servo systems. Fuel consumption was 17-20km/litre (50-58 Imp MPG) of premium unleaded, excellent tank range. And I didn't miss a single shift.
As soon as I got home, I had to get straight on the Rockster for a valid comparison, before memories faded. It felt comfortably low, and short, easier to manouevre out of the shed. Off down the road, low wide bars felt decidedly weird, instruments and Wunderlicht screen seemed right in my face, leant gently into the first corner, and promptly turned around and went home to check the front tire pressure!
It felt heavy & wanted to turn in overly, I thought. Nothing was wrong, it was just so different. Power felt flat, too, and this was solo. I loved this bike before I did the miles on the GS, and I guess I probably will again when I get the chance to do some miles on it. But be warned--if you decide to show this big trailie up, whether it be away fom the lights or through a bit of winding road, you'd better be prepared to go hard. Even if he is still on the stock Pirelli dual-purpose rubber--it sticks like S**t to a blanket. 
just back from 16 days in New Zealand, which surely must rate amongst the greatest rides on earth. And it was on an R1200 GS, hired for the duration. I had a lot of choice, but opted for the GS to see what all the fuss is about. My wife was pillion; bike was fitted with 36 litre Givi panniers and a large topbox. We did 3,500Km in 15 days riding--nothing, some would scoff, and certainly very little by West Australian standards, some days were little over 100km to the next attraction, longest day was 500, most were about 300, (after a very leisurely start!) Speed limit in Un zud is 100km/hr, tolerance is reputedly 10 percent, and 40km/hr over will see on-the -spot confiscation! Roads are generally very grippy, and very winding; on anywhere but the few motorways, 80km/hr average can be optimistic. And nothing was passing me
Firstly, the GS has to be one of the most versatile rides around. Never a fan of upright riding positions, I was won over to this one. Screen and instruments initially seemed a long way off, but screen was ok without being totally tourer, a bit of wind noise around the helmet. 110 Km/hr was the usual speed, but I did one fair stretch on an empty road at 130-135, and it was totally happy. Power was certainly never a problem; it mostly lived between 2500 and 4500, and never seemed to need more--top gear would pull away strongly from 100km/hr --3500 rpm approx--up the steepest main road hill I could find. Remember, this is all two-up and well-luggaged. Towards the end, I tried a full throttle run thru the lower gears after a gentle take-off, and the front wheel was clear of the deck ALL the way thru the first two gears. There is a real surge above 5000, even in GS tune. I did one inadvertant wheelie coming out of a U-turn, purely on the throttle, never done that on the Rockster
Handling was very good, firm ride with no wallow, great lean angles with nothing grounding, chuck it thru tight esses or bank it over on endless sweepers, nothing fazed it. ABS brakes seemed a bit soft compared to my Rocksters non-ABS , but none of the grabbiness at low speeds complained of with earlier BMW servo systems. Fuel consumption was 17-20km/litre (50-58 Imp MPG) of premium unleaded, excellent tank range. And I didn't miss a single shift.As soon as I got home, I had to get straight on the Rockster for a valid comparison, before memories faded. It felt comfortably low, and short, easier to manouevre out of the shed. Off down the road, low wide bars felt decidedly weird, instruments and Wunderlicht screen seemed right in my face, leant gently into the first corner, and promptly turned around and went home to check the front tire pressure!
It felt heavy & wanted to turn in overly, I thought. Nothing was wrong, it was just so different. Power felt flat, too, and this was solo. I loved this bike before I did the miles on the GS, and I guess I probably will again when I get the chance to do some miles on it. But be warned--if you decide to show this big trailie up, whether it be away fom the lights or through a bit of winding road, you'd better be prepared to go hard. Even if he is still on the stock Pirelli dual-purpose rubber--it sticks like S**t to a blanket. 
