BMW R1100GS

Rite i bought an anniversary 1100 gs unseen of ebay in july 2012, 40000 miles, part service history, came on back of a trailer, to say i was dubious was an understatement. no need to worry , this is my third boxer, personal choice but i love them. I"ve done 13,000 miles since ,only problem was a failed Hall sensor, repaired by border bikes Duns thx Andy.Put on new braided brake lines, much better. Done two dragon rallys. Thought about changing but why, this bike does all i want, can take the mick out of sports bikes on the twisties and can just as easily tour for two weeks in Europe. All in all ,great bike ,personally i love the looks,comfy, 190 miles of a tank. And unlike some of the newer Beemers,built to last. Highly recommend.

Trasty, torqey, trouble free, you can go anywhere in the world if you want, trouble free and fully loaded, from London to Katmandu.

The BMW R1100GS is billed as a very good touring bike. I think much of this popularity in recent years is down to 'the long way round' TV programme, and when touring in Europe you will see that 20% of the bikes touring areas will be a BMW GS of some sort. on a recent group trip 8 of the 12 bikes were GS's

For me I was a fool to believe the hype, while the 1100 is a good bike in many respects it does have more than a few downsides. on pre 97 models the gearboxes can be prone to problems at the 50,000 mile mark. the gearbox-frame mount is a weak point although this only applies if you are off-roading the GS, on the road its not an issue. the gearbox is well known to be very 'agricultural'and is very clonky when cold. I've found it to be a real pleasure after 100 miles of gear changing and its warmed up but i suspect many people wont do this many miles on a days riding. the vibration at 70+ is an issue especially if you are touring and its clearly a problem that BMW do recognise as there is evidence of several anti vibration measures on the bike and handle bars.

the ABS is a worthy option and the heated grips are a lot better than you would expect. the bike has very good rear visibility too. A real plus when on the motorway. the seat although in a fairly good position is uncomfortable and hard, it wont soften up with age either as my bike is now showing 60,000 miles and its still too hard. this then leads me on to the reliability of the bike. for me it has been flawlessly reliable and I've found that with a full service history there are zero issues in this department.

I believe that on the GS a service history is most important but there is an issue here. The BMW company are in the main pretty bad when it comes to looking after past customers. you have been pre-warned.

Handling wise this bike is a dream. I took mine around the Nurburgring fully loaded and despite the weight the bike was well balanced, i have a lot of trust in the handling of this bike and i can always embarrass any sports bike rider on any roundabout. My center stand is half missing due to getting the bike so low. i should mention that I also own a Fireblade so I do know good handling when i see it.

To summarise I would recommend the GS but if you don't need to go off-roading on the odd occasion id probably buy something a little more comfortable.