I put my BMW MOA mileage contest forms in the mail a few days ago. I almost didn’t send them in at all. My riding mileage for the 2020–2021 contest season is abysmal. Embarrassing even.
In a “normal” year, I’d clock anywhere from 10–15 thousand miles. That’s fairly modest in the scheme of the mileage many BMW riders log in the contest. But I still like participating in it even though I’m not really a contender for the top slots. Since I wanted to enter for the upcoming season, I figured I’m if sending in my start form, I might as well send in last season’s end form as well. As heartbreaking as it is.
The new gear I got late last year? Yeah, it’s still clean.Even Toby was feeling the lack of throttle therapy time with the sidecar left storage.
So what gives?
Going full-time combined with the pandemic has been the perfect storm to derail my saddle time. I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. Between our own logistical struggles and the pandemic fallout that has changed everything in complex, mind-boggling ways, we’ve struggled to carve out significant time to do the fun stuff.
Plus, we’re working really hard right now. Running multiple websites, online stores, and my work on a non-profit board is well beyond a full-time job.
J at camp, working away.Not exactly the kind of saddle time I’d like to be having. But the pizza definitely tasted better sitting on the bike.
Dagger to the heart
Once we were back on the road after the shutdown and it felt ok enough to ride again, we took the GS with us instead of the sidecar outfit. I did some follow-along-on-transit-days rides while J towed, plus a few other short rides in our stationary time.
We found ourselves at Wild Horse State Recreation Area for a couple of weeks over the Independence Day holiday. On that visit, we had a nice chat with the park ranger about riding. He recommended some routes in the area.
When we returned to the park a couple of months later, he stopped by and asked if I’d done any of the rides. I had to sheepishly admit I hadn’t, reminding him we aren’t on vacation. We work from the road.
“So it’s just a really nice campsite ornament then?” he asked, glancing toward my bike.
Yet that was seven months ago. And we’re still struggling to get the seat time we need to feel like we’re living our best lives.
Riding along with the rig on our way out of Great Basin National Park.
Solutions
We know we need to make some changes and we’re working on them as best we can in still-uncertain times. As little riding time as I’ve had, J has had even less with us leaving his bike behind in storage while we’re on the road. We’re not good with that.
We’ve spent many a happy hour lately soul-searching about what we want moving forward. And we have to do that in the context of the state of the world today which is like another universe from when we set out on the road.
It’s definitely time to get our shit together and fix this problem.
This year was not a particularly prolific one on the blog as I took on other projects and tried to unravel the mess I made of things here on New Year’s Day. Even with the dip in my personal productivity here, there were posts that seemed to resonat with y’all.
So in case you missed them, here’s your chance to catch up as we close out the decade. Seriously, the decade! Yikes!
#10 – Vignettes of Cuba
The first post in my Cuba series. Visiting Cuba has been my dear man’s dream for over 20 years. And we finally got a small taste as a birthday celebration for him back in February.
#9 – What Motorcyclists Want You to Know – Part 3
Another episode in my quest to help non-riders understand what we face out there on the road. We’re all in this together and understanding the unique challenges of motorcyclists helps everyone get home safely.
#8 – My Best Photographs of 2018
My annual recap of my previous year’s work. Of course this means the 2019 version is just around the corner.
#7 – Firsts and Lasts
Looking back to my New Year’s Day post has me feeling a bit misty about all the firsts and lasts I’ve had in 2019. I can’t possibly resolve all of the swirly thoughts about the year here but this post captures how I think about them.
#6 – Stop the Bleed
Thank you for taking first aid and safety seriously enough to read a post I consider to be one of my most important. It really falls into the “don’t be a victim” category. There are so many ways we as laypeople can help ourselves and others handle our own crises until trained professionals arrive. This training is a big part of that.
#5 – Doing Things That Scare Me
Apparently you enjoy my life terrors. I’m not sure if that’s commiseration or “Hey, let’s see what shit Val’s gotten herself into now!” but thanks for your support. 🙂
Who knew my tales of fumbling through life would be so interesting. I wish I could say things are resolved but I’m still deep in the process of cleaning up the mess.
#2 – Overcoming GS Block
Bike choice is a very personal and often complex decision, especially for women. But boy howdy do I love this motorcycle.
#1 – The Wisdom of Walt
It seems my chat with Walt Fulton won the year. I’m good with that. I have nothing but admiration and respect for Walt. He’s a perceptive, considerate person who is supremely knowledgeable about the industry.
Thanks for following along again in 2019. Let’s see what I can get into in 2020, shall we?
I’ve found my unicorn—my ideal motorcycle. I’m late to the party, though. Others have known this for decades. There’s a reason BMW’s big boxer-engined GS is insanely popular. It’s an amazing machine.
As you know my friends, I suffered a substantial motorcycle conundrum last year. My fleet became too complex. That motorcycling existential crisis set the stage for bringing home the machine that I can now envision riding for as long as my body and mind allow me to pilot a motorcycle.
I did a lot of soul-searching (AKA hand-wringing) and mental gymnastics (AKA over-thinking) to get to the jump-off point. The R1200GS is a big investment. And I had misgivings about its physical size and my ability to handle it. It only took a multi-day rental test ride to open my eyes to how phenomenal this motorcycle is and how supremely unfounded my misgivings were.
On the road with my rental R1200GS that sealed the deal for me overcoming GS block.
Existential Review
The GS in all of its iterations over the years have been reviewed and picked apart by folks more knowledgable and technically savvy than me. There are countless reviews out there that cover the nit-picky details. My thoughts are more global. It’s really about whether to GS or not to GS.
The set of questions I ended up asking myself about the full-size GS platform in general were things like:
Will this bike do what I need it to do?
Does it fit me? Or can it with some adjustments?
Can I handle it—the size, weight, and power?
What does this bike get me that my others don’t?
Do the improvements justify the expense?
With that said, here are the things that stand out to me after my rental experience and now having put 5,000 miles on my own 2018 R1200GS.
The Upsides
Power
It has half-again as much power as the F700GS I was riding most often. I was suspicious about that much power being overkill for my purposes. But boy howdy, it’s nice. I feel much more in control of my situations on the road knowing how much more quickly I can blip out of questionable scenarios.
Suspension
The patented BMW Telelever front end is brilliant. I love the smoothness and consistent traction. (And no, I’m not going into the “technology makes you a weaker/lazy rider” debate. I have strong feelings about it but that’s a discussion for a different day.)
Wind protection
The R1200GS has considerably better wind protection than my other rides (the BMW F700GS and the Moto Guzzi V7ii Stone) which makes for less ride fatigue. It’s not like riding in a magic bubble but I’m pleased with the improvement without losing the visceral experience of wind and sportiness.
Balance
The balance is extraordinary. The weight is centered so much lower than my 700. That means pushing it around the garage and managing off-kilter moments are a non-issue. That also means I’m more confident in handling it. That’s invaluable.
Controls
The electronic throttle and hydraulic clutch are responsive and light. Having nimble controls is a game-changer for long stretches in the saddle as well as for low-speed maneuvers. Again, the R1200GS is a far cry from my other machines in that regard.
Cruise control
I have to admit that cruise control feels a little like cheating but it’s a fantastic luxury, especially on long days. It took some getting used to but I’m on board now, especially given that I love long rides.
Hill assist
This was initially a con because I’m pretty damn good at managing hills on my other bikes. It felt awkward at first. Now that I’m used to it though, I’m a fan. And since using it is, of course, optional, I can use it to my advantage, on my terms.
Saddle
Even the factory “comfort” seat is much more agreeable than the saddles on any of my other rides. Saddles are something you can customize, of course, but even fresh off the showroom floor, I’m starting with a much-improved setup.
Shaft drive
No more chain maintenance! Of course, that means more complex repairs when things go south but it’s a bargain I’m willing to make.
Suspension and modes
On-the-fly Dynamic ESA and ride modes means being ready for anything quickly. I find myself in enough different scenarios and unexpected conditions that I make use of this far more than I thought I would.
Ubiquity
The popularity of the boxer GS and the BMW brand means repair or maintenance while traveling is fairly accessible.
Accessories
Related to their ubiquitousness, there’s no end to the offerings to farkle this beast. So as I need to tweak and adjust things, I have tons of choices.
Tires and wheels
The combination of tubeless tires on spoked wheels seem to be the sweet spot for adventurous travel. I feel less vulnerable to being stranded. Denting a rim and breaking a wheel are very different repair scenarios. Ditto for plugging a tire compared to replacing a tube.
Long rides
Because of all of the features, luxuries, and improvements, big-mile days are much more achievable. My longer days on my other bikes left me exhausted. I now finish exhilarated for having a fabulous ride that was much less physically challenging. And that’s what’s so counterintuitive about this motorcycle. That such a “big” bike is so much easier to ride. The difference is dramatic.
I test rode a lowered 1200 at the national BMW rally in 2017. My F700GS was only a year old then. It was quite hard to justify making the switch so soon after getting it.
Downsides
Price
Ok, ouch!!! The value is there, absolutely. It is a hell of a lot of bike for the price. But at the bottom line, it’s a big investment. It’s understandable why many folks can’t justify the decision.
If the cost of a new machine is an obstacle, there’s always a healthy used market of pre-farkled GSs seeking new homes out there. And you’re likely to find one for close to what you’d put into a new F750GS or similar bike.
Complexity
It’s a very complex machine. That means more potential failure points in fancy electronics and other bits than simpler motorcycles.
Height
Yes, there are lowered versions but as a standard model, it’s a long way to the ground for us inseam-challenged folks. I’m at the point in my riding career where I can handle it just fine but I had to build my skills to get here.
High tank profile
With the high dome of the fuel tank, I can’t reasonably use a tank bag, still see the displays, and not run into clearance issues with the handlebars at full lock. So I rearranged my packing system to have an easily accessible tailbag-esque setup in front of the top case instead.
The more I ride the 1200, the more amazed I am.
Trying it out
My rental experience was a bit of a challenge. I had to separate my assessment of the bike itself from the need and ability to make adjustments to my own 1200 in the future. The reach from the seat to grips was quite a stretch for me. That made handling it difficult. I also had to quickly get used to a bike that leaves me holding it up on my tip-toes at stops. But that was a decision point in working towards my own. Did I need a lowered suspension? (Short answer, nope!)
So I rode about 500 miles on an ill-fitting rental bike trying to decide if I could make it work for me ergonomically. I also had to assess if any challenges I was having were because it didn’t fit me (a fixable problem) or if the bike as a whole was all-together the wrong choice for my stature. As you can imagine, there were a lot of machinations going through my head the whole time!
Foggy day in Big Sur with our rental bikes. Shout out to the wonderful folks at Dubbelju Motorcycle Rentals in San Francisco. They were awesome!
Making it fit and kitting it out
Despite the challenges during the rental, I came away realizing how phenomenal the big GS platform is and set myself towards bringing one home for good. I didn’t want to take years to put it all together again, though. I needed it dialed in from the get-go.
Fortunately the folks at Sierra BMW are not only incredibly knowledgeable, they’re also really patient. It took hours to sort the details, but with their help I had bar risers, auxilliary lights, aluminum racks and panniers, a skid plate, crash bars, an extra power port, a headlight guard, and a sidestand foot picked out and installed before I even took my new bike home for the first time.
The bar risers were the crucial part to fix my reach problem. Everything else was simply re-establishing the setup I had on the 700. In the end, I realized I didn’t need a lowered suspension and not even a lower saddle profile, both of which I embraced on the 700. I’m still planning on adding modulating brake lights but that’s a minor future detail.
Finally bringing my new adventure beast home! She looks so big but she’s as nimble as a hummingbird.
Recommendations if you’re considering
If you’re thinking of embracing the GS platform, here are some things I learned in my process.
Rent
If you’re in a similar position to me—deciding to change bikes or keep what you have—I highly recommend the rental scenario. Make sure you ride a few days and lots of miles for the full assessment. Not only that, ride your current bike to the rental shop if you can. Then hop directly back on your bike after renting. With no lag time, you get a dramatic and enlightening back-to-back comparison.
Take a class
Consider taking a class at a school that offers the bike. That allows you to put it through its paces before deciding. I rode the R1200GS briefly at the BMW Rider Academy a few years ago and it was an eye-opener. Sadly, I’d only just bought the F700GS and couldn’t justify the switch at that point.
I will credit the instructors for encouraging us ladies to give it a try, though. They know full well we generally suffer from a GS mental block. And they know once we get on it and experience how “not big” it really is, that we’ll be better riders for it.
Keep it in perspective
Remember that the rental won’t be exactly what you’d have. Take stock of what matters and what doesn’t. You’re assessing the bike itself. You’ll farkle and fit it on your terms.
A brief ride on a 1200 at the BMW Rider Academy off-road school was my first eye-opener to the magic of the GS.
Let’s have a huddle, ladies
For many, a GS is a no-brainer. But here’s the thing. We women are largely a bit more skeptical, timid, or less confident in our motorcycling skills than our male counterparts. That’s a broad statement, I know. It certainly doesn’t apply to all women but I see it so much among female riders, myself included.
The point here is that I encourage women not to dismiss the GS as too big. As Jocelin Snow says
Don’t use misinformation as a limitation in your motorcycling life, get on it and ride it—if I can do it, you can do it.
Jocelin Snow
I know it’s easy to look at that petite powerhouse, marvel at her epic badassery, and think she’s not talking about you. But she is. This bike is phenomenally well-balanced.
Yes, it looks big. But I can tell you it’s far easier to handle than my previous F700GS that carried its weight higher. My riding has improved exponentially in just a few months on it.
Don’t get me wrong, my other bikes were necessary steps in my riding growth. The thing to keep in mind is that the 1200 is a powerful machine at 1170 cc. So if you’ve got some experience with smaller cc engines, this could be an appropriate upgrade for you, my fellow badass lady riders. But I can’t recommend any bike of this size for beginning riders.
So I encourage you to keep this bike on your radar. Tell intimidation to take a hike. It’s completely unfounded in this case. This bike is a dream to ride.
For many, especially short-statured women, the 1200 is intimidating.
Fellas, let’s chat
Dudes, you might have noticed I’m a chick so obviously most my focus is addressing women’s issues in this pursuit. Having said that, if any of my thoughts here apply to you as well, that’s awesome. Fistbump to you, fellas.
Also, if you’re a confident male rider who has a lady rider in your life, don’t discourage her if she’s interested in this bike. Don’t fall in with the “too big” mindset and be an obstacle to her riding growth. That would be doing her a disservice.
The first camping trip on the new bike. Navigating dirt and gravel is actually easier on the 1200 than the 700.
Let’s ride
There you have it—my love note to the GS. I hope this less-technical review gives you some insight if you’re considering the GS platform in any of its iterations.
And by all means, drop me a note in the comments if you have a question I didn’t address here!
There’s a saying in the motorcycling world that the perfect number of bikes is always one more than you currently have, also known as the “N+1” formula. A lot of time it’s a matter of having different bikes that serve different purposes. Sometimes it’s simply that each machine is its own special joyous unicorn of form and function—embracing the different experiences of sound and sensuality that each one delivers.
My personal fleet currently consists of a Moto Guzzi V7ii Stone, a BMW F700GS, and a BMW R100RT/Ural sidecar rig. I love all of them. They’re fantastic machines that bring me joy in different ways.
The “little” one in my adventure fleet, my beloved Moto Guzzi V7ii Stone.
Motorcyclist blasphemy
So what I’m about to say borders on blasphemy in the “N+1” motorcycling mindset. I don’t like having multiple bikes. There, I said it. Maintaining them and switching back and forth is a complete and utter hassle. It sucks. They take up a lot of space. Every one needs different parts, maintenance, insurance, documentation. It’s more work than it’s worth and it grates on my minimalist tendencies. It’s too much mental overhead.
Even if I remove the sidecar from the discussion since it’s really a different beast from a two-wheeled machine, I still have two motorcycles that I fumble between and have to keep up with. Owning two bikes only arose out of my living between Georgia and Nevada for awhile. Now that my life is consolidated in Nevada, I truly have no need for the complication of two bikes that fill essentially the same niche.
Betty serves a unique niche allowing us to share riding with friends and the adventure dog, so her position in the fleet is safe.
So sell a bike, Val.
I know, it seems that simple. Clearly I ride and travel on the 700 way more than the Guzzi. It’s certainly the better bike for what I do most of the time. But there’s more to the story.
As great as the 700 has been for me, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Much of that has to do with my body and its challenges in the post-crash era of my life. On top of the unavoidable physical issues of getting older, I’ve got a lot of issues I manage that are the result of the tremendous injuries I suffered. I’m almost four years post-crash and my new normal is now fairly well established. I know what my body will give me, I’m settled into what brings aggravation and what brings relief, and I know what my strengths and limitations are. The 700 got me this far but I’ve maxed out what it can do for me.
Combined with my physical issues, my riding and travel have evolved to the point where the 700 isn’t the optimal machine anymore. Its size, wind protection, and ergonomics—once assets—are now holding me back. So here I am reevaluating my adventure fleet, its limitations, and the potential for improvement with other equipment, instead of simply selling one bike.
My F700GS is my workhorse adventure bike. Even so, there’s room for improvement.
But wait, there’s more!
Let’s look at the larger picture of our household shall we? Because my dear man also has three bikes in the garage. If you’re doing the math, you’ll see that we actually have six different machines that need all of the things that bug me about my three.
His motorcycles have a wider variety of uses across the dirt-to-street spectrum but he really only rides his Yamaha FJ-09 these days. Though it does have its limitations. It’s a sporty-ish bike that doesn’t handle dirt and rough riding the way my 700 does. His KLR 650 is the bike for that job. But it’s basically an old tractor, not a great choice for big-mile days on good pavement. And it’s so underpowered that it’s completely mismatched for riding together when I’m on the 700.
Now throw into the mix the fact that of all the machines sitting in the garage, my Moto Guzzi is the only bike both my dear man and I can ride comfortably. Hence, it’s the only one we can pair with the sidecar for traveling. So if I sell the Guzzi, we end up sabotaging the whole point of the sidecar rig and being able to travel with the adventure dog and share motorcycling with non-riding friends.
Hence, the motorcycle conundrum. What we need is good all-around bikes that have similar capabilities and ergonomics that suit both of us. Which brings us to scrapping our entire two-wheeled fleet in the name of simplicity and function. Because if we’re both riding the same bikes, it doesn’t get much simpler than that at home or on the road.
My dear man’s go-to travel bike, the FJ-09, has its limitations for him as well.
The next bike
I first sat on a BMW R1200GS two years ago in a dirt-riding skills class at the BMW Rider Academy, in South Carolina. I’d trained hard all day on an F700GS. Toward the end of our class, the instructors encouraged us to at least try the R1200GS that had intimidated we smaller-stature women. As I threw my leg over the 1200 one of the coaches asked how long I’d had my 700. “Six months,” I replied. He chuckled and said “Sorry, you’re going to be trading that in after you try the 1200.” Sure enough, after some brief exercises on the 1200, we all wished we’d been riding it the entire day.
The second time I sat in the saddle of a 1200 was at the national BMW rally, in Salt Lake City in July of 2017. I did a demo ride on a lower-suspension model. Struggling to keep from becoming misty-eyed over it, I convinced myself I couldn’t justify the change when my F700GS was perfectly fine at the time.
Yet here I am—having resisted going to a 1200GS for two years—making the leap. The turning point? A culmination of the realizations I’ve mentioned. Attempting to solve the motorcycle conundrum.
My travel has evolved such that the smaller 700 isn’t enough bike for how hard and long I ride while on the road.
My post-crash body has reached a point of stability and known long-term limitations.
I need to simplify the distractions of too many motorcycles.
My dear man has realized that the 1200 would be a good bike for him, too.
The 1200 fits both of us well enough that we can easily swap machines while traveling with the sidecar outfit.
The rental steed that shaped the future of my adventure fleet.
Gotta be sure
Realizations aren’t enough to jump into such an investment, though. The R1200GS is not an inexpensive prospect. There’s also no such thing as the perfect bike. As legendary as the machine is, it isn’t necessarily a good bike for everyone. I needed to know that it would be worth it for me and what I needed to accomplish in reworking my fleet.
So my dear man and I rode to San Francisco to rent two 1200s and ride the California coast for a few days. We were hinging our decision process around several days of saddle time to determine if having two 1200s in the garage, instead five other mismatched two-wheeled bikes, was the answer we were looking for.
Testing out the BMW R1200GS on the Big Sur Coast.
Is the 1200GS the answer?
Short answer: Yep. It filled all of our needs and some we didn’t know we had. Like a boss. Flat out, it’s an incredible motorcycle and there’s no question why it’s so popular.
Even amongst my female rider friends, the bike gets rave reviews. For us inseam-challenged ladies, there is a constant struggle to manage height and what seems like a huge bike. But women riders I’ve spoken with have unanimously said they’ve never looked back after taking the plunge because the 1200 just doesn’t feel as big as it appears to be.
None of this is news to those who already ride 1200s, of course. I’m just a little late to the party. The height and power is intimidating at first. With a left leg I couldn’t trust until now, I simply wasn’t ready for the 1200 when I was getting back to riding. I needed the Guzzi to help get me back into the saddle. I needed the 700 to work through the next stage in regaining my moto mojo. It was a process that needed to happen before I embraced the power and performance of the 1200.
Each bike was the right choice at the time. But times have changed. Cheers to simplicity and progress!
It’s been an amazing adventure putting 30,000 miles on my 700.
I’ll treasure the memories of traveling on my little Guzzi.
I’ll dive into the details of my new love affair with the 1200GS next time. So stay tuned for that as well as the unveiling of my new adventure beast. She’s being tricked out by the phenomenal folks at Sierra BMW so I’ll be ready to tackle a whole new set of motorcycle travel adventures.
A special shout out goes to the absolutely wonderful folks at Dubbelju Motorcycle Rentals for a truly fantastic rental experience.
Adventure on, friends! Keep moving forward.
I will soon be all grins traveling on my very own R1200GS.
