It's about time I did a review on my new bike so here it is.
Let's get the technical stuff out of the way first then
Displacement: 798 ccm
Engine: Twin
BHP: 84.4
Cooling: Liquid
Gear Box: 6 Speed
Weight (wet): 207kgs
Seat Height: 850 - 880
Width: 945
Wheelbase: 1,478
Upside down forks
Right hand Chain Drive
Front Brakes: double disk ABS
Rear Brakes: Single disk ABS
Power / Weight ratio 0.4566 hp/kg
Fuel Capacity 16 litres
Fuel consumption: out of a full tank I can get between 190 - 220 miles
As a new BMW it comes with 2 years warranty and BMW European breakdown cover
Comfort
I did a 800 mile trip over a weekend from Wales up to the Lake district and back with some little trips whilst there. I found that after 180 miles I needed to stop which is better than any of the other bikes I have ridden. The riding position is good, I do like the upright tall trail bikes and I found that once the handlebars had been moved a little closer to me the bike is easy and comfortable to ride for a good distance.
The seat is good for about 150 miles, after that you do get a bit of a numb bum but my bike has a lowered seat so less padding than a standard. I had no aches or pains in my arms or back, and leg position is also comfortable at 5ft 8 I found the foot pegs ideally placed for me.
Handling
This bike is remarkably confidence inspiring, coming into corners you get the feel that the bike will get around without any problems. It is very "flickable" with the fuel tank being under the seat the low centre of gravity means it feels light and manoeuvrable on corners and when moving around at low speed, this is a big bonus being such a tall bike I do struggle to paddle around when parking so the low centre of gravity means that I am not fighting to keep her upright when doing slow manoeuvers.
Braking
I was unsure of the ABS to start off with but after a few times out I love the brakes, because the brakes are so responsive I have found that I have more confidence to come into corners a bit faster because I know the bike will stop, I have also had to emergency stop in anger (bloody welsh sheep) on a welsh twisty mountain road, which ahd been recently gravelled for resurfacing. The bike stopped effortlessly and I was able to maintain good control throughout the stop.
Performance
This bike has a big grin factor, it is quick from a standing start, copes with both motorway miles, country roads and city traffic and filtering. The throttle is a little aggressive, which when filtering through traffic could potentially be problematic but as long as you keep in a higher gear and use lots of revs it is fairly easy to manage. It can catch you out a bit though in the lower gears, I have found that acceleration was not quite so smooth.
One thing to absolutely love about this bike is the sound it makes, when I first heard the exhaust note I was instantly in love, it sounds dead sexy
There are a few things that have taken getting used to, BMW
indicators, one on each side and the cancel on the right hand bar, it took me quite a while to stop twitching the throttle when indicating and cancelling the indicator.
There is very little storage room under the seat, I do like to keep a few tools, lipstick and maybe some nice smellys under there
but there is only room for the BMW tool kit (which is a screwdriver, spanner and allen key) and your service book.
As with all BMW only the bike comes as standard so things like handguards, rear luggage rack, heated grips, ABS are extra.
In conclusion, I really do love this bike, it's light and nippy, easy to handle, brilliant on fuel and in my opinion is the best looking of the GS family (I know they've all fallen out of the ugly tree)
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