“Agricultural, basic and brilliant, superb handling with a great position.
The more you ride the more you want to.
It's an older machine now but a far better bike than I am rider what more could I want (a bit more power might be good), overall it does it all and I wouldn't want to head off on anything else.”
“My 'one true' (1150) GS is ~14 years old and has ~185,000 miles on the original engine, rings, valves, gearbox, exhaust & suspension units. It's still tight and a joy to thrash-about - despite an engine seizure at ~95,000 miles in the intolerable heat of a downtown Manhatten gridlock, on an ~8,000 mile US trip. It 'un-seized' itself after an hour's cool-down. It's had a clutch (at ~55,000 miles), an ABS regulator (~110,000 miles), and two final drive re-bearings (~98,000 and ~148,000 miles respectively). Replacement front wheel, brake discs and callipers at ~150,000 miles were mega-problematic, almost resulting in 'termination'. Despite the foregoing hassles, the bike's never let me down.”
“My bike was my friends bike which he bought new in 2000 and sold it to me 15 months later. I've ridden the bike for about 76000 km of its 86000 km lifetime. I brought the bike to Europe in 2003 when I was about to trade it in for a new one and decided to keep in in the EU instead (I live in Canada and South Africa) and since then I have done many long rides on the continent as well as all over the UK. Its still a great touring bike after all these years. My wife says the pillion is still the most comfortable she has ever experienced and we have done many runs of between 1000 and 1800 km non-stop over the years. Its the only bike you can do this type of distance without sore butt-syndrone.
Compared to the new BMW Adventure, the 1150 GS is very dated and heavy. Its instrumentation is basic by comparison to the many bells and whistles on the new bikes. I have a new 1200 GS Adventure which I love and enjoy, but cant bear to part with the 1150 GS. As it has got older it uses less and less oil, runs smoother and quieter. I can leave it on a trickle charger for a year and it will still fire on the first kick”
“...and aside from the initial outlay (and you get what you pay for in terms of quality and reliability) that price is in lbs, rather than £s. It's a big heavy machine to move around, and even to get up off the side-stand on a bit of a slope. And if it goes over - especially with a full fuel tank - you'd better be nice to some passers by to get it up again. But on it, it's am imperious riding position, high and visible, and the weight is low down and it handles very well, even two up with luggage. You need to sort a couple of things; the stock screen is poor and needs Turbinators, the stock lights are bordering on the criminal, and need a HID add-on to really work. Once you have done that, you'll have a highly capable commuter, tourer, and in my case, the first bike I've had that's put paid to the lecherous eying of other machines for 8 years now. And that must say something.”
