Reply With QuoteGood advice, particularly about buying from stock. When I bought my Tiger I decided to forgo a factory order in black for a stock bike in red, and that saved me £600.Originally Posted by downer
I bought mine two years ago but the new bike buying landscape has definitely changed since then. Back then, I got a good deal with some discount and extras. These days, I think that would be far more difficult.
However, the normal rules probably apply:
- Buying from stock rather than factory order. If you are flexible about the finer details of the spec, you are likely to get a better deal on an in-stock bike.
- Cash/Finance etc. It's a fact that most GS (and probably most bikes) are purchased with finance/PCP, and that tends to be where the dealer puts his "deal" focus. If buying on finance, the APR etc is probably the best place to score a deal.
- Shop around. My friend was looking at buying a GS back in June. He got wildly different part-ex values and his best deal was from a dealer in the NE of England. The locals were miles out.
- Timing. People say you'll get the best deal at quarter end etc. My local dealer seems to push a lot of volume out of the door in specific months, so it could be true...
- Extras. As mentioned above, you can probably squeeze the dealer on the things that are worth more to you than to them - service, GPS unit, gear etc.
There doesn't seem to be many stock bikes being advertised - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-se...&year-from=new
although Ocean BMW are showing a couple with price reductions.
As above really. I could not get Bahnstormer to move on price (straight buy with no finance on an in stock bike), but did get some extra gear for the bike thrown in.
I’ve just bought a 69 plate rallye from bahnstormer- was going to buy new and always pay cash for cars or bikes
No “deals” on GS’s , which are in short supply, as the factory that builds the esa suspension units is still under feet of water after floods….a couple of dealers told the same story and also that prices were very likely to increase quite sharply over the next year.
Having said that I was offered one of 2 or 3 new ones that were left- just no deals on price at all.
So the missus was a regular biker in Thailand using a Honda VRF800. She is keen to get back into it in the UK. Quick one, for the bikers what would you say is the one thing that's unique about riding on UK roads (more things/dangers to watch out for)?
Quite lucky in that I can rent a variety of bikes, through the Cruizador app, and direct from owners. Not been tempted to try a HD or Rocket III, but a Duke 1290 was very "exciting" on mountain twisties. Might try a Zero next. The scheme certainly allows for insights into the bikes and my riding that I wouldn't get on a 30-minute test ride.
Speeding tickets. Tbh if she handled a VFR out there she'll be fine here. Just watch out for bus lane fines, speeding fines, and yellow box junctions etc.
I agree with some of the comments its here, it was hard to get a deal, but I did get one local to me. In fact Bahanstomers ( I knew it is misspelt) told me to take the deal I was offered. There are some out there still.
Day 2 of tour round North Wales. Explored Anglesey for a change. Then back to Llanberis.
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Maybe road conditions Ryan eg mud on corners, wet leaves , gravel. The sort of stuff you never notice in a car but can have you off. She will be more than aware of hectic travel and other motorists.
Bike wise a VFR800 is a bit head down arse up stance. There are some nicer bikes , if my missus wanted to ride I would look no further than a Ducati Monster or maybe a Fantic Cabellero , lastlna Triumph Street twin, all these give similar power but in a more relaxed style. Steve
Agree with all the advice above , just a thought, do you need to buy new? A lot of GS riders I know swap bike out every 2/3 years just to get the latest iteration from the mothership. Often they chop in bikes with less than 10k. The only thing I would add is get the best warranty you can, these new BM engines are very technical and can be a bit flakey and that warranty is vital.
My GS , only the lowly 800 was an ex BMW bike 12 months old 10 k miles full history and two year warranty, saved me about 35% of list.n
Steve
A caballero hardly has the same power as a vfr800!
All good choices though, but if she was happy with her Vfr then she can get another cheap enough and, as things go, they’re a comfortable ride.
I think most of the 'hazards' associated with UK roads have been mentioned but the one thing that does my nut in every time I go into London is the huge range and sheer quantity of signage, both on and at road sides...not forgetting different road colours denoting bike and bus lanes. There is little, if any, consistency across councils/boroughs and so its very easy to get things wrong (and be photographed and fined as a result, esp which bus lanes motorbikes can use).
Like owning a Ferrari in Chelsea, power can be overrated.
Hooning - Caballero.
Longer runs, greater speed - VFR.
She might need more than one
Well, yesterday I had the Tiger's first "service" (i.e. oil and filter change, plus a general check-over) done, and finally offloaded the low seat; in its place I now have the Triumph lower engine bars. Today I went for a ride into central London and stopped off at Regents Park for coffee and a muffin. I have a fantastic parking spot on the Outer Circle, on a little strip of roadway that sits between the double yellow lines on the public road and the pavement immediately in front of the period office building facing the park, and enables access to the private car park a little further along (in fact, the park's boating lake and coffee shop are just the other side of the hedge in the photo below). I've parked every bike I've owned here multiple times without a problem, and the space is always available as the little strip in question really serves no purpose whatsoever, and is too narrow to take a car.
Just a couple of things to mention...
Firstly, I realised when I picked the bike up yesterday that the standard seat had never been properly fitted in the low position, either by me or the Triumph technicians. It now is, though, and it makes enough of a difference that I can actually flat foot the bike. In fact, riding in traffic today has given me a lot more confidence, and I no longer get nervous when coming to a stop. That's helped by the fact that I've developed a slightly different technique for stopping on this bike, in that I've realised it feels less precarious if I out my foot down literally at the moment that the bike stops and whilst the forks are still compressed; sounds strange, perhaps, but it really makes a difference.
Secondly, I was filtering and stop/starting today for much of my time on the road, and the Tiger behaved impeccably in those conditions. It's size, relatively high centre of gravity and larger front wheel mean that I can't dart into little gaps the way I might have done on my other bikes, but once you allow for that it's completely capable (and really does seem like a genuine all-rounder, which is just what I wanted). In fact, I feel quite confident on/used to it now, to the extent that it doesn't really feel particularly big any longer.
It may not get the looks and comments, but it does the business.
I’m not going to argue with that, I came to the conclusion that small bikes are more fun a long time ago.Like owning a Ferrari in Chelsea, power can be overrated.
Hooning - Caballero.
Longer runs, greater speed - VFR.
She might need more than one
So why are two of my bikes 1300 and 1400cc?
There is no need to answer that, I already know!
Last edited by Dave+63; 12th September 2021 at 15:23.
That is Sussex Place and it is private property belonging to LBS (the building #26 is where the Dean lives). Caution, the bike can be removed by security…Well, yesterday I had the Tiger's first "service" (i.e. oil and filter change, plus a general check-over) done, and finally offloaded the low seat; in its place I now have the Triumph lower engine bars. Today I went for a ride into central London and stopped off at Regents Park for coffee and a muffin. I have a fantastic parking spot on the Outer Circle, on a little strip of roadway that sits between the double yellow lines on the public road and the pavement immediately in front of the period office building facing the park, and enables access to the private car park a little further along (in fact, the park's boating lake and coffee shop are just the other side of the hedge in the photo below). I've parked every bike I've owned here multiple times without a problem, and the space is always available as the little strip in question really serves no purpose whatsoever, and is too narrow to take a car.
Just a couple of things to mention...
Firstly, I realised when I picked the bike up yesterday that the standard seat had never been properly fitted in the low position, either by me or the Triumph technicians. It now is, though, and it makes enough of a difference that I can actually flat foot the bike. In fact, riding in traffic today has given me a lot more confidence, and I no longer get nervous when coming to a stop. That's helped by the fact that I've developed a slightly different technique for stopping on this bike, in that I've realised it feels less precarious if I out my foot down literally at the moment that the bike stops and whilst the forks are still compressed; sounds strange, perhaps, but it really makes a difference.
Secondly, I was filtering and stop/starting today for much of my time on the road, and the Tiger behaved impeccably in those conditions. It's size, relatively high centre of gravity and larger front wheel mean that I can't dart into little gaps the way I might have done on my other bikes, but once you allow for that it's completely capable (and really does seem like a genuine all-rounder, which is just what I wanted). In fact, I feel quite confident on/used to it now, to the extent that it doesn't really feel particularly big any longer.
It may not get the looks and comments, but it does the business.
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Hmmm... the site is far less grand and a bit further around the Outer Circle; not sure if it's actually LBS or not. That said, security don't seem to mind at all. In fact, two of them were chatting a couple of feet from me today, and just gave me a nod. (Thanks though, and heads-up appreciated... I may have a word with them next time, just to be sure.)
Thanks for the feedback gents
Next time you stop by, ping me as I am often around there!
Good to hear you've got it sorted, I know it's been bothering you and now you can relax and enjoy the bike - also that you found an issue with the seat fitment so now Gyp can go ahead and get his!
A good day for me today, did 100k on the pushbike this morning, watched the F1 with my son, enjoyed a nice nap and made and enjoyed a roast dinner this evening with the family, but in the midst of that lot squeezed in a blast on the Blade. I can't remember a bike where I would bother to do that for a while.
There a numerous things I like about it but one I thought I'd mention is it the last of the carburated models so no ECUs or EU stuff here, just carbs and old school electronic ignition. Actually enjoying having to use a bit of choke when starting it cold!
Simon, even my olde 1977 Kawa triple has electronic ignition fitted. Apparently maintaining three sets of points on a lowly 250 cc bike was a bit of ask even back then , so in the noughties most owners converted to Boyer Brandson.
Only bit of advice I would give you is the carbs will be full of multi metal components that will not like the water loving E10 fuel we are being served. So use the best fuel you can and when laying up for the winter use either a FuelFit ( Briggs & Stratton) additive, or drain the tank and run the carbs dry and store vented and empty. Same goes for the rubber fuel lines that turn to liquorice with the new fuel.
Steve
Ah the good old days of points and feeler gauges, I remember them well! And the aftermarket CDI systems people would replace the points based systems with in the 70s and 80s with varying degrees of success...
Fuel, that's an interesting one and you raise a good point about the newer Ethanol based fuels. Previous owner ran it on SUL which I have continued, not sure it's really needed with no ECU or knock sensors but it's a not a huge extra expense. Anyway, I usually run my bikes up every few weeks in the winter so hopefully that will help, will look into the additive though.
Tarmac is great for getting me to these kind of roads!
I much prefer the challenge of wrestling the bike up the UK's network of green lanes.
I didn't make it up this one in this direction, loose stones and steps got the better of me - I had to start the other end and ride down. The photo doesn't convey how big some of those rock steps are, and there were bigger one up ahead.
Blimey ! Did you plug that or is that the guts of the tyre after pulling the bolt out ?My contender for puncture of the week courtesy of the M25. The tyre was two weeks old.
That reminds me of a section we used to do just outside Hawes on the way back to Settle.Tarmac is great for getting me to these kind of roads!
I much prefer the challenge of wrestling the bike up the UK's network of green lanes.
I didn't make it up this one in this direction, loose stones and steps got the better of me - I had to start the other end and ride down. The photo doesn't convey how big some of those rock steps are, and there were bigger one up ahead.
Tough old section, especially when wet and slippy. You can’t beat the green lanes!
I know i`m a bit late to the GSA party but following on from a previous post on here i took this behemoth for a test ride today;
Yes, it goes well, smooth, too. Accelleration is `brisk` and you can motor on at speed with no fuss and in complete comfort.
I think the characteristic of the boxer has changed a lot - it feels more of a rev-happy jobbie mated to a close-ratio `box which and thrives on it, only way to make the performance figures people want i suppose but i`m not sure of it, i like big twins to be grunty more than revvy. First gear seemed to be shorter than my own GS - i like a really long first gear, pulling away and getting up to a reasonable speed before shifting up makes for a relaxed `big engine` feel.
The GSA can look intimidating but that bulk and weight simply evaporates as soon as you get astride, the GS`s posses magical qualities as far as making the size and mass evaporate.
The initial 20 mins or so were spoilt by my not wearing my usual earplugs, it`s not just the wind roar in my helmet but more engine noise that i dislike. Not that the GS engine is particularly clattery (or is it?) but i was surprised that it emitted similar sounds to my old 1200 with that familiar boxer whine/grumble/gearbox clank and final drive clunks etc. I thought it may have been a bit quiter. Earplugs filter out all those noises and make even the roughest of motors sound sewing machine-smooth leaving you with just the precision purr from the engine and a (faint in this case) exhaust note. The ride after wearing the plugs made the experience much better. That`s not a critisism of the BM, it`s probably just my own habits.
I thought i was going to be hugely dissapointed when i got back on my old hexhead but apart from the performance advantage of the GSA my bike didn`t feel too bad at all. I like it.
I think the GSA may be one of those bikes that gets better the more you ride it as it`s full potential and capabilities becomes apparent and the bike as a whole grows on you.
Yes it`s obviously better than my old 1200 by far but is it £15K better? A lot of that cost is probably in the electronic farkles, gizmo`s and gadjets...
I suppose that`s what you have to spend to own the latest model with all the bells`n`whistles, it`s great bike but i wasn`t completely blown away if i`m honest. Perhaps it`s just too refined and capable now and some of the character of old which i like has been lost. Progress..
I think i`ll need another test ride, or trya Pan America!
Try the standard GS instead of the 20kg heavier GSA. GS is still the best all round adventure bike for on and off road imho. No GS/A has ever had a tall 1st gear as it’’s geared for off-road abilities and not high speed. The RS and RT have c.15% longer gearing because of the final drive ratio, and it makes for a far more relaxed high speed ride that feels more ‘elastic band’ in propulsion.
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I bought a little green bike to go with my big green bike
it's so much fun
Last edited by uktotty; 14th September 2021 at 14:45.
Interesting F9 this week. I'm now going to lean the wrong way on corners...
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What’s F9?
If you watch motocross or (easier to see) super moto, the rider stays upright whilst the bike is meant right over.
The idea is to get all the weight on the outside peg; it really does work and is often faster than using conventional wisdom ie hanging off the inside of the bike and keeping it as upright as possible.
Of course, it’s much easier to do on an off road inspired bike than a race rep.
Sorry, FortNine. A Canadian YouTuber, one of the very few YouTube channels I regularly watch. Good content and high production values
https://youtube.com/c/FortNine
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Fortnight is great but I can't help thinking he's about 9 years old!
Try riding a super Moto on a racetrack and you may change your mind.
Possibly my most memorable track day was riding round Cadwell on a WR400 with 17” road rubber, it was amazing.
Not being a racer though and even though I was pretty quick, I never ran out of rubber.
I do agree though, it’s best to have more than one option to choose from.
The GS isn't an off road bike however it's marketed (I say that as a GS Rallye owner). It's a great touring bike, super comfy for long road day's and light/medium trails unless you're a pro. Yes, it can go places but as soon as you're properly off road you're on the wrong bike. In my opinion of course. I've seen your great tour pics (and they do look fantastic) but if you were on your own and dropped a GS in a deep river crossing or half way up some steep hill you'd be in trouble. The adventure tour documentaries with the likes of Ewan and Charlie were done with back up teams and support. Solo RTW adventure bikers rarely use something like a GS.
If you're with a good bunch of mates though then you're probably closer to the mark.
Last edited by manganr; 14th September 2021 at 16:58.
Of course it rained. It's Ireland.
Mistral exhausts. Glorious. Fender extender. Essential. MG sport bars. Back in the spares box. Oh and an evapectomy. Transformative.
This.
If you have mad off road skills........then fine.
But if you're a mere mortal you're asking for trouble.
Very few GS's go off road....and I'm not counting the ones that go a few hundred metres for the FB/Insta photo.
Is that the new 850cc engine. A guy I ride with fancies one he currently rides a V7 Anniversary , but has been derailed by the new Mandello 100 launchOf course it rained. It's Ireland.
Mistral exhausts. Glorious. Fender extender. Essential. MG sport bars. Back in the spares box. Oh and an evapectomy. Transformative.
Last edited by higham5; 14th September 2021 at 21:28.
Like many SUVs, there are better purpose-built off-road vehicles, and there are better road-dedicated touring vehicles. In extremis, the SUV will struggle where dedicated machines for the terrain may do better.
When you are going long distances over a mixture of tarmac and off-road, the vehicle needs to be a compromise. And as a one bike solution "Gelande-strasse", the GS nails the brief better than any other bike today. I use my GS on and off road. Off road enough for full 8 hours over 100+ miles in a day to the point we did exceed the capabilities of the tyres and rider (not the bike). Off road, the limiting factor is significantly determined by the rider and tyre choice, less so the machine itself. I have zero interest in Ewan and Charlie and have never finished watching any of their videos. I'd much rather be riding the places myself, and no I don't have back up teams and support. Riding with mates is always a good idea - for safety as much as camaraderie. Don't judge the bike based on your own skills.
Last edited by spareparts; 14th September 2021 at 23:33.
I don't think anyone's doing that?
go on you tube and you can find probably find an arfican kid riding a moped on terrain that most westerners would not consider a road and its doing fine , labelling something for one use or another just gets people spending money.
Perhaps if those tyres were attached to a different bike the rider would have been okay and his skill level fine.
Your mates are your support team. I imagine your bike would still be in a ditch abrad somewhere had you been alone.
Anyway, not interested in arguing, just opinions from another GS owner.
Yes the V7 850 Stone Centenario. Couldn't be doing with the chrome, halogen lights and tubed tyres of the Special.
Last edited by kildareman; 17th September 2021 at 09:50. Reason: spelling
Drove over the Gt St Bernards pass yesterday from Switzerland 🇨🇭 into Italy 🇮🇹. I reckon easily 80% of the bikes I saw were GS's in one form or another. How I wished I was on the bike!
So I have a Yam Tracer 700 as my first proper bike, and I want to replace the exhaust but I just decide which one for. :)
The main thing I want is removable baffles that can be easily re-installed. I sometimes have to leave early for work and whilst my neighbours are used to my noisy car, they might draw the line at a noisy bike.
I'd love the Akra as it sits so neatly underneath, but re-fitting the baffle could get boring quickly. The other one I like is the Ixil Hyperlow as re-fitting the baffles looks a doddle.
Any other recommendations for a system with baffles that can be easily refitted?
I`ve been doing it that way since 1986....!
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