1250GSA to 1250RS

[soofsayer]

Hi folks, I hope everyone is doing well.

Quick hello from me. I?ve not been posting for a while, mainly due to riding a GSA for the past few years due to practicality and health issues, so having nothing to contribute to the forum - big thanks to alex for keeping the forum ticking over.

The itch to get back to something more sporty has led me to decide to move to a 1250RS. It?s not an rr I know but an rr just doesn?t work for me right now. In time?

I haven?t ridden a 1250RS but I know the engine and gearbox well, and have sat on one in the stealer to get a feel for the ergos. Feels like the old K1300S did, which was a nice place to be for longer journeys with luggage, as well as for spirited ride outs.

Anyway,

First things first, I?ve been out of the loop on bike bling for a while and need some Ilmberger cf. Is there a best source for it? Any discounts on?

Thanks!

 

[alex]

Aye aye.

Carbon: With import duties its a bit of a lottery on costs. Feels easier to just let reactive or performance parts sort that out and then you know the price to you. You just have to wait a while as they can take their sweet time if its not in stock. Carbon prices have rocketed. Chinese sourced copies are well worth a look.

There was a thread on the 1250RS on here very recently. Most that had test ridden it said it was dull. How are you finding it? I've seen a guy on the US forum picked one up and seems to be loving it.

Sent from my SM-S9060 using Tapatalk

 

[soofsayer]

I?ll let you know when I?ve got it. Thanks for the carbon info.

 

[alex]

It's a bike I want to like - seems to be the best of many worlds...commented the same to @ricks1k at the Excel show last year.

 

[alex]

https://s1000rrforum.co.uk/showthread.php?18617-1250-rs

The other thread

 

[RickS1K]

I was.... less impressed lol

 

[oldwobbler]

Alex is doing a great job with the form, more flying than ticking over :eagerness:
I'm conflicted with the RS. Ride magazine had a review on it last month (Simon Hargreaves) and he loved it. The same magazine the month before compared the RS with the Ninja SX1000. They said the Ninja was the better bike. Go figure. I'm thinking the leap from an RR to an RS is just too much for me, as much as I think I should like it. I'm currently undecided but the RS is no longer top of my list.

 

[alex]

They should build a new K1300S...

 

[soofsayer]

New K bike would be good but I cant see it happening. The boxer twin is a good reliable engine and in most of their bikes now.

The RS wont have the crazy acceleration of the rr obviously, but I found the GSA acceleration on road more than enough to make progress and make overtakes whenever I wanted. The low down COG should lead to great handling (for a heavy bike), as well as the forks actually being forks without the telelever gubbins. Forecast is decent so the plan is to give it a blast late Wednesday and then a 260 round trip to the office Thursday to get used to its touring abilities. Having done the same route across the Denby Dales for years on many different bikes it will be a good indicator to me of the bike?s abilities. As it?s ex demo the running in service has been done which is helpful. I?ve decided to hold off the farkles until I?m happy with keeping it.

and when the garages get built next year I think an rr may be back on the cards.

 

[alex]

and when the garages get built next year I think an rr may be back on the cards.

Yey!

 

[soofsayer]

Today the RS arrived.

Not the best looking bike, fugly in a forgiving way, but unless it?s a Panigale nothing is really that stunning imo. In Triple Black format I think it looks pretty decent. I may add a CF belly pan and a tinted front screen at some point. And the exhaust may need changing although it sounded pretty good for a stocker.

As the forecast was reasonable I took the opportunity to have a ride out. 100 miles round trip to Stockton on Tees using A and B roads.

Got to say, what a cracking bike BMW have got here. Set in dynamic mode with suspension also in dynamic and Auto I set off. The PR5s it comes with make a welcome change to the crap BMW have put on some of their bikes in the past. The first thing that I noticed was how good the damping is. The roads were very bumpy in sections but the bike remained planted and without any fuss tipped into each corner. Very unlike the rr I had which would bounce about quite a bit and take a while to settle. The rear always felt planted and the shove out of the corners never felt like it overwhelmed the tyre (although the TC had something to do with that according to the connected app). The front end felt very good tbh, much more responsive than the GSA I had prior, and again the damping gave lots of confidence and feel.

Dynamically it felt a lot like the K13 bikes with the ergos very similar. The front felt more engaging than the K probably due to the straight forks instead of the telelever setup on the K bikes. Visibility all round is excellent. The wing mirrors give a really good unencumbered view of what is behind (not much on this occasion, as I found the bike wanting to overtake everything it came across).

Making progress felt very easy. The gearbox was very smooth (which surprised me, I was expecting an agricultural GS experience), and no changes missed with the blipper or manually, and no false neutrals lol. In terms of acceleration it has tons of torque from 2k rpm so just picks up and goes. It wouldn?t keep up with an rr but for public roads there isn?t much room to go faster or quicker than this thing goes. Sitting in 3rd or 4th gear through twisty sections at National speed limits the bike just loved it being mid of the rpm range.

I think on a track it would get a bit boring after a few sessions, just because you can ring it?s neck and still be in control, whereas the rr would kick you in the nuts and grin if you treated it the same.

By the time I got home I felt like I?d been out for a proper ride, you know those rides where you feel you?ve had a workout because you?ve nailed it all the way and been totally focused. It?s been a while since I?ve felt like that after a ride (since I sold the rr), and I?m buzzing. Imo it certainly fills the gap between ?big tourer? and sports bike, just where the K13s left off. Like any bike there are compromises, so far I?d say I haven?t really found one, I suspect the long distance touring may be more tiring on this compared to a GS, we shall see.

 

[oldwobbler]

Congrats on the new bike, pleased you like it. I think they look quite classy and it's way better looking than any GS I've seen.

 

[alex]

Hope I can have a go next time I'm up that way...

 

[Oli]

Congratulations on the new bike Andy, it?s great to hear your initial impressions are so positive. The mechanic who typically works on my bike says the RS is his favorite road bike in the BMW range!
Can very much relate to what you mean re proper in the zone ride. It seems as soon as you get back on a bike with a more sporting riding position it does transform the experience.
Shall look forward to hearing about further updates in due course [emoji41]