Bmw R 1200 Gs

I put 40,000 km on an '05 GS and it genuinely changed how I think about motorcycles — the 1170cc boxer pulls like a tractor from 2,500 rpm and that Telelever front end corners with an eerie, almost unnatural confidence that takes miles to trust but eventually ruins every other bike for you. On long Alpine days or dirt forest roads it's relentlessly capable, the low-slung torque masking the 229 kg wet weight better than any number on paper suggests it should. That said, the seat is a medieval torture device past 200 km without an aftermarket fix, fuel consumption spikes aggressively if you ride it hard, and the first-gen ESA — if fitted — feels like it was calibrated by committee. It's also just wide enough that tight technical singletrack reminds you this is fundamentally a road bike that tolerates gravel, not the other way around.

I put 40,000 km on a 2010 GS across three continents, and the revised boxer engine is the real story here — 110 hp sounds modest on paper but the mid-range torque between 4,000 and 6,500 rpm is relentless, effortless, and perfectly suited to two-up mountain passes loaded with luggage. The updated ESA suspension genuinely transforms the bike between tarmac and gravel, though the standard setup still wallows under heavy loads until you manually dial it in. At 229 kg wet it's no lightweight scrambler — drop it on a steep Moroccan hillside alone and you'll question your life choices — but get it moving and the mass simply disappears. The new bodywork channels wind protection better than the Gen 1, though the screen turbulence still hits helmet-height for anyone over six feet.