2010 BMW 1200 GS' - Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Re: Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Hi All:

A few quick additions from the 1200 GS and GS Adventure ride last week…

Meet Sean Lobosco, BMW’s Group Fleet Specialist out of the BMW NJ HQ. This pic was taken just after he gave us the overview of the BMW “Super” GS and GS Adventure bikes and their included accessories.


Sean (rarely will you not catch him smiling for the camera ) behind the “Unstoppable” R 1200 GS Adventure.

This mother and daughter were headed I believe from Maryland to South Carolina to visit relatives. They walked over to talk about the bikes and we had a good 10-minutes time to learn about them and them about the bikes and ourselves.


Whenever we stopped, the 1200 GS and GS Adventure attracted former, current or future rider’s conversation from all walks of life.

Here is an interesting guy that can be best described as the “genuine article”. Meet "Bob" of Montgomeryville Cycle in Hatsfield, PA. He was an absolute card all morning and was not afraid to say what he thought no matter how insignificant or trivial. He was also very sharp when it came to accessories and gear for bikes and humans of all types and sizes as well!


Bob inspecting the 2010 BMW R 1200 GS after the front tire was replaced just minutes before I was on my way for a hellish 95 to 101 degree and 550 mile ride day to Kacey’s in SC.

Wayne

 

Re: Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Hi All:

As the sun was beginning to drop below the mountain peaks to the West, the long ride was in its 9th hour or thereabouts. I stopped at my favorite restaurant (can anyone guess what that is ) for a few Wi-Fi updates and some sustenance.


McDonald’s and WiFi access. What could be better after a long hot day with temps from 95 to 101 degrees F?

Carolina Cyclery stop for a repair that turned out to be a purchase…


Leaving Kacey’s home, we had to pick up a replacement helmet for Harry’s older Aria as one of the shield plate’s was coming apart. This large shop had no parts so Harry had to buy a new HJC CL-15 for the remainder of his ride.

We would stop about every hour or so just to stretch, hydrate and look over the maps…



2010 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure w/ 1200 GS behind... Taking a break while on an off-ramp in NC somewhere.

Wayne

 

Re: Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Hi All:

Like I was alluding to earlier, no matter where we stopped, a friendly conversation would ensue while traveling with the fully loaded 1200 GS’! We met friendly people from all over the country.



While at a station in SC, this individual (a lifelong rider headed to I believe Florida) told us about a motorcycle campground run by a guy and a dog in West Virginia somewhere… Would you believe it, not 8-hours later, we rode past the campground run by a guy and he had (2) dogs in the truck While not in W. VA, it was in NC on I-276 (one of the best Blue Ridge Parkway riding roads in the country!!!) and it was a total fluke we found it. We stayed for two days in fact

If you notice, there is a bit of gas on the ground under the bike... If you top off two or more times, an overflow of sorts comes into play. After that little lesson, a one time, bring the fuel to into the opening was the only top off allowed!

Another shot of the Zentrum – BMW Museum in addition to the one we posted while on the road last week…



The Zentrum – BMW Museum in Greenville, SC. Where BMW’s past, present and future come together in this one-of-a-kind building. The cars, bikes, speed, the innovation–all for free in the only BMW museum in North America. The Zentrum is way more than just a museum; it's a meeting and events center, a cafe, a gallery and a history lesson–all wrapped into one ultimate “visiting” (was someone expecting me to write "Driving" ) experience. The museum site is located right next to the only BMW manufacturing plant in the US and offers something for everyone. And indeed it did!

The 2010 R 1200 GS on the “Dragon”



The Dragon is probably the only road in America (384 turns in 11-miles) that you can have more fun than sex at less than 35 mph

Wayne

 

Re: Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Hi Harry:

No problem about the vid. I will need it to add the "stuff" we were talking about as it will be a boring 20 + minutes without some "stuff" added and cut out.

And what good would a Ride or Drive report be without at least one shot of a fill??? I have plenty more where they came from as everyone knows

The 1200 GS’ best segment - 304.5 miles on 4.987 gallons of fuel = 61.05 mpg. 63.5 mpg on the 1200 GS’ Trip Computer aFCD.​

We stopped for a rest at a VFW and were presented with hospitality beyond reproach by one of the directors… As guests, we could not buy him a drink but we tipped the waitress well and hopefully she bought him a drink later

Harry at the VFW getting into his Rain gear for the deluge that is about to hit.​

When we got to BMW HQ to drop off the GS Adventure, I wanted to snap this head on pic. What I noticed is the GS had a much more pronounced lean angle whenever we parked. Strange for being so close to the GS Adventure in build and design qualities.

2010 - 1200 GS vs. 1200 GS Adventure Lean angle when parked.

​

Whenever I stopped, I was worried it was going to tip over so tried to park it on its center stand (like the white 1200 GS to the right of ours) as much as possible. I dropped it once while trying to get it up on the Center Stand but was better off then when it almost fell over while inside the tent on its side stand.

If I owned a 1200 GS, I would install the 1200 GS Adventure’s side stand at point of purchase.

Wayne

 

Re: Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Hi All:

Last shot before the case detail…

[fimg=left]http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/2010_1200_GS_near_Times_Square.jpg[/fimg]I took the 2010 1200 GS into Downtown NY City towards Times Square. About a block or so from Times Square, I asked a friendly NY City Police Officer if he would snap a pic while I was waiting at a light. He obliged and I thanked him greatly!

Temps on the pavement ranged from 96 to 98 degrees F and I saw 102 degrees on the BMW’s Trip Computer when riding through the Lincoln Tunnel that evening! It was hot and anytime traffic stopped (it took over an hour to get from the Lincoln Tunnel across town to the Queens Midtown Tunnel), it was scorching. The Aerostich Darien Gear and Arai XD-3 breath very well when moving at a 10 mph or more clip but when you stop, you roast!

I tried to stop when crossing 42nd and whatever the cross street Times Square was on but the police presence said no you don’t and waved me forward… Great to see it and it was hopping with the streets crowded with people. Strange to see the large crowds out and about on such a hot night in downtown NY City?

Wayne

 

Re: Wayne & Harry's Excellent Adventure - Part II

Wayne and Harry, these types of stories are among my favorites. Lots of pictures from around the country, plenty of info on all sorts of products, and putting the bikes through their paces in all sorts of conditions. More fun than many sports cars and a lot cheaper and better on fuel too. Just thought I'd say, thanks for the great read and keep up the good work!

 

Hi Mike:

Now that you have a bike, I hope you can come with on one of these rides someday! And thanks for the compliment on the ride report. While not a review yet, it gets all the “stuff” down before the formatting for the review to come later…

And about those excellent cases that came as an accessory on the 1200 GS. I am not sure who they are made by yet but have a request into BMW for more information.

This is one of the side cases removed and lying on the ground. Both sides and the top case can be expanded and collapsed in the exact same manner.


The case locked in its most collapsed position with expansion lever secured.


Expanding the case with expansion lever in mid-position.


Case is now expanded to its maximum volume and the expansion lever is secured.

Wayne

 

Hi All:

BMW 1200 GS Case’s continued…

From attached to dismounted and carrying them to your tent, hotel, garage or basement for storage off the bike.



Case attached, secured and key locked on the bike. With the case locked, pushing the yellow button on the carrying handle does nothing.



Unlock w/ the bikes key, push Yellow Button on carrying handle to lift out of the way and Push Yellow Tab inside the recess to Open Case for access to interior for loading or unloading of clothes, gear, whatever.



Lift Red Tab in recess to allow case to be unlocked (but not yet removed) from the bike.


Not shown is a small black plastic closing hasp in the front of the case that has to be opened for the Case to be removed as well.



Lift Red Locking Handle in back to completely unlock Case from bike.




Lift Case off bike.




Carry case(s) away…


These have to be the most ingenious set of cases I have ever seen attached to a bike. They are waterproof (I would not want to submerse them of course) and were tested during some heavy rain while crossing parts of VA and PA with no water making its way into the interior of the cases. They are tough as they protected the bike during its lay down at 0 mph while trying to get it up on the center stand and they are unique with the collapsible and expandable volume and locking/access/removal arrangement.

If you are going to purchase a 1200 GS for long distance Adventure Touring, I would highly recommend spending the estimated $1,500 for these expandable cases. They were worth their weight and made the review and ride that much more enjoyable.

That said, I did ride the bike back to BMW HW from Long Island with all my gear removed from the cases and there was a difference. A slightly more nimble feeling to the bike at a stop then when fully loaded and the top heavy feeling dissipated somewhat. This would be the case with any top cases loaded vs. unloaded but just be aware of the top heavy difference. While riding down the road at 3 mph or more, you will not realize they are even there which is exactly as it should be.

Also, with the cases fully expanded, they do stick out quite a ways as can be seen in some of the earlier photos. There was quite a bit of drag added to the bikes profile which surely affected the Fuel Economy somewhat. Even so, 57 mpg from a bike rated around an unadjusted EPA of ~ 45 mpg shows the bike even with the cases fully extended and packed cannot hold the mighty 1200 GS back.

Did I mention that these cases were fantastic!

Wayne