Beemer Buzz
For the unfamiliar, the GS is a dual-sport type of bike built for on and off-road use. It’s big, heavy, and by several accounts, ugly. Regardless, it seemed like the perfect bike to tackle the mix of dirt and asphalt tracks that wind around SoCal.
The test ride my first time on a Beemer. I liked the neutral riding position, the sharp handling, and the mid-range torque. The instrument panel looked like something from an airplane, with dials, switches, electronic readouts, gauges, and still more safety switches located throughout the bike. While my fuel-injected Buell was by no means basic, this thing was in a completely different league. I remained skeptical about the electronic abundance, but with BMW reliability on my mind, I haggled with the dealer and the price went from $5600 to $5000. Sold!
It took a while getting used to such a big machine. Just putting her up on the center-stand caused many hilarious moments until I got the hang of it. The seat is so tall, I don’t see how anyone under six foot could manage. Despite the size, the center of gravity is low and the bike is very easy to manage in town.
On the highway, the engine is smooth, though vibes start showing up around 90 mph. The gas mileage was decent, about 50mpg, and it needed a cup of oil or so every 1000 miles. The BMW did the duty as well as any bike should, and I rode it everywhere.
When splitting through traffic I was a little concerned about the width of the cylinder heads, but after getting wedged between a pair of SUV’s I happily discovered that my hand-guards and saddlebags would gouge anything long before the cylinders did. Only once did that fact cause me any trouble. While splitting traffic my aluminum luggage whacked a ladder hanging low from a garbage truck. I was only going about 10 mph but stopped in a BIG hurry.
The bike spun and pinned me to the side of the truck, whose driver immediately jumped out and helped me get unstuck. I felt like a fool but nothing on the bike (or me) was damaged so live and learn, I suppose.
Shortly after I bought the bike the front brake master cylinder began leaking. Apparently this is a common problem with BMW’s and I had the local dealer install a new one for around $200. Another common problem is the clutch safety switch failure. This failure forced me to start the bike only when the neutral light was on. Normally this would not be a problem except that my neutral light developed a mind of its own and would come on only sporadically, accurately called a ‘lazy neutral light’ by my dealer. Not anxious to shell out another wad of cash, I wired the switch out of the system and went on my way. I recommend everyone with a modern motorcycle do the same.
Although the GS is marketed as an off-road capable, buyer beware, it ain’t a motocross bike and requires a much more respectful and cautious riding style. It will handle just about everything an average rider will throw at it but the trick is to go as slowly as possible over the hazards. Use the copious torque and hardy clutch to work the bike over logs and rocks.
I tried my best to follow that strategy, however my lack of finesse sent the heavy rear end shuddering and jarring over rocks and washes. The suspension is adjustable to a point, the rear has some knobs and clickers that I saw fit to endlessly mess with. Extensive suspension testing revealed the bike has two settings: rock hard or squishy soft.
Doubtless some GS fanatics will criticize me ruthlessly, but I could never get the rear to work correctly off-road. The shaft-driven swing-arm is just too heavy to rebound properly and always felt jerky. But there was no way I was gonna let that little imperfection ruin the fun.
With those saddlebags overloaded with camping crap, I’d bomb down every desert or mountain trail I could find. Holcomb Valley, near the Big Bear ski slopes, provided an excellent proving ground for the GS’s off-road capabilities. Only after did I read reports of some GS frame/engine mounts cracking up from heavy use - yikes! I never did suffer that catastrophe, and the rock solid reliability and sturdiness of the GS has endeared me to the brand.
That summer I decided to take an extended tour of California on the GS. My sister agreed to be the passenger and from San Diego we rode up the East side of California and down the West. While exiting the freeway in San Jose the bike suddenly died, the oil pressure light flashed on, and my leg (lower, mind you) felt very wet!
I nearly had a heart attack on the spot and, fearing the worst, pulled on to the grass. I jumped off the bike and was relieved to smell gas rather than oil. Not a problem, I thought, all that happened was the fuel line disconnected from the injector. However, when I went to reconnect the line, I discovered that it is held to the injector by a single specially-made BMW brand clip that had popped off and careened somewhere down the freeway, or into a gutter, or a million other places.
By some miracle coincidence, I have an uncle that lives in San Jose roughly a mile from where I was stranded! My sister and I pushed the behemoth to his house, and thus began my hilarious exchange with the greatest BMW dealership ever.
I first called and asked if they had fuel line clips for my particular bike. “Of course” was the reply. So I headed across town to the dealer and purchased the $12 clip. But when I finally got back to my GS, the clip did not fit, nor was it even close to resembling the clip on the opposite side. I then went all the way back to the dealer, this time with the remaining proper clip to show them the difference.
The counter girl swore up and down that the clip she sold me would fit my bike, despite my protests and the physical evidence to the contrary. On their showroom floor was a new 2006 1200 GS that had the exact same clip as the one I needed! I pointed this out and after almost 10 minutes of key crunching she explained that the part I wanted was discontinued. My tantrum brought the manager who promised to sort things out. I finally got so fed up I found a mechanic who slipped me a used part and I was finally out of there. While this experience does not speak too poorly of my GS, it does illustrate that even the great BMW is not immune to dealer incompetence. Again, buyer beware!
For my part, I safety-wired the clips in place from then on, and never repeated that experience. By the time I returned to San Diego the GS had over 45,000 miles racked up and was still going strong. I don’t skimp on bike maintenance and kept up with the 4000 mile oil changes. BMW oil is very expensive, and each oil change ran me close to $45.
I nearly had a fit when I found out that BMW brake pads are $66! Unfortunately, the errand girl had already returned from my local shop with the pads, so the damage was done. Always the gentleman, I smiled sweetly and said thank you rather than send her back for an aftermarket set.
During the brutal Southern California winter (ha!) I continued to commute several hundred miles a week on the bike without a single problem. After 56,000 miles the GS looked as good as the day I bought it, the spokes were still tight, the engine was still smoke-free, and I hadn’t a care in the world. That spring, just as Uncle Sam sent me to California, I was called away. My GS sold quickly though an internet ad for $5200. Not a bad way to spend 18 months.
J.E.D.
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