EP: 29 BMW R 1250GS – 2 Year Owner Review + Positives, Negatives, Upgrades and top 5 Accessories

BMW R 1250GS 2 year owners review and test. It’s been just over two years with my BMW R 1250 GS Rallye, so its time to share my experience and thoughts, the good and the not so good, the positives and the negatives, upgrades and my favourite top 5 accessories.

This episode is just 1 of currently 29 episodes all about the R1250GS/A covering lots of different topics and with several episodes explaining BMW technology and things like how to get the best from your dynamic ESA suspension.

If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I will reply…

Hopefully you enjoy the content I create, so by Subscribing you are letting me know, that you appreciate the effort and time I invest in creating these episodes, and it also helps to grow and develop the channel.

Best Wishes, Carl

Below are the links to my 5 top accessories that I talk about in this episode; most are available on Amazon at a very good price: Just click on the link below…

For the replica screen mounting brackets see the below Amazon links. please be aware that the ones I ordered came from eBay. The original seller no longer lists them, but they are still available from other sellers, and the prices varies from 15€ to 35€. But I have also found them on Amazon on ( .com and .co.uk and .de ) see the links below.

Please note: that which ever seller you purchase them from, you will need to buy the additional bolts. What I did was remove the original BMW ones and take them to a hardware store and buy the same bolts in stainless steel, you can also order these in titanium.

If you live in (Germany) or Europe, you can get them on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/4cmn2KO

If you live in the United Kingdom….

Rear swing arm protection (Black-carbon effect): https://amzn.to/3y8jrgW
Givi V47NNT Tech Monokey Top-Case in Carbon-Look: https://amzn.to/4c7sAst
Resin Bike 3D sticker that mounts to the grab handles: https://amzn.to/3TxOmOI
Resin Bike 3D Carbon effect side panels (Upper): https://amzn.to/48P3fRe
Resin Bike 3D Carbon effect side panels (Lower): https://amzn.to/3Vb3WBe
Rear tool bags (mount on grab handles): https://amzn.to/3wWGWvC
Replica screen mounting brackets (all 4 parts) : https://amzn.to/4aoHQQ6
*Note for above replica * this is a different supplier to what I used.

If you live in North America….

Rear swing arm protection (WHITE VERSION): https://amzn.to/49IfSPk
Givi V47NNT Tech Monokey Top-Case in Carbon-Look: https://amzn.to/4c4LEaZ
Resin Bike TROPHY sticker that mounts to the grab handles: https://amzn.to/3TwMVQH
Resin bike 40th Anniversary 3D gel for rear grab handles: https://amzn.to/4a5qTtS
Resin Bike 3D Carbon effect side panels (Upper): https://amzn.to/3v7TbVK
Resin Bike 3D Carbon effect side panels (Lower): https://amzn.to/3wZPv8U
Rear tool bags (mount on grab handles): https://amzn.to/3Ivb4km
Replica screen mounting brackets (all 4 parts) : https://amzn.to/3TujPjF
*Note for above replica * this is a different supplier to what I used.

“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” so these are classed as Paid Links.
This basically means I may earn commission on anything you purchase from using the links above.

My channel is not sponsored, so by using these links above your helping support the channel and its very much appreciated.

– Thank you !!

00:00 Start
03:04 Positives – Engine
06:37 Chrome Exhaust
07:38 Brakes
08:42 Comfort
13:21 Adaptive Headlight
14:24 Negatives – Screen
16:54 Gearbox
18:51 Warranty / Recalls
23:01 Updates – Indicators
24:40 Tyres
26:10 Dashboard Update
28:31 Bar Risers
31:06 Top 5 Accessories
36:10 Was It The Right Choice?
39:24 M 1300GS

Hello and welcome to the 2-year review of  BMW’s R 1250 GS. Now, you might be thinking:   Is this still a relevant topic? Especially when  we bear in mind that the new R 1300 is on the   market and it has been for several months  and seems to be selling very well.   

Well, I think there’s still room for letting people know just how good these bikes are. Just because   there’s a new model doesn’t sadly mean that our previous generation bikes are somehow inferior.   These bikes are incredibly capable. And as we move  forward in time, there’s going to be more of them  

On the used market, and that is going to represent  a big opportunity to get a very capable motorbike.   And if you only have one motorbike, something like this might be worthy of your consideration.   

For sure the new 1300 dynamically is another level on,  and it’s a little bit lighter, and the whole bike   feels very different to this one. So, we’re going  to do things slightly differently today. I’m going  

To break it into four main sections. I’m going to  talk about all the things I love and really enjoy   about the bike as it came from the factory. I’ll also talk about the things, that are not so great,  

Because we need to be honest in terms of an  overall view of what we’re about to buy.   And then I’m going to have a section all about the changes,  the physical changes I’ve made to this bike, that are different from how it left the factory. And this is quite important, because there have been  

Quite a few improvements that I’ve really enjoyed.  And there’s definitely one section in there, you won’t know anything about, because I haven’t  shared it on the channel yet, and I’ll cover that,   because that’s another thing I’ve really started to enjoy. And then in the third section I’ll cover  

Very briefly some of the accessories I fitted. We call it FARKLE or accessorizing or adding a bit   of bling, things that we can do to make our bikes  personal to us. And then importantly at the very end 

I’m going to have a chapter called “Was it the right choice?”, which are the words I used on the thumbnail   you’ve just clicked on. Now, ultimately the answer is, moving from Multistrada to GS,

Was it the right choice? 100% yes. But bear in mind,  that the answer 100% yes takes into account a lot   of factors. Now, that motorbike behind me on the  bottom left hand corner, the GSX 1100 L, that is  

The only other new motorbike I’ve ever purchased.  All my other bikes have been used motorbikes.    So, to move to something like this, it was a big financial commitment, and there are a   lot of decisions to be made, things like depreciation,  resale value, accessibility to dealerships and  

Importantly, when these bikes go out of warranty,  we have to make a decision: do we buy an extended   warranty pack or do we move to maintenance  ourselves at home doing our servicing.   So, the ease of servicing, moving forward with something like this, is also a consideration. So for me,  

When I look at all of those different elements,  it was the right choice, but I do still miss my   Multistrada in certain conditions. Anyway, we’ll come to that at the very end. So, let’s get started. The engine is the heart and soul of  your motorbike. So, making sure you have the  

Right engine with the right characteristics to  match the type of bike and the type of riding   you do is really important. So, with regards  to the shift cam technology on the 1250, it is   simply brilliant. And in the last two years of  my time with this bike, I just can’t tell –   

I’ve tried so often – you can’t tell, when it’s  going to shift. Let’s talk about one cylinder.   You’ve got four valves: two for the exhaust  and two for the inlet. On the exhaust valves   you have a cam shaft with two cam lobes, and it just does one job. But on the inlet valve,  

On the inlet valves, the pair of them, you have a  cam shaft that has four profiles, it has two pairs.   And I’ll put a better a picture up on the screen,  so you can see. This is an older bike that had an  

Engine rebuild. You’ve got the partial load cams,  which are these two here, and then in a very small   fraction – I think it’s actually 10 milliseconds  – it can shift to these two full load profiles.  

And you just can’t detect, when it’s going to happen. And the clever thing is, what BMW do is:   they control the timing of the shift based on the following: it’s going to depend on the gear

That you are in, it’s going to depend on the engine RPM  and importantly the throttle load or the throttle   position. And it’s really hard, I mean I’ve just  not been able to tell when that happens.   

It is super smooth, super fast, and all I can tell you is: this engine is for me just phenomenal.   Now, there is one more huge benefit with the 1250  and even the 1200, and that is fuel economy.   

So, you might be thinking: what’s fuel economy  really got to do with it? Well, fuel economy,   from an engineer’s perspective fuel economy  is directly related to thermal efficiency and   the design of the engine. It really tells you  how efficient the engineers have designed the  

Engine to be. Now, considering the huge amounts  of torque that this thing produces and the fact   that it still has 136 horsepower, which is more  than enough, and it’s 1250 cc – over the two years   I’ve had this bike the average fuel consumption  is 54.6 mpg. Now, that’s not off of the computer,  

That’s off of the records I keep, because I keep a spreadsheet with all the fuel bills   and all the things and the parts that I change in servicing, and so I know exactly, what the 

Fuel economy is of my bike: 54.6 mpg. Now, the worst it’s ever been, and that was on one very   spirited three-hour ride with a couple of guys on sports bikes, the worst I’ve ever seen was 47,  

I think it was 47.1 mpg. That’s the worst it’s ever been. And on the other side of the scale I actually saw – I’d have to check the spreadsheet –  it was either 66 or 68 mpg, and that was over one  

Full day of riding, admittedly we were on tour in Norway, and it was the route going from   Geiranger National Park back to Oslo to catch the ferry. But it was a full day of riding,   I think it was 560 km, and this bike averaged 66 or 68 mpg, which is quite phenomenal,  

Considering it’s a 250 kg or 1/4 t motorbike. So for me the 1250 engine with the shiftcam technology   is the star of the show with this bike, and  for me this gets a dead straight 10 out of 10. So, this next one really isn’t covered very often by people that review their 1200s  

And their 1250s, and that is the option for these  chrome header pipes or these chrome down pipes.   Considering this has had two years of use, lots of touring, lots of work in the rain and some  

Off-road work, I think this is a big plus for BMW. They will – even though these are chrome   plated – they will corrode. And especially if you use your bike all year round, in the winter on the  

Salted roads, it is important to give them a wash  down once a week. And especially if you use your   bike off-road and you get the bottom of your  bike covered in muck, it is important to clean  

Them off. And in that case you might have to do a  little bit more work, a little bit of cleaning and   use something like Auto Solve to clean any stains  or any light tarnishing that you find on there.  

But for most people this is how you’re going to find them, and for me this is another big benefit. Brakes, the single most important system on our motorbikes. And BMW have given us a really  

Nice set front and rear from the factory. There really isn’t an awful lot that we need to do.   Now, there is a difference between the Hayes and the  Brembo calipers. In terms of ultimate stopping   power they’re both equal. You really can’t tell  the difference. The Brembos do give you more feel,  

More ability for modulation, while you’re breaking, corner entry,   that sort of thing. But overall I’ve been really  impressed with the systems as they come from BMW.   You do need to keep on top of regular brake  fluid changes every 2 years. You also need  

To keep your rotors clean, you also have to  be careful, when you’re cleaning your bike,   you’re using sprays and polishes not to get any contamination on here,   and I have got an episode all about care and  maintenance with regards to the brakes and  

The brake pads and the pistons. But overall  for a standard system you really don’t need   an awful lot more. This is another section of  the BMW that I’ve really enjoyed. Fantastic brakes. So, comfort: this is another area, where pretty much all of the GS range excels – the GS,  

The GSA, 1250, 1200 and the models before it. It is a super comfortable place to be. And if you’ve   recently watched Chris’ review of the R 1250 GS on Bike World, he describes the seat as being sitting  

In one of your old favourite armchairs, and it is  very much like that, especially when you’ve spent the   time to set it up and get it to fit you perfectly.  It is a super comfortable place to be. You can get  

More comfortable bikes, but to do that you need to  move out of the adventure touring segment and move   to something like a Honda Goldwing or maybe even  the RT. There are other bikes that are ultimately   more comfortable for big mile, big long days,  but for me this is really actually very good:  

6 to 7 hours, before I start to feel the need  to stand up on the pegs. But if you’re on tour   and you’re doing lots of stops for different guys  on different bikes, that have different ranges in  

Their fuel tank, actually you can really easily  do a very long day with lots of little stops,   and it’s a very lovely place to be. So, seats:  from the factory you have three seat choices.   These are the Comfort seats, and you also have  three choices for the pillion. Now importantly,  

On the pillion seat you can move the seat back or you can bring it forward, and that’s quite important,   because your pillion might like to ride the old  fashioned way, one arm around the front of you,   one arm hanging onto the grab handles, in which case bringing the seat forward enables them to  

Do that more easily, and there’s much less of a  gap between the pillion and you. But if you use   a top box, because my wife prefers to sit a little  bit further back, so we move the seat back, we put  

A top box on with a back rest, and she finds that  the most comfortable way. And these seats, the Comfort   seat for the pillion, it really is a super place  to be for quite some hours. My wife really likes this.  

For the rider seat not only have we got those  three choices of seats, but we actually have four   possible adjustments. Now, you’re probably all  aware of the two levels. We can mount the seat in  

Its lowest position, which on the standard bike  is 850 mm, or we can bring it up to the higher   position which is 870 mm. But we also have the option, which has been removed on the new R 1300,  

To also lower the front and raise the back or vice versa: raise the front and lower the back.  So, we’ve got a total of four positions, and those two  options are actually quite important. If you are a  

Shorter legged rider, it is worth trying lowering  the front and raising the back with the low seat,   because what that does: that tilts your pelvis  ever so slightly in a different position,    and it moves your body weight further into the bike.  It reduces the distance between you and the bars,  

And that can really help. And then the opposite  is also very true: if you’re a big heavy rider   and you need more space, try raising the front and  lowering the back, and then you’ve got a bit of  

Adjustment with this rear seat in two positions,  and you can get your coccyx right at the back    in a nice position on the seat, and it just opens  up the cockpit to give you more room.

So, from standard from BMW you have lots of options,  and then on top of that you’ve got all the   manufacturers, that make third party seats, and  some of them are actually really very, very good.   And then we add in the heated seats. So, from 2021 onwards you could opt for the option of having  

Heated seats for the rider and the pillion, and the pillion’s got a little switch under the side,   and that is brilliant, because when you go for the  heated seat option, BMW change the programming of   the heated grips: you go from two settings to five settings, and it really is very, very noticeable,  

How much more control you have. No longer are the grips either roasting hot or just lukewarm,   you can actually find a very comfortable position. Now, they’ve also got a very good   relationship between footpeg, seat and bars,  the rider’s triangle. And if you go for some  

Optional bar riser adjusters, you’ve also got more options, because you can not only bring the bars   directly up, you can bring them up, move them back  a little bit or bring them up quite high and bring  

Them back quite some distance. And if that doesn’t  work for you, you can always change your bars. So, there are lots of ways to get really very, very  comfortable. And I think within the adventure   touring market segment the GS probably still is king. It is a very, very comfortable place to be.

So, another area of the bike that really does  deserve some attention is this LED headlight,   that’s available on the 1250 GS and GSAs. Now, if you’re thinking of buying one of these bikes used,   do try and find one with one of these LED headlights. Now, I’m not going to talk  

About it now, I have a whole episode all about  this headlight, but to put it in simple terms:   it is a masterpiece of engineering. It really  is quite phenomenal, what the engineers have   been able to do with this headlight design and in particular the cornering light function,  

Because the way the light works is completely  different to all the other manufacturers,   and for me it’s probably the best headlight  I’ve ever used on any motorbike, especially   if you do night riding or you do big tours, and you sometimes start early or you’re finished late,  

You will thank me for this LED headlight.  It is simply brilliant. 10 out of 10, BMW. So, let’s move on to our first not so good segment, and that is wind protection,   buffeting and noise. But from the beginning let me make it clear: it does depend on your height.

Now, at 6 ft tall I have a slightly longer upper body than I do have legs.    So, when I’m sitting on the bike, I’m probably more  like a rider of a 6 ft 1 height, and so my head,  

Even with the standard screen I get quite a  lot of noise and quite a lot of buffeting,   so I have to fit one of these flip up screens,  that mount to the top of your screen.  

Now, what I tend to do if I can (and I found this with  my Multistrada): I tend to run the short screen,   the shorty, as long as I can throughout the  summer into autumn and winter, and then I  

Try and get it on the bike as early in spring as I can, because for me this gives me the best option,   because it gets rid of noise completely. And if I have to choose between turbulence and noise,  

In other words: the wind blast on me, I want my bike nice and quiet. I want to be able to   be in a nice quiet serene place, when I go out,  especially when I’m out for a long ride.   

So, I tend to use the short screen. BMW have their  own versions. This is a WRS product from Italy,   but there are lots of brands, and you can get them  in lots of different tints and make your bike look  

As you want it to. But one of channel subscribers  has recommended giving the GSA screen a go,   which I’m hoping to do, when spring arrives,  which is slightly wider and slightly taller.   And it might mean, that I don’t have to have that  little flip up on the top. One more thing to note:  

As you can see, we’ve got these covers on here and on here. They’re really expensive to buy from BMW,   as are these brackets on the back. But I find,  that there is a seller on eBay, you can pick these  

Up, I think they were 22 € for a kit of those two parts and those two parts. And what that enables   me to do is: I keep the original ones from BMW  on the big, tall screen, and then I’ve got the  

Replicas on this screen here. So then, when I need to change, depending on what the weather’s like,   if it’s pouring with rain and I have to go into town, I put that on, and it’s just two screws,  

A couple of minutes worth of work. Otherwise, if you don’t do that, you then have to dismantle   this and screw it all together and remember,  which way around the washers and the spacers go. So you might want to have a look on eBay  for those, if you’re going to run a two screen setup.

So, this next one I’m going to put in the category of not very good, but I just want to say:   this isn’t the same experience for all owners.  Some owners have a very positive experience,   and what we’re actually talking about is the  Gear Shift Assist Pro. Now, coming down through  

The gearbox, I think we can all agree, it is a  fantastic system. And I virtually never use the   clutch, apart from going from 2nd to 1st,  when I’m coming down through the gearbox,   because that shift assist mechanism works flawlessly. The problem I have is during upshift  

Assist, it’s really clonky, and it it feels really  quite violent on the bike, and I don’t like it,   and I don’t use it. Sometimes from 5th to 6th  I might use it, but in all other cases I don’t.  

But I just want to be clear, that some owners have  written in to let me know, that their bikes during   the upshift assist, they have no problems, and it works perfectly. So this presents a question:   how come some 1250s work brilliantly? There’s not many of them, but some do, and the rest of  

Us have a bit of a notchy experience changing up  through the gears? Now, a couple of days ago   I got an email from a guy called Edward in the Netherlands. Now, Edward and I have spoken a  

Couple of times over the last couple of years  since the channel started. Edward is like me,   he’s an engineer, a mechanic, and Edward has  come up with a possible fix for those of us,   that have a problem shifting up through the gearbox. Now, Edward, I’m sorry I haven’t got  

Time to do the modification you suggested just yet. I am going to be doing it later   in the season. I got quite a lot scheduled coming up, but I am going to give it a try,   because what you shared with me seems logical,  and I think it probably is going to work.  

So I will try that, and if it does work for me, then I’ll come back on the channel and share it,   so that the rest of us with the 1250 with Shift Assist Pro, if you do have a notchy changing up  

Through the gearbox, we might well have a solution just around the corner. Let’s move on. So, for me you can’t have a meaningful  long-term review without covering some of   the negatives, some of the problems, and whether  the owners have experienced warranty issues.

So, what have I experienced? Well, very early on,  and it was actually really quite disappointing,   within the first 700 km the brakes on the front,  which were originally Hayes, started leaking brake   fluid, and that’s because the Hayes calipers  are made of two parts, which are then joined,  

And in that join in between those two halves it was leaking brake fluid. And it was even more   disappointing, when I found out, that actually  BMW have known about this since probably 2018,   and they were still fitting calipers, that had the potential of leaking fluid.  

So, that was disappointing. But on the plus side, the dealer that I went to actually handled my warranty   claim very, very well, very, very quickly. I had to take the bike in, they took some pictures,   

They sent them off to the technical office in Berlin,  they got approval, and then I got a replacement   set of calipers, which in the end for me turned  out to be very good, because they gave me a set   of Brembo calipers, which I actually prefer.  So, that’s all I’ve had actually physically go  

Wrong with the bike. And then we need to deal  with recalls and service notifications. So,   there are two different ways of looking at this: there are owners, that are going to say,   they’re fed up and they’re frustrated with BMW  constantly recalling some of their motorbikes,  

Some of the bikes within their range, for work,  that has to be carried out. And also they’re   fed up with all these service notifications,  where, when our bikes go in for a service,   there’s extra work, that gets carried out. Well, in that regard I actually fall in the camp,  

That I think it is actually a really good idea,  because it does tell us, that the manufacturer   does care about our motorbikes. So, there are  these two things: there’s a recall and a service   notification. So, a recall (you need to understand this), a recall is when the manufacturer feels  

There’s a safety related issue, and they will  contact you directly and ask you to take your   bike back for some work to be carried out, and I’ve been back twice for recall notification work   to be done on the bike. And then of course  there is the other one, which is called a service  

Notification. Now, importantly you won’t get  a letter or a phone call telling you, there is   a service notification to be carried out. So it is really important, whether you’ve bought your   bike new or you’ve bought your bike used, maybe let’s pick an example: you’ve got a 2016 GSA,  

It absolutely is worth going to your dealer and  making sure, that these service notifications   are carried out on your bike, and at the same time  make sure, that the bike has had all the recalls,   that are due. So, there are these two things:  recall and service notifications. And if you’ve  

Been following the channel, you would have seen  this video up here, which went up very recently,   about the drive shaft notification, whereby a  whole range of five different models, the GS,   the GSA, the RT, the RS and the R of certain model codes, the K50 through to the K54 are going to  

Be receiving a replacement drive shaft, when our bikes reach 60,000 km or about 37,000 miles.   So, it definitely – if you are the owner of an older bike, or you’re thinking of buying a used bike – 

I would highly recommend you have at least one visit to your local BMW dealership and make sure,   that those recall notifications have been  carried out on your bike. And if there are any   service notifications, that need to be done,  they can also be done at the same time. 

So, overall I’m okay with it. It’s not ideal, when you pick up a bike, especially a brand new bike,   you have to take your bike back for things  to be done, but on the other side – does it   really annoy me? No, it doesn’t. I’m actually  quite pleased, that they’re doing these things,  

Because it means, they are looking  after our motorbikes. Anyway, let’s move on. So, then we move on to the next section,  which deals with the physical changes   I’ve made to my bike compared to how it was, when it left the factory. Now, the number one thing,  

That I did, was sort out and replace the awful  BMW indicators, the ones that come fitted   to standard from new, and we’re talking about the 1250 now. Now, they are really confusing,   because on the front, if you’ve got the  light pack fitted, they’ve got amber lights,  

Which people confuse and think you’ve got  your indicators on, and they cause all kinds   of problems. So, they got ditched very early on, and I’ll just turn these on to show you these. I won’t go into any detail, because I  have a whole load of videos all about this product.

That is the Innov system doing its self test,   and it hasn’t remembered that I turned it off, which, Innov, you need to fix!   So, with regards to the front, we’ve now got these  super bright white DRLs, and they are very,  

Very visible. They match the LED headlight on the front, and then, when we use our indicators,   everything’s bright, clear and easy to see.  And they do a range of plug and play modules,   that you can plug into the rear of the bike,  if you have multi-function indicators,   

The 1250 and the 1300, that improve the function and  make a slight change to make it much, much more   visible with regards to what you’re doing on the  rear of the bike. So, that was one of the very,  

Very early changes I made to my GS, and it’s probably one of the best things I ever did   in terms of improving visibility and improving  safety on the road. Let’s move on to the next one. So, changing your tyres can have a very  fundamental effect on how your bike performs,  

As I found out, when I went from the original tyres. So, as these bikes come from the factory,   you’re going to find Bridgestones or the Michelin tyres. Now, I’ve got experience   with the Michelin Anakee tyres: very good tyre,  very, very good off-road, good long wear life,  

They perform very well, but they are a little bit noisy. And when you get to the extremes in terms   of sports riding and lean angle, they don’t really  give you an awful lot of confidence. But in all  

Other aspects they’re a fantastic tyre. So, what I wanted to do was to try and find more feeling,   more feeling from the tyre, especially from  the front. And I’m going to come on to that   later on in the last episode. So, what I’ve  currently got, which I’m really enjoying,  

Are the Metzeler Next Tourance 2s. Now, I’m not  going to tell you, these are the best tyres,   because lots of manufacturers do have good tyres.  Michelin for example, Road 5, Road 6, fantastic   tyre. Pirelli, still part of the Metzeler group,  also have really good tyres, and and they’ve just  

Come out with their new Scorpion Trail 3, a tyre, that I really hope to get chance to test and ride,   because out of all the tyres I’ve had in the last  seven or eight years, the Scorpion Trail 2 was my   favourite tyre. But even having said that,  there are lots of different manufacturers,  

That do make very good tyres for your  adventure bike and in particular for the GS. So, reactivating the sports screen on your  R 1250 GS or GSA can actually be an awful lot  

Of fun, as I found out during the last few weeks.  Now, I like to give credit where it’s due. This is not my idea. I didn’t find this, and I need to  say thank you to John at Bennetts BikeSocial.   

John recently did a review of the HEX GS 911 unit.  And for those of you, that do do servicing and   maintenance and diagnostics, you already know,  what this system is. And what I hadn’t done   for quite some time was a firmware update to the software, to the control software of the unit.  

And if I had done one, I would have probably spotted,  what John highlighted recently in his video.   So, with the new software update for the GS 911 there are several new features, and I   am going to cover them much later in the season  and do a full step-by-step guide to show you,  

How to do it. So, what I’ve got activated is the sport screen, a different startup screen.   I’ve got the M sport startup screen, I’ve got a lap timer. Why have I got a lap timer? Hopefully at one  

Point I’ll play with it, but it’s just nice to be  able to turn these features on. Another feature,   which I really like, and I’ve been banging on  to BMW about this for two years, is the ability   to deactivate self-cancelling indicators. Now, they did kind of listen. BMW, thank you, because  

On the 23 version of the GS and the GSA they added that feature deep within the menu system,   so you could turn off self-cancelling indicators.  But for those of us with the 21 and 22 bikes,   there’s no way or there hasn’t been any way to  deactivate that feature, but now there is.  

But John at Bennetts BikeSocial, thank you very much.  Actually, my wife thought I was crazy. The evening   I saw your video, I jumped straight up, ran out into the garage, went and got my GS 911 unit,   took it inside, did a software update, and that very evening within an hour I’d been back out  

To the bike and done that change to activate  that sport screen. And the next day I was out   having fun testing it. So, thank you very much.  For those of us that are sports bike riders,  

That sort of thing, that little sort of toy  is actually a lot of fun. Anyway, let’s move on. So, another area that I changed very early  on with the GS, and that is to install some bar   risers. And this is a very personal thing.  It depends on your ratio between your legs  

And your upper body, your height, how tall,  how short, how big you are. But I think a lot   of people do fit these. But there are a couple  of things to pay attention to. Here in Europe,   particularly in Germany, we can’t just fit  anything we want to our motorbike. There are  

Areas and systems on the motorbike, that are  controlled, and if we fit a part or we change   something, it has to be an approved part.  So, I’m not affiliated with this company,   so don’t understand this incorrectly. These are made by a German company called Voigt,  

And importantly they’re type approved,  and I’ll do a close-up in a moment,   and on the bar risers themselves there is something, that is referred to as a KBA number. Now, if you were to fit a pair of bar risers from  China, that don’t have approval on your bike here  

In Europe, you can get yourself into an awful  lot of trouble, because the first thing that will   happen, when your bike goes for the equivalent of the MOT or the TÜV, as we call it, they’re going to  

Reject it, your bike will fail. And if you are  involved in an accident, you’re going to cause   lots of problems, because your insurance will also  be null and void, because you’ve made a change to   a part of the motorcycle system, that requires a  KBA number. So, for me this is really important,  

And there is another aspect to that: it’s not  only the rules and regulations regarding those,   but actually the manufacturing of these units  themselves, because our handlebar and our   handlebar controls are very, very important, and we need to make sure, that the parts that we fit,  

Don’t create stress or stress fractures on our  handlebars. And some of these Chinese parts,   certainly the ones I’ve seen, they’re not the best  made at all, and this really isn’t a place, where   we need to be saving money. So, if you can, try and find one that’s type approved, even if you’re  

In the UK, where you don’t have those sorts of  restrictions. What it ensures is: you’re going to   get a part, that has been tested and doesn’t cause problems, the machining tolerances are absolutely   spot on, and you’re not buying something, that’s going to cause you problems down the road. Anyway, let’s move on.  

So, on to accessories. I’m going to  keep this short and stick to my top five favourite   accessories, because I already have two videos up here covering all the accessories I fitted early on,   and there are two episodes, if you want to  understand, what I fitted and more details about  

The products. But to the five that I really like:  down here on the drive shaft tunnel, there is a   protection graphic, a protection label, and for me  it’s quite important. I’ve got quite big hands and  

Feet, and my boots are a UK 12.5 or an EU 48. Now, with normal riding it doesn’t present a problem,   because my feet sit centrally on the foot pegs.  But when I come across my favourite bends or   

I see a lovely set of left and rights, what I tend  to do: I kind of still ride the old school way,   and that is: the ball of my foot is then on  the foot peg on the end, and then my heel is  

Waggling around, and quite often it touches  and scratches that transmission tunnel.    So, for me this was really important. But I don’t think, if you haven’t got large feet,   you’re probably not going to have a problem.  But those stickers, you can get them in so many  

Different colours, different styles – there is a  lot to choose from, and you just have to have a   look on eBay and Amazon and lots of other places.  There are a lot of different types of graphic,  

That you can get. Then on to number two, and  this is not going to be a popular choice,   but for me this was really essential, which is the  top box. Now, this is a Givi unit. And the reason,  

Why I don’t use the traditional metal boxes is:  because I absolutely have to get two fulls size   full-face crash helmets in my top box. Now, my wife does have her own motorbike, but there are times,  

When she’s pillion, and when we go out for  a Sunday afternoon, and we decide to stop for some   lunch somewhere, for me it is absolutely vital,  that we can put both helmets inside the top box,   because I don’t know about you, but I have  scratched over the years so many crash helmets.

I’ve knocked them, I’ve banged them,  I’ve dropped them, even being very careful.   So, now that doesn’t happen. I can put both helmets  and waterproofs and gloves in the top box and   keep them out the way. On to the next one. The next one really is going to be graphics.  

Now, this is a very personal choice. Some people don’t  do anything with their bikes, they just buy them,   they ride them, and that’s fine. But I like to  make them a little bit different. So, down here   you can see I’ve used some carbon effect graphics.  These are from a company called Resin Bike,  

But there are so many different manufacturers,  that make great graphics for our bikes, not only   for the Rallye version, but for the Triple Blacks,  the Trophies, the 40th anniversary, the black and   yellow bikes – there are so many graphics, that you can get. For me that’s been really great.  

So, the graphics down, here I’ve got a tank pad one,  I’ve got some on the fenders on the front, I’ll  show you some pictures. So, for me adding a little  bit of colour was actually quite important.  

So, that’s the third one. Now, the next one – this is  fairly easy – and that’s these two bags. The tank   bag, you can’t buy this one any anymore, I don’t think. This is an older version of one of the SW  

Motech ones, and I’ll try and put the part number up, but you can’t get this anymore. I don’t like   the big, tall ones. They stop me transitioning  from left to right and moving around the bike,  

But it’s just enough to get cameras and phones  and a bottle in there and a visor wipe, and I   really enjoy this tank bag. And then we move on  to these. These come from China. You can pick them  

Up for about 20 €. They’re not very expensive.  They’re not waterproof, so bear that in mind,   but they just carry so much stuff. For me, I’m quite often out filming on the road, and I can  

Get a little tiny mini tripod in there, I can get  my Insta 360 2 m extension pole, spare batteries,   I can get all kinds of equipment in these little bags, and I find them brilliant. And then the last one:

This is again not something, that everyone’s  going to want to do, and that is the clutch and   brake fluid reservoir caps. And you can get them  in all sorts of different colours, different   styles. BMW do some really nice 719 option ones, the aluminum ones, they look stunning,  

They are quite expensive, but they’re very nice.  And for me, because the cockpit is quite dark,   quite black, I like to see a bit of colour.  And as I’m looking in this area all the time,   when I’m out on my bike, I really appreciate them. So, the videos up here, these two,  

You can go and have a look at those, if you want to. In the video descriptions there are some links   for some of these products. Sometimes the products  just go out of sale like these reservoir caps,  

You can’t get these anymore. These were made by a  company called MadMoto. I don’t know what happened   to them, but you can’t buy them anymore. These little bags, I think these are still available   on eBay for about 20 €. They’re really very good.  Anyway, that’s it for my accessories. Let’s move on.

So, now we get to the “but” section, I can’t think of another way to describe it.   The early Multistradas 2010 through to 2014,  especially the manual suspension versions,   where you can set up the preload front and rear and the compression rebound front and rear –

Once you got those bikes dialed in and you got a good set of tyres on them,   you could very easily go from foot peg to foot peg, one up, two up or two up fully loaded,   and the confidence, that you have on those bikes,  they’re really short footed, and they feel like  

They’re super glued to the road. I’ve never ridden  a bike like it. Once you got those set up,    they are simply phenomenal. And the key thing is: with that sort of riding you need to be able to feel,  

What’s going on up the front of the bike with  regards to the contact patch between the tyre and   the road. Now, with the GS things are different.  We’ve got telelever suspension, which in general is a   fantastic system, but it does isolate the rider  from the road, and importantly it isolates the  

Rider from really feeling, what’s going on with  that contact patch between the tyre and the road.   I know, that’s not what the bike is made for, but you just can’t feel it, and you have to…  

At a certain point you have to put trust in your bike, that it’s going to look after you. And   I’ve never had a problem with the GS, I’ve never had a moment, where I thought,   oh blimmin’ heck. But there is a point, where I just have to trust the bike, because I can’t feel,  

What’s going on with that front tyre. Now, as I mentioned earlier on, there are things you can do.   You can certainly replace your tyres. I’m running  the Metzeler Next Tourance 2, and they are a big  

Improvement in terms of handling and ultimate grip.  And of course you can fit the Michelin Road 5s and   the Road 6. They’re also phenomenal tyres and will  give you more feeling from front and rear.  

So, I just thought I’d share that. It’s not going to  apply to many people, but if you are a sports bike   rider, and you’re thinking about an Adventure  Touring bike, there are some limitations.   So, the one last thing is a very personal thing,  and that is the looks of the motorbike.  

BMW are capable of designing beautiful looking bikes.  I’m thinking about the S 1000 RR and the M version.   They are stunningly beautifully designed bikes. But I think we’ve got to be honest:   We can’t say that about the GS or the GSA. They’re nice bikes. You could call them lovely bikes,  

But they’re definitely not pretty bikes. And with the Multistrada, to give you an example,   quite often on bike meets or on tour, on holiday  people would very often stop and talk to me about   my Multistrada. They’d talk about the way it looks or about my experience of owning a Ducati,  

Which is very different to the other brands. But with the GS not once, not once in two years has   anybody ever approached me and engaged me in a  conversation about my GS. But Ducati are much,  

Much better at designing beautiful looking bikes.  And I think, BMW really need to do a bit more    with their colour options and the way, that they finish  their bikes. However, having said that, I’m still   really happy with my choice, and I think, as time  moves forward, these bikes, especially if you can  

Find one in the colour that you like, with the  specification that you want, these are going to   represent incredible value for money, because they  are still amazing bikes. They’re right up there   with some of the best bikes you can buy, apart from – if BMW do do, what they’re talking about…  

I mean, every time I speak to my contacts at BMW,  they just laugh, because they’re not allowed to   talk about it… There is the possibility sometime  down the road in the future for an M 1300 GS.  

Now, if they do make that bike, and I hope they do and they stick a 17-inch front wheel on and they do   something with the suspension, maybe going back  to traditional suspension, that would be a bike   I would be really keen to ride, especially having ridden the 1300, the standard GS,  

Because dynamically it is very, very different  to the 1250. It really has moved the game on.   So, that is one bike in the future I would be really  interested in trying. But apart from that I’m staying with the GS. Anyway, thank you very much  for your time. I hope you’ve enjoyed today.

I hope you got something from it. I will be back very soon. Thank you very much for your time 🙂