I gave the bike a new front tire and a 78,000 service the middle of April 2013 and sold the bike to a friend in May. I was without a GS until my 2013 R1200GSW arrived the middle of July.
GS Farkles
My bike didn’t stay stock very long. I was still buying things for the bike after its fifth birthday. It’s hard to keep track of the things I’ve added/changed on this bike, but it’s been more items than on any other three bikes I’ve owned, combined. The following list – in more-or-less alphabetical order – is what I’ve done to the bike that I can remember. Touratech and Wunderlich are well represented!
- Accelerator module install
- Alaska Leather Sheepskin butt-pad
- Bike tunes (not being used)
- Brake! LED tail/stop lights
- DeLorme PN-60 GPS on a RAM mount
- Exped Venus II tent review
- Fastway footpegs (replaced 8/2008)
- Fuzeblock power distribution box
- Garmin GPSMAP 276C GPS (gone)
- Gearkeeper camera support
- Grifter storage area behind license
- Grip Puppies foam grip covers
- Hella Micro DE Fog Lights
- Hepco Becker Crash Bars
- Kaoko throttle lock (replaced 6/2012)
- Marc Parnes Visual Alert (no longer used)
- Migsel light-bar
- Motolights riding lights with amber bulbs (gone)
- MSR gas storage
- Mt Sun Tank Panniers and Tank Pannier Mounts
- Ohlins shocks, front and rear
- Pelican case for my camera (gone)
- Powerpegz foot pegs
- SmarTire pressure/temperature monitor (gone)
- Thermometer on home made bracket
- Touratech Brake switch cover
- Touratech Fuel injector protection
- Touratech sidestand switch cover
- Touratech rear seat/deck bag
- Touratech standard tank bag (replaced 10/2007)
- Touratech under tail rack bag
- Touratech waterproof tank bag
- Touratech windscreen spoiler
- Touratech Zega Panniers
- Valentine V-one radar detector (No longer used on the bike)
- VHoldr ContourHD camera and mount
- Windscreen modifications
- Wunderlich Bar Risers (35mm taller)
- Wunderlich oil cooler screen
- Wunderlich sidestand enlargement plate
- Wunderlich steering stop
- Xpel headlamp protector
GS Maintenance
The bike was mostly maintained by the dealer the first three years of ownership. About the only thing I did was the servo brake bleed to save 3-4 hours of expensive dealer time. Once the warranty was up my last excuse for not doing the work myself disappeared. This is what I did to the bike with a few non-maintenace items thrown in just for fun.
- 2013-04-18 78,000 mile service
- 2012-10-25 New Rear Tire
- 2012-07-30 72,000 mile service
- 2012-05-12 New Front Tire
- 2011-09-21 Zega Case Repair
- 2011-09-08 66,000 mile service
- 2011-08-08 Minor metal repair
- 2011-06-18 New Rear Tire, Rear TPM issues
- 2011-04-25 Crashbar repair
- 2011-04-21 Clutch switch adjustment
- 2011-01-22 60,000 mile service (includes brake bleed and front shock change)
- 2010-09-04 New front tire
- 2010-09-01 New rear tire
- 2010-08-26 New battery
- 2010-05-04 54,000 mile service
- 2010-04-14 packing for a trip
- 2009-12-20 cheap Zega lid internal rack
- 2009-11-25 Replace rear brake rotor
- 2009-11-22 Rear shock rebuild
- 2009-11-14 New Front tire
- 2009-10-31 Center-stand pivot problem
- 2009-09-25 New rear brake rotor ordered
- 2009-09-02 48,000 mile service
- 2009-07-24 New Rear tire
- 2009-05-01 Condor Pit-stop
- 2009-01-22 Headlamp bail fix
- 2009-01-01 New Front TKC-80
- 2008-08-21 Service Schedule (pdf)
- 2007-07-07 Brake bleed funnel pics
My GS history… May 2005: Another bike diet
I test rode the R1200GS on May 31, 2005. It was about 120 pounds lighter than my then current ride, an R1150RT. The test bike was damn near K bike smooth when riding around town at 25-40 MPH. I just had to think about turning to have the bike follow my desire. After 50 miles of a combination of city streets, bay area twisties, and a few freeway miles I decided that I had to have one. An order was placed.
June 18, 2005: My new ride
I picked up the bike in the afternoon and put about 75 miles on the odometer getting it home. Very, very nice. It carries its specifications well. Now it’s time to accessorize and ride.
When new in June 2005
May 2006
November 2008
March 2010
Why a GS?
Enough friends have asked “why a GS?” that I had to formulate an answer. It goes something like this:
Custom license plate
Somewhere along the line I started believing the motorcycle industry marketing folks, always a dangerous thing to do. To those folks “touring” means riding a Wing, an LT, or a Harley dresser down the interstate. I don’t think so. My touring is done on back roads, sometimes going 100 miles out of my way to avoid 100 miles of freeway.
I ride when it is wet and foolishly tackle mountain passes in the spring when the weather is iffy. For me, a touring bike is one that will take me on those roads, without having to worry about the cost of replacing plastic should I drop the bike when looking for a place to turn around in the snow. I think the GS is a perfect touring bike. It’s a great bike for Sunday morning rides, too.
EZ Touring Traveller A cover pics
packed cover
Cover on bike, no sidecases
Cover on bike w/sidecases