1999-2018 BMW R1200 GS
1170cc flat twin 100/125bhp 214kg
WWhat to look for
E ALL KNOW how good BMW’S GS is: it’s durable, reliable, comfy, practical, has impressive roadholding, great ride quality, tons of gadgets, a surprising show of pace and owners look after them. BMW aftersales care is usually impressive too. They’re a good used buy, even if the initial purchase price isn’t low.
From the first air-cooled GS in 2004, through engine and chassis revamps in 2008 and 2010, and the introduction of water-cooling in 2013 to the last pre-1250 GS bike in 2018, the GS has been continually, sometimes annually, improved with engine, fuelling, handling, suspension, brake and electronics refinements, gradually becoming beyond reproach. And, if your thing is 300-mile plus tank ranges, the Adventure is one of the very few used bikes that delivers. The numbers speak for themselves.
But they’re not without problems — a couple of major mechanical failures befell some bikes, marred the reputation and mean it isn’t always the most trouble-free purchase — especially when it comes to the older bikes. But buy a good one and you could be riding the best bike in the world…
The 1200GS hasn’t all been plain sailing. The 2013 GS onwards had a recall for a retro-fitted fork mod to prevent failure that affected all GS and GSAS built between November 2013 and June 2017. Excessive shocks (ie heavy off-road riding) could create play in the forks tops that may lead to failure. The remedy was either fit a steel collar over the top of the fork leg or supply new legs with the part fitted. They should all be sorted by now but still check.
‘You could be riding the best bike in the world’
GSS are most likely prone to seal issues; oil weeping from anywhere on the engine, but especially from the transmission/ engine area indicates a failing seal. Oil on the dry clutch is very bad and expensive so it needs sorting, usually splitting the bike. Any signs should be factored into the price.
What’s it like to ride?
There isn’t a more imposing bike than a fully-loaded GS Adventure; it’s a massive lump of a thing, dominated by a 30-litre tank and surrounding bodywork and crash bars. Every ride on an Adventure is prefaced with a moment of awe as you lift your leg slightly higher than normal to get on it, and grunt a bit as you lift it off the sidestand (excuse me, it’s an age thing).
But that mass all but disappears when the bike’s rolling. Possessed of the same calm, confident road-holding as the standard GS, the Adventure reveals perfect low-speed poise, accurate steering with a weightless agility, and supernatural ride quality — assisted in no small part by Metzeler Roadtec 01 tyres, which treat the cold, wet tarmac with lofty disdain.
The motor is a piece of work too; you can tell it’s lugging a bit more weight than usual but it’s so smooth and refined, it’s as if you can feel every engineering manhour invested in it over the past 99 years.
And when you’re sat up there, surveying the road and the surrounding scenery, having arrived in the middle of nowhere on a single tank of fuel and in the highest luxury motorcycling can afford, it feels uniquely special.