OK, I had one fine day of riding other peoples bikes. 😉 Actually my friend Gail Weaver is the sales manager at Cycle Specialities BMW Triumph Modesto. He allowed me a wonderful day of test riding beemers!! Here are my thoughts on the bikes I rode.

First off let me say I’m hard pressed to make a decision. I first took out the F800GT and though it’s a bit homogenized in appearance, it’s a fine riding machine. It’s light and flickable and I can actually nearly flatfoot it. It handled like a dream, and I spend about 15 minutes in a parking lot doing figure 8s and u-turns and messing with braking. On a really bumpy road i was able to play with the dampening adjustment. You could immediately feel the difference on the crappy surface. I rode farm roads and the highway and did a total of about 45 minutes of riding the GT. I love the positioning. It’s a moderate sport position, so you sit just a bit forward but very comfortable. The onboard computer is cool and I love that BMW has sense enough to put what gear you are in before your eyes. Granted we should know by feel and sound, but in the high gears that isn’t always true and I quite often find myself searching vigorously for that illusive 7th gear. The foot pegs were perfect for me as were the bars. All in all is was quite a well designed and fitting machine. That said the difference between the R1200R and the GT were like going between a corvette and an SUV. Both have their place.

Now it sounds like I am dissing the R1200R but I am NOT. I loved it. Lighter than my Bandito by many lbs, it too was totally flickable and nimble, but its power band was from its gut. I felt like I was riding a weight lifter. :038: (not a bad thing) It fit like a glove though I am not firmly planted on the ground but I can touch the same degree as the Bandit. It’s loaded with the BMW side cases, top box, GPS (garmin nuvi) mirror extenders, touring windscreen ( which did NOT work for me) heated grips and ABS. It was comfortable like a pair of old slippers. I took it out for 2 hours and really got a good ride on it, riding different roads and the highway, lacking only in any decent twisties since there are none close to Modesto! It had amazing pickup, I could flip it around but at the same time it felt really grounded and solid. I love how it looks too, rugged like Sean Connery or Billy Connelly, sexy in a BMW sort of way.

So, here I am having ridden that damned Versys both ways today when I had hoped it would only be one way. Sigh, what should I do?? Gary sez it’s completely up to me, as he knows he’ll enjoy riding either one, when I’m not out and about. The R1200R is ready to travel sans that ridiculous windscreen. The GT needs bags. Both have ABS. One is new and one is not. Both will make us pay payments for a few years unless I win the lottery, then hell, we’ll have a fleet of bikes all paid for!

I don’t know yet…i need a day or two to consider. I put money down, and will return on Saturday, hopefully with a decision. If not, more riding will be done that day. :biggrinbounce2: If i get the GT, I want to get the sexy orange metallic. That and my hi-vis and no one can say they didn’t see me. I guess if I get something on Saturday, I’ll have to attend the BMW Rally in OR…just do it, eh?

Here are the bikes.
F800GT

R1200R

THANKS GAIL FOR A FINE DAY OF RIDING!!