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Good selection of bikes. Interested to find out how e10 is affecting your older vehicles

Nice garage :)

ohh yes!! cheers Terence! i love a cheeky garage tour. (and a hat).

I'm 67 years old, been riding since the early 70's and I have NEVER been comfortable on any Japanese bike with my ankles tucked under my arse like I'm squatting for number two. The way that would force your feet to point down at the ground didn't thrill me at all, either. I copped lots of flak from riders of such machines because I rode Triumphs, Nortons, BSA's, etc. The magazine writers blathered on about the riding position on old British bikes being terrible and idiots who just believed whatever some 'journalist' says would bang on about the better ergonomics of the higher and more rearward set footpegs, but I thought then, as I still think now, that it was more BS than anything else. After 52 years on two wheels, I ride a 1997 Harley Sportster and I have highway pegs so I can stretch my legs out forwards if I want, but the basic riding position is about the same as the Triumph Bonneville replicas. I've ridden many thousands of miles throughout New Zealand, where I grew up and Australia, where I now live. I've ridden a number of bikes owned by friends, but until the Sporty, the bikes I've owned have all been 1970's Triumphs, with the exception of a Norton 850 Commando. I rode a number of Japanese bikes and a BMW, Ducati 860, a Laverda or two along the way, but I didn't like the pegs being under my butt. I never liked clip ons either. If you want to race. go to a track, but on the roads, they offer you about as much control over the front wheel as if you just hung onto the indicator stalks! I've come across (and helped) more than one weekend warrior with clip ons, lying in the road because his front wheel has hit a stone, bit of forest debris, a pothole, or wrinkle in the tarmac. I've done plenty of trips where 500 miles in a day was the norm, all on these bikes with 'bad ergonomics' and although that figure has been lowered in the last 5 or 6 years, it's more because I have more time at my disposal and don't have to run to such a tight schedule as I used to; fitting touring into my holidays. I've never thought it would be comfortable lying forwards, with my weight on top of the family jewels for long periods of time, since doing it for a sprint round the block was bad enough. Mr Clark's comment below makes a lot of sense to me and I've tucked that idea away for future consideration. I want something with a low CoG and they have that in spades. Just like my old British bikes and the Sportster. Adventure bikes are great, for young blokes, but I didn't like either of the ones I've ridden. I've ridden some very powerful bikes that could be scary because of the sheer power, but the adventure bikes felt like I was on stilts and far too top heavy. I'm English born and bred, and I love my old Triumphs, but the Sportster is the best bike I've ever owned. I've made some improvements to the suspension and seating, and the 1275 kit I put in it is near perfectly balanced, so it's not like the factory 1200's, which vibrate way too much. It'll do for a while yet.

I bought an old Honda X11 last year because I missed my 4 pot Honda X4 , yeah the 4 cylinder is great, I’m loving my 6 cylinder Valkyrie as well though. Loving the channel subbed and liked and hi from Falkirk Scotland

The older I get the heavier the bikes I seem to own traded my Yamaha MT01 last year for a second gen Honda Valkyrie 1800 it weighs 350 kg I’m not wired up right 68 years old.

I remember seeing one of these at the superbike factory in Macclesfield whilst looking for a distance road touring bike. I thought id sit on it purely out of curiosity rather than considering it a road touring bike. I couldnt believe how comfortable it was, especially considering that off road bikes usually have a narrow seat. It was so good it got me thinking about whether it would be suitable as a long distance road touring bike. My only concern would be the spoked wheels. I dont think aprilia have cast wheels the same size of the spoked rims.

Heavy bikes need the gt

I've just had a heated jacket and look forward to warmer all weather riding. Thanks for sharing

hmm, weird. your review seems contrary to every other review ive seen or read?? poor suspension, poor screen etc. your the first reviewer to have made these points. does this say more about the bike or you? guess I'll have to ride one and find out for myself

I had a 2014 GS and did not detect any poor performance with the suspension. I then picked up a 2022 GSA with factory lowered suspension and I did experience slow bounce in road mode. The rough road did feel more harsh than it did on my older GS. I suspect that BMW just put in shorter springs and nothing else in their "factory lowered" bikes. surely there must be a different rates of rebound in a spring 2" shorter. By the way, I am also 6' tall, all torso, with 29 " inseam, and I managed all right on a standard GS. Mount the bike and when you start it the electronic suspension engages and my 230lbs make the seat height manageable

Just bought one ... can't wait for Spring 25 to come. My 1200 Trophy is playing up ...... when I turn off the ignition the starter motor begins to crank !!! Anyone got an idea what could be causing this ?

Great review Terence and considering you own a GS a very honest one, no one likes to admit they may have made a mistake. I've had 5 GSs in the past 4 of these being GSAs, also owned 6 Fireblades which I loved, I love touring and this combined with getting older told me I needed something else. So tried a GS and loved it, made touring a totally different experience, I knew it was'nt the fastest or best handling bike in the world but it was built to tour. So fast forward a few years and decided I needed a bit more excitement but still wanted to tour so I bought a 22 msport XR. What a machine, everything in my opinion was better than a GS, never took the GS off road so that was never an issue for me. Started to get some electrical problems on a couple of trips, was always when the bike was stopped, after fueling waiting at tolls the TFT would go blank and the engine died, sometimes I would wait 20 minutes and it would start again and be fine. This started happening more and more, BMW had it 3 times and kept telling me they could'nt find a problem, so after losing all confidence in the bike I traded it in for a lovely looking last of the line GSA 1250. This was a huge mistake, after 2 years on the XR this thing felt like a tractor, I know they're all about the torque but that initial pull just seems to fade very quickly, the suspension was wallowy and to be honest a bit scary going into corners, the whole bike never felt composed, just too much bounce all of the time. Put 60 miles on it and it just sat in my garage for a month, my wife then said to me out of the blue, for god sake go and get another XR. So 2 weeks later a 24 msport XR was sat in the garage, an expensive mistake but definetely the right thing to do. A few minor tweaks made since my 22 bike but they've made it even better, quickshift somehow is even better, suspension is improved, the seat is better, brakes are still the best i've ever had on a bike. The induction noise when you are opening it up is so addictive, it's GS comfortable with 50 times more excitement, did Spain and Germany on it this year and it just does everything.

I bought a "plan my service" from Bowker Motorrad in Preston. Originally, I thought I'd do 60k miles across 3 years, because I was commuting to London, on 3 days a week which equated to 600 miles a week. BMW wouldn't cover that level of mileage. I bought my bike in Peterborough from Sycamore. I was living in East Northamptonshire, so it was relatively close. The only issue is, I have to ride to Preston for servicing and it costs me £70 a month. However, as I have not used the services as per the scheduled mileage, I still own them, and can transfer them to another bike. I have just hit 20k miles in 2 years, but I live closer to London and have only been commuting one day a week for a total of 130miles a week. I know it's a lot, but I didn't expect my job patterns to change or to move house when I bought the bike in Nov 2022. If you're a high mileage rider wanting BMW servicing on a monthy payment basis, contact Bowker ask about "plan my service".

More than happy with them on my Multistrada, can’t fault them, I guess we all find something we’re happy with depending on how, when and where we ride.

rippoff bikes from purchase to service to parts--- ill never own another bmw, jap bikes forever, ktms greed killed them, bmw will be next

Interesting, you're covered by time. Here in Australia, you're buying a certain amount of services; instead of 3 or 5 year plans, you buy 3 or 5 service packages, so I'll probably pay for the 10,000 km service, then buy the 5 pack, so I get the 20k, 40k, and 60k services (the expensive ones) covered.

Watched your 'old' video for reference just last year. Is the 3:58 "wash & vac" just a hand job for a m/c or both?

I am happy to note that the bike is still on the market in EU. I actually like the Cafe version … but I did not sit in one yet.

Great review

with the way yamaha destroyed the looks of the new tracer 9,i see this selling like hot cakes

I love the 800, as I can get a 660 cheaper.

and a lot more expensive.

Give me a 660

If you are worried about weight ect buy a tourer Like a Can-Am Spyder for comfort never pick up a bike again.

THE only video on YT that clearly explains the difference between routes & tracks. Helped me enormously thank you for taking the time to make the video. CB500x

Is there way you can converted to have twin low and twin high beam lights?

Can I ask what rear rack you’re using? Looks fantastic

Can they be turned off completely, or are they always on?

Very informative. I’ll stay away from the low suspension.

looks great

Hi Terence, Great video's but got a question my auxiliary/spots have decided to give in on my tiger 800 after the recent heavy rain could and would it be the relay that has given up ? Rich

I have a C400X I'm based in Athlone

Another bike that’s not suitable for tall riders...

I recently did my bike training and there was a guy who had a Honda forxa 125. He wanted a bike licence to upgrade to a forxa 400. i had an sv650 and he had that, often i couldn't keep up with him, that might just be me but they aint slow. And under the seat there's plenty of boot space, you could do boot sales with that. Probably all anyone needs. The BMW is obviously a premium version for premium people.

Mistake no. 4: Forget to pull out the keyfob from Faraday bag before riding the bike.

What a great video 👍🏻 I will buy a Tiger XCA 1200 2017, that’s around 60,000kms, the price is good I think due to kms. The seller says that all services done by Triumph, but I’m afraid and I’m don’t know if I should be worry about the kilometers. Any recommendations? I will appreciate it! Regards from Mexico 🇲🇽

Just how long j=have you been riding a bike? Even the V strom 650 has the same adjustment on the rear shock..even my 1980s bikes had rear damping adjustment Also try reading the manual, the manula will tell you what the gross weight for the bike is, the fact that you make up 25% of the loaded weight of on your Honda dosent matter. Raef the manual & it will tell you what weight it is capable of carrying as it depands on the spring / load capacity & not the % of wesight you are. Oh & if you check the suzuki web site you will find that the owners manual on the web site to download

Drop a bit in tyre pressure and they won't cut deep in the corners

At 72 and 20 yrs after giving up the CR500 and desert racing, I bought a 2022 KLR650. What a pig. Topheavy, no lungs or springs. Loving it.....

Slow down boys < the old hornet 900 was a bit vibee mine a lot

I’m disappointed you did the review with a Triumph jumper on. Not angry, just very disappointed. Great video thank you

Read the magazines and it is like an advatorial. It is constant gushing, on every bike!

All well and good saying suspension sag takes care of the problem but what if the main issue is that you can not climb on the seat in the first place! Old legs and old hips make this a bit problematic.

I love mine, 2017

Quick question - much as I'd love the valve inspection interval to be 24k miles, the only info I can see on the BSA UK website says 24k kilometers. Has this changed ? Are they now saying 2k mies ?

I'm 80 and ride a Yamaha XJR 1300 It's the comfiest bike I have ever owned..

An amazing bike for this price point shows Honda are the only ones taking the Chinese on.

Just wish honda would make it where it came with a touring windscreen