Jump to content

Chickens roosting?


Recommended Posts

Want to pick the experts brains a bit. deal.gif

 
So you most probably have seen the latest incidences with the stanchions on the GS1200 pulling apart like cheese. Is this not the chickens coming home to roost? The big cc bikes now are really heavy pigs and surely one can not expect a 250kg bike to handle such abuse anymore? Yea they can do nice dirt roads and stuff but not what the older versions were able to handle. 
 
I remember when BMW went from the 1150 to the 1200 the boss of BMW at the time said whatever they do they must get the weight down from the 1150 odd 230kg to 200kg or the 1200 which they came close. Also the KTM990s is around the same 200kg weight. With the insatiable need e have for big bikes did we not get to stage where they are just so heavy and seeing that 99% of people never ride them offroad that they just can not handle more rugged type terrain anymore? 
 
Chris Birch throws around a 1090 like a toy and it is not his bike most normal people can't even pop a small wheelie on these bikes. Then of late the #enduroextreme #hardenduro #rallyextreme to describe BMW bikes does not help to keep the myth that the current crop of big cc's are still agile and dual sport adventure bikes instead of just offroad looking road bikes? 
 
We lost the 650cc-ish market because we just want big bikes, talking mostly Africa and Eu as the USA and Aus can still buy DR's, KLR's and Xr's. But that said we got no new 650class bikes in the last 10 years except the 690 and now the 701 but they were never made as dualsport bikes. And yes with violence anything is possible you can actually break off your own pinky in your own arse. So you can ride the new bikes like an enduro bike but and if you have the money to repair. Maybe we must consider keeping it real again? :D
Edited by michnus
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

I think BMW has surely "jumped the shark" with the GS.  I most recently termed it "The Legacy of Scarf Boy" but talked about it years ago here and here.  I'm going to do a blog post about this soon; probably once I see the official BMW recall on the latest fork issue.

But I still hate to blame a manufacturer for making a product people willingly buy.  Let's face it, there's a huge spectrum of ability and use for these bikes.  That being said, I do think BMW in this case has willfully chosen to chase the "scarf boy" market while at the same time pretending to still care about the more adventure-enduro market (and kudos to them for their fantastic GS Trophy series).

But you know what?  You can't have it both ways.  You're either "made for adventure" or you're not and I bet you dollars to donuts there are probably an entire team of engineers at BMW Motorrad seething right now that the decision to make the forks that way was made.  BMW is all about the OCD German engineer.  Or maybe they just used to be.

And look at the Triumph Explorer 1200, Super Tenere and VFR1200X... they are behemoths.

I think KTM is in the clear here though.  Sure their 1290 Super Adventure T is a pig but I bet it is still more off road-able than a GS even without the lower center of gravity and tighter turning radius.  But their new 1090R and 1290R come with 21/18 wheels, decent suspension travel and can actually climb a dune (with Chris Birch as the rider).  I can certainly flog my 990 off road with little issue.

The sun has set on the super XL class with the Africa Twin reviving the liter class segment and now KTM coming out with a 790 and Yamaha's T7 here shortly.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with you Eric. Apologies did not realise there is already a thread about this. Had to go back and read your post you linked to. Scarf boy! :D

You summed it up correctly, the new model is not going to be any better offroad. Maybe it is also a combination @556baller said that it is the market dictating to the brand in a way. And then you have Scarf boy. 

Hopefully the 800-900cc bikes will be the new XL adventure bike class. The SuperXL class will be the look-the-part road tourers. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Sad things happening, good to see BMW doing something at last.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/bmw-motorrad-south-africa/bmw-r-1200-gs-r-1200-gs-adventure-service-campaign/1404781736268520/?hc_location=ufi

And other bad incident which at least did not turned into a fatality. I am not surprised at BMW's handling of this. It seems part of the course.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/proudlymeerkat/permalink/695031024029504/


But what comes from this is BMW admitting these bikes are road bikes. 


BMW Motorrad has determined during ongoing field observations that the fixed fork tube of the specified models can suffer preliminary damage under certain circumstances when high stress can occur without the customer noticing the damage. Such high stress can be caused when for example, when riding over an obstacle in the road, during a fall or when riding through deep potholes with unvarying speed. There may not be any visible damage to the front wheel however any severe impact should be checked by an authorised BMW Motorrad dealer. 

And in Gillian Frasers post: Their official report stated the bike was NOT responsible for the accident, and that the "motorcycle had to endure one of the most severe impacts in order to sustain such damage..." As you can see in the video THIS IS A LIE! THE BIKE DID NOT ENDURE A SEVERE IMPACT AT ALL. The rut that he rode over was TINY, and he was travelling at 45km/h. There are 10 eye-witnesses from the BMW club who can confirm this information.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
4 hours ago, michnus said:

I dont understand did the spokes corrode? What is erosion red? :)

Based on the mentioned final photo I'm guessing they mean the gully (caused by erosion) running accross the trail on which he hit the rearwheel.

I do wonder if them mentioning Kellon jumping the GS has anything to do with it though.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a lot of force to transfer, funny how the wheel got destroyed and the suspension did not help soak up the force and even the tyre still looks inflated. Even the top supporting arm is not bend and that thing always bend first when you hit a rud or gully hard. 

Edited by michnus
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

I have hit a washout/gully at speed on my old '11 GSA and it bent the torsion strut pointing inside and was rubbing on the wheel!  It was during my first LAB2V and we found some desert off roaders camping nearby and they had a hammer we banged it back off the rear tire.  I've never seen a wheel fail like this though unless it was the caliper coming off and getting caught in the spokes.

Kellon is obviously a world class rider but this is something Jimmy Lewis preaches in his class that is so important about riding big bikes off road.  One is to never ride faster than you can see because of stuff like this.  Another is you have to be good using your brakes as in practicing emergency stops.  You can certainly ride a big bike fast but since the travel is so bad you have to slow down for stuff like that.

Why this makes me happy is it's taking pressure off me for coming up with new tracks for Taste of Dakar next year!  They were out scouting new trails.  I felt bad last year that we'd only had three days to do that and were postponed three times due to snow.  Kellon knows that area well and lives not too far so you can bet the tracks are going to be stellar this year!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Reply with:

XL Adventure Motorcycle Community

Register a new account Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...