Oops, typo — it’s a GS Adventure.
Update coming soon.
I was definitely leaning towards the $140 LiFePO4 battery, but you have to admit, a $35 AGM battery is worth considering. Gave those options to my wife, and she said to get the one that meant I was least likely to call her to pick me up, so I went with the expensive one. I hope I get what I’m paying for.
Changing the battery was pretty easy, with the normal stupid of working on cars and bikes. The video guide says remove the bolt holding down the ECM, and move it out of the way. Completely skips the part where you have to disconnect stuff so you have enough slack on the wires to move the ECM out of the way.
I’m working from home today, but hopefully I’ll be able to go for a ride tomorrow to test the new battery, though pretty much once the bike starts, it’s job is done.
Oh no, I think I only put 15,000 miles on the R1150R in 8 years. I miss that bike, and probably shouldn’t have sold it, but I was also really tired of something too tall for me. I know there are lots of ways to manage a too big bike, but after 15,000 miles, I didn’t want to do those things anymore.
It was seeing bikes like that which got me onto the R1150R. More of an R80/7 than RT, and maybe someday. I just don’t want to have to deal with carbs, and I like anti-lock brakes, so the chances of me getting a true old bike are very low. My Triumph Street Twin is a modern retro, and I like the look, but it is pretty boring to ride. No top end, and that can be fixed with a better breathing cam shaft, at about $1000 installed, but I don’t really want to put $1000 into modifying this bike.
I’d much rather put the money towards an electric motorcycle. Even used, the prices are too much for me, and the capabilities just not quite there. All I really want is 100 mile range and 100 MPH top speed, but those are still too expensive. The cheaper city ones aren’t any good for my freeway commute.
That should be lots of fun, and I hear very comfortable on road.
Nice (the battery). But yeah those videos sometimes skip little details that cost you more time and effort. Glad you got through that.
If I get the GS then I’ll be selling the DSRX. I haven’t decided yet but the price will be around $12K. I haven’t really thought of the price yet so that’s a rough ballpark. If I get the GS maybe let’s talk about the DSRX. It’ll do what you want. I’ve put about 1,000 miles on it in the 2 months I’ve had it. That torque and acceleration is smiles galore!
They truly are. Before getting the DSRX I test rode several GSs including the Adventure. They are big but I can manage them, and my wife said the back seat on the Adventure was the most comfortable (I didn’t take her on the test ride but my route took me to my house so she hopped on briefly while I was stopped).
That GS has been on the sales floor for over 3 months. If it is still available I’m going to buy it today. The owner has dropped the price 3x and is very motivated to sell, but it hasn’t moved.
Here are some web images of one, in red like what it is ➜ red 2017 BMW R1200GS Adventure - Google Search ■ ← (this shortened URL is safe, I just created it. My name is @Bullitt.)
When I bought the DSRX 2 months ago I took a long, hard look at that GS but decided on the DSRX. So why get the GS? Because the DSRX just doesn’t have the range that I need.
I regularly need to go 200 miles, and the first 100 miles are in the heart of one of the worst afternoon commutes in the San Francisco Bay Area. 100 miles out, attend a meeting, then 100 miles back home. I thought I’d be taking my car but that afternoon commute traffic is absolutely horrendous and I didn’t like being trapped in my car when I could be splitting lanes through that awful congestion.
(As an aside I find it utterly ridiculous that people put up with that terrible commute each and every weekday. But then again, I’ve been commuting by motorcycle for over 40 years so I’ve seen people trapped in their cages for a long time. I am extremely fortunate to live where I can ride year round.)
The DSRX has made this trip 2x before without having to stop and charge along the way. I charge at my destination; 2 hours to fill the battery — that was livable, but just barely. But on 3 other trips the winds were so strong that I’d have to charge on my way there and also on my way back. Last Friday for example, for that 200 mile round trip I was stopped and charging for 4 hours. 1 hour on the way there, 2 hours charging at the destination, and 1 hour on the way back.
It sucked. Hopefully that GS is still there. I’ll find out soon.
I just called. It’s still there and I phoned in a deposit on it. I’m on my way there now…