BMW XPLOR

 

 

Most want to dream.

Many dream.

Few do.

Perhaps the answer that you are really seeking is . . . "which am I?" 

C

 

---------------------------------

to go first . . . means catching . . . all the spider webs.

 

Good point.  I'll let you know!

What constitutes an adventure?  I've had my R1200GS off road and it's not pleasant dealing with 600 pounds of bike and gear off road.  I bought my GS because it's a great bike.  You don't need a GS to have an adventure.

"An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered."

- Gilbert K. Chesterton

Poser here, i have an 08 GSA bought new AUG of 08. i have 18,000 miles and i would bet only about 200 or so are dirt. I use it as my 2up long black top bike, that gets me back in the woods to camp with the wife. We have seen a lot of country.

---------------------------------

I'm your Huckleberry

 

We put 23,000 miles on 2007 GSA and now have 3,000 miles on 2009 GS.  Most of that is 2 up loaded with camping gear ... live in southwest and have been to Alaska, Chicago and Seattle.  The bikes have been on gravel and dirt maybe 2,000 miles and nearly always 1 up on gravel and dirt.  On the other hand, the bikes have a total of less than 100 miles of interstate.

Also own 2009 F800GS with 8,000 miles, half of which is 1 up gravel and dirt.  And only 1,000 miles two up and loaded with camping gear.

R1200GS is a much better 2 up camping machine for us!  F800GS is a bit easier than the R1200GS to handle off the asphalt and it is too big to get off into the gnarly ... at least for me it is.

I think that I prefer the F800GS for all 1 up riding.  If I had knobbies on it then it would only be the preferred gravel/dirt bike, preferring the R1200GS in that case on asphalt.

They are both tremendous bikes!

The ridgerunner

In my younger days... i rode a bicycle a lot... crossed the country on one... one thing i would say is that i am a mountain bike kind of person over a road bike.(bicycle)...

 On my 650GS if i want to ride across a field no big deal... if i want to drive up on to the lawn and drive over the curb or off the curb.. Or go on a fire road... that is washed out and take a path through the woods.. no big deal... commute to work rain or shine... whoops thats a bmw thing.. no big deal... I am a go anywhere kind of person so the GS fit me well... 

it is a very good concept.. even if you don't world travel...

Peter in OKC, OK 

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, NOT MANY. I HAVE BEEN RIDING MY 02 GSA AROUND ARIZONA FOR 7 YEARS AND HAVE ONLY SEEN ONE OTHER GUY FROM NABRASKA ON A DIRT ROAD. NONE OUT ON THE TRAILS. IN FACT I ALWAYS GET SOME CRAZY STARES AS I RIDE BY SOMEONE. IF YOU HAVE RODE DIRT BIKES MUCH THEN YOU HAVE THE BASIC RIDING SKILLS TO TAKE THESE MACHINES OUT TO PLACES THAT YOU WILL INJOY. IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO GET YOUR CONFENDENCE UP, BUT THE MORE YOU RIDE THE BETTER YOU GET. BUT IT ALSO HELPS IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE TO RIDE WITH.( it is easyer for two to pick these things up ) I HAVE REALLY LIKED MY 600lb. BIKE SINCE DAY ONE. SOMETIMES I WILL TRAVEL 200 MILES ON THE PAVEMENT JUST TO GET TO THE FOREST ROADS IN NORTHERN ARIZONA AND DO 50 TO A 100 MILES OF DIRT AND RETURN TO TUCSON THE SAME DAY. THAT IS HARD TO DO ON A REGULAR DIRT BIKE AND CARRY MY GEAR. SO IF YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED, THEN THE 800GS IS THE BIKE FOR YOU. HAPPY TRAILS

i ride my gs800f to some great fishing creeks here in colo i ride with knobbes they bite well and work ok

on my short day trips  i also changed my pinon sproket to a 15 and she really came alive i didnt

need all the topend  david1

I've had mine less than a year and have been on two.  1000 mile ride in SW Colorado over countless passes.  Earlier ----- 600 miles off road in the Smokies (O.K., so I went "on road" for the Dragon's Tail)  2009 F800GS

And, as did David ------- went to knobbies early.

Only SHORT back road trips so far.

I agree with the general tone of the thread -- not many ever ride their big twins off road, but for many they are the steed of choice for motocamping and LD travel. Here in New England, there is plenty of challenging single track where the big dogs are a handful, but also many two-track jeep roads and logging roads that they're ideal for. I've ridden my '07 GS one some great roads and in some places where I would have never thought she'd make it (top of Hunter Mountain Ski Area, NY), but I doubt I've ridden more than 20% of its 34k off road. However, if I want to load up the camping gear and head cross country to a rally, and take in some dirt along the way, there's no other bike I'd rather be on.

Good riding.

Don

Durham NH 

---------------------------------

I used to ride my old R65 on dirt roads a lot while looking for a place to live in the country - the airhead was light and handled well and was easy to pick up if we fell over  Now, 20 years later, once in a while I find myself on a muddy two track on my R1150RT, usually while taking another "great" shortcut in West Virginia, and that always turns out to be more of a laugh than an adventure. 

 

Ub 

I dig that quote From Gilbert K Chesterton! I completely agree with it. It's all in your perspective. Check out my Adirondack blog...