After Riding a BMW GS - Why Does The C14 Handle So Poorly ?

[Rusty]

Tommy .... ALL bikes are inherently dangerous ... if you leave them they fall over !!!

[tommytool]

I'd nearly forgotten about that, 2013 was a great year for me and damage! Having said that the GTR came back better than when I bought it! Great testimonial for what Bournemouth Kawasaki and £3.7k can do.

Erm........ Thanks for remembering - I'd nearly forgotten, at least until policy renewal!

[SirToU]

Tommy .... ALL bikes are inherently dangerous ... if you leave them they fall over !!!

LOL..... :-)

[pistole]

got a new set of Bridgestone T30 tyres on the bike today. Front and rear.

rear is 55 series.

handling is pretty sweet now.

.

[nightrider]

I have had the same thing where you think the bike has gone to pot handerling wise , put on some new tyres and all is sweet again , once tyres start to square off it does make it all turn and handle a lot worse ,some times you just do not gell with a bike , I thought my zzr11 was great  , flicked left and right easy , the zzr12. I lost my confidence in that even tho it went right to the edge on the tyres , got the 14 and back to confidence of the 11 , I think a lot is all in the mind .   

[trousersnake01]

Gosh, I can't ever think of what to replace the GTR with, I love it, it gets ridden hard and never moans, its fantastic. The only thing near to it for me is the BMW K1300GT, but they drink oil which has turned me off.

[O.C.]

Gosh, I can't ever think of what to replace the GTR with, I love it, it gets ridden hard and never moans, its fantastic. The only thing near to it for me is the BMW K1300GT, but they drink oil which has turned me off.

I had a Brand spanking new BMW K1300 GT EE in 2010, it had a great engine, loads of farkels, poor panniers, drank oil, poor gear change was an absolute bitch to put onto main/centre stand and had loads of electrical issues resulting in it cutting out and falling over luckily I wasn't injured, I was treat like  at the supplying BMW dealership.

I tried a GS to see if it was any better and it didn't suit me 

My advice would be to thoroughly try one first to see if you like it 

I'll never have another BMW     

[tommytool]

Blimey! Am I imagining it or is it true that I've seen a post on here actually critical of a BMW! 

I thought they were immune from a good old slating just like PR3's ! 

Just to add my boot to the fray, the K13 also has much lower mpg, squares off tyres easily and I believe has no 6th gear.

Are they made any more ? - I think not. 

[Charlie747]

Blimey! Am I imagining it or is it true that I've seen a post on here actually critical of a BMW! 

I thought they were immune from a good old slating just like PR3's ! 

Just to add my boot to the fray, the K13 also has much lower mpg, squares off tyres easily and I believe has no 6th gear.

Are they made any more ? - I think not. 

about sums it up

[O.C.]

Blimey! Am I imagining it or is it true that I've seen a post on here actually critical of a BMW! 

I thought they were immune from a good old slating just like PR3's ! 

Just to add my boot to the fray, the K13 also has much lower mpg, squares off tyres easily and I believe has no 6th gear.

Are they made any more ? - I think not. 

  FYI it did have a 6th gear.....................................most of the time   

[patrick]

I rode a BMW K1300GT in Austria for a few days in 2010. It was a loan bike from a BMW Bike Test Hotel. 



At the time I had only owned my GTR for 2 weeks and was still getting to know the 1400  but I very quickly felt  at home on the BMW in no time at all and remember well the end of day  run up the wet  valley to the hotel, leaving it in 3rd gear balancing it on the throttle through the bends and having a big smile when handing it back to the hotel.

The BMW made me realise that the previous owner of my GTR had the suspension set far too hard and once that was rectified the GTR was just as much fun to ride.

Pam loved the heated pillion seat but in the end she got the message that I wasn't getting a BMW!





There were a couple of build quality issues with the Beemer though:
Those huge mirrors that weren't even colour matched and that annoying section of wiring that hung down on the front nearside of the bike



and... despite a week of wet weather we had a great trip and stayed in a fab hotel



 

[flatfour]

Patrick, that looks like the Hotel Weisseespitze in your pictures. I am booked in there for a few days in July and would be interested in the route that you took to get there, as well as any pointers to the area generally.

It is also possible that my wife may come with me as pillion, because our daughter who usually travels with me is short of holiday next year. As my wife hasn't ridden since 2000, are the access roads to the hotel itself particularly twisty? (I don't want to give her a fright!)

[O.C.]

Yep that's the  Weisseespitze which is managed by Charlie and his lovely wife. You will be made to feel very welcome there, the food is good too.

A group of us stayed there in June 2009

[patrick]

Patrick, that looks like the Hotel Weisseespitze in your pictures. I am booked in there for a few days in July and would be interested in the route that you took to get there, as well as any pointers to the area generally.

It is also possible that my wife may come with me as pillion, because our daughter who usually travels with me is short of holiday next year. As my wife hasn't ridden since 2000, are the access roads to the hotel itself particularly twisty? (I don't want to give her a fright!)

Correct on the hotel location. A lovely place to go.

The access roads to the hotel are fine. I ve been twice, once on a bike tour in 08 and in 2010 we went in the car and used the hotel bikes/ cabriolet.

On the 08 bike trip we crossed  over night Hull to Zebruger and then had 2over nighters in Germany and used a mix of m'way and non 'way routes.

In 2010 we had and early start from Shropshire to the tunnel and had one over night stop to allow a detour for a short visit to Verdun.

The real alpine roads start o this route with the Fern Pass, a main route into Austria and if you use the Motorway you can by pass Landeck enroute to the hotel.

This google map shows the approx. route taken in 2010. In 2008 we did  a detour into the Black Forest to ride some of the B500.

https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=Bd+de+l'Europe&daddr=50.8133024,4.4350531+to:49.6398764,5.8807186+to:Feichten&hl=en&ll=49.525208,5.932617&spn=4.30028,11.612549&sll=49.524763,5.926437&sspn=0.268765,0.725784&geocode=FQpACQMd2s0bAA%3BFXZZBwMdbaxDAClru_xkGtvDRzESP8woK_sPyw%3BFcRx9QIdjrtZACmZodz2W7HqRzFku543Sjh7lA%3BFVajzQIdZPqjAA&oq=landec&mra=dvme&mrsp=2&sz=11&via=1,2&t=m&z=7

P

[Debs]

as well as any pointers to the area generally.

Get yourself up to Grossglockner.. The scenery is fantastic if there isn't low cloud like it was for me. +20c in the valley and only +3c up there.... Its €24 road toll charge for a bike to get up to it. I went there all on my own  

http://goo.gl/maps/WLwtQ

http://www.grossglockner.at/en/