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Dream bike number two


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My Dad has one of these and it is really a sweet bike. LOTS of power, smooth, quiet, and comfortable. With the proper setup, it handles any terrain well (for a 500+ lb bike). There is a reason this is the most popular bike among the Long Distance riding crowd.

 

With an upgraded seat and a passenger backrest, it's not too bad for the pillion rider either. Not the laid back comfort of the RSV, but pretty good.

 

And an interesting mechanical note, it is about an hour job to check and adjust the valves on this, but it is an all day effort to change out the clutch.

 

Alternator puts out 720W (over 50 Amps) so you can add all the electronics and heat you want. 50+ MPG, 6 gears, 105 HP, 85 ftlbs of torque, 0 to 62 mph in 3.3 sec.

 

Here is a picture of my Dad with his GS on top of Mt. Washington.

 

Quite the machine. I will also have one of these someday...someday....

RR

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my wif eand I were on a ride a couple weeks back and she saw one of these. He rfirst comment was that with the industrial, metal boxes it looked like a work truck.

 

 

That being said the owner was nice enough to let us ride it and wow. NIce although I do agree with the whole metal boxes looking like truck tool boxes

 

 

 

 

David

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My Dad has one of these and it is really a sweet bike. LOTS of power, smooth, quiet, and comfortable. With the proper setup, it handles any terrain well (for a 500+ lb bike). There is a reason this is the most popular bike among the Long Distance riding crowd.

 

With an upgraded seat and a passenger backrest, it's not too bad for the pillion rider either. Not the laid back comfort of the RSV, but pretty good.

 

And an interesting mechanical note, it is about an hour job to check and adjust the valves on this, but it is an all day effort to change out the clutch.

 

Alternator puts out 720W (over 50 Amps) so you can add all the electronics and heat you want. 50+ MPG, 6 gears, 105 HP, 85 ftlbs of torque, 0 to 62 mph in 3.3 sec.

 

Here is a picture of my Dad with his GS on top of Mt. Washington.

 

Quite the machine. I will also have one of these someday...someday....

 

 

RR

 

Nice picture. According to the article, for 2010 they have gone to dual overhead cams raising the HP to 110 and the torque to 88. Not a HUGE difference but a bit more. :)

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When I was working at the powerplant one of the operators had one. Said he loved it and the Krauts KNOW how to put a charging system on a bike, unlike the japs

:whistling: His ultimate ride is to take it to Alaska, If money wasn't an issue...yeah I'd like one too :)

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Those metal boxes come in handy when they drop them. They tend to be ridden in a lot rougher places than Ventures are. When I went to the Aerostich VBR rally last year probably 70 % of the bikes were BMW Adventure bikes and 20 % were KLRs. The area where we were camping was very rough and I probably saw 6 bikes over on their sides the first 3 hours I was there.

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I would think some more aggressive tires would be in order for off-roading. But then again, I'v only had either off-road or on-road bikes. I wouldn't know what the ultimate dual-sport tire would look like. Even so, if I had the $, I wouldn't mind one. I'd get it with those saddle bags that make it look like a truck. Sometimes, function over form, is prettier!

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And an interesting mechanical note, it is about an hour job to check and adjust the valves on this, but it is an all day effort to change out the clutch.

 

It's about like a tractor, you have to split the bike in half to do a clutch on it.

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The GSA (or Adventure version) has 50/50 tires, a larger 8.7 gal gas tank (400+ mile range), full protective crash bars, metal skid plate, longer suspension travel, spoke wheels, standard heated grips, more ground clearance, etc.

 

The metal box panniers are certainly function over form. You can put a lot of stuff in them. The ones my Dad have are the Jesse bags. You can open the tops and stand in them. Very rugged. If you dump the bike in some nasty stuff and bend them, just take a rock and pound them back out until they are functional.

 

The whole key in adventure riding is to get where you want to go, and to get home. Scratches, dings, and broken bits are bonus points.

 

My Dad doesn't ride off road and (to my knowledge) has never dropped his bike. However, since he didn't start riding until he was 63 years old, he is doing OK. It's a great story how he started. All my fault.

 

RR

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