I just got back from a solo trip from Chicago to Paonia, CO for the Top of the Rockies rally on my '22 low-suspension GSA. ..about 3000 miles total.
l rode the bike about 300 miles a day through Colorado moto heaven on rally day and much longer on transit days. Haven't checked actual mileages yet and may not bother.
Power!
The motor has all the power one needs in any situation at any altitude. The transition of the shift-cam can be heard. I'm not crazy about that sound but it does give some additional power. Transition is linear and not like an on-off switch. You hear it more than feel it.
I like the "off the cam" low power mode a lot. It is very happy and smooth chugging around below 3,000 so long as you don't demand too much too fast while going slow in the upper gears.
Truth be told, the 1200 wet-head engine is also really good and has enough power without shift-cam. I was able to use all of the 1200 RT's power after a year or so of riding it but i never really felt it needed more. The 1250 GS seems to be geared quite low for the amount of power the engine makes.. It starts shredding rear tires if you push it.
It has wheelie control, fer cri-yi!
On interstates, it's invincible with with plenty of power in reserve even at 3 digits.
The GSA chassis has half a degree more vertical fork angle...I forget the term for that....less "trail"? It really feels like a giant trials bike at low speeds. I can make U-turns much easier with it than with any of my 4 RTs. The weight just disappears above about 5 mph. You can easily use the weight of the bike to steer it. At high speeds, there's a hint of tank-slap sensitivity now and then, but the steering damper works OK. I've not had anything near a real tank-slapper with this bike. Not a problem, more an observation.
I have low suspension, for better or worse. With my 30" inseam, normal seat set tall in front and low in back, it feels pretty right. I can ride with the seat tall in back but the seat leans me into the bars a little bit more than I like...which is none.
Ride Modes:
On the low suspension GSA at least, the Road mode make the rear suspension too sloppy. Not enough rebound damping. I bobs up an down. I use Dynamic Pro and set everything to Road mode except the suspension damping, which stays on Dynamic. That seems to give me a nice, well-damped ride. I used Rain mode on the way home because it rained several times....better than 100+ degrees. Ask me how I know!
I had no tip-overs during the entire 3000+ mile sojourn. This included plenty of awkward moments, irregular parking angles, low speed maneuvering yada yada...and some not really difficult dirt riding.
If you ride solo a lot, knowing that you're not going to easily tip your fully loaded bike over in the middle of nowhere is worth something. I had no ground clearance problems except for scraping boots in turns. For me, the low suspension was a good choice. I was told by my dealer that the GSA low suspension was "same height as a standard GS". It's not. It's lower. If it were the same, I think it might be perfect for me. It's a little bit low...for me. But I've adapted.
I like the extra fuel. I like the extra wind protection from the bigger tank.
I have to concentrate not to drag my boots in hard corners. If I place my inside boot's toe on the inside peg, no issues. One must train one's self on every new bike. This is peculiar but it's not a problem. I've tried extended pegs on 2 of my RTs in the past. In both cases, the bike felt far less sporty and intuitive while turning and it was too easy to touch pegs in turns. I removed the extensions both times. This bike isn't like that. The pegs don't touch or feel too low, but your boots will scrape if you don't pay attention. Additionally, the pegs are not long (wide?) enough. I can stand on them, but I'm standing on the inside of each boot and it feels weird. I can fix this with aftermarket pegs. So far, not annoying enough for me to try that.
The other adjustment I had to make is braking. This thing doesn't stop as well as my last 3 RTs. The brakes aren't servo (are they?) and I have to use the rear brake to supplement the front lever if I need to slow down quickly. Using ShiftAssist to downshift rapidly while pulling on the brakes helps, but, especially for that last 10mph, seems like the foot brake is often required. I never used the foot brake on 1150RT, 1200 hex RT or 1200 wethead RT. I could panic stop with 2 fingers on the lever. One gets spoiled by that. The 1150 had over-sensitive servo brakes. They stopped well..but not smoothly...Too much assist and they barely worked at all with the engine off, which can surprise you moving it around the garage. The hex head had great brakes. The 1200 RTLC did too. I've already installed a set of HH pads on this GS to get a little higher friction. It helps but they're still not great.
Finally settled on a Sargent seat after trying a Wunderlich (too hard) and a stock seat with beads - too strange and slippery).
If you get a Sargent make sure and get the "DTX with Grip Zones" covering. I was sliding all over with riding pants on the Carbon FX covering...although it was OK when wearing jeans. I sent my seat back and they cheerfully recovered it for about $150. I stay put now. They rushed it back to me. It arrived on Sunday before my take-off on Monday morning. GREAT!
I'm liking my Aeroflow Aerowings, ZTechnic biggest size touring screen with support brackets and Wunderlich "Cockpit Cover", a plastic bit that fits under the dash around the fork area to decrease wind flow and noise in that area. I did about half of this ride without ear plugs and it wasn't super noisy. I still got enough air even on hot days. It wasn't as quiet as my '17 RT with Aeroflow Tall windscreen, Illium bar-baks and Sargent seat, but I'm still fooling with aero bits to make the GSA work better.
I think they made the GS exhaust too loud this time. It's finally crossed over into being noisy. You hear your own bike while on the interstate...constantly. Some bikes, that sound is behind you and you don't hear it underway, but this thing, the exhaust noise is always there. I'm sure BMW designed this in, but I'm not for it...a little too much.
BTW: I've taken to shutting off the bike with the kill switch at long stoplights. If you stay in 1st gear and use the kill switch, you don't lose your GPS, your helmet bluetooth connection your lights, turn signals or anything, just the engine. When the light turns, just push the starter with clutch in and go. Saves noise, saves gas, gives you a moment of silence that's refreshing. Also freaks out people with open windows. NO ONE does this on a motorcycle. It's pretty easy.
MPG: This bike gets awful mpg cruising at highway speeds (75mph and up). It's got aluminum side cases and they are square. The front is big and not really designed for good aero either. I think it's an aero problem, but it may be gearing too. The motor spins at about 4200 when I'm cruising. I got 34mpg going West against the wind and climbing. 36mpg on the way home with wind behind me. This is using cruise control both ways at speeds between 76mph and 78 mph on the GPS with occasional blasts to get out of truck turbulance or clumps of cars. I've never got below 40mpg on any bike before this one. Shameful in these times.
BMW should make basically a 5-speed trans (those old 5-speeds had perfect ratios) with an overdrive 6th. This bike can pull through 35mph corners in 6th. Do we really need that much torque if it costs this much fuel?
OTOH, could it be the shift-cam sucking all this fuel? This is my first GS and my first shift-cam, so I don't know which it is.
Maybe someone with a 1200 GSA can tell me what sort of mpg they get at highway speeds?
I did much better mpg on my 1200 RT than on this thing without any sort of trying. With gas at $6+ a gallon and with a war on, fuel consumption is becoming a bit more of a concern. It's almost cheaper to take the car. Our BMW X1 gets near 30mpg at the same speeds.
So...crappy mpg caused by?
A: GSA aerodynamics?
B: Is there lower gearing on GSA? or is the lower gearing on both GS and GSA compared to RT?
C: Is Shift-Cam high-lift mode kicking in at highway speeds and causing higher consumption?
Is it a combination of any two of the above or of all?
I'm happy with the bike. I always go through this critical thinking phase with a new bike. Eventually I start just riding it and adapt to every foilble without thinking. Suspension could be ½" to 1" taller. MPG could be improved with better gearing. Wind and noise are challenges that need to be addressed. It's supremely good at turning hard, has all the power in the world, chassis feels perfect to me. It carries a ton of stuff with the Altrider racks I got for it and keeps it low on the bike. It also looks the business in triple black. Maybe I'm an RT guy, but there are things I really like about this bike.
