Is the GS too much for me?

[Rick del Monte]

I have had my 2020 R1250 GS for two years now. I have taken an off-road course a the academy, taken it to the racetrack, and run Tail of the Dragon on it. Love the bike and have had no issues on it while moving, only when coming to a stop. I am 67, 160lbs with a 31” inseam and I have dropped this thing 5 or 6 times, mostly on the gravel and off camber roads that I ride in Western NC. The weight and height means that there is a very low tolerance for leaning off of vertical at a stop before I can no longer keep it from going over.

Fortunately the bike has enough armor that the only damage has been some scratched up crash bars and my heavily bruised ego. My feet can reach the ground, but would a lower seat height help the situation? I assume that installing a low suspension on this bike would not be cheap, but neither would trading it in. Or I could move back to Dallas where the ground is flat and I never dropped a bike. Am I the only one facing this existential crisis?

 

[Visian]

Am I the only one facing this existential crisis?

No. Today's GS is too heavy and tall for me to ride comfortably any more. And I also had an HP2 Enduro... much taller. Both are now gone and I am back to my original G/S... 425 pounds and a lower seat height. (of course, it has shorter travel suspension compared to modern GS).

Sounds like you need to practice the "butt scooch" method, where, as you come in for a landing, you scooch your butt over to the left so that you can put your left foot down flat. When I do this on a GS or HP2, the rear of my right thigh is flat on the seat and my right foot is dangling in space. I can support the bike very well in this way.

The low suspension defeats the purpose of the bike, imo, which is to pound ground over rough surfaces loaded with luggage. Lowered GS are for riders that want to *look* like they ride off-pavement and off-road.

You can go with a lower seat, but that doesn't help much and is tough on the tooshie.

Ian

 

[davidsanders]

We're about the same size and age. I faced a similar situation while on a rented F850GS while on a tour in Greece. When moving everything was fine, but things changed when stopping on rough, uneven terrain. I wasn't able to get my feet firmly on the ground and dropped the bike - at considerable expense - on the first day of the tour. I'd rented F-series GS models in the past with no problem, but the 850 was too tall. Edelweiss bike travel had a spare low F750GS on hand, so we swapped the seats. it wasn't the perfect solution, but it give me a bit better footing. (I didn't want to ride the 750GS as this would have meant a new contract, new insurance, etc.) I suggest going to your dealer and sweet talk them into letting you borrow a low seat to try to see if it helps before moving away from one of the best cities in one of the best riding areas in the nation.

 

[Visian]

I suggest going to your dealer and sweet talk them into letting you borrow a low seat to try to see if it helps before moving away from one of the best cities in one of the best riding areas in the nation.

There is exactly zero good riding here in WNC, the scenery sucks and the weather is constantly bad. As the bumper stickers around here say: Don't move here!

 

[88bmwjeff]

Google Jocelin Snow for Youtube videos. She's has some tips on riding "tall" GS's and being on the shorter side. Her videos may provide some tips.

Here's one video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJId0tt_dcw&t=2s

 

[italia]

I am also 60+ and at 165 lbs with a 31" inseam. Bought a Low Suspension GSA a few months ago and with the stock seat at highest setting, can flat foot both sides. Just sitting on the regular suspension GSA in the showroom told me that it was too tall given its weight

 

[Rick del Monte]

Moving back to Dallas was a joke of course. My BMW club friends in Dallas did an amazing amount of mileage because you have to go such a long ways to get to really good riding roads. Some pretty amazing riders.

I would love to try out a low suspension model (even if it makes me a poser), but since COVID my local dealer has not had any loaner bikes. I think low and heavy is OK, and tall and light is OK, it's tall and heavy that is the problem. I have never dropped my tail and light Honda CRF300L Rally.

BTW, I am in the process of restoring an R100GSPD. This bike is surprisingly heavy, but quite a bit lower. I have not had problems so far.

 

[davidsanders]

There is exactly zero good riding here in WNC, the scenery sucks and the weather is constantly bad. As the bumper stickers around here say: Don't move here!

You forgot to mention that the foods sucks, there's no art and culture to think of, and you can't get a decent beer if your life depends on it. We'll be stopping by next week on our way home from Greer, SC with my wife's new 330i (Performance Center Delivery) to see if any of that has changed. I might just have in inquire about the BMW Rider Academy myself while at the Performance Center.

 

[Rick del Monte]

You forgot to mention that the foods sucks, there's no art and culture to think of, and you can't get a decent beer if your life depends on it. We'll be stopping by next week on our way home from Greer, SC with my wife's new 330i (Performance Center Delivery) to see if any of that has changed. I might just have in inquire about the BMW Rider Academy myself while at the Performance Center.

I think I am the only person in Asheville who does not like craft beer. I did the one day off-road course at the rider academy: highly recommend, but I could barely walk the next day. I want to go back for the two day class, but it is going to take a lot of Ibuprofen ;-)

 

[Visian]

I think I am the only person in Asheville who does not like craft beer. I did the one day off-road course at the rider academy: highly recommend, but I could barely walk the next day. I want to go back for the two day class, but it is going to take a lot of Ibuprofen ;-)

I'm up here with a vodka tonic.

Agreed on the BMW PC... good course, be in shape, go in the very late fall, late winter, early spring... it's hotter and more humid than ever-loving hell there in the summer. damhikt.

 

[Geoff Weeks]

Low Suspension

Hi rickdm,
I understand your issue. I am 62, 5'8' and 157 lbs with a 31" inseam also. This time last year I made the trade from 2020 Yamaha FJR 1300 to a 2021 1250GS low suspension. The Yamaha although a great bike is a heavy beast and I could not get my feet down when stopped and when two up it could be a handful at low speeds and on uneven terrain. So I decided to go the GS route, although also a heavy bike it is quite a bit lighter than the yamaha and carries it's weight lower down.The decision was whether to go with a standard suspension or the lower suspension. After much deliberation I decided on the low suspension and I am extremely happy I did. Riding solo the bike feels and handles great and creates no issues at low speeds or on uneven terrain. I have just got back from a 3 day ride with my wife on the back and with luggage and being able to almost flat foot the bike makes for a world of confidence. That is not to say that caution isn't required on rough ground or uneven pavement but the difference is that the bike is manageable as opposed to being too much to handle.
And as regards the moniker of being a poser trying to look the part of the all terrain adventurer as one previous poster posited, don't worry. That is a ridiculous statement. I went with the low suspension because the bike fits me and I will do very little off road but the GS makes a fine long distance tourer which is precisely why I purchased it.
I understand that a swap to a low suspension may not be practical for you now but if you could find one to test ride I believe you would be won over.
All the best.

 

[skibum69]

The seat height on my 640 is 37" with my 30" inseam if that makes you feel any better?

 

[Rick del Monte]

The seat height on my 640 is 37" with my 30" inseam if that makes you feel any better?

My Honda CBR 300l rally has a 37" seat height and I have no problems, never dropped it. But it weighs 330lbs. At 600lbs. that thing would be a beast.

I need to find a bike to ride with the low suspension. I changing the suspension over to low must be $4,000 to $6,000? Not sure what you could get for your old suspension.

 

[robsryder]

It is impossible for me to hold up any bike once it gets leaned over to a certain extent. And nowadays I always seek some help in picking the bike back up.

It is amazing that Gaston Rahier (center in pix below) rode a GS in the Dakar Races.

 

[tsconver]

The low suspension defeats the purpose of the bike, imo, which is to pound ground over rough surfaces loaded with luggage. Lowered GS are for riders that want to *look* like they ride off-pavement and off-road.

Damn guess I should stop taking my lowered GSA offroad and only ride it on the street.

 

[pglaves]

It is amazing that Gaston Rahier (center in pix below) rode a GS in the Dakar Races.

View attachment 88205

Equally amazing - he won it!!!

 

[Rick del Monte]

At the club ride this week I was chatting with a couple of other riders with newer GS’s and sharing my frustration with dropping the bike. In the steep terrain around here they had all dropped their bikes. ‘When it starts to go just get out of the way and pick it back up’.