Bob an others as well check this tire chain set up!

http://www.mv-motorrad.de/cosmoshop/lshop,showdetail,13240,d,1105802162-13240,,10107,,,.htm

Hey, saw on the local news that they are racing out on the iced over Mississippi River, getting ready for Daytona flat track next month! I think they screw bolts through the lugs of dirt tires and use an inner tube...

Chains, we don't need no stinking chains!!!

Jeff....while I have never ridden a 2003 adventure with knobbies, I really understand your perception as far as how differently these two bikes handle. When I brought home the GS I was amazed at how easy it is to turn it.....just takes a bit. You can actually "throw it around" quite easily. Well, I rode it for about 1400 miles, leaving the S in the garage. Yesterday I checked the S over....air pressure...stuff like that and took it out for a 150 mile ride. I didn't get out of my neighborhood before I stopped, got off, and checked to see if the front was flat! I was thinking....this thing steers like a truck...something's wrong (and this after about 35,000 miles on two S's.) Well....nothing was wrong, I rode for 3 hours and thoroughly enjoyed the S. Point is....these are really two different kinds of bikes. I think I'll ride the S for a week or so...let my muscle memory forget how the GS feels and see if it's alarming.
One more note....the S in a turn requires you to "keep it turning"....keep pressure on the bars. The GS doesn't. Put it in the turn....relax...have a ham sandwich....straighten it up when you're thru. I do like this feature better.
THe S on the other hand is dead nuts happy and stable at 100-120, while the GS seems to get a little light in the front. 80-90 are all day happy on the GS although it has the power needed for more, but the S will run faster and not get nervous.
Blah blah blah....fwiw.

I agree with you Bob, though I don't have a 1200 GS, the feeling is the same when going back and forth bet my S and my GS 1150. The S at slow speeds (below 40) feels quite heavy and I too felt that maybe the front wheel was flat. The best cure for that was to take it to the range and set up some slalom cones and some figure 8's after that the S felt quite nimble.

Thanks Bob - your discription is accurate for my limited experience. Turns easier? It felt like it wanted to tip over everytime you turned.
I'm sure it gets better with time.
Still ugly though. In a Bauhaus sorta way...

jeff

Congrats, Bob. I think you have the ultimate pair of bikes (as long as you're talking just Beemer twins). The GS I owned just prior to getting the S opened up a whole 'nother world of riding for me (... I wonder where that dirt road leads....). But, given the choice for me the S with leaning forward and styling won out. When and if I can afford to have a second Oilhead, it will be another GS. Concerning the earlier loosey-goosey comment about a GS Adventure with knobbies - exactly my impression the first time I rode one, felt like the front end was floating and I hated it. I even checked tire pressure because it felt so odd. Then I got on one with "regular" GS tires and it was a world of difference. The GS is the only bike that ever actually made me laugh while cornering because it was such fun. Enjoy!

I agree. Matter of fact it was the funky look that kept me from seriously considering them earlier. But....the GS series has evolved to be just too good a motorcycle to be without so I made the plunge.

Congrats, Bob. Sweet bike, so I hear. I liked the GS's funky looks from day one - rode a demo for an afternoon when they first arrived. 'Have an eye for the bizarre, I guess - tsunami survivors excepted.
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One may be in my future, we'll see.
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