To Upgrade or to not Upgrade...
 

So - i was at the dealer yesterday picking up by '02 r1100s - when out of nowhere, a salesman came by and offered me to take an '07 r1200s on a test run - so i happily obliged....

Great ride (ohlins, heated grip, 190 rear)... very smooth, and nible. the question is - is it worth the upgrade? or is the r1100s comparable to the new one?

just a simple question ;)

The R1100s is not comparable to the new one. Really kind of different bikes.

But is it worth it? Depends on your financial position I suppose. If they give you $15,000 on trade for a $16,500 bike then - YES!

...not even similar IMO...oh, yes, but it is a boxer...

The R1200S is like the 19 year-old younger sister of the good-looking 39 year-old you've been dating. She's gonna cost twice as much, not including Viagra. You probably don't need her, but you definitely want her.

Oh great, hearing about school afterwards. I'll stick to the 39 year-old vamp and the R11S. ;)

...my last girlfriend was 19 years younger... lasted 3 years... she was not more expensive that the 39 year old I am dating right now, but even if...

none the less, I now know that the ride was NOT any better, yet more problematic... always some adjustments to make, while the older one just works well!!!

Don't know whether that analogy helps any, but newer/younger is not always better :) Experience counts for something...

As for the cost of Viagra, wouldn't know about that... if it ever comes down to that, it will probably time for a new hobby! The old adage of "use it or lose it" comes to play here, I guess...

.......... mmmmmmmmm .... 19 years old ...

:p

...no, nick... not 19 years old... 19 years younger than I am... which ended up tp be 22 at the time... not much of a difference, I know.

hmmm...39....

Is the upgrade worth it?

I think you need to get some hard numbers first to weigh that into the decision. What the trade in is worth, what are your out the door costs, what will the new insurance rate bring to the table etc. Then weigh all of this against your real riding needs, not the afternoon fantasy need that you just fulfilled with the demo ride, but your everyday real riding needs. Do you require luggage. While the 12 offers that now the 11’s luggage system is better. Is passenger comfort a factor? And so forth.

I like the 12 a lot and would buy it over the 11 but that’s because I live 1 hour from the newest race track in Canada and have hit the track every month this summer and plan on racking up another 5 to 7 track days this summer. A 12S would fit my needs perfectly but an 11S would probably do me just as well.

I'd recommend a bench testing your equipment for endurance and interval repeats before commiting to any! Or risk "Operator Error", I did go for the 19 yr old and it's a blast every time.

Since when does logic have anything to do with a motorcycle purchase. An upgrade is almost always in order. The R1200S is lightyears beyond the 11S, IMHO.

...consider your riding abilities/experience too, please.
the R12 caould possibly get you into trouble very quick, though it is forgiving and has vewy vewy good brakes.

Also better acceleration for safer passing and avoiding twuble.

And much more flickable

...I'm jus' sayin'...

Yeah, that usually occurs after you do it if it is needed at all.

geo

Personally, I'd put the $10K the trade is going to cost you into a new 750 Gixxer. You'd have the best of both worlds.

- Mark