Edit - DOH! Never mind. The $2K was for the wheels. Senior moment...

Wheels, not tires. That is for a set of the wire spoke wheels. Tires are typical costs - nothing special there.

Keep an eye on your oil. These bikes can burn a lot for the first 10-15k (yes, thousand) miles. Lots of folks say you should not put sythetic in until you stop burning oil. Mine is weird. I have 24k miles on her. Sometimes I can 500 miles and not burn a drop and sometimes it will be down 1/2/ qt. after two weeks of a bunch of short trips.

Sweet!
Its' nice to see a few beamers without the ubiquitous diamond-plate panniers.

You speak the truth. The bike had its 600 mile service before I picked it up. Rode about 450 miles and checked the oil. Was down about a 1/2 quart. Bought some dino 20/50 (Pennzoil - all they had where I was) and topped it off. Finished the ride home (another 350 miles) and didn't use any more. The manual says no syn until 6K miles I think.

Do you start yours while on the sidestand? I've seen a few grenaded right cylinders and wonder if that contributes to it...

I would never make a practice of starting a bike when it's leaning, it's just not necessary. I've always been a center stand guy w/ bikes, though.

LOL, that reminds me of that subtitled video on you tube about when Hitler totalled his motorcycle and his subordinates bought him a BMW bike as a replacement. Hiarious.

I can't open it but I believe this is a link to it:
www.truveo.com/When-Hitler-got-a-BMWGS/id/1087598670

I didn't even know you can start the bike with the sidestand down. Never done it. Once in a great while I'd start it while on the center stand to get the grips hot before riding. I don't know what the story is with those grenaded right cylinders. Sounds more like people getting low on oil and ignoring it. In my many falls, no matter how bad it hurts, I reach over and turn off the ignition immediately.

Nice bike Todd.

I rode the 1200 GS when it came out, it just felt to light to me on the interstate, and i was getting blown around.

Glad you like it.

Bill

It's all relative. Ride a small naked bike around on the freeway. By comparison the GS feels like a tank. A Panzer most probably...

Yeah, good point. My 1150GS was just a heavier bike. Which was most apparent on the rife roads and trails. I had to get the tank painted more than once. I like the plastic replaceable bits on the 1200.

Of course, I went out and bought a Honda dirt bike for trails, but I think I might go look at the new 800GS when it gets here.

Bill

Feasting on Asphalt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Feasting on Asphalt is a television series starring Alton Brown of the Food Network programs Good Eats and Iron Chef America.

Brown's third series, Feasting on Asphalt explores "road food" (eating establishments which cater to travelers) in the historical and present-day United States, with an emphasis on unique restaurants and regional cuisine. In a quest to find "good eats" across the country, Brown embarks on a mission via his BMW motorcycle. "As far as I’m concerned, there’s no better way to experience the road than from the back of a bike," says Brown.

Season 1
Season 1 consisted of four episodes, initially broadcast July 29, August 5, August 12, and August 19, 2006. Brown traveled from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and sampled food along his travel route. The episodes included segments documenting famous journeys and travelers (from the Odyssey to the Crusades, to Lewis and Clark, and Jack Kerouac), and interviews with many of the restaurant owners and patrons he met en route.

Brown suffered a motorcycle crash during the shooting of the Nevada segment, injuring his right clavicle. This injury was caught on camera and was shown in episode 4.

There also was a second season. And now he's doing a series on boats.

Crashes do happen - I have first hand experience. Then again plenty of people just sit on the couch and die of coronary disease and related maladies watching others do things on tv. I'll go for the more active approach :p

I want to be balls-deep in life.

Congratulations! Excellent choice.

I've had two GS's in the past and covered countless miles on them in Asia and Europe. It's a bike that does everything well.

Germans affectionately refer to it as the "Gummikuh" (rubber cow) BTW.

You can greatly reduce the odd's of buying the farm on a bike if you follow these simple rules

1. Don't drink and ride
2. Get trained and licensed
3. Avoid racing/stunting/stupid behavior on public roads
4. Wear appropriate clothing (helmet, jacket, boots, gloves, pants) all the time

I've always had a soft spot for those ugly BMW's. Because of.......you guessed it. Their Teutonic focus on function. If you had to have one bike and one bike only, for all purposes, the BMW would be a good pick. Feels like a dirt bike. Torque like a tractor. No vibration. Blah blah.

18K!!!!?? Did I read that right?

I'm a big Alton Brown fan and when I was watching Feasting on asphalt" I was digging on his ride. but in the back of my mind, I was wondering how much experience he had on a motorcycle. It kind of looked like he was out of place on it. I actually wondered to myself if he would make it all season without dumping it. he didn't.
He was riding down a dirt road and the front end washed out on him, nothing too serious. Seemed to me like it would be too heavy to be good off-road but I've never ridden one.

anyone see this film? i have not but have wanted to. im pretty sure they make the ride on BMWs
http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Round-Ewan-Mcgregor/dp/B000BOH99A