R1200S

[jbuzbee]

Hi everyone - long time lurker - long time guzzi fan. Breifly, I was in the market for a bike about 2 years ago and was very close to buying a V11 but opted for the BMW R1150R (long story) . I'm still looking to add a Guzzi - something special.

 

My question is what guzzisti think of 1. the BMW 1200S and 2. why the MGS-01 got so much good press while many journalist are questioning why BMW would build such a bike?

 

You have to admit the 2 are quite striking and share similar philosophies:

 

 

Would love to see these too at Daytona some year.

 

(I like the MGS-01 better)

 

jb

[not_scooter_Scura!]

I don't know how you could compare...

 

One is sex on wheels

 

the other is wheels so you can go & get some sex

 

 

[Orson]

I'd love a 120 hp Le Mans

 

or maybe not...I dunno...seems like you can still have plenty of fun with 80 hp.

 

still...makes you wonder what 33% more hp would feel like from a Guzzi lump

[jrt]

Jeez, I went out and had plenty of fun on my 37hp KLR. Wheelies, burnouts...100+ hp just sounds like a bad idea to me.

[Steve G.]

I like the Beemer I guess. I don't dislike it. I save that for physical monstrosities, like Suzuki Madura's, Yamaha Virago's, Harley's, etc. The BMW is a typical German machine, in that it does most everything nice, offers a "German" solution to the issues at hand [good and bad], and even with 'outside of factory' design styling, still has a "form as a result of function" look. It most definitely will not offer the degree of character and emotional feedback the Moto Guzzi will deliver.

I guess the biggest difference between these two machines would be that one is basically a one off [it isn't, but you know what I mean] hand built BOTT race bike, and the other is designed and built as an assembly line mass production street legal machine. We all know that the Moto Guzzi engine in the MGS-01 is operating at very close to maximum output for this 4 valve pushrod air cooled architecture, and that life expectancy is going to be less than the expected life span of a 4 valve Centauro or Daytona, and that the BMW engine is operating at an output which is not reducing it's life expectancy.

So this one, even though from a distance they seem similar, are quite different machines. Really they are very much apples and oranges.

Ciao, Steve G.

[mdude]

the Beemer is a veeery nice machine. German engineering and attention to detail. The first really slick and (in my eyes at least) sexy design from BMW. Amazing in the flesh. But I suspect its just too siviliced. I had a R1150R like you and sold it, because it was so soulless that it got on my nerves. On shorter runs it made me fall asleep. You cant say that about the Guzzi...

 

I cant see that you can compare these two bikes. The Beemer is a family sports-/touringbike and does everything just nicely, the MGS does one thing perfect: goes places thats situated on the track weely weely fast! A Ducce 998 or 999 would be a better comparison with the MGS and a LeMans would be a better comparison with the Beemer.

[Paul Minnaert]

the MGS-01 is operating at very close to maximum output for this 4 valve pushrod air cooled architecture, and that life expectancy is going to be less than the expected life span of a 4 valve Centauro or Daytona, and that the BMW engine is operating at an output which is not reducing it's life expectancy.

 

 

If you compare the 2 engines, they are quite similar. Same valve sizes, same small pushrods on the same single overhead cam. Same output power. Ok cams are connected to the crank with a chain from the back of the crank.

 

Design wise it's like the idea you have from both countrys, hot italian, or wirtschaftlich german.

 

I like it hot.

 

I once steed op a r1100s, it feels like a sofa.

[zebulon]

I should not tell this but i owned a BMW R 1100 RS for few months.

 

In fact only 3 month and 7 500 km.

 

In spirit they are quite similar but the BMW engine is absolutely INEXPRESSIVE compared to the Guzzi one.

I precise than unlike most of BMW owners, my bike was equiped with a k&n filter, racing computer and free exhaust (so quite unusual for such kind of bike). And no feeling with this bike and no feeling with the engine.

 

For most of guys who have tryed a liberate 4V engine Guzzi's could not pass to something different.

 

Bmw surely more comfortable than a MGS but definitively less expressive.

 

I own a prototype build with a Ghezzi&Brian frame and with a big bore engine 1225 with same specs or nearly than MGS.

[jbuzbee]

I should not tell this but i owned a BMW R 1100 RS for few months.

 

In fact only 3 month and 7 500 km.

 

 

Well, heres my story:

 

I really wanted a 2004 V11 sport. Did alot of research here and at WildGuzzi. Took a test ride on a beautiful, brand new 2004 Rosso Corsa. Didn't get a chance to really appreciate the bike because about 1/2 mile out the dealer, who was taking me on the ride, with absolutely no warning, decided to turn right in front of me! I had to grab a handfull of front brake, and a footfull of rear brake, and still managed to low side the bike. Well, that little experience coupled with ALL the problems you (guzzisti) complained about led me to the more sensible solution of the BMW.

 

16 months and 19,000 miles later it's been a great bike. The only bad thing about the R is it lacks the design of the italians. I'm a modern architect so design is very, very important.

 

Zebulon - I see you have a GB. Those guys know how to design a motorcycle!

 

jb

the Studio

[mdude]

Well, heres my story:

 

I really wanted a 2004 V11 sport.  Did alot of research here and at WildGuzzi.  Took a test ride on a beautiful, brand new 2004 Rosso Corsa.  Didn't get a chance to really appreciate the bike because about 1/2 mile out the dealer, who was taking me on the ride, with absolutely no warning, decided to turn right in front of me!    I had to grab a handfull of front brake, and a footfull of rear brake, and still managed to low side the bike.  Well, that little experience coupled with ALL the problems you (guzzisti) complained about led me to the more sensible solution of the BMW.

 

16 months and 19,000 miles later it's been a great bike.  The only bad thing about the R is it lacks the design of the italians.  I'm a modern architect so design is very, very important. 

 

Zebulon - I see you have a GB.  Those guys know how to design a motorcycle!

 

jb

the Studio

87397[/snapback]

 

sensible and motorcycle are two word that don't connect well in my book. it should be a an event every time you go down to the garage, put the lights on, admire it, start the engine and slip the clutch. the sensibility of the Beemer was the thing that got to me in the end.

 

this is a forum for the airing of problems, and should be read with gloves and helmet ON. It leads you to expect breakdown around every turn, but the reality is that the glitches discussed here are mostly minor issues discussed by garage monkeys who do everything themselves (sorry, guys ). Myself I almost stalled first time in here, and got veeery paranoid about my bike. But one learns to calm down.

 

The Guzzi is an overengineered beast and can take a lot of punishment. Its also easy to work on, even for people with eleven thumbs like me.

Of the four V11 Guzzis in my neighbourhood/club none has had any significant problems. On the other hand, my brand new R1150R spat oil all over the garage floor in its first week, and no one was able to cure it until I sold it.

 

agree with you about the G&B, too bad this company now is dead. In my eyes (I am a graphic/retail/communications designer) both the 1100i and the Daytona has the timeless flair that the MGS inherits and takes a bit further. What about one of those? With the leftover from the 1200S you should be able to have a completely restored firebreathing Daytona AND spare change for beer. (or a nice bottle of Brunello, since youre an architect )

[dbdicker]

I dissent from the crowd here. I need something alternative to the Guzz, and usually have something in the garage that is less 'interesting' to ride.......but also more versatile.

 

I like the new R1200S. Looks like a hot bike with controllable power that'll be dependable. I've owned a couple of BMW's.....they usually got a lot going for them. If I was in the market for a sportbike to add to the stable (I'm not, unless I lose a gear and rid myself of my Guzzi), I'd put the Beemer real close to the top. It's the kind of bike that usually gets me .... Fast enough, comfy enough, weird enough, dependable enough, and big enough for me at my age.

 

dan