The right way to beat the blues?
GS always has been the epitome of adventure riding to me. Never had seen one up close, let alone touch or ride one, but dream she’s been, for a real long time now. Also see my note on Italian Musings.
A quick recap, when I wanted to upgrade my Bonnie to a more adventure oriented litre class bike, GS was the first choice. Unfortunately it was not available readily, the dealers offered to import it for me, but I wanted to make sure my feet reached the ground comfortably. Since that was not an option, I opted for the next best – Multistrada 1200s.
Finally got a chance to ride one, boy what an experience. It was so awesome that I accidentally (?) missed a U-turn, and rode on an additional significant distance before calling to enquire where the others were, and then rode back to rejoin the pack.
The ever so slight torque twitch was magical. So what if the shaft means slightly lesser power at the wheel, it is a shaft drive, total reliability, freedom from grime and oiling, good riddance to clanking chain, no more spotty rims after bike returns from servicing, no adjustment required every 1000kms…
The quickshifter! Boy I can’t get the smile off my face each time I remember about it. I was grinning from ear to ear while shifting up and down the gears with my left hand doing nothing! The motor blipped just right to match the rev and I always found the right slot, no accidental intermediate neutrals, no sirrie. Poor left hand has been used to pull in the lever and when I did accidentally pull in the clutch, the GS almost chided me for doing so, she didn’t seem happy about it at all.
The boxer engine was torquey, just the way I love it, didn’t beg me to rev hard in each gear before shifting, no frequent gear changes, she just pulls and pulls and pulls, in all gears and more or less any speed.
And lest I forget, the boxer meant much lower center of gravity and therefore much easier to chuck around the corners, changes direction on a dime. And yes, the exposed engine also meant that a man’s vanity doesn’t take a beating (read – heating).
The Ralley comes with a one-piece seat and the spec sheet puts the seat height as 850-871mm, much higher than the Multistrada’s 825-845mm, or at least on paper. The real test is if one can plant the heels on the ground, and I could, comfortably, thanks to the shape of the seat I guess.
Hill hold assist! Nifty lil feature, comes in really handy when I need to flash the access card to open the gate in a slope while exiting my basement parking, couldn’t use it where it was really intended to – the mighty Himalayas tho…
The spoked wheels with tubeless tyres, what more could an off road junkie ask for…
And then the color, matches my riding gear too!
Need any more reasons?
Well, here comes reality check (read GRAPES ARE SOUR):
- Do I need it or is it just a want?
- Do I need another liter class bike, or would a 310 GS / 650 GS suffice?
Do read my other blog along the similar lines – Big v/s Small.
About the author:
Muralidhar (www.musingsinlife.com):
A biker | A blogger | An adventure junky | Animal lover
Tries to fit all of the above whilst working as a brand marketing professional. His blog is a product of contemplations, reflections and an unquenchable thirst for self-deprecating humour. It is the world as seen through the eyeballs of a salt-and-pepper *sixteen year-old* fighting off #MidLifeCrisis. No doubt perspectives will be different when seen by others and those are equally welcome in the comments section.
Disclaimer:
- This is written with a sole intention of laughing at and with the author, no offence meant to anyone else.
- No bikes or animals or bystanders were harmed while writing this.
Musings in life 