Thinking about going to BMW

I don't think you are crazy at all, Of course I may be

You gather more experiences with different types of bikes. I have owned many BMW's and they are great bikes. Go for some test rides and get what ever turns your crank.

I also have thought about ditching the Hyper for similar reasons. I have the multi if I want to go scare the hell out of myself and while the Hyper is quite different it is also quite redundant.

Good for you trying new things.

Marc

I have about 130,000 miles of experience on two GSs. Taught off road riding to GS owners. Helped start the Adventure class for dual sport rides. So, some experience with the GS.

As for the XR, well it is a street bike only. Feels top heavy and portly to me.

If I lived in California and wanted one bike to ride everywhere across the state, it would be the GS. The do it all bike. Not the GSA, just the GS.

The Hyper is different in that it is a dirt bike in size, weight and riding position.

Seated on the GS I extend my 36" sleeve arm and my fist is over the key.

Seated on the Hyper and my fist is over the front fender.

You sit on a dirt bike, and the Hyper. You do indeed sit in the GS.

The Hyper is narrowly crafted for a narrow purpose. The GS is a Swiss Army Knife bike. Load it like a mule, fine.

The beauty of motorcycling is that there are huge differences between products, which is so unlike autos.

Pick what suits you, then switch when the desire changes.

I switched from 6 cylinders and warp speeds crossing this continent to 2 cylinders and short loops.

Note that the XR is built to a price with a chain and cable clutch. It's intended to be a conquest bike bringing new riders to BMW.

The GS has the best components BMW offers. The suspension design allows for the OK quality shocks to perform fine. Especially if you have the semi active suspension.

I'm on the other end of the spectrum.. I don't want to get rid of my HS because there's nothing else on the market that I could see myself owning or riding.

I'm a tiny rider (5'6" and ~115 lbs soaking wet) so I've become such a fan of supermoto bikes due to their size and weight. Sure, the bike comes with a few compromises, but for my own comfort level and rider skill this bike is leagues ahead of the crowd. I think not having the SP has helped tho, because I really didn't need the abrupt track oriented suspension on the street.

I don't do a lot of heavy touring, I do occasionally mount the windscreen, load up the panniers/bags and go on a weekend adventure.. So again, the bike fits the bill for me. The lights however leave something to be desired for night time operations.

I've sat on quite a few GS's, S-Duke's, Multi's, Tiger's, and A-Twin's.. and every time I did I was immediately happy I still had my HS. The weight, the bulkiness, and the ergo's just don't jive with me.

If you do get rid of your bike, good luck in the future and it was a pleasure having you here documenting and creating some really cool fixes and solutions. Can I put in dibs for your removed accessory lights? haha..

I, too, am about to hit my third anniversary with my Hyperstrada and have had the same thoughts as you, albeit for different reasons.

The more I ride the HS, the more I find it to be a highly imperfect bike:

• The clutch
• Throttle response
• Inadequate suspension
• Poor/indifferent service from my local Ducati dealer

I can address all of these issues, but at what cost?

I think Ducati failed with the HS/HM, because it didn't have the sales to justify continuing to develop the platform.

I've had a GS in the past, and it's an entirely different motorcycle, in design, size, and objective, completely incomparable to the HS in my mind. If doing long trips was my sole or primary use-case for the bike, it would be a very good choice, but my needs are more varied. If I want to do a three-day trip over fast, curvy roads, the GS is overkill (for three days) and lumbering (for fast, curvy roads). This should be where the HS shines, but it doesn't quite do so without significant mods.

kuksul08 said:

I am tallish (6 feet, 34" inseam) so I prefer big bikes

Click to expand...

I think this is more of a personal preference thing. I'm 6' 1", and I seem to hate the position and feel of the bigger bikes.

I love the responsiveness of the hypers, and find bikes like the FZ6 to feel awkward and slow steering. I don't have steering stabilizers on either bike, and have no plans for any. I also like having much more of a view of things rather than having a big fairing in the way. The wind has never really bothered me from either a small screen or no screen at all.

I started with a KLR650, and moved to an 1100S as my next bike. It was quite a leap for me, too.

My KLR is also modified with KX500 43MM inverted forks, MOAB rear shock, Brittania fairing(I know its big and I just said I didn't like it), and 2 sets of wheels 17/17 and 21/17. I think I will likely change the front 17 to a 19 though.

I want to take the 1100S to the California superbike school day at the NCM track in Bowling Green this year, so I need to get moving on reassembling it.

XR???

Well, I'd compare with the KTM 1290 Super Duke R which has the newer generation of Bosch control, iPhone My Ride bike connection, top drawer components, dash from this century, etc...

Top Spec: The only suggestion we have for KTM to improve upon the Super Duke’s current iteration is by including the two optional packages as standard equipment and outfitting the SDR with semi-active electronic suspension for the $18k MSRP.

The 2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke R Gets Even More Insane | Cycle World



More touring? Compare the XR with the KTM 1290 GT and latest Multistrada.

Just didn't expect you to quite so soon Ducati. I have also the same feeling about the hyper. Some day I love it and some day just hate it and want to move to something else.
That being said, I still keep the hyper eventhough I bought a Multi 1200 Enduro few months ago. After 1 year with Hyper, i realized that it doesn't fit my need in term of touring. It's quite tiring doing a long trip on hyper. Now I have two bikes formtwo different purposes. Hyper tuned for track use and multi for long trip. I really enjoy adding more pieces on the hyper (master master cylinder...ect) and learning both racing and supermotard riding styles. I think I will keep the hyper for few more years until i feel really the need to start sport class.

I was thinking also about BMW before buying the multi but it just doesn't feel attractive to me.

Anyway, having bike is not like getting married. You can have a new one or change it as often as you want as long as you can afford it.

You've just put in so much effort into tuning the bike, and got great results. You're also a great poster on the forum, so why, WHY?

The thing with most Bimmers is they're purposely designed to insulate you from the environment. Before getting the duc, I tested an f800gt, and it was like a sleeping pill on 2 wheels. At a camp I was talking to a gs guy, and he was complaining about a ticket he got for going 80 in 30, and he was saying how could he know - the bike didn't feel fast. (I was going to mention downshifting, but it was his site, his rules). This isn't the sort of bike I want.

For a largish displacement machine, this thing feels alive at lower speeds, and is fully capable of higher ones - that's why I got it. I use it (strada) mainly for touring and regardless of weather etc.. I've never wanted the ride to stop.

Funny thing is, when I think of another bike, I think lighter smaller like a duke690 - or maybe the upcoming Yamaha MT-07 Tenere. But everyone's got their thing.

Sleep on it.

I had a lot of the same thoughts three years after buying my Hyper. It didn't help any that I moved from Seattle to California and my riding went from mostly commuting and local screwing around to more of a sport touring sort of thing. Longer days, higher speeds. I swapped for a Multistrada (S, with the touring package) and have been continuously delighted by it for a year now in a way that the Hyper just never did.

I would never have considered the BMW as the Ducati dealer (whom I like) is a five minute walk from my office, but the BMW dealer is a good 45 minutes to an hour away. And I ruled out KTM having previously owned a KTM.

I'd love to supermoto a KTM 500EXC, but it'll be a while before I consider a KTM as my daily rider. A good long while.

I was a little unsure of my decision when I bought the tard. It was a good deal via a coworker. But being only the third bike I've owned, and my only having roughly 10k miles under my belt i was worried I was biting off more than I could handle. My previous bike was a little Honda 599 after all.

My only regret currently is that mine is the base 821 and not the SP but the only thing I really want out of the SP is the suspension, so, I can get off my butt and upgrade that eventually.

The bike itself seems tailor made for me. My background on two wheels is mountain biking, and, for better or worse, the confidence I have on a mountain bike translates to the hyper. I love sitting on top of it, I love the longer travel suspension, and (probably because I don't know any better) I love the motor. For me it's perfect in touring mode with plenty of power that I can roll on at my leisure and a sound that makes me want to engine brake everywhere.

As I get more miles under my belt I find sport touring is what I enjoy the most. I took this thing to Portland and back via backroads a month after I bought it and really enjoyed it. Without a windscreen or luggage (I know I can get all those) it's kinda silly to take long trips on it, but it was even more so doing LA and back on the 599 which I also enjoyed.

Maybe I just like quirky bikes, but I am planning to put lots of miles on this one. Oh yeah, the headlights blow, so, kuksul08 don't exit the hyper until you've made me a set of V2's so I won't hate life next time I'm in the middle of nowhere after dark.

Before I bought my 'tard in 2013, I only knew what I didn't want: sport bike ergo's, no storage and slow. I thought this all equated to a GS. I think they're amazing machines but knew I'd never use half of it's versatility - I just wanted to cover a lot of pavement and have hooligan-like fun, if available. The Super Duke blew my mind since my young sport bike days and it was more appealing fun-wise than the GS.

Been dreaming about Duc's since Foggy was owning WSB and I heard a 996 blow by in college. Rode a friends TL1000 once and the twin's torque was way more fun than launching my R6. Was cruising the Duc site around shopping time and landed on the Strada. I knew immediately I was going to buy it. Mostly looks, but I knew enough that Duc always embedded sportiness and the new motor's valve interval were impressive (for an Italian twin). Luckily it did all the touring stuff I wanted, too.

Soon after buying it, I was talking to my shop's guy that did all the pick up/ drop off's for service. He owned a couple GS' and said they're as good as the read, but just numb to ride.

Rode my bosses S1000XR about a year ago. We went on a ride and swapped out for a fun lake loop. He didn't mind me riding it like it wasn't mind. Fawk me! Bloody fast. I was shifting into 3rd at about 100mph, the rear chirped and grabbed, then the front wheel lifted for second or two like you see the GP guys do out of corners. The traction control system is brilliant. The motor is intoxicating...just keeps piling on steam as it climbs the rev's. Quick shifter was ****, too. He had all the factory electronic gear which were easy to use but I didn't care much. What I couldn't stand was the reach over the immense tank area. Felt like I was straddling a Cadillac. It felt like waaay too much mass for me to comfortably chuck into a corner like on my 'tard. Oh, he's probably 5'7", tops. So shorter guys will do just fine on it.

Regarding ergo's, I'm 5'9 and just prefer small form factor vehicles. I've owned 3 VW GTI's. Owned an 06 Acura TL. Loved the comfort and style but hated the size. First bike was a 91 Ninja ZX-6R...freight train of a bike but it was fast and cheap. When I had the means to buy a new bike, I knew the svelte little R6 was for me. Maybe it's a control thing, but I like feeling like I'm in complete control of my transport. Bikes like the Multi/ GS/ S1000XR, you kinda tell them what you want to do and wait for compliance. They do it well, but not as easy to man-handle through an s-turn like a motard.

Oh, I'll definitely get something bigger and faster one day, but I'm never selling this bike. I think once I drop some cash on the suspension, it will be set. The fact they dropped it from the line-up makes it that more special to me.