the proud owner of the mighty “ Red-Baron ” GS he ’ s owned for 30 years ? Or possibly swayed by the unnatural liking KR Editor Ben has taken to his highly modified older R80GS ? But I don ’ t think so . Frankly , I ’ ve found prior rides on GS models over the last ten years relatively disappointing for a variety of reasons . So , why have I now handed over my own cash for one ? Well , there are two main reasons . The 1250 Shift-Cam engine is next level fantastic . There was nothing really ‘ wrong ’ with the previous engine , but the new motor is a big step-up . And , the Telelever front-end , which in the past I ’ ve never gelled with , has had recent geometry changes and refinement that have taken it a quantum leap forward .
RIDING Starting with road riding , I think the 1250GS is phenomenal on the seal . The reasons are many and interconnected . There ’ s all-day comfort , a chassis that takes everything in its stride , excellent weather protection , a fast and flexible engine along with superb handling and stopping – it ’ s literally the whole package . A large part of my enjoyment is the horizontallyopposed ‘ boxer ’ engine , which inherently has excellent torque . The other marvellous thing
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