Another good choice for me might be the V-Strom 1000.. As far as money goes this would be the better choice... I really love the GS1200 but the bike is expensive and the parts and service are crazy priced..... I truly want it as what its meant for as a "Swiss army" motor cycle.... I could CARE LESS about the 'huffy-puffy-look-at me BMW rider". I want it for what it can do, on and off road. One just went off Ebay loaded 2008 for a great price......Do you load up your 650 ? do you have pictures ? Thanks !
I bought a leftover 2005 V-Strom 1000 in 2006 and rode it for 6000 miles. I recently had an 80 mile test ride on a used 2007 V-Strom 1000 to refresh my memory, and then bought a leftover 2009 R1200GS.
In my opinion, the V-Strom is not as nimble as the GS. Both are heavy bikes for off road, but the GS handles it better, even after careful attention to the V-Strom's set up. I think the V-Strom looks the part, but its been built to a price point, and it may represent an excellent value, but if the price isn't a factor, it comes up short.
I like my FJR AE, but when I ride it after riding the GS, I really feel its weight. Also, my experience is that the FJR is a very noisy cockpit unless you run the windshield up, and I really prefer to ride with the shield low. The GS cockpit seems quieter with the windshield in the low position. I guess I like the low windshield position because when I started riding in 1967 windshields weren't that common, except on things like Harley hogs and Lambretta scooters.
I really like the saddlebags on the GS better than those on my FJR too. I can get more stuff in the GS bags, in part because they have a larger capacity (69 liters vs. 60 liters I think), but also because of their pure rectangular boxlike shape. The GS bags along with the inner bags are the best factory luggage system I've ever experienced. This was another really weak point of the V-Strom. The bags on the V-Strom were an afterthought outboard of the high rise dual exhaust, and the subframe installed to mount the V-Strom bags changed the vibration response of the frame and caused a buzz that irritated the male rider.
To sum it up... The FJR and the R1200GS are both very nice bikes, but also very different. I find the GS to handle better in the twisties, and I find both to be fairly comfortable at 80 mph on the interstate. I wouldn't begin to consider taking the FJR into the mud or gravel, unless I had no choice. The GS is reasonably comfortable in mud or gravel for a 500 pound bikes, which is to say that I would rather have the Supermoto when I find myself on these sorts of surfaces. I had to change both the GS and the FJR factory seats for Sargent seats, but Sargent makes a standard replacement for both bikes, so you don't have to go custom unless you really want to.
Knee bend is more than I like on both bikes. If I could only have one, it would be the GS. Its probably worth noting that I do NO two up touring. I've ridden about 18000 miles a year the last couple of years, but the miles are always spread out over several bikes, so none typically see more than maybe 8000 miles a year. Before I got the FJR, I was typically riding about 12,000 miles a year, so the FJR had a positive effect on my road time. That's gotta be a compliment to the FJR.
