Dual Sport Reviews on Cycle Insider (2,118)
Avg. Rating

I picked up a GS in February 2009 after trading in an RT. I was hit head on in March by a driver who was interested in texting more than driving. I suffered a minor concussion and the bike was totaled (you should have seen the car!). Thought I would try out a different brand. I lasted about two weeks on that bike before I realized what I had done. I sold that bike and went back to the R1200GS. It truly is the best in its class and better than bikes in most other classes. It is a jack of all trades, and depending on how you look at it, a master of quite a few. I got the new bike on April 30 and already have 5500 miles logged. I will log another 3K this week, heading up the coast and taking a few forest roads along the way. It is one of the most well-balanced bikes I have ever ridden. I can keep up with most sportbike riders on Palomar Mt. and the bike rips up the track (I didn't even have stickies on)! The bike seems to glide over gravel and sand alike. The suspension when off road has to be experienced to be believed. I teach a sportbike riders course on this bike and you should see the faces of all those squids when I demo the course with all cases on. I would shill for this company for no money. Wait, I AM shilling for no money! Great company and a truly amazing riding experience. Next stop: Baja and then Latin America.

Love this bike so far only had it fo a month Haven’t been able to ride it much yet due to our rain and wind here in Seattle. I will have a bette review at a later time I can’t wait to get on the road I think bmw is tops!!

great bike they are this is for the 2017 not 2016 wick seem there glitch there ,adding FMF ejk seat concepts seat for the price I paid for 2017 with 64 mile I saved for all the extras,the bikes do well of road too,from youtube video I have watched ,I will be mostly road riding ,an may do super moto,but will propbley keep it just the way it is for tires are perfect for on road an off,great looking bike efi cant say enough about ,want miss the carb ,though I may keep one on hand incase,dont go buy the new one from 2017 to 2019 are the same bike ,I know some hope to se the crf300l using the older cbr engine,the newer version with upgrades has more power then 2016 on back ,you can do so much to the bikes ,I think the best upgrade is the seat ,I also did the wider foot pegs 57mm makes me feel so much more stable ,there huge ,will probley get the folding shifter at some point an billet parts for dress up ,there is also a nice universal wind shield looks like it is stock,i did think about the rally sport,but seem to much plastic an does not show of the engine very much but still both nice bikes ,I would have got the rally at the right price ,I got the 2017 with 64 miles an not scratch for $1500, less then some are paying in the NE ,only problem was the shipping brokers out there these days made my purchace scary an took some time ,to find a desent shipper comfort goes to 5 stars with the better seat,the stock seat is for the younger guys

I love this motorcycle. It has 80 horse power. Sure wish they had put another gear in it. No need to be winding it up so much when just cruising. I'd been happy to downshift to pass.

George at Indian Motorcycle in Libertyville was very professional, easy to work with, and offered an excellent price! I will definitely be back at his dealership in the future!

I have had BMW's in the past and this bike is a tad out of what I would call BMW normal. We refer to it as a Vintage Sport Bike. As I have a long distance bike this is just for Sunday mornings and is pretty much what I was looking for.

I just bought a 2018 BMW GTL 1600 and I am in love with motorcycles once again. I have many problems with my back (whole back), neck (herniated disks), and shoulders (surgeries on both), and I rode this bike for 8 our the a few days after I bought it from Texas to Mississippi, and other than being tired of riding or being on the road, I had no problems with any of my physical or health conditions due to riding a motorcycle. This bike should not be classified as any regular cruiser or touring bike; it has a 1600+cc engine with 0ver 155hp and more than 120 pounds of torque. I rode it for 8 hours with my wife on the back seat, and if I didn't already knew she was there, I would've not notice. Lots of people get scared of all the technology it has, but I think about it as the best luxury motorcycle ever built today. I had dirt, sport, sport touring, and cruiser bikes, and this one outperforms all of them. My wife and I love it. Next: Tail of the Dragon...

Rides well. Lots of plastic. I have 3 airheads so this is a different beast. Negative: Worst seat I have ever been on. I am waiting for Panniers so I strapped a bag to the rear. When it fell off ( That's on me) I ripped to rear fender and license plate off.I am not sure what this means, but would not have happened on a metal airhead. Bike is pretty high. I have 29" inseam and am on balls of feet bilaterally. When I bought new seat (for a brand new bike) I got a low one. Bike should also settle a bit. With 400 miles on it, take this review with a grain of salt. Ask me in a year. Still not sorry I did it.

The BMW R1150R is a marvel of handling, quickness, and power. All of the reviews I read did the bike no justice at all. The bike I found using Cycle Trader is in excellent condition and delivers great bang for the buck. There were only 13 to 15 bikes of this model listed nationwide at any given time. The R1150R I found was within 100 miles of me and was about midrange in price. The Bike is fantastic, the dealership, not so much, but that is another story. Like all BM's, you think turn and the bike is halfway through. When I twist the throttle the bike not only moves, it jumps. The reviews said it would not win any races and was a bit heavy. Bull*&@3. This bike is definitely fast and light weight. The exhaust note, while not a Harley, has a bark and the tail pipe is stainless steel. The last BM I had back in '78, had a problem with rusty pipes. Hopefully, gone are those days. After reading everything I could on the R1150R, I am very, very surprised at the overall speed and agility.

"The "Rocky Balboa Bike" of Sport Street Fighters's go the distance" Last Bike 2009 Yamaha FJR was a great bike but... Rider for over 45 years and was looking for a "Bucket List" Bad Ass that had it all! Power, Extraordinary Handling with Touring Comfort Capabilities. Finding a "The Diamond" for sale at a Highly Reputable Yamaha/Honda ATV/Boat/ Motorcycle was aided by Cycle Trader.com 's search/notification App. 2005-2007 BMW Sport Bike's 1200 Inline 4cyl 13:1 Compression , German Engineering and research was a natural attraction. These are Real Machines for Motorcycle Enthusiast who dedicate time to strict maintenance! Not recommended for the casual owner. High Compression, High Horsepower, High Heat make it imperative you to maintain and be vigilant. The prior owner came up short. Traded in @ a Jap Bike Dealer fortunate for me. West Oakland had a Tiger by the tail with the cooling system but came through in the end result.

This bike had a complete failure of the fuel pump just after I bought it. It was expensive to replace. I use this bike 95% of the time for commuting and then 80 mile round trips for pleasure. It gets 55 mpg average and over 60 mpg on the freeway. After owning it for 7 years, I'm upgrading to a Honda touring CTX 1300.

Cons: very top heavy and tricky to handle in tight quarters, difficult to maintain because of all the "tupperware". Pros: very smooth bike, extremely comfortable for long distance rides, can take a lot of hard riding and not even breathe hard love my K1200LT

Cons: heavy heavy bike would not recommend for a new rider, repairs and maintenance are not exactly user friendly, top heavy difficult to handle in tight and close quarters. Pros: extremely smooth motorcycle, meant for hundreds of miles a day with no problems, the weight seems to disappear when at speed, "drive it like you stole it"!

I've only had my Suzuki S 40 for a short time. I really enjoy the bike. It has plenty of power to do what ever tickles your fancy. It's light weight and slim lines, make it easy to ride. Insurance was not bad on this machine either. So I'm looking forward to putting many more miles on my bike. I do need to gear up. too.on Some cool nights I need a little more cover and maybe even a windshield & saddle bags. So I can use it year round. Do Be Safe and watch out for other riders. Maybe a wave as you pass.

1st, Ergonomically, not a bike for everyone. For me (my riding style, riding history, riding enjoyment) it's exactly what I wanted. The specs are deceiving, the internet reviews are also deceiving. With proper riding technique (and the ergos help you get closer to riding this type bike properly) it can be hustled thru any twisty road with confidence and right there with other high performing bikes. Straight line speed will not be it's forte.

Great bike with many features. It's a bit top heavy but very manageable.

I love this bike. 4 years later and 25,000 miles I can honestly say that this ride is reliable, smooth and quick. I truly feel I got my monies worth. Do I wish the front end had firmer suspension? yes. other wise I fel I got what was promised. A short to medium range sport tourer with torque and great looks.

Good all around blke very easy to ride great on gas .

The electronic package is way beyond anything I have experienced. Suspension is first rate, and engine character and performance can be adjusted while riding the bike.The shift assist is fantastic also, once you are rolling from second on the bike may be shifted without the clutch. The one problem is that the fuel tank is to small for a large sport touring bike. The bike gets between 35 and 50 mpg. depending on the engine settings and riding style, but when the fuel light comes on at 120 mi from a full tank this is a problem. 140 or 150 mi range before the fuel light comes on is more typical, but still on a touring bike this forces the rider to stop way to frequently for fuel and is problematic when planning routes.

Been riding over 50 yrs. Best touring machine I have ever ridden. Rider/Passenger comfort @ the best it could be. Low maintenance. High relability

I bought this bike to commute to and from work only. I wanted something small, maneuverable and got good mileage. It's been working great. It's small profile makes it great for splitting lanes (my primary riding). I've been averaging 65 mpg which is an added bonus. I gave it a 4 on reliability because I need to let it warm up at least 60 seconds before riding or it stalls at every stop. Since I've learned this, it hasn't happened again, but it did happen to me 3x.

five gallon gas tank, 59 miles per gallon. siz speed gearbox. can cruise on highway at 65 all day. great for in town buzzing around. reliable. only down side is twin carbs and manual choke instead of fuel injection. looks good and is fun to ride.

I've had my DRZ for almost a year & have been amazed with it from the beginning. It has tons of power and suspension. The 4 stroke offers plenty of power for hill climbing, a passenger and camping gear. The best thing about this bike by far are the after-market mods available. From lowering links to crashbars to luggage racks, to tires, there are reviews and mods for every aspect of this bike. Only one warning! Read the blogs when purchasing this bike - the magnesium engine casing punctures easily so you need to buy engine casing guards - these should come stock in my opinion. Other than that it is a truly amazing machine!

CONS: If considering a 1200LT you must have a minimum inseam of 32 inches. The Front seat is limited in its height adjustments and only go up from there. BMW does make a low profile seat that might get you an extra 1-1.5 inches but for an extra $300. If you ride 2-up; You might want to consider the passenger weight... Pref less than 175lbs. as they sit higher than you and the center of balance is high. You have to get rolling to a min of @ 7mph before the handling feels comfortable. Also, alot of parts to remove for services. PROS: Agile pleasure once rolling! All issues so far have been minor and inexpensive to repair for competent handy-person. (Owned from 25kmi-34kmi.-today) MODS: Added a battery disconnect. for winter/extended storage.

I've owned many large displacement Cruisers including a Honda Valkyrie, 2 Honda 1800 VTX R's and a 1800 VTX-C. All were quality bikes and I have to say that the Suzuki M109R is even more of a Beast then the VTX's were. The 98 Valkyrie was so smooth that it can't be compared in anything but weight. The M109R is a heavy bike and that's what keeps it stable at higher speeds. I won't disclose the highest speed I traveled on it but lets just say that triple digits are so easy to obtain on this Beast that it's just a simple twist of the throttle, and you're there. Very comfortable on long rides and if you get the right windshield (although pricey), it's worth it's weight in gold the first time it stops a rock or other debri from hitting you in the cheek or anywhere else and of course for the wind protection. It's unlikely you're reading this if you're not an experienced rider but I do need to say that this is NOT a beginners bike (Period)!