Upgrade from 1200 Adv AC to LC advice

[Drover1]

I have been looking at upgrading but after taking the LC for a ride I am not that convinced that it is worth it. Am I missing something, what was the biggest difference for you on the LC that would make me want to upgrade?


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[zebra - Flying Brick]

We have a customer, so this story is a sample of one, who currently owns 99 bikes....


He bought the 2014 LC, sold it and bought 2015 LC, sold that and bought the 2016 LC, sold t hat and scoured the country for a couple of months until he found a sub 15k km AC 1200 GSA...


He is in his mid-60,s, and reckons he will keep this till the end, whilst he sells down his collection.
Reckons it’s the better bike, but sample of one!
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On the LC, the clutch is very easily accessible, whereas AC the bike needed to be ‘split in half’, so from a clutch replacement perspective (seldom/rare), the LC is a quicker repair.


Chris

[Omninorm]

I have been looking at upgrading but after taking the LC for a ride I am not that convinced that it is worth it. Am I missing something, what was the biggest difference for you on the LC that would make me want to upgrade?


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I had the LC very recently sold.

Fantastic bike, but so is the Oilhead.
I rode a few Aircooled ones and the the LC. I bought the LC.
People will say I'm mad but I prefered the throttle and fueling on the Aircooled model.
The LC has a lot more power and the way it's delivered is great.
The LC looks way better imho (Eye of the beholder stuff).
The LC has better electronics if you go for the newer ones - if you are into that.

So yeah the power and looks is what corrupted me away from the AC.

If I had a newish Aircooled I'm not sure it's worth the upgrade but that depends on the deal etc. If you don't have a 1200 GS Definitely go for the LC.

[katana]

There is no way I would buy a LC.  Water cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer engine.   

[Drover1]

There is no way I would buy a LC.  Water cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer engine.   

I bought an AC a year ago coming from KTM to first see if the BMW thing will work for me and I have been enjoying the GS on-road a lot more that the KTM.

When you visit a BMW workshop you hardly see AC models anymore, I wonder where are they being looked after?


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[katana]

There is no way I would buy a LC.  Water cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer engine.   

I bought an AC a year ago coming from KTM to first see if the BMW thing will work for me and I have been enjoying the GS on-road a lot more that the KTM.

When you visit a BMW workshop you hardly see AC models anymore, I wonder where are they being looked after?


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I only dealer serviced during warrantee.  Self service is the way to go for the long term.

[zacapa]

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[Jughead]

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Trying to increase your post count but don't know what to say?

[mike gs]

I have an 07 GSA. Only electronics are ignition on or off, or ABS on or off. I de-catted it and put on a Remus slip on and it has enough power for me. That way I don't cry too much when this happens!

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[Leo]

He is in his mid-60,s, and reckons he will keep this till the end, whilst he sells down his collection.

Hi Chris

Any oil heads in that collection he is selling down?

Sounds like a perfect candidate to have one or two rare models standing in his garage.

 

[TheBear]

There is no way I would buy a LC.  Water cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer engine.   

Would you please elaborate?  I am missing the point completely.

[Brewed_Coffee]

Drover, I've been riding the aircooled 1200 ADV since it was first released in 2006 and before that the 1150 and 1100.

Recently I've been feeling bored and looking for a change.  I started thinking about making a change to KTM and started his thread, (http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=220669.msg3999217#msg3999217) trying to get other's feedback on what to expect but didn't get the right answers there.

I've been lucky enough to have a few good, longer, rides on the 1200 LC but I just cannot get my mind to trust it fully.  It has lots of bells and whistles and the motor is so so sweet, but I feel BMW is moving more and more away from giving us a true dual purpose tourer. Mecchies will openly tell you that when it stops, it stops and your chances of doing a roadside fix is almost impossible - you need to phone for roadside assistance.

For what it's worth, I haven't been able to get comfort with the KTM either and therefore have decided to suck it up, stay with what I have, ride it to it's death (if I can) and figure things out when it happens ...... 

[TheBear]

Drover, I've been riding the aircooled 1200 ADV since it was first released in 2006 and before that the 1150 and 1100.

Recently I've been feeling bored and looking for a change.  I started thinking about making a change to KTM and started his thread, (http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=220669.msg3999217#msg3999217) trying to get other's feedback on what to expect but didn't get the right answers there.

I've been lucky enough to have a few good, longer, rides on the 1200 LC but I just cannot get my mind to trust it fully.  It has lots of bells and whistles and the motor is so so sweet, but I feel BMW is moving more and more away from giving us a true dual purpose tourer. Mecchies will openly tell you that when it stops, it stops and your chances of doing a roadside fix is almost impossible - you need to phone for roadside assistance.

For what it's worth, I haven't been able to get comfort with the KTM either and therefore have decided to suck it up, stay with what I have, ride it to it's death (if I can) and figure things out when it happens ......

I had a 2009 1200GS and so did my wife.  She now owns a 2014 LC and I have a 2015 LC (also had a 2014).  Our 09's both went close to 110 000km before we sold them and we had no serious issues.  The bikes just never let us down.   Her LC is now closing in on 60 000km.  My 2014 did 65 000km and the 2015 is now at 20 000km.  No major issues with the LC's either.  Both 2014's had some irritating niggles in the beginning, but it was mostly sorted by the dealer.  Both however had a very irritating habit of going about 7 000 to 8 000km after a service and then start cutting out at the most inopportune times.  This goes away after the service. 

Personally, I prefer how the LC rides, but my wife feels the older AC was a nicer ride.  For me, both the LC and AC are very capable bikes and should be enjoyable by their riders.  Although I prefer the LC's ride, I could not be unhappy on an AC.

I disagree on the electronics part stopping a LC in its tracks and not a AC.  The majority of the electronics are the same.  Where the LC have more, it is in the bells and whistles department and that won't kill it.

[katana]

There is no way I would buy a LC.  Water cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer engine.   

Would you please elaborate?  I am missing the point completely.

From a purely practical consideration, having the cylinders in the wind and the cylinders not touching makes for very efficient cooling.  Have you ever had an old school '80's inline 4?  The center cylinders really struggled to loose temperature.  If you jacket the cylinders and add liquid cooling, what is the point really?  Aesthetics?  If this is unclear please elaborate your confusion.   

[Drover1]

Drover, I've been riding the aircooled 1200 ADV since it was first released in 2006 and before that the 1150 and 1100.

Recently I've been feeling bored and looking for a change.  I started thinking about making a change to KTM and started his thread, (http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=220669.msg3999217#msg3999217) trying to get other's feedback on what to expect but didn't get the right answers there.

I've been lucky enough to have a few good, longer, rides on the 1200 LC but I just cannot get my mind to trust it fully.  It has lots of bells and whistles and the motor is so so sweet, but I feel BMW is moving more and more away from giving us a true dual purpose tourer. Mecchies will openly tell you that when it stops, it stops and your chances of doing a roadside fix is almost impossible - you need to phone for roadside assistance.

For what it's worth, I haven't been able to get comfort with the KTM either and therefore have decided to suck it up, stay with what I have, ride it to it's death (if I can) and figure things out when it happens ......

I think I am in the same spot right now, was also looking at the Ktm 1290 instead of the LC or maybe keep the AC GSA and look at another KTM 990 like I had in the past, maybe then I have both worlds covered?


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[DavidMorrisXp]

The horsepower of the 1290 looks like it could be awesome on the road and the tft dash looks like a Samsung tab

[detour]

I’m on my second LC now. Upgraded to the first one in 2015 from a DOHC GSA (That was my 3rd AC GS).

I prefer the LC in almost every department. The only exception is wheel/tyre sizes where I preferred the AC. And rims.

Suspension, brakes, gearbox, clutch, electronics etc are all better than the AC in my opinion.

The biggest difference is the motor. The LC still has that low rpm torque that the boxer is famous for, but now also packs some high rpm punch.

When I upgraded to the LC I had the AC and had just sold my 990R. When I rode the AC I always missed the high rpm kick that the 990 gave me, but when I rode the 990 I missed the low rpm torque that the AC gave me. The LC gave me both...

The newish sport suspension on some of the GS Rallye models is awesome! Upgraded end of last year just to get the taller suspension.

[TheBear]

There is no way I would buy a LC.  Water cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer engine.   

Would you please elaborate?  I am missing the point completely.

From a purely practical consideration, having the cylinders in the wind and the cylinders not touching makes for very efficient cooling.  Have you ever had an old school '80's inline 4?  The center cylinders really struggled to loose temperature.  If you jacket the cylinders and add liquid cooling, what is the point really?  Aesthetics?  If this is unclear please elaborate your confusion.   

What I missed is that you said liquid cooling defeats the purpose of a boxer.  I struggled to understand what you meant by "defeat the purpose", especially to a level where you would never buy one..  Thanks for the explanation.   

  .

[Drover1]

I’m on my second LC now. Upgraded to the first one in 2015 from a DOHC GSA (That was my 3rd AC GS).

I prefer the LC in almost every department. The only exception is wheel/tyre sizes where I preferred the AC. And rims.

Suspension, brakes, gearbox, clutch, electronics etc are all better than the AC in my opinion.

The biggest difference is the motor. The LC still has that low rpm torque that the boxer is famous for, but now also packs some high rpm punch.

When I upgraded to the LC I had the AC and had just sold my 990R. When I rode the AC I always missed the high rpm kick that the 990 gave me, but when I rode the 990 I missed the low rpm torque that the AC gave me. The LC gave me both...

The newish sport suspension on some of the GS Rallye models is awesome! Upgraded end of last year just to get the taller suspension.

Thanks Detour, this gives me a good objective opinion, I just could not feel that big difference with the LC when I took it for a test


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[Brewed_Coffee]

I’m on my second LC now. Upgraded to the first one in 2015 from a DOHC GSA (That was my 3rd AC GS).

I prefer the LC in almost every department. The only exception is wheel/tyre sizes where I preferred the AC. And rims.

Suspension, brakes, gearbox, clutch, electronics etc are all better than the AC in my opinion.

The biggest difference is the motor. The LC still has that low rpm torque that the boxer is famous for, but now also packs some high rpm punch.

When I upgraded to the LC I had the AC and had just sold my 990R. When I rode the AC I always missed the high rpm kick that the 990 gave me, but when I rode the 990 I missed the low rpm torque that the AC gave me. The LC gave me both...

The newish sport suspension on some of the GS Rallye models is awesome! Upgraded end of last year just to get the taller suspension.

I understand, AND AGREE with, all of that ...... but would you donner off for 2 weeks through Moz and Bots on it?