At the moment I have a 2014 BMW R1200 GS.  It is one hell of a machine, handles like a dream both on and off the road.  Not going to list the specs here but they are easily found on many websites.

Current Non- OEM gear:

• Touratech Headlight guard-Black
• Touratech lower crash bars
• Touratech Zega Pro 2 panniers
• Touratech Beak Extension
• Garmin/BMW Navigator V

Tires:

• Current
  • Front: Metzeler Karro 3– Noticble hum and vibrate about 55 but not bad for a more aggressive tire.  Wears pretty quick compared to Anakee or Trail attacks. Well report back with take off mileage.
  • Rear: Continental TKC80 – Quintessential dual sport tire.  Great off road and surprisingly well on road. Wears quick as to be expected.  Well report back with take off mileage.
• Past
  • Michelin Anakee 3s– about 12k on the set, great road tire and decent on very light trail.
  • Continental TrailAttack– Not as good as the Anakees but they were cheep.  Seemed to wear very quick, not a noticeable difference on the road and not as good as Anakees off road. Both tires ended in blowouts, one front sidewall split while off road with more than half of life left and belt issues on the rear with 1/16 the wear bar.

Wants/Needs:

• Touratech Full length Skid Plate– Sliding over logs and keeping dents and dings away from the case.
• Touratech Side Stand footprint enlarger – Keeps your bike from sinking in the mud, More convent than finding a rock overtime.
• Touratech Upper Crash Bars– Look good and hold the Erica lights
• Clearwater Erica LED lights -Super Bright riding lights, make riding home after a long day on the trail slightly less sketchy

Issues:

• Side stand shutoff switch was recalled –Warranty-
• Right Side throttle body blew off and Left side came loose around 19k mi.  –Warranty-
• Sidewall blowout on front tire had to tow, unable to fix in the field.  BMW replaced tire, no charge
• Rear tire blew on freeway due to a few bands separating.  –Normal Wear and tear, tire was about 1/16in to wear bar.

 

Recommendations when buying:

Don’t buy the BMW Vario cases if you plan on venturing off the road-  These are 100% plastic and will not hold up to a load over rough terrain for long.  They are held on the bike by molded plastic hooks that will make a trail side repair very tough.

Pass on the cast wheels and gets spooked wheels, they take a beating and are much more field repairable.  If the tire is damaged beyond a plug you can’t throw a tube in and get home, the valve stem is built in to the spoke making it impossible to fill.