So
gordonmessmer and I went to the BMW dealer today. I tried out 6 different bikes, and he rode 4 of those. I've never had that much fun in an afternoon. I did discover that I don't actually like the bike that I linked to yesterday. It's a very nice looking bike and has some cool features, but the single cylinder engine is just not smooth enough for me.So I tried both of the 650cc bikes. The F650GS is certainly more comfortable than the CS, and I think that it handled a bit nicer. Now while they are both nice bikes, I didn't really like them all that much. They were fun, but lacked the power that I like to have available when riding. My current bike is a 2000 Suzuki Bandit 600S. The only problem that I have with it now is that it's not comfortable. But it's got power and speed to spare in my opinion.
The R1150R and R1100S were both 100HP deathcycles. Very smooth and extremely powerful but not at all comfortable. They were really fun to try though :D
At the end of the day the bike that I would love to take home was the R1150RT. It's a sport touring bike. All 640 pounds of it. Right now they are on end of year clearance so the price difference between it and the 650 is surprisingly not all that much. It has pretty much the same engine and drive train of the previous two bikes but a much more comfortable seating arrangement and lots of storage space.
gordonmessmer really liked the R1200C. I gave it a try too, and I think that I could find room in my life for a cruiser at some point. That has to be the most comfortable bike I've ever sat on. Not really my style though.All these bikes had one thing in common that I must get. Heated hand grips. They have to be the most important invention in the history of the motorcycle. I must get a set for my current bike.
So yeah, I love the R1150RT but I can't really afford one. Maybe next year. In the mean time I'll have to see if I can adapt my Bandit to be a bit more comfortable and add those heated grips.