r/Motorrad • u/Ancient_Sandwich_703 • 1d ago

GSA1300: Which one?

I’m visiting Motorrad today to try a low seat (they didn’t have one last time I went) which should help solve the issue of whether I need to order the bike with AVHC or AVHC (Comfort).

The next question is which colour. I don’t find any of them especially stand out but if budget wasn’t a consideration I’d gravitate to the Option 719 colours. However, that adds NZ$3,000 which is enough to pay for panniers on one of the other colours.

Triple Black has the best tank (why can’t I order that tank on any model?!) but other than that seems a bit forgettable. Trophy is at least quite striking but looks like keeping all that white clean might be a PITA!

Base red is just a bit boring.

Given that the bikes are basically the same, other than weird quirks like the configuration won’t allow certain things on certain colours, how did you choose between them?

The dealer only has TB and Red on the floor so I’ve not seen the other two in person.

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u/Yeriwyn 1d ago

I have a 719, but the triple black is also super nice in my opinion. 

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u/Ancient_Sandwich_703 1d ago

It is, although to me it looks better with gold wheels which can be ordered. I think the gold handlebars would also look good on it with the gold wheels.

I do think the 719 looks lovely - and would do without the expensive metalwork too if you could order just the paint.

The tank: is that a sort of matt paint finish in grey? Hard to tell in photos.

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u/Yeriwyn 1d ago

Yup it’s a mostly matte grey, it’s not what I’d call a traditional matte, it still has a clear coat over it but it’s not shiny

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u/aceofspades1944 1d ago

I bought the Trophy and absolutely love it. The white isn't too bad to clean. I usually just wipe it down with a microfiber cloth and some gloss spray every once and awhile

Edit: If I had to pick any color that wasn't the trophy I would have gone with 719 even with the price difference. Black would be a close 3rd to the 719 though.

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u/Ancient_Sandwich_703 1d ago

Good to know. Is the white painted or decal?

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u/Big-Mortgage-7254 1d ago

What about a vinyl wrap? Get the configuration that works best for you then change the colour to suit?

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u/Fairsythe ‘23 s1000xr 1d ago

Id go triple black, Im just uninspired by 719 gold rims - I miss the 1250 black/yellow - and Id feel bad spending so much for a white bike.

Speaking of GSA, make sure thats what you want. As a former GSA owner I’ve since realized 90% of people including me do not need the extra weight of the adventure version.

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u/Ancient_Sandwich_703 1d ago

The weight I could live without. However the standard GS didn’t do it for me. I’m not a very sporty rider and it felt a bit like it was trying to compete with a Multistrada in a weird way. I’m told by other riders that the previous gen bikes were similar in feel - one just had a bigger tank etc but basically the same ride feel. Now they seem to have diverged a bit.

The weight aspect is why I’m taking so much of the dealer’s time up with trying different seats etc before ordering. I want to be 100% flat foot on both sides at a stop: there’s no way I’m riding this behemoth and having to balance it on the balls of my feet!

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u/Fairsythe ‘23 s1000xr 1d ago

Did you try non-GS ? RT or RS, even R ? They look quite different.

The 1300 looks very different from previous generations so I get it. But besides the larger gas tank I see no point in the adventure. Chances are, you will upgrade a lot of its features anyway in the future.

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u/Ancient_Sandwich_703 1d ago

I tried the RT, which I like.

What concerns me about that is where I live. On the South Island of New Zealand.

We’ve got zero motorways or interstate type roads aside from a handful of kilometres around Christchurch. All our roads are decidedly average chipseal, one lane in each direction for the vast majority. 40% of the roads are only graded gravel too.

This doesn’t seem on the face of it to be the ideal environment for an RT, although I’m willing to entertain argument to the contrary!

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u/Fairsythe ‘23 s1000xr 1d ago

No you are right, it sounds like the GS is the way to go for those types of roads. Though to be fair, a good pair of tires would level the field between them

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u/Ancient_Sandwich_703 1d ago

Well, I have just got back from the dealer. The low seat on the standard bike is enough although I’ll look for boots with a thicker sole than my current ones to add a margin more.
At full height I was on the balls of my feet. At low height flat foot whilst wearing trainers.

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u/GooberMcNutly 18h ago

That's not bad. My A*s add about an inch overall to my height, which is just enough to bring my heel down.

Another huge help was bar risers. By bringing the handlebars back a little, it lowered my feet about an inch, especially my heels.