[Jaggu]

Chapter 1 - Please keep my bike safe and..

Children the story began in 2019 when your uncle moralfibre needed to travel overseas for work, and decided that he will leave his beloved BMW GS 1200 with me for couple of months to take care. One fine morning he rode her (GS) down from Pune to BLR, partied all night with friends in town and took a flight back home the very next day. And there I was, with two large ADV’s in my garage (the GS and my own Tiggu the Tiger 800) and nowhere to ride to.. the busy work schedule was to be blamed. The very next day, I got the GS washed to clear off all the muck that was on the bike thanks to the Pune - BLR rain ride. Then on it was one or two days ride every week, mostly to office or within town.

Something that I realized immediately was how easy the GS was to use. The weight (specification) of the bike was mentally overwhelming for me, but as soon as I put my feet on the pegs, she became weightless, much easier than the top heavy Tiggu the Tiger, at least for the rides within the city. The additional size earned respect and lot of admiration from the people. I was showing her off wherever I can and enjoying the attention, and one night landed on an unknown “no road” situation inside the city. There also GS surprised me, by the way in which she rode over that broken terrain, that too in that pitch darkness. <Cutting the drama out> Well those Clearwater’s were throwing lot of light for me to see the terrain lol.

Chapter 2 - Slip n slide into your heart.

Next was a short trip with friends to BR hills which is about 180 kms from my place. We were booked at Gorukana Eco Resort and it was a beautiful ride till the resort. It had rained earlier and the last approach to the resort was rather slippery mud road that went downhill from the main road. First time I am taking the big GS down such a road, and it was all well.. till we reach the final climb, and that has a 90 degrees left into the resort. Nice rain-washed slippery granite stones and a decent incline!!! Alarm bells rang in my head but then had no choice but to climb them and I somehow tip toed the bike into the resort. To be honest there were no issue with the bike, just that the mind played games on the rider.



Anyhow it was a nice stay and next day we rode back to Bangalore, and on our way, we were greeted by rain gods on Mysore road. That’s when the steering felt rather vague compared to my Tiger. To be fair the GS was still on the OE Bridgestone that came with the bike, and they were almost at the end of life. FYI children, Moralifiber uncle later had commented how the bikes handling changed for good after he moved to the Scorpio Trail 2 tyres (the ones I had on my Tiger).

In short, this long ride left a clear impression on me that the GS is way more comfortable for long rides, compared even to the Tiger. To put a number, say 30% more, the seats and those adaptive electronic suspension helps a lot, the wind protection was remarkably better compared to what Tiger offered, and heavier bike does help on longer open roads. But… all this Vs the sticker price never made any dent on my primary relationship with Tiggu, and I continued living with Tiggu (year 4 then). moralfibre uncle returned from his trip eager to get back with his GS, and one weekend rode the GS back home to Pune.

I was happy that I got a chance to spend some time with the lovely GS and it was yet another "tick off the bucket list items”. In short, I never had any plans to spend big bucks on another adventure bike. That's what I thought then...

Chapter 3 - Saga of Tiggu the Tiger.

As you know children, I had my fair share of excitement maintaining Tiggu with Triumph, but that also got resolved during lock down 1.0, and at unlock 1.0 I did manage a ride or two with my buddies including one with your uncle moralfibre to Wayanad and then another with rider friends from BLR to Gokarna and Dandeli. The Gokarna ride was hot and sultry, and ride back from Dandeli was even longer and with terrific wind blast that really tested our stamina. While we took our last break at coffee day in the outskirts of BLR city, thoughts ran on how the GS would have been comfier for this trip. hmmmmm

Now children remember all good relationships can come to an end. Some for a reason and some for no reason at all.. in some colloquial Motörhead lingo, it is termed as 'KEEDA' (term created by your uncle khan_sultan) Or in simple terms referred as the urge to change vehicles for no valid or logical reasons. Covid also played an important role this time around and brought back the 'You Only Live Once' (YOLO) in me. 40’s as an age is definitely naughty too, so most of the remaining stuff happened between few of my friends, even my family was unaware about the affairs that were to happen now onwards in this story.

Chapter 4 - que sera sera.

Rewind a little, during one of the above-mentioned unlock rides, your uncle moralfibre had shared a career plan and if he were to take it up, he might let go off the GS. If so it would be offered to me at a very yummy price, and had immediately agreed and shook hands! Covid times things were uncertain and I always used to chase some preowned deals for GS’s as timepass with fairly no intent to carry it through. Then one day children something happened for which I needed to quickly travel to my native in kerala. As you know grandpa and grandma stay about 750 kms from us and obvious and fastest choice would have been the big bike as suggested by uncle sreerajunnithan (blaming him completely for the idea he planted in me). But then it was peak summer and after the Dandeli ride I was not sure, maybe if I had the GS.. again the thought ran in me.

This children, was the trigger that ended my relation with Tiggu the Tiger and while I sat in that flight, I had made up my mind that I will sell the bike and upgrade to a Honda Africa Twin AT or GS/GSA. Africa Twin?! you may ask, well the DCT was always been a mystery I wanted to explore.. fate had other plans though.

Old story but I had earlier tried for a test ride for Africa Twin and the Bangalore dealer somehow does not want to respond to my requests over phone. When friends from various riding group used to get a bike for long test rides, sometimes over the weekends, here I was completely frustrated with the affairs at the Bigwing. So as advised by one of the friends, that weekend I rode down to the showroom and lo the test ride bike is at service! Tough luck buddy and that is life… That day I just manage to sit on the showroom display bike, but somehow I knew in my mind that Honda will never ever happen for your dad (which actually did happen lol as a short tryst, more on that later children). On the other hand, the next-door BMW dealer (Tusker) was more than happy to give me a long test ride and throw some discounts for 2020 batch of bikes. This was end of March so financial year end deals were happening. Nothing spectacular compared to what was being offered in other dealerships. In parallel I was checking at used bikes a little more seriously now, as well as with dealers from other states if they can offer some deals. Came across quite a few of them, but nothing that really made it a 'juicy deal' to go for a preowned bike or a new bike with an outstation registration, latter was pretty good but I was not sure if it was really worth the effort and tension associated.

Your uncle sreerajunnithan meanwhile brought his brand-new Africa Twin to me in Kerala to take a test ride and we both rode inside the Trivandrum city for quite some time that evening. Children and that was the brief tryst with Africa Twin before I met your mother. The dusky Africa was nimble and eager, but her keystrokes too complicated, and that Apple car play so hot! yet so clumsy to use via the switch gear.

That was it, it is going to be a beemer I had decided in my head. The jap bikes as they say lack that soul, they are supremely smooth and even reliable but somehow as a rider I always liked the bikes that talked to me and the Africa was a sweet but non communicative damsel.

Chapter 5 - Get off! your hinds and decide.

It was becoming amply clear that it would be a spanking new BMW 1250 for me, then the obvious confusion that one would get once you check the BMW brochure! GS or GSA?? Fact is once you buy a GS you would need to add lot of bits starting with protection and that takes it to GSA territory price wise. GSA on the other hand comes fully kitted with what one needs in a long distance ADV bike.

Then why not decide on a GSA? What about the additional height?? and weight of the GSA?? all these were holding me back. Though I sat on a GSA inside the showroom and it felt ok for me on both aspects (there was no test ride GSA there). I had this doubt that will all this be a problem in real life for someone who uses bikes inside city also? Interestingly the BMW website refers to a lowered GSA spec and some 'www search' reveals, it is basically the same GSA set up with slightly shorter springs from factory to help the shorter riders. To confuse further, 'www' also makes some bad comments on ground clearance / handling with these shorter springs. How do I validate this? So knowing that your uncle moralfibre is quite a GS man, I decided to check with him, and he promptly replies with a classified ad link from our TeamBHP, where uncle Turbanator has put an ad for his GSA and mentions it is the version with lowered springs.

Alright no harm in PMing him, though till that date I have never had a one-on-one interaction with him… Prompt goes out the PM and uncle Turbanator responds back with all his inputs and then adds one last line, which reads..

“I can let the bike go to a known for lower amount, will xx lac with 3 panniers be a good number for you to take care of re-registration? or it will be a hassle?”

Chapter 6 - Jilabi baby, want some?

To be honest I never had this in mind to pick up a preowned outstation bike other than uncle moralfibre's bike. That too since we had plans of taking tax refund, which would make it economically viable for me. And then this offer from uncle Turbanator that is sitting on my inbox which is juicy as hell (moralfibre uncle also agreed). Reason being it is a newer bike than Moral’s bike, has just 4600 kms on odo, is a GSA in double black special edition color scheme! Has lowered suspension and is a German manufactured specimen. Whereas the newer 1250 in showroom are from Thailand and a huge EMI will have to be added into my life. Only hick up was during these covid times how do I manage all the paperwork from another state and that is a tough one, add to that the bike is sitting in a third city. Will it all be too much to chew? at the end of the day.

Chapter 7 - Karma Chameleon.

I was not sure if such a complicated deal would get through, so never committed to the offer at first, and in parallel spread the word across for help with local paperwork. Friends of friends who were there in town said it can be done, but no one came forward with that reassuring yes. I had almost lost all hope and was about to drop the whole idea when your uncle Ajaybiz came in as the savior!!!

Children your uncle Ajaybiz is a serial lover of bikes, I know him from our RD forum days, always had a lot of nice-looking bikes around him and keeps popping surprise dates with some rare beauties, that made all our mouths water. It seems that uncle Ajaybiz had got a bike from the same town during Lockdown 1.0, and had a person who did all the paper work for him remotely and shared the contact with me. Karma or not, this connect with Ajay happened by chance while I was roaming with the puzzle to solve in one of the whatsapp university classrooms. Next day I promptly call this person and he reassures that paper work can be taken care off remotely and I don’t have to break my head and travel to the town for that. Sweet!

Armed with all the backings from all your uncles from TeamBHP, I shot back a PM to your uncle Turbanator confirming the engagement with his GSA is ON! No bargain no questions asked, hell I have not even seen a recent image of the bike. All I have is some old snaps that were taken when uncle Turbanator had got the bike (posted above). But what the hell, some decisions in life are based on gut feel and mutual trust, and these are respected uncles from TeamBHP. Uncle Turbanator on the other hand is not at all convinced by these decisions, he tries his level best to arrange for an in person date with his beloved GSA. “Why don’t you just fly in for a day and check things out, ride it down” etc etc. But then covid wave 2 had begun and I knew all this will just complicate the matters. I just wanted to see how the deal can be closed quickly and bike transported to BLR. But wait I have shortlisted the bike and no money in hand to pay fully lol. I will have to do some short-term financial jugglery or go with a loan if I have to keep my word. But uncle Turbanator was very kind and reassured me “bike is yours whenever you want, we will figure the payments later”. I did not think this would be a good idea to agree without having a clear plan on making payment, instead just bought some time from him.

Turbanator uncle meanwhile insisted that we atleast do a video call and do a virtual check of the bike. He goes on to show me the bike (first time am seeing the current images of the bike) and points out even the smallest of the scratch on the bike. Starts the engine and demo’s me the pops and bangs that this silly GSA makes with 100 octane fuel it was running on. Interestingly this call is happening inside the car with me parked on a busy main road, that too on my way to office after dropping my real-world better half for a 2 week trekking trip. She is totally unaware of all the bike deals that has been happening. As for me, I had already made up my mind about this GSA and was just doing it since Turbanator uncle persisted. Finally after the call is done, your Turbanator uncle agrees for the sale formally and we shake virtual hands.

Chapter 8 - Stars align and how. Tiggu finds a new home.

Next step is to fast track the sale of Tiggu and here also your stud uncle moralfibre comes in, he highlights the classified ad on the 'Superbike for sale' thread, that in turn gets noticed by uncle prasanna_indaje, who calls me asking for the details. We have interaction filled few days over WhatsApp and mutually agreed to meet and check the bike out on that weekend. Rest is history which is captured here.

I felt very happy that my Tiggu was going to (by now) a known friend and thorough gentleman, who will take care of her really really well. Few days later with some minor financial adjustments from my end and I have the required funds in place for the GSA.

Chapter 9 - The Transport-er.

April first week payments were made and now the next challenge is to transport the bike to Bangalore from Gurgaon. Uncle Turbanator suggested that he can speak to his regular transporter for cars. They gave a good deal to transport the bike in one of the car container truck, There is an issue though someone will have to help Turbanator uncle with loading and tie downs since it is a car carrier and he has never done it earlier. Friends were of the opinion that this was most reasonable cost wise, but not best of the idea to ship an expensive bike few 1000 kms by road. Add to this I was under home quarantine now with the infamous virus having made a visit to our home (trek during pandemic is bad idea lol. Huge I told you so moment). On top of it I was neck deep in work. Almost had lost interest in this project and had left it to fate for the transportation to work out. Other options that were checked out, like a superbike transporter from here, was too expensive. VRL was the best and safe option that I was aware off, but to logistically manage at base location was a pain, since they are on the outskirts of that city about 60 kms away.

You know your uncle moralfibre, he is always looking around for challenges and once again he steps in without even an ask. Finds the number for VRL person Shankar (we call him Lord Shankar now, coz he manages the whole cage logistics from central hub at Hubli). A very helpful and honest gentleman whom we will vouch for. Anyhow MoralStudFiber and Lord Shankar coordinates and lo the large cage needed for the GSA fitted with panniers will be arriving at the central collection point outside the city in a few days’ time. I on the other hand managed to purchase a cover for the GSA and some tie down straps to be sent to Turbanator uncle.





Last piece of the puzzle, we need a rider who can take bike to VRL, as well as help load and tie down the bike inside the cage. Uncle Turbanator was ok to do this, but he preferred someone else since he was not very confident to do this alone. Magic of uncle moralfibre never ends! and we have uncle //M who is known to uncle Turbanator, in the same city and known to uncle moralfibre as well.

See children uncle //M himself is a rider and owns a Tiger, so familiar with big adventure bikes and was confident to get the job done with some remote assistance from us (if required). I was more worried and feeling bad about putting uncle //M into covid exposure at a logistic company. NCR region was almost peaking then. But //M was cool with it and uncle Turbanator had offered to provide his car and driver to uncle //M to return from VRL, so no need for any public transport and all. Uncle //M parked his tiger and and will be taking the GSA to VRL godown.



Finally on the 14th April 2021 uncle //M rides the GSA to the city outskirts and loads it into a cage at VRL for its journey to my city. While moralfibre uncle and myself are coordinating with him over phone, thanks to UPI payment was also a breeze once the bike was checked in.



At VRL uncle //M ensured that the bike is properly loaded into the cage, tied down and the cover put over the bike for some added safety. I know VRL cages are pretty good and there is no point in having additional packing and all if the wheel chucks are in place. Only the pannier boxes that were kept on the side of the cage was bubble wrapped for some protection. We were being updated with pictures by uncle //M at each step, but he knew what he was doing and we never had to worry about anything.

Chapter 10 - Cutting it thin.

Lord Shankar had said it would take anywhere between 5-7 days for the bike to arrive in BLR and he will keep us posted. Uncle Morafiber was constantly in touch with him. 18th April that was a Sunday Lord Shankar confirms the cage has already arrived in BLR! but then we are unable to get confirmation from BLR VRL folks. The very same day I get another medical emergency at home and will have to rush to hometown at the earliest. I have one day for collecting the consignment while I await for my RTPCR result to come. Next day 19th Apr (Monday) we decide we will take our chance and go in person to the Tumkur VRL yard, and see what can be done. Due to covid, there is a labor shortage and the unloading has been impacted at the yard. Plan is to try our luck that day OR leave the job to uncle rajeshnarayanan who is my dear riding buddy in BLR, to get the job done if it spills beyond Monday, since I am driving to Trivandrum as soon as I get my RTPCR results.

We (me & rajeshnarayanan uncle) reach the yard Monday by noon and meet the concerned person as advised by Lord Shankar and after some clicks on the computer, he confirms the truck has indeed arrived but will have an hours wait at the minimum to get it unloaded. We are asked to wait inside the office, but we decided to go have a quick bite outside instead of waiting in that closed space (some social distance also). We return and are led to the container which is parked at unloading bay outside. They get some unloading guys on priority to open the container and there she is inside the cage. There is whole lot of other stuff that needs to be taken out first, so that the cage can be unloaded safely from the truck. Atlast! and that is me in the confused state of mind, emotions of meeting with your lovely mother for first time and some personal worries about things back home.



You can see the stuff that had to be unloaded first so that the cage can be safely unloaded from the container.



Looking at me and my confused state of mind, uncle rajeshnarayanan takes over the process of handling the boys. And after 30 mts of hard labor the cage is taken out! Yeah! and finally parked at the exit of the wearhouse.

http://youtu.be/jlUBjJchJxg

Uncle rajeshnarayanan and I quickly remove the covers and tie downs, unpack the panniers and mount it on the bike. The key and the documents were shipped separately by uncle Turbanator to me. Time to fire her up and off the ramp on to the parking and there she is in all her glory.

And boys and girls… that is “How I Met Your Mother 2018 GSA All black!”

ps: do check next post too.

[Jaggu]

Chapter 11 - That's what friends are for.

The adventure begins...

You must be wondering ‘has Jaggu lost it?’ after reading all this, for an otherwise normal preowned bike purchase thread. For me though, it still feels all surreal! and that's the reason why I felt it is important to share my experience. Also take this oppurtunity to thank these friends of mine. I am sure no note or thread would be long enough to do justice, still..

THANK YOU my brothers! Turbanator, //M, Ajaybiz, sreerajunnithan, rajeshnarayanan, prasanna_indaje

and last but not the least my brother from the other city moralfibre!! don’t know what I would do without you!

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will land up buying a GSA and that too from another city up north of India, and without even seeing it in person or for that matter taking a test ride. I have never ever done that! Even for a new purchase I insist on long test rides, multiple PDI checks and what not (thanks to my OCD).

I truly believe this purchase happened only due to all these wonderful gentlemen of TeamBHP, some of whom I have never even met or interacted with prior to this, but still came forward and helped to make this happen. Apart from paying the money I hardly did anything. Makes you realize how beautiful a community we have.. friendly and full of life.

A proud TeamBHPian!

[Jaggu]

Thread moved out from Assembly Line Section (More Information about this sub-forum).

Thanks.

[Chetan_Rao]

Continuing with the title theme, you've got yourself a keeper! May you be blessed with a long, happy and harmonious relationship

[sukiwa]

With repeated usage of 'Uncle', all of us have become old suddenly. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing story behind purchase.

I hope thread should have a photo of '//M' and 'Turbonator' if it was clicked.

And this officially also certifies that all superbikes purchases on forum should be via 'Moralfibre', he is already known for his detective skills in superbike (service) history.

[warrioraks]

Man, what a story!
Some things are just bound to happen no matter what. Glad that not only things fell in place for you perfectly, but also that this entire story has the blessings of a lot of respected Uncles throughout the journey.

If the acquisition was so adventurous, then the ownership has to certainly take this build-up to the next level. GSA would be a perfect companion for this

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

THANK YOU my brothers! Turbanator, //M, Ajaybiz, sreerajunnithan, rajeshnarayanan, prasanna_indaje

and last but not the least my brother from the other city moralfibre!! don’t know what I would do without you!

Wonderful story especially the tales of the 'uncles' chipping in. I must say the same was quite applicable in my case of the S-Cross purchase as well as getting @tarunactivity's Tiger that was finally sold off last week only.



P.s. If the above folks are uncle, who qualifies for a 'dadaji'?

[moralfibre]

Congrats Jaggu. I truly wish Motorrad had an option for purchasing extended warranty. Otherwise, it’s the best you can have on two wheels.

Look forward to riding together soon!

And hey “If you want something really bad, the whole world conspires to make it happen for you.”

Usually they start with “YOLO” :-P

[Turbanator]

Congratulations again, Jaggu. Hope you are enjoying the bike.

The reasons of letting the bike go were multiple, as you mentioned, GSA can be a bit challenging for folks who don't ride often or physically are not regularly active. I had a ligament tear on my right knee many years ago and for some reasons, mentally, I will always have this fear of dropping the bike on the right side. City traffic didn't help either and off late, I got hooked to some of the faster cars.

I was clear on the sale that this bike should go to an enthusiast, more than the money and this could not get any better. This also shows what good community we have, mutual respect and trust like no others.

All the best and wish you many happy miles, posting a picture from 2019 (baby Jaggu)

Uncle Turbanator

[AtheK]

Wow that is one hell of a background story, and a job executed well. The Great Indian Job. Wish you very best and thousands of KMs of safe riding.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

May you be blessed with a long, happy and harmonious relationship

Thanks man.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

I hope thread should have a photo of '//M' and 'Turbonator' if it was clicked. .

Unfortunately I have not met either of them in person yet

Originally Posted by warrioraks

GSA would be a perfect companion for this

Thank you and I hope so too.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

If the above folks are uncle, who qualifies for a 'dadaji'?

Next story ill incorporate someone, maybe GTO? <running for cover>

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Congrats Jaggu. I truly wish Motorrad had an option for purchasing extended warranty.

Ya that is one thing we will miss, but hopefully ze german shall behave!

And hey “If you want something really bad, the whole world conspires to make it happen for you.”

Usually they start with “YOLO” :-P

Have to agree, not the first time lol

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Congratulations again, Jaggu. Hope you are enjoying the bike.
======
All the best and wish you many happy miles, posting a picture from 2019 (baby Jaggu)

Uncle Turbanator

Thank you! and yes she is doing good. I added a 20 mm bar riser from wunderlich for my fitment and a wash that's it. Like you mentioned the other day, it's like I got a bike that has been just run in.

Have done about 1100 kms so far with those short rides and trips to office, and hopefully will gather more highway kms in the coming months. That is what I am looking forward to.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Congrats Jaggu. I truly wish Motorrad had an option for purchasing extended warranty. Otherwise, it’s the best you can have on two wheels.

Yes, even I was surprised that BMW Motorrad does not allow you to buy warranty after some days of initial purchase even if the bike is under warranty. Very unlike their car division.

But their warranties are usually a joke, they were bad in handling Rims issue as you have experienced firsthand. I was little lucky to get both rims changed under warranty due to a senior folk at dealership who was responsible for cars and bike. They also are also one of the few manufacturers who will charge you for software updates even if your bike is one week old

There are a lot of complains on the WA groups, but they first try to wash off and put the blame for most things on the rider. Parts take ages in most cases and recalls done in other countries are hardly carried out here. Frankly, the bike sells on its own merits.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Yes, even I was surprised that BMW Motorrad does not allow you to buy warranty after some days of initial purchase even if the bike is under warranty.
======
Parts take ages in most cases and recalls done in other countries are hardly carried out here. Frankly, the bike sells on its own merits.

Congrats Jaggu

Sorry, just had to. LOL!

[pramods]

Welcome to GSA club, do I see a trend here moving from Tiger to BMW :-)

-Pramod

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by AtheK

The Great Indian Job. Wish you very best and thousands of KMs of safe riding.

Thank you

Originally Posted by pramods

Welcome to GSA club, do I see a trend here moving from Tiger to BMW :-)

-Pramod

Thanks which model you have?

Well, it is a logical step for people with Tiger and looking at touring. There is no other options otherwise for a logical upgrade for Tiger owners. This has been happening for years and in our BLR tiger WhatsApp group I think there are close to 10 BMW owners now, I guess. For Offroad focussed atleast, now there is the Africa Twin and the new Tiger 900 GT Pro but otherwise pretty much everything is not as comfortable or versatile for consideration.

Not sure if my observation is true or not, but according to me Tiger and GS series are the bikes that owners generally hold on for long years in general.