Don: I've spent time on F650GS's (stock, low & Dakar versions), including spending time riding off road with Dakar entrants Nick Plumb and Simon Pavey in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. It crashes wella nd albeit in a heavy way handles extremely well off-road. But in no way is it anywhere near a match for the MS ont he road. It has neither the power, smoothness, handling or grip to come remotely close. A fine bike all the same, just in a different sector, league and price bracket to the Duke.
Loucksgl: Your comments obviously refer to the 'old' R1150GS and not to the 'new' 1200 (100 bhp / 85 lb ft / 199 kilo). I rode the new R1200GS for two hundred miles back to back with my Multistrada, solo, two-up and on every type of road imaginable. The GS'12' has a better power to weight ratio at any given revs over the MS and has the edge on acceleration. You are right in that the MS does handle better as it ultimately has more grip from the bigger tyres, however I managed to get my knee down on the R1200GS demo bike (in the UK we have very twisty roads and roundabouts to play on
) without any difficulty, so handling has to be put into perspective and so long as you're smooth the GS is still better than us as mere mortal riders. Apart from ultimate grip though, for me, the GS is better in every other single respect bar none. Don't get me wrong the MS is truly a fabulous bike and I don't want to be crucified saying I prefer the GS on an MS site! However the minor (but annoying) minor hassles I had with my MS and having ridden both back to back over hundreds of miles I'd be lying if I didn't say that the new 1200 GS is a quantative and qualitative improvement (I'm a Quality (Validation & Verification) Manager btw!) over the MS, despite the Duke still being a truly brilliant bike (to ride).It's great that we all have our own views and appreciatte that we respect others views even if they don't fully represent our own. The one thing that I'm sure we probably all agree upon is that the BMW R1200GS and Ducati Multistrada are the best all-round, all-rounds, real-world-speeds, motorcycles on the face of the planet. A tough category of two, but like the Lamborghini and Ferrari argument - whichever we choose how can we possible lose?
BTW I've just sold the Duke privately. I ordered an R1200GS before the UK March launch, however I still have to wait until September (at the earliest) for it to arrive. Every UK dealer sold out until the end of the year prior to the launch and on the launch day they were already selling 2005 bikes. The waiting list is already summer 2005 now - irrelevant of dealer and paying full rrp (see UKGSER forum) and despite the steep RRP of £9300 (about $17,000) the only two used one's I've seen were selling privately for £11k & £12k respectively, or well over $20,000. I think the evidence there speaks for itself - but don't take my word for it, demo the R1200GS and make your own minds up, whether you stay / buy the MS or GS either way you're ok in my book and have made the right decision for 'you', and at the end of the day who else matters? Enjoy.
It is an italian bike with the usual problems, but in my opinion its a more complete bike than the new renovated GS. The GS isn't bad at all, but the Multi is the better all-around bike in my humble opinion. 
) , acceptable build quality and lots of aftermarket support.
