New former lurker

Last March (after looking at fuel receipts for my 8.6 mpg pickup) my wife says Hey, why don't you get a bike. It would pay for itself in about 9 months! Not wanting to argue I said well, okay but I really had no intention of ever getting another bike. (I thought that was clever). I began looking at Craigslist. I was looking at Wings and other large touring bikes since that's what I had been used to 20 years ago when I used to ride. Then a 1994 BMW R1100RS came up. I had always wanted a BMW but couldn't afford one. Maybe the time was right. I went to look and bought it. Since I didn't have my M/C license I had to have the owner ride it across town to my place. I went through the MSF course. That wasn't a requirement when I used to ride. Got my license and started riding. Between April and December I rode that bike 13000 miles. I think I am hooked again. My wife wanted to join me on my rides but the RS wasn't very comfortable two up. So December 26th we drove up to Carrollton TX (north of Dallas/Ft Worth and bought a 2004 R1150RT. Wow! What a bike. Very comfortable. My planning wasn't too good though. We left Carrollton at 3pm with 217 miles to go on an unfamiliar bike. We pulled into a hotel in Waco for the night not having brought any extra clothing, nothing. We did stop and get dinner and a bottle of wine to take back to help us unwind.
Next morning it was 23 degrees and there was ice on the parking lot. We went and saw all three sites in Waco - Baylor University, The Dr Pepper museum, and the TX Ranger museum. We didn't actually go into any of them due to lack of interest. By the time we left it was about 36 degrees and the the roads were nice and dry. We had a fine trip home.
Between December 26th and today I've ridden the "new" bike 2141 miles just getting used to it. Already the accessorizing has begun with a Zumo 660 and some new winter gloves. It's going to be a while before this bike has paid for itself.

My entire riding history:
1st "motorcycle" Honda Trail 90 roughly a 1965 model.
2nd Honda CL 450 Scrambler.
3rd Yamaha XS750E triple
4th Yamaha XS1100
5th BMW R1100RS
6th BMW R1150RT

Welcome back...and welcome to the club! Sounds like you have rekindled the passion indeed! Take care and ride safe!

welcome and i have a question.Can you get your wife to call mine and suggest a new gs would be a good idea?Thanks.Ed

rebake said:

welcome and i have a question.Can you get your wife to call mine and suggest a new gs would be a good idea?Thanks.Ed

Click to expand...

I'll call her....but when I suggested that to my husband, I ended up buying one a week later.

Welcome aboard! You'll find lots of bike specific information and general touring information throughout this website.

Welcome Home. Glad to have you here and it looks like you have a lot of experience with Beemers and other motorcycles.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

Thanks Y'all.

I can have Kristi call your spouse. It will help if you have a huge inefficient truck to make the bike seem practical. Not sure a GS could be considered practical unless you live in the Yukon.

Nope-not in Alaska,but central Illinois kind of looks like it right now.I guess my 05 gs will have to do me for another year.Ed

Do you ride this time of year?
In Texas I can ride year round, although lately the temps have been in the 20's and low 30's (okay to call me a weenie - I'm originally from CA) so I have been refining my gear. Tried long underwear today and it has been a spectacular success. Tomorrow morning will be in the upper 20's so I'll go with that again...if the bike starts.

Normally i would be out with my heated gear,but this past year has brought about an asmhatic lung condition that i am hoping to be rid of by spring.Will know more after my march doctor appt.You going up to Bloomsburg? Ed