Hey all,
As the title states, I'm new to the MOA and oddly enough, joined when I didn't even own a BMW. I have been listening to Wes' two podcasts religiously and decided to bite the bullet and join the MOA mainly as a way to support those, but also with the knowledge that I've always wanted a BMW, so sooner or later that would become a reality as well.
Bit of background... I learned to ride when I was a teenager with a friend who had an extra motorcycle and let me borrow one of his whenever we went out. I didn't have a license or even so much as a permit and almost got myself killed. I don't recommend learning that way. Many years later, I got my permit, bought a bike, to the MSF course, and got my license the right way. I rode that bike, a 1997 Honda Shadow 1100 for a couple of years. After a while I realized I wasn't a fan of cruisers, so I traded it for a 2001 Bandit 1200. I loved that bike and rode it for several years, until family and financial considerations required me to sell it. 5 years passed and the opportunity to ride again fell into my lap earlier this year. I did a bunch of research and bought a 2001 Honda ST1100. Since March I have logged almost 6000 miles on that bike, including a recent trip from North Carolina to Maine and back.
The ST1100 is a great bike. The engine is smooth as a sewing machine and just flat out runs without any fuss. I did 2500 miles in 5 days last week and it never gave me so much as a moment's trouble. I had hoped this bike would be my faithful mount for many years. But, after this recent trip, I have realized that the riding position is just not going to work for me. I am 6'1", weigh 275lbs, and have a 32" inseam. My knees and legs were cramped and aching after just a couple of hundred miles. 2 days of the trip I did almost 700 miles. I could do it, but it was agony by the end of it. I have highway blades on on it, and could move around and change body position and stretch and whatnot. But I just couldn't deal with my feet being tucked up (relatively) under me for so long.
So, almost as soon as I got home, I told my wife that as much as I had enjoyed the trip, I was going to be on the lookout for a new bike. She's very supportive of the hobby, but doesn't like to be surprised by big purchases, so I wanted her to know ahead of time that I was actively considering replacing the ST1100...
Enter the BMW... For the past couple of months I have been sporadically checking Facebook Market Place, Craigslist, and the classified sectionson various forums, getting an idea for what a good deal might look like on a GS. I had never ridden one, but knew they had a great reputation and were much taller than my ST and would likely have a more suitable riding position for me.
This morning, I was checking FB marketplace and saw a gentleman about an hour south of me listed his 2007 1200GS for just shy of $5000 with 47K on the clock and a host of aftermarket add ons (Happy Trails Aluminum cases mounted on the GSA frame, Baja Designs Squadron Pro LED Auxiliary Lights with a Skene IQ-175 intelligent lighting controller, FZ-1 Fuse block (under the seat), Woody’s Wheels set Black with billet hubs and stainless super-laced spokes, Low Wilbur Shocks, Hepco Becker upper and lower protection guards, PivotPegz, Russell Daylong seat (front and back).
I immediately messaged him, and this evening I went down to look at it / test ride it.
I immediately loved the riding position. He has lowered the suspension a bit so he could get his feet on the ground easier. I'm a bit taller so I could raise it back up. I've never ridden a BMW, but it felt great to me. I didn't notice any hiccups or hesitations in my 30 minute or so test ride. Gear shifts were smooth and everything seemed to work just as it should. The ST1100s brakes aren't great, but they're certainly not bad either. But HOLY CRAP the front brakes on this bike were amazing compared to what I am used to... Oddly enough though, the rear brake didn't perform quite as good as my ST's.
Anyways, all of that is fine and good, but there is one concern. He was in a wreck several years ago on a secondary road. He told me the story. It was raining heavily and he hit a large pool of water in the road and the bike went out from him. He slid to a stop and realized he had a broken leg. He went to the hospital and his sister road the bike home as it had only sustained minimal damage.
The bike obviously went down on the right side. There is some road rash on the crash bars, cylinder head, and luggage. That's not really much of a concern to me. But, the pillion footpeg on the right side seems to have taken the brunt of the fall and resulted some damage to the frame in that area.
According to the owner, this was several years ago and has never affected the ride of the bike. He and a knowledgeable friend straightened the frame back out as much as possible and welded / repainted the affected area. He showed me pictures of what it looked like before they attempted to repair it, and it didn't look to bad to be honest. I didn't notice it negatively affecting anything during my test ride... but then, I have no BMW baseline to test it against, if that makes sense.
I know there will likely be a range of opinions, but I wanted to at least reach out here and see what you all think about this? Would this be a deal breaker? At this price I'm sure it won't last long, and he's willing to hold onto it for a couple of days for me, as I couldn't really ride it home tonight and I have previous obligations tomorrow... But I don't expect him to hold it through the weekend. I'm not necessarily in a rush, so I don't have to buy the first bike that comes along, but from watching the various for sale places, this one does seem like a steal for the price, mileage, amount of farkles, and overall condition, frame damage not withstanding.
Anyways, thanks for welcoming me to the MOA and for any advice you might be able to share. I told him I'd let him know one way or another in a day or so, so the more input I can get in the shorter the time will be much appreciated.
As the title states, I'm new to the MOA and oddly enough, joined when I didn't even own a BMW. I have been listening to Wes' two podcasts religiously and decided to bite the bullet and join the MOA mainly as a way to support those, but also with the knowledge that I've always wanted a BMW, so sooner or later that would become a reality as well.
Bit of background... I learned to ride when I was a teenager with a friend who had an extra motorcycle and let me borrow one of his whenever we went out. I didn't have a license or even so much as a permit and almost got myself killed. I don't recommend learning that way. Many years later, I got my permit, bought a bike, to the MSF course, and got my license the right way. I rode that bike, a 1997 Honda Shadow 1100 for a couple of years. After a while I realized I wasn't a fan of cruisers, so I traded it for a 2001 Bandit 1200. I loved that bike and rode it for several years, until family and financial considerations required me to sell it. 5 years passed and the opportunity to ride again fell into my lap earlier this year. I did a bunch of research and bought a 2001 Honda ST1100. Since March I have logged almost 6000 miles on that bike, including a recent trip from North Carolina to Maine and back.
The ST1100 is a great bike. The engine is smooth as a sewing machine and just flat out runs without any fuss. I did 2500 miles in 5 days last week and it never gave me so much as a moment's trouble. I had hoped this bike would be my faithful mount for many years. But, after this recent trip, I have realized that the riding position is just not going to work for me. I am 6'1", weigh 275lbs, and have a 32" inseam. My knees and legs were cramped and aching after just a couple of hundred miles. 2 days of the trip I did almost 700 miles. I could do it, but it was agony by the end of it. I have highway blades on on it, and could move around and change body position and stretch and whatnot. But I just couldn't deal with my feet being tucked up (relatively) under me for so long.
So, almost as soon as I got home, I told my wife that as much as I had enjoyed the trip, I was going to be on the lookout for a new bike. She's very supportive of the hobby, but doesn't like to be surprised by big purchases, so I wanted her to know ahead of time that I was actively considering replacing the ST1100...
Enter the BMW... For the past couple of months I have been sporadically checking Facebook Market Place, Craigslist, and the classified sectionson various forums, getting an idea for what a good deal might look like on a GS. I had never ridden one, but knew they had a great reputation and were much taller than my ST and would likely have a more suitable riding position for me.
This morning, I was checking FB marketplace and saw a gentleman about an hour south of me listed his 2007 1200GS for just shy of $5000 with 47K on the clock and a host of aftermarket add ons (Happy Trails Aluminum cases mounted on the GSA frame, Baja Designs Squadron Pro LED Auxiliary Lights with a Skene IQ-175 intelligent lighting controller, FZ-1 Fuse block (under the seat), Woody’s Wheels set Black with billet hubs and stainless super-laced spokes, Low Wilbur Shocks, Hepco Becker upper and lower protection guards, PivotPegz, Russell Daylong seat (front and back).
I immediately messaged him, and this evening I went down to look at it / test ride it.
I immediately loved the riding position. He has lowered the suspension a bit so he could get his feet on the ground easier. I'm a bit taller so I could raise it back up. I've never ridden a BMW, but it felt great to me. I didn't notice any hiccups or hesitations in my 30 minute or so test ride. Gear shifts were smooth and everything seemed to work just as it should. The ST1100s brakes aren't great, but they're certainly not bad either. But HOLY CRAP the front brakes on this bike were amazing compared to what I am used to... Oddly enough though, the rear brake didn't perform quite as good as my ST's.
Anyways, all of that is fine and good, but there is one concern. He was in a wreck several years ago on a secondary road. He told me the story. It was raining heavily and he hit a large pool of water in the road and the bike went out from him. He slid to a stop and realized he had a broken leg. He went to the hospital and his sister road the bike home as it had only sustained minimal damage.
The bike obviously went down on the right side. There is some road rash on the crash bars, cylinder head, and luggage. That's not really much of a concern to me. But, the pillion footpeg on the right side seems to have taken the brunt of the fall and resulted some damage to the frame in that area.
According to the owner, this was several years ago and has never affected the ride of the bike. He and a knowledgeable friend straightened the frame back out as much as possible and welded / repainted the affected area. He showed me pictures of what it looked like before they attempted to repair it, and it didn't look to bad to be honest. I didn't notice it negatively affecting anything during my test ride... but then, I have no BMW baseline to test it against, if that makes sense.
I know there will likely be a range of opinions, but I wanted to at least reach out here and see what you all think about this? Would this be a deal breaker? At this price I'm sure it won't last long, and he's willing to hold onto it for a couple of days for me, as I couldn't really ride it home tonight and I have previous obligations tomorrow... But I don't expect him to hold it through the weekend. I'm not necessarily in a rush, so I don't have to buy the first bike that comes along, but from watching the various for sale places, this one does seem like a steal for the price, mileage, amount of farkles, and overall condition, frame damage not withstanding.
Anyways, thanks for welcoming me to the MOA and for any advice you might be able to share. I told him I'd let him know one way or another in a day or so, so the more input I can get in the shorter the time will be much appreciated.
