Why did you buy a BMW?

[RobG]

I was just interested in the reasons why each member decided to buy a BMW in the first place. For me, it dates back to the early 70s. There was a serialized story in the magazine that came in the Saturday paper that documented one guys ride from St. Johns Newfoundland to Victoria BC. Of course, he was on a BMW. It was a great story and planted a seed in my mind that a trip like that would be a great adventure. I guess it also planted a seed that a BMW was the only motorcycle to do it on.

It took me a long time to finally buy a BMW. I was concerned that they were too tall, too expensive and from some of the posts on the forum, too unreliable. I was worried about what could or would happen and how much it could cost to fix.

I finally took a chance. I found a really nice, low mileage 2005 R1200RT and figured that if everything that could break, did, it would still be a good deal. Well, up to now, my fears have been unfounded and I wish I had bought one a lot sooner. The R engine is such a mix of old and new technology. It sounds like a tractor when it starts, but runs smooth and vibration free on the road. All of the features that I figured where over kill (heated seat, grips and cruise control) have all proved to be really nice. Even the cost of maintenance has proven to be less that I expected. My local dealer is great and visiting for a quick oil change or tires becomes more like a coffee and conversation visit.

In short, I'm a pretty happy guy. My next goal, is to maybe do a coast trip on my way to 100K on the bike.

 

[soocom1]

The quality and because the bike was a good buy.

 

[donbmw]

I have always wanted a BMW for as long as I can remember.

 

[bsquared]

for looong rides, which I haven't had the time to do yet, but I'm working on it

 

[anglojaxon]

I demo'd a 2008 RT and thought "Why in the hell did I ever buy a Harley?"

 

[JWMcDonald]

Bought R75/5 (SWB) new in 1972 (with Avon full fairing & Bates bags) for ride from Duluth Intl Airport, MN to West Palm Beach, FL to McClellan AFB, Sacramento, CA for Temporary Duty assignment for USAF.

 

[Gillie Dog]

Why did you buy a BMW?

From the 60s/70’s on Hondas, 70s to through early teens on Electra Glides for 300K miles I always “wanted” a BMW boxer because of the boxer design and of course their reputation for being bullet proof. Sold last HD when it became obvious I would have no time to ride until retirement a few years later and after retirement found a low mileage 2010 RT and jumped in/on. Little did I know reliability had faded and was in question of late, suspension shocks leaking, output splines/drive shafts/final drive splines failing, final drives failing, fuel sensors, fuel pumps, fuel pump controllers, et. al. Well it was a shock and disappointment to read about all this after the fact here, Why did I buy a BMW? But I sucked it up, fixed all these issues which have come to fruition, struts and fuel pump controller, so far, but it was unexpected for sure (my naiveté and lack of research). 4,000 miles this summer and all is good, will pull the swing arm this winter for spline check/service at 25,000 miles and I will be confident I have done what I can to make it “bullet proof” and ride on.

GD

 

[BarryinIN]

1) I have a screwed up back, which got me an implanted electronic spinal cord stimulator. It has tiny wires running through me whose enemy is vibration. When I returned to motorcycling, that was a major concern.

2) Mechanically speaking, the K100/K75 has always interested me.

Between those two things, it was inevitable I’d get a BMW K75.

 

[franko]

I have a 72 Norton and the Mrs. decided to try to start riding with me.
After awhile it became apparent that she would stay riding with me and I didn't like that she would wear a backpack when we rode.
Walnecks would run old magazine reprints in its' magazine. I read one about the R80/R100 RTs.
They seamed to fit the bill for what I needed in a bike for us to ride together.
I found a 85 R80RT in 09. It works great for our travels.
She did mention once that the Norton was like a sports car and the BMW like a minivan.
Norton, light weight people hauler, BMW people hauler with freight carrying abilities.
On the Norton after 7 hours, I'm standing on the pegs because it's uncomfortable.
On the BMW, I rode 15 hours straight from Dallas, TX to Wisconsin without feeling any discomfort.
So it works out as horses for courses.
Still have both bikes.
Parts and advice for both bikes are easy to obtain, so I think I am set.

 

[Na Cl K9]

I was told once long ago (1968) that BMW made an engine that was so good that the rest of the bike would fall apart around it and the engine would still be running. Sounded OK to me so I bought one and resolved never to let it fall apart. 43 years ago. I did a 970 mile day - once, from the saddle of a 1978 R100S. One year I wore out three sets of tires on my new 750/7. To me the bikes BMW's made are fun to ride because good bikes are designed to disappear beneath you as you dial up the ride you want. The good bikes do it by being effortless to operate with reliable balanced handling and smooth power delivery. A lot of bikes do that these days. A lot of those bikes are BMW's.

 

[flhfxd]

Couple of reasons. My cousin had an R75 years ago when I was a kid and he was a really cool dude. So after riding mostly Harleys for the last 30 yeats, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had to get a boxer BMW so I bought a 2000 RT. Loved the bike but got spooked by alll the internet hype on Beemers and decided to sell it. But I missed that engine, the suspension (yes, even stock it’s light years ahead of HD), the brakes, the heated grips and weather protection from that over zealous fairing...I could go on. So I decided to pick up another one. There’s lots available.
Someone on this forum said I’d probably ride the RT more than the other bikes in the garage. They were right.

 

[pglaves]

Mother's Day 1977 I bought an R60/5 for Voni. She was riding a Yamaha RD250 and I was riding a Yamaha XS7502D. I thought she needed a bigger bike. She didn't agree but I bought it anyway, and besides, you can't make a guy take back a Mother's Day gift can you. Seven years later I bought her an R65 - I thought she needed a bike with brakes - and I took the /5 for a year. Followed by a year on an R90/6 and then 19 years on my first of several K75s.

 

[tibork]

Had been riding for 10 years before and wanted a touring bike. The only bike I found manageable in and over the 1000 cc range for me was the BMW, the low center of gravity makes it easy to hold and control. Of course also the quality and reputation ... plus this one had a price I could not walk away from.

 

[franko]

A post script to my answer above.
In the very early 80s, when I bought my Norton, one of the guys that I worked with brought in some old flyers and sale papers he had for British bikes.
Gordy told me about some of the bikes he had, had.
The one before his 74 BMW was a Harley that was stolen.
After he lost that bike, he bought a new BMW.
When he went to pick it up at the dealer, the dealer took him in back to go through and SHOW him how to do basic maintenance and tune up work on HIS bike.
I was impressed enough that, when I saw the article on the RTs, it made me read it, rather than skim through it.

 

[royce]

Had nothing to do with the brand. I had always ridden, and been happy on, Japanese bikes for years. Six years ago I decided I wanted the smallest bike I could find that I could tour on comfortably. I went looking for a bike--ANY bike--that had ABS, something other than chain drive, and weighed in the neighborhood of 450 pounds, or less, wet. Guess what? I am now riding the only bike that was sold in the US that met all those criteria.

BTW, I am happy on the F800ST but have never drunk the BMW Kool-Aid. My next bike might well be some other brand, depending on whatever my criteria are at the time.

 

[henzilla]

H rode into my driveway on her 1100R instead of the HD I had seen her on before. I was intrigued to say the least.
I had a co worker with Airheads that teased me for years on my choices. I was a bit more intrested after trying to keep pace with Ms.H. than the greybeards sage advice at work

H invited me to ride with the San Antone bunch one Sunday and they found me a year old RT shortly after.The difference in handling,stopping and overall performance had me on the first run. I traded a fellow my H-D for his 05GS and the fleet grew between us.
Have owned a few brands since I was 15, including some current KTM's, so still like other brands and open minded to anything with wheels and a motor...or pedals!

 

[8ninety8]

BMW entered my aura when, at twelve years old, I saw a cream white Zundapp motorcycle with an attached Steib. It was too cool, unbelievable. Two opposed cylinders? A balanced engine? Wot? Then a friend and I looked at a R50. I was hooked. Twenty three years later bought a LWB R60 and the rest is history. I've owned only five, currently only two. Which are enough now. For me it's been fit and finish. The way nuts and bolts are used. The way they go together and come apart. And the way they looked. And the way they could run all day long, and then run some more. Never owned any newer than '84.

 

[Paul_F]

My wife and I on our three month honeymoon in 1971, were travelling on two Honda mopeds throughout Scotland, England, France and Spain. The French police were riding bikes that were quiet, small (and at that time, I thought "ugly" - opinion has since changed) and I said that if I ever were to get back into riding, those small quite bikes should work for a small guy like me. Doing research when we got home, I discovered that BMWs often accumulated a lot of miles and were considered very reliable. Fast forward 33 years and I came home from a drive and told Janet that I had sat on a used BMW in the middle of nowhere.

I was told that since longevity runs in my family, on my deathbed, my final words would be "I never got my BMW". I was instructed to buy one, which was a used K.

Fast forward five years later and I had to bump start the K Bike home from Alabama's Chicken Rally. Once home, bump starting didn't work. When I was asked where it was and the dealership would work on it during their downtime. I was told in the summer, bike shops don't have downtime. She told me that I wouldn't be riding that summer and being so old, I had very limited riding years left. Was told to get a second bike so there'd always be one in the garage in case one failed. I have now had the R1100 for nine years and have put over a 100, 000 on it.

Note: Both bikes let me down just before departing for the 2013 Sedalia Rally. Since no mention was made of getting a third bike, I took the car.

 

[jdking]

A BMW motor examined

Way back in 1976 I was a first year high school Industrial Arts instructor in a small mining town in North Idaho. One of the classes was "small engines" and we had a donated, abandoned Suzuki 2-stroke twin that the class fell upon with wrenches to try and determine why the engine wouldn't turn over. We got to the place where a flywheel puller was needed and we couldn't come up with one so I came up with the idea of a 60 mile field trip to Couer d'Alene where the junior college had a motorcycle repair course. They could help us pull the flywheel, it would be educational, fully justified even on a skimpy budget. The class was so small we could even travel in my Datsun station wagon. While getting the tour of the shop at NIJC I got to inspect the internal parts of an old airhead twin. I had owned Japanese bikes for years and would own them for a number of years to come before the teacher salary finally allowed purchase of my own 1989 R100GS but I remembered how well the internal parts of that old airhead were machined. Made an impression.

 

[cpbtx]

Rode K12RS back in 2002 and loved it. Rode a R12GS in 2005 and loved it too.