K1200LT purchase - newbie question and advice

[DarenB68]

I own a 05 R1100s BCR but am now looking at a long range luxury tourer for me and the missus. There are some real LT bargains out there inc a 99 i found on CL with 11k miles on it and full service history (its actually getting serviced right now) that has 2 owners from new and apparently nothing but synthetic oil in the rear drive. The owner claims this will help in preventing the infamous rear drive failure. He wants $7750, which seems like an incredible bargain to me, if in fact it is in good condition. Were there any monumental failures with LT's of that era, and is there anything that can be done to prevent the fnl drive failure? Anything else I should be worried about. Certainly don't want to be dumping a ton of money into it right away if that can be avoided.
On a different note - handling: my mechanic is telling me to go with a GL1800 stating the beemer is way too top heavy. I owned an 02 GL 1800 and can definitely say that the handling was superb, but what do you guys think of the LT. I would definitely be going 2 up and camping on it.
Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers
Daren

[RBEmerson]

Where are you? While Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) prices vary with local, a quick check shows dealer retail (which leaves room for their work to prep the bike, etc. and a profit) is around $5K. Make an allowance for 11K, and maybe $5500, and $6K tops with some extras - but only if you're in deep lust for the bike.

If the seller heavily farkled the bike with all sorts of toys, and wants you to pay for them, nah. It's like a home owner loading up a house with stuff and expecting you to pay "list" for the renovations. Again, nah.

As to the comparison with the GL1800, maybe low speed handling isn't the best. I'm guessing a bit here as I have a K1200RS (very different) and have ridden some older RT with boxes, etc. But think how much time you spend at 5 MPH and how much you spend at higher speeds. Remember BMW's come from a place where there is absolutely no speed limit in parts of the highway system. The open road (not Autobahn) speed limit is 100 Km/H (60 MPH) and you can expect to be passed while motoring along at 100 Km/H. If the bike won't work there... you see my point, I think.

My personal choice would be to look into the K1200GT, a very quick touring machine. If you want to take along everything including the kitchen sink, OK, stay with the LT, but if the idea is to travel briskly for a while, think about the GT. You should be able bring one in for "under $6K".

The rear end issue... IMHO, it's much over-blown. Which isn't to say a rear end can't fail (and failure won't be fun). But regular maintenance will go a long way to avoid the issue.

[DarenB68]

Im in Portland Or. If this bike is worth only $6k then I'd snap it up. Thanks for the advice, and yes I did a bunch of research today on the GL vs LT, and I've decided I'm an LT guy.........here we go.

[rmcclure]

In my experience, you will want to keep the bike on a battery tender any time it is not used for more than a few days in a row. I now just plug it in any time I park it. I have not owned a GL1800, but have test ridden one. Parts were dragging on the on ramp at what seemed to be a very moderate pace compared to the LT. My wife much prefers the comfort and more upright seating position of the LT compared to the GL1800(somewhat slouched)

[Pauls1150]

Two local friends have had K1200LTs and both had rear drive failures. Sorry I don't know what years they were. With the R bikes' history, 75W-90 has repeatedly been Strongly recommended for the rear (not the 75W-140, which is ok in the trans), but I don't know if this carries to the Ks as well. R failures seem to be more closely linked with how well the drive was set up (shimmed) at the factory, rather than what oil was used.
But that still sounds like a deal.

[RBEmerson]

Im in Portland Or. If this bike is worth only $6k then I'd snap it up. Thanks for the advice, and yes I did a bunch of research today on the GL vs LT, and I've decided I'm an LT guy.........here we go.

OK - you're still looking at about $5K for dealer retail. Trade-in is in the $3.5K range. In short, $7.8K? [/ROFL] In the seller's dreams!

[RBEmerson]

In my experience, you will want to keep the bike on a battery tender any time it is not used for more than a few days in a row. I now just plug it in any time I park it. I have not owned a GL1800, but have test ridden one. Parts were dragging on the on ramp at what seemed to be a very moderate pace compared to the LT. My wife much prefers the comfort and more upright seating position of the LT compared to the GL1800(somewhat slouched)

+1 on the trickle charger. At least on the K1200RS, if the battery is on the low side from long storage, the ABS warning light will continue to blink once the bike's rolling (normal is to blink until the bike is doing 5-8 MPH or more). It looks like a brake fault when its not. A trickle charger is your friend.


ADDED: Fully charging the battery will correct the "always blinking" problem.

[E.L. Buff]

My riding buddy and his wife love there goldwing , me and my wife love our LT
Low speed in a parking lot sucks but you get used to it the goldwing is much better
at low speed but on the highway its like driving a billboard . Go with the LT you both will
be glad you did.
Ernie

[DarenB68]

OK - you're still looking at about $5K for dealer retail. Trade-in is in the $3.5K range. In short, $7.8K? [/ROFL] In the seller's dreams!

The problem with "book" prices on bikes is that they don't allow you to account for mileage. What you are quoting is probably book price on a 50k+ mile example, not 11k. I just sold my mint Moto Guzzi LeMans with 3700 miles on it for $7500. Nada is $4350. I've bought and sold a ton of bikes and rarely is book price relevant unless you are trading in at a stealership.
What I do go by however is trends. I have been looking on Ebay and CL for sometime, and I think $6000-$6500 is the going price for something like this. The $5k bikes have the higher mileage and might be newer too, but theres no one out there that I can see selling low mileage bikes for $4-$5k.

[DarenB68]

My riding buddy and his wife love there goldwing , me and my wife love our LT
Low speed in a parking lot sucks but you get used to it the goldwing is much better
at low speed but on the highway its like driving a billboard . Go with the LT you both will
be glad you did.
Ernie

Thanks. I'm a pretty experienced rider and I'm 6' 1" so the low speed stuff doesn't terrify me, but I will be cautious. I watched my buddy dump his GW twice in one day with his missus on the back doing low speed U-turns

[DarenB68]

Two local friends have had K1200LTs and both had rear drive failures. Sorry I don't know what years they were. With the R bikes' history, 75W-90 has repeatedly been Strongly recommended for the rear (not the 75W-140, which is ok in the trans), but I don't know if this carries to the Ks as well. R failures seem to be more closely linked with how well the drive was set up (shimmed) at the factory, rather than what oil was used.
But that still sounds like a deal.

From what I've read its about 4% of owners have had it and it seems random. I wish there was a certain model year range or vin #s so you could narrow it down.

[cehlbeck]

I have a 2002 K1200LT.

In a parking lot, at first, the motorcycle can be a handful until you get used to it. Once you get going that top heavy feeling goes away. Remember, this motorcycle has a dry clutch, don't ride the clutch. Keep the revs high and you and the motorcycle will be happy. For example, our first trip to Deal's Gap for us I had the bike in too high a gear and it was work. On the return trip through and kept the revs high and was in 2nd or 3rd the whole time and then it was FUN. If you've never ridden with servo assist brakes (and get one from the years that have them) be prepared to stop and stop QUICK. Regular maintenance goes a long way in forestalling any problems.

[RBEmerson]

The problem with "book" prices on bikes is that they don't allow you to account for mileage. What you are quoting is probably book price on a 50k+ mile example, not 11k. I just sold my mint Moto Guzzi LeMans with 3700 miles on it for $7500. Nada is $4350. I've bought and sold a ton of bikes and rarely is book price relevant unless you are trading in at a stealership.
What I do go by however is trends. I have been looking on Ebay and CL for sometime, and I think $6000-$6500 is the going price for something like this. The $5k bikes have the higher mileage and might be newer too, but theres no one out there that I can see selling low mileage bikes for $4-$5k.

The price quoted is for a '99 LT in the Portland, OR area.

Agreed prices vary with mileage. Also, a bike is worth exactly what the buyer is willing to pay. At one end of the spectrum there may be no sale and at the other end the seller may run to the bank before the ink on the check dries. All of that said, IMHO, $7750 is still wishful thinking.

[DarenB68]

The price quoted is for a '99 LT in the Portland, OR area.

Agreed prices vary with mileage. Also, a bike is worth exactly what the buyer is willing to pay. At one end of the spectrum there may be no sale and at the other end the seller may run to the bank before the ink on the check dries. All of that said, IMHO, $7750 is still wishful thinking.

Totally agree with you on $7750 being too high, just saying that $5k is too low.

[lkchris]

An LT-specific forum is http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/index.php