• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

  • Beginning April 1st, and running through April 30th, there is a new 2024 BMW MOA Election discussion area within The Club section of the forum. Within this forum area is also a sticky post that provides the ground rules for participating in the Election forum area. Also, the candidates statements are provided. Please read before joining the conversation, because the rules are very specific to maintain civility.

    The Election forum is here: Election Forum

New member wants to buy his first BMW

P

peacemaker

New member
I currently ride a 2014 Indian Vintage which I’m riding from California to Sturgis and plan an Alaskan vacation in 2020. I was looking at the 2019 R1250GSA for my trip and the local dealer is asking MSRP for the bike, so is that typical or should I try and negotiate. When I bought my Indian I paid retail as I’m not real good at dealing. And second question, are aftermarket panniers as good as the factory BMW marked ones?
Thank you
Joe
 
Great bike, I couldn't tell you anything about what you might do with negotiating but certainly there are many pannier options and some aftermarket are every bit as good or better than OEM. First you might want to determine if you want hard or soft luggage, there are pros and cons to both depending on where and what you're riding. I'm sure plenty more folks will chime in.
 
If you want a deal, and are willing to travel to get it, look at 2018 models as some dealers still have some new ones. Next, if you are used to a low seat height, look at a factory lowered model.

Good luck with your purchase! :)
 
Welcome to the MOA and the forum.
The R1250GSA was updated this year so I'm guessing most dealers will ask list price.
As mentioned above you should be able to get a good discount on a 2018.
 
If you're willing to ship a bike, you might reach out to these folks?

Luke Giovanetto - Cycle Werks - 847-381-8050
Greg North - BMW Motorcycles of Charlotte - 704-882-6106
Bob Honz - Gateway BMW Motorcycles - 314-427-9090
 
peacemaker said:
I currently ride a 2014 Indian Vintage which I’m riding from California to Sturgis and plan an Alaskan vacation in 2020. I was looking at the 2019 R1250GSA for my trip and the local dealer is asking MSRP for the bike, so is that typical or should I try and negotiate. When I bought my Indian I paid retail as I’m not real good at dealing. And second question, are aftermarket panniers as good as the factory BMW marked ones?
Thank you
Joe
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum!
This thread in the Clubhouse section may help- https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?94210-BMW-MOA-members-save-up-to-750-on-new-BMW-motorcycles
It has always been reported that the profit in current model motorcycles was pretty thin. Sometimes I agree to list price when some accessories are "thrown" in with the sale......even if I do the installation of the accessories.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
Gary
 
New guy

Thank you to everyone for being so helpful with my questions. Yesterday I went to the dealer and told them that I want to buy the bike from them at whatever price they feel is fair and I will be very disappointing with them if I find that I could have saved $1500 of $2000 by shopping around. I asked about riding a high version of the as I’m 6,2” and felt that might be a better bike for my Alaskan adventure. The bike was very spirited and seemed nimble by I simply hated the seating position. I felt like I was sliding forward all the time. I think it must be that I ride baggers and cruisers and this seemed totally odd. I’m going to call Russel or Corbin for ideas or talk with some other BMW guys that came from Harley’s to see what they did. I might even consider looking at a KTM .
Thanks again for your advice.
 
Peacemaker,

Others have given great advice. The seat height on the GSA can be adjusted so that the front of the seat sits a bit higher than the rear. Your dealer can show you how to make that simple adjustment, and of course the Owner's Manual shows it as well.

I wouldn't be so quick to change seats until you have some miles on the new bike. The seat will conform slightly to your body, but even more your body will adjust to the seat. I have tried a few aftermarket seats on my '18 GSA and always come back to the stock seat. Everyone is different though, so YMMV.

I had the Touratech Zega Pro aluminum panniers in 38L/31L and they are of great quality. I now run the OEM aluminum panniers and prefer the way the right side wraps around the exhaust - I just think it looks better. I also like that I can store a full-face helmet in the OEM left pannier. My 38L Touratech was a bit too small, although their larger pannier is likely large enough. With the Touratech's you will need to buy new racks as the OEM racks are not compatible so factor that into the cost as you compare.

Enjoy! You are purchasing a great bike that will serve you well!

IMG_0183 (2).jpg
 
allhisanyway said:
Peacemaker,

Others have given great advice. The seat height on the GSA can be adjusted so that the front of the seat sits a bit higher than the rear. Your dealer can show you how to make that simple adjustment, and of course the Owner's Manual shows it as well.

I wouldn't be so quick to change seats until you have some miles on the new bike. The seat will conform slightly to your body, but even more your body will adjust to the seat. I have tried a few aftermarket seats on my '18 GSA and always come back to the stock seat. Everyone is different though, so YMMV.

I had the Touratech Zega Pro aluminum panniers in 38L/31L and they are of great quality. I now run the OEM aluminum panniers and prefer the way the right side wraps around the exhaust - I just think it looks better. I also like that I can store a full-face helmet in the OEM left pannier. My 38L Touratech was a bit too small, although their larger pannier is likely large enough. With the Touratech's you will need to buy new racks as the OEM racks are not compatible so factor that into the cost as you compare.

Enjoy! You are purchasing a great bike that will serve you well!

View attachment 73802
Click to expand...
Thank you for the great advice, I think I’ll go ride the bike again. I was thinking that it must be comfortable as I see a ton of them on the toad.
 
It's a totally different riding position than a cruiser, I ride smaller and different dualsports and for me being comfortable is scooched forward on the seat with the balls of my feet on the pegs which are directly under me and I spend all day like that. I also run aftermarket custom seats but neither one came with a decent seat anyway. Definitely go for a second ride and have a look at the adjustments you can make in the saddle position.

KTM's are definitely a different animal, I have 2 and love them but have never ridden the 1290. Shopping around different brands may find something that fits you better but I haven't ridden that many of the big Adventure bikes. Triumph Tiger, Suzuki V-Strom, KTM 1290 etc etc.

But how many of the other brands have nice clubs like the MOA to join with a nice friendly forum to hang out in? Maybe you want to go to the MOA rally first to see if you like the crowd?:p
 
At a minimum, you should go to BMW Motorrad USA's website, and check current promotions to see if you qualify for any. If you do qualify, these discounts come right off the bottom line. These are not dealer incentives. They're offered directly by BMW USA, so it's not coming out of the dealer's pocket. When I bought my GSA in 2015, I got a $400 discount, after negotiating the best deal with the dealer, by being a member of the BMW Car Club of America. Go to the website (link below), and click on "Menu", then "Offers" . That said, I did not see the discount for being an MOA member. Are you a member of the MOA? If you plan to buy a 1250 GSA, you're not likely to get much in the way of a discount from the dealer, given the 1250 is so new. Ask them to throw in the first service (running-in check at about 600, or so, miles), and also ask for a discount of at least 10% on any accessories you buy within 60 days of bike purchase, for example on side/top cases etc.

https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/home.html#/filter-all
 
Last edited:
marcopolo said:
I see you have to have been an MOA member for at least a year.
Click to expand...
That's correct and the CCA is the same.
In 2016 when we bought our RSs we were able to join CCA a few days before the purchase and get the discount.
 
There were great incentives on the 2018's. Usually the big incentives come directly from corporate BMW. I have found their financial services to be very competitive and hey are very easy to work with. The dealers do not really have much to work with margin wise. I'd find someone you like and can build a relationship with, that will be more important in the long run than saving a grand.


Perhaps an easier approach would be negotiate nice discount (or free) on the accessories, they have a larger margin on those. If they sweeten the deal with a free $500 item "thrown in" the effective value for you is $500, but it might only cost them $350....you both win. They also may help with the initial service price.


Keep an eye open for BMW corporate financing deals, I just got 0% for five years with zero down on a leftover 2018. It is nice to use their money for 5 years.


In the past I have had incentives of free gear/accessories from corporate, great percentage rates, and even a case where they made the first three payments. (I tried to be crafty and finance for 12 months meaning they made 3 huge payments, but that time the minimum was 36 months)


Good luck,
 
glowplug said:
Thanks, I did read that but not clear if the discount is applied at purchase or after the fact.

Anyone have firsthand experience?
Click to expand...

You read this part, right? "MOA members interested in purchasing a new BMW motorcycle with the discount applied should visit their local BMW retailer for details."

Best to go to the source than to later have to say, "But the interwebs said....." :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Considering buying a 2006 K1200R, What do I need to know / watch out for?
Replies
1
Views
244
lee
lee
P
New Member from New Brunswick NJ
Replies
10
Views
1K
langoptc
langoptc
M
New Member, Old owner
Replies
9
Views
1K
langoptc
langoptc
redrhino
New Member, 1st BMW, Middle TN
Replies
4
Views
624
langoptc
langoptc
M
New Member in Decatur, GA
Replies
6
Views
1K
langoptc
langoptc
Back
Top