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Down the Rabbit hole on a 1998 K1200RS

Not sure if I am posting this for the question or sympathy. Took 98 K 1200RS in for 36K and tires. Fairly big service as you know. Shop called to say after the service they found a radiator leak- $400 part - well go ahead, then called with intermediate seal leak- guess not a surprise but--now up to $4K on a $2500 bike. Next call was notchy bearings and other seals--into it now...go ahead. Last call was timing cover gasket- $600 labor. Now I have $6K into a $2500 bike. I don't think they did the timing cover gasket yet- just saw the oil on Friday. Tempted to stop the bleeding and skip it--I can buy a lot of oil for $600....but seems that we are deep into it and the bike is all apart....I am 70 years old- not likely to ride the value out of it.
Thoughts?
 
Welcome to the forum.
I had the timing chain cover leak fixed on warranty.
Most of the timing chain cover leaks I have seen were mirror and they would not be a big deal to just clean off from time to time.
The rear seal has to be fixed because it can ruin the clutch. Hopefully your clutch is still ok.
If I was you I would stop answering the phone:)

One of the moderators will probably move your post to the Flying Brick section.
 
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K1200RS rabbit hole

Thanks, Lee. clutch was ok In for a penny....will have them finish it off and take it for enough long rides to get my money out of it....I now have a restored K1200RS....God knows I spent as much money in 80's dollars on airheads....
 
If you love the bike, and have the bucks, fix it and keep riding. Just don't let the wife see the totals.:)

You probably don't need me telling you, but a smarter move would have been, when the first big estimate came in, to look at your options. Good low-mile K12RSs can be had for under $3000 now. K1200GTs, too. Of course given their age, there is no guarantee that their rear main seals won't be going out on you in short order, unless they've recently been replaced.

Another option is to find a good, non-dealership mechanic who can do things like replace those seals for less than the umpteen grand that the dealers get.
 
Thanks Jeff. I will pick up my”restored” K1200RS tomorrow and ride like the best $6k bike anyone ever bought! What the heck, enjoy it. I could have traded it on one with its own problems
 
I think that the cost of having these bikes service is bringing down the resale value of the bikes. The last two bike I pick up where for this reason. Both people got sticker shock when they saw what it was going to cost. Both bike had no miles to speak of, and they where always run just no long trips. They both look like new, well taking of not left out in the weather. One just 20 and the other 19
 
I sold my 2000 KRS with 130k.
It was my best bike.
I’m older 71 and it was time.
Received $1900 for it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ned, the OP, lives in my larger neighborhood and we met up for lunch after he got his bike back.

It looks real good, sounds real good and should give him many more years before any major work might be required.

Most importantly, he is happy with his "restored" bike and that's what really counts.

As a side note, I did the same thing on our 2002 K1200RS, the only difference being I did the work rather than have it done at a shop.

Even so, I put two or three times $$$ into the bike than what it's worth...and she makes me smile every time we ride her!
 
That's a lot of money to put into a bike that will never sell for anything close to that. You certainly have my sympathy. For what it's worth, you could look at it from another angle. If you had gotten"airhead fever" and paid $4,000 for a forty year old bike, you would still need to put about $3000 in parts onto it. For that $7,000 you would have nice looking, but antiquated machine that wouldn't begin to compare to your K bike in brakes, power, comfort, suspension, etc. And from my experience, those numbers are not exaggerations.
 
That's a lot of money to put into a bike that will never sell for anything close to that. You certainly have my sympathy. For what it's worth, you could look at it from another angle. If you had gotten"airhead fever" and paid $4,000 for a forty year old bike, you would still need to put about $3000 in parts onto it. For that $7,000 you would have nice looking, but antiquated machine that wouldn't begin to compare to your K bike in brakes, power, comfort, suspension, etc. And from my experience, those numbers are not exaggerations.
Ain't that the truth, the price of an airhead. Ridiculous, but the're still my favorite motorcycle. But I've wised up with age and knowing at a minimum you'll be doing a top end reseal and a RMS almost certainly, I won't pay too much for one. You need to really buy right when it comes to airheads.
 
Join the Club

How to turn a low mile $4,000 K1200gt circa 2005 into a $10,000 bike worth $4,000?

Simple really. Buy summer ridden GT stored in a Park City UT summer home. Ship it to Tucson. Full service, tires, brakes, clutch, new ABS Pump (ouch), a 1/2 mile of superfluous wiring removal, a Russell Day Long, Garmin GPS, Valentine One, a pair of Clearwater lights, new windscreen, and a tank bag, and bingo, $6,000 later and it still worth maybe $4,000. My 20th BMW. Nothing like the sound of a brick with a Remus at speed......:)
 
The value is in the joy of riding the bike after the bucks are spent. You enjoy the ride. You get to the biker hangout and someone comes up and admires your bike, their amazed it's 20-30 years old. Someone comes up and explains that they had the same model back in the day and regretted selling it. You just nod your head and smile.
Payoff does'nt always have a cash value. :)
 
You can't sweat the money, if you do you wouldn't be riding.

Go buy a new $20,000 motorcycle, ride it for 5 years, put on a crap load of miles, sell it, add in the cost of operation, how much money did you just spend? Old or new, they will cost some cash to play.

My previous motorcycle I paid $24K rode it for seven years sold it for $9K and was happy to get it as it had lived a hard life.
 
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That must have been a Canada bike. Is it silver?

I think there were some late-production bikes that slipped into the US when production ceased and BMW was clearing the warehouse, and might have been titled as ‘05 models. The ones I saw were around February of ‘05 were Piedmont Red and very sharp. If I found a low-mileage example I’d probably be writing a check...

Best,
DeVern
 
I have a small accumulation of BMW bikes. My bikes arn't the super high value unobtainium models. Two of them kinda fit this discussion an '87 K100 and a '94 R1100RS. Both carried me 1,000's of miles on great rides; really adventures. At one time they were pretty much the latest/greatest. Now they're pretty much valueless on the used bike market. Each bike has about 50,000 miles on the od.I plan to put a little more money into them and keep riding them to new adventures.
 
I'm 71 years old. The new bikes don't exactly trip my trigger. As per spousal instruction, I have reduced my fleet down to the two neatest BMWs I've ever owned. I have a K75C and an R80ST. I do my own maintenance to save money. I figure that these two will last me for the rest of my riding days.
I guess the bottom line is that if you enjoy what you have then sit back and enjoy. We aren't getting any younger.
 
The K12RS was an amazing bike for its time and I think it has aged pretty well other than being heavy. It's rock-solid, electric smooth, and fast. Eats front tires like crazy when ridden hard.

But, the crank O-ring will leak and it will need other things. If you like the bike better than the current offerings, it's not money wasted to make that one great. And don't think of it as an expensive $2500 bike unless you can buy one with a new crank O-ring, new radiator and all of that for $2500 somewhere.
 
A friend has a K1200 RS and I got to ride in on a high speed twisty road for 100 miles last summer.
That is a awesome machine, it had new Michelin's on it, so powerful and likes to corner like crazy.
If you could find a serviced one for 2-3k in garaged, clean shape, that would be a nice ride.
Older used M/C 's can be soo cheap.
I use the be patient, but keep looking and let them come to me method to buy.
I'm a cheap bastard and that method has worked for me my whole life.
When a smokin deal comes available, be ready to jump.
 
It's about value to you, not cost.

The only time I consider the market value of a vehicle relevant to a repair decision is if I intend to sell it immediately. I think otherwise it's a false comparison. Right now you can find certain coveted Airheads selling for more than a good example of a K1200RS. That is totally crazy to me based on what I want in a motorcycle. It's like paying more for a Cessna than an F-18. :scratch But, it's just a reflection of the emotional (irrational) aspect of market demand. And, in my case this kind of situation let's me buy the bike(s) I love at stupid cheap prices.

So, when the time comes I have to decide to repair or dispose of a vehicle I love I think about what I could get as a replacment for the sum of the repair cost and the value of the machine that I would like as well or better, and that would in as good or better condition (and not having unknown problems of it's own). Or do I really want to go for something new or at least much newer?

I bought my black 2003 K1200RS new, and it only has about 65,000 miles on it. I've done the rear main seal/O-ring but nothing else so far, but I would put a lot of money into that bike because there is no other bike I've ever ridden that does half as well what the K12 was designed to do. It fits my riding style like it was made for me. It's a total keeper for me. So, if I had to put $3,000 or $4,000 into it, I would do that, or (given current market conditions) buy one like it for that money.

Not every bike or car or whatever is like that, so sometimes a big repair expense is just the excuse you were looking for to make a change. I think it's about what makes you happy, and that - for me anyway - is not correlated with the cost of a thing.
 
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