Share your purchasing experiences

I picked up my new R1250RT yesterday. I had a good time at the dealership. Met the parts folks who ordered a new jacket for me which I did not have to buy if I did not want it. I bought it and they discounted it as part of a new bike purchase to be significantly less than the cheapest price I could find online.

I found out the front calipers and a fork tube were changed out on my bike prior to my taking delivery so I have new front calipers and everything that had fluid on it was replaced. I was told that was per BMW. The briefing regarding the new bike was excellent and I left it in front of the dealership till I took the trailer and truck home that I used to drop off my non-running trade in.

Some interesting things on the trip home. The bike handles very well. The road feedback and precise control are great. 400,000 plus miles of muscle memory on the way home with a different control layout had me activating lots of odd things in the dark. The grips are tiny I will definitely need to get some of those grip covers to make them larger in diameter. I managed to switch the language to German at some point and will switch it back later today. At this point I will be training my hands and feet to adapt to the new controls and that should oddly enough take me through the break-in period. I also have large wide feet. The foot controls will take some getting used to, although my feet seem to catching on quicker than my hands. I think it has to do with fewer choices.

The power band on this bike and the gearing is greatly different than the Goldwing I used to ride. The wing had around 120 foot pounds at idle and then hit 125 a little further on. The torque would allow 25mph in top gear and then a roll to what ever crazy speed you wanted that would shock people.

The RT has a power band that is higher in the rpm range and taller first gear and what seems like lower top gear or at least it seems the engine is spinning a bit faster at highway speeds. The RT seems to need a bit more shifting to move it about comfortably but it responds very well. The stock exhaust sounds nice with out being too loud.

I will give the dealer two thumbs up based on my visits to purchase, purchasing, and delivery of the bike. I have had one dealer as good, but none better.

The dealer European Cycle Sports LTD Plano TX 75074

The bike to this point I am very pleased with but will do somethings to make it fit me a bit better like the grips and then I will train my big ol paws so they don't change so many things with out trying. I believe I will enjoy this bike a great deal as it seems to take care of the things I wanted to change on the Goldwings.

This might be a place to share your experiences both good and bad regarding what you bought and how you feel about it.

Fog - Good to see positive reviews about dealers. Many people are quick to criticize, but forget to praise. I'm sure you'll enjoy the RT, and the new riding position. I agree about the size of the grips, and there are a couple of versions of Grip-Puppies or Grip-Buddies around which will insure you get the right size. The things don't inhibit the BMW grip heaters a bit.

There's some great BMW MOA folks down there in your area, one of whom is my very gregarious friend Miquel "Mike" Valentin. The MOA locals do a lot of riding, and you know that huge contingent will be heading up to Montana in June (maybe with you among them?).

Welcome of the BMW MOA Forums, and have a great time with the new wheels!

ExGMan said:

Fog - Good to see positive reviews about dealers. Many people are quick to criticize, but forget to praise. I'm sure you'll enjoy the RT, and the new riding position. I agree about the size of the grips, and there are a couple of versions of Grip-Puppies or Grip-Buddies around which will insure you get the right size. The things don't inhibit the BMW grip heaters a bit.

There's some great BMW MOA folks down there in your area, one of whom is my very gregarious friend Miquel "Mike" Valentin. The MOA locals do a lot of riding, and you know that huge contingent will be heading up to Montana in June (maybe with you among them?).

Welcome of the BMW MOA Forums, and have a great time with the new wheels!

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Grab-On is the brand in the US. ~$13 on Amazon.

Grab-On may be wonderful, but there is a vendor who shows up at every BMW Rally and seems like a fine person with a developed product:

See: http://www.originalbeemerbuddies.com

Congrats on the new Shift Cam, fog820. You will enjoy it. I have had mine exactly one year. No issues. Dealer in Buford, GA was great to work with.

I wonder why they changed out the front calipers and a fork tube. I have heard there was some leaking issues associated with some 1250 calipers. I have Brembo on the rear and BMW on the front. Did the dealer install BMW or Brembo calipers up front? Asking for a friend.


Cheers,
William

ExGMan said:

Grip-On may be wonderful, but there is a vendor who shows up at every BMW Rally and seems like a fine person with a developed product:

See: http://www.originalbeemerbuddies.com

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https://grabongrips.com/

American company supplying numerous markets since 1973. You pick.

WWeldin said:

Congrats on the new Shift Cam, fog820. You will enjoy it. I have had mine exactly one year. No issues. Dealer in Buford, GA was great to work with.

I wonder why they changed out the front calipers and a fork tube. I have heard there was some leaking issues associated with some 1250 calipers. I have Brembo on the rear and BMW on the front. Did the dealer install BMW or Brembo calipers up front? Asking for a friend.


Cheers,
William

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William,

I asked about the issue with the brakes and the soft cams. There was some leaking from the calipers. they repaired the issue so who ever bought the bike would not have to deal with it. The fork tube had fluid leak onto it. The new calipers are BMW brand. So far the brakes are good and it stops quickly and has good feel to them. This is my fourth bike with linked brakes and my second with anti-locks.

Good stuff. Thanks.

This is a testimonial about more than a dozen bike purchases. In 1983 we moved from Iowa to Kansas, bringing with us among other things a '73 R60/5. Once settled in I did some work to refresh the /5. It needed new steering head bearings so I ordered a set from National Cycle. I took things apart and things went well until I couldn't get the bottom bearing off the steering stem. I tried several methods but couldn't get the bearing to budge. I was afraid of breaking things, especially the aluminum lower triple clamp.

We lived in Topeka. I identified a BMW dealership in Kansas City so one Saturday morning I drove the 68 miles to the dealership, Engle Motors. I walked in with the steering stem in hand. Almost immediately I was met by a gentleman who asked if he could help me. I explained the problem and he took the steering stem and went downstairs to the shop. Within two minutes he was back with steering stem in one hand and the old bearing in the other. He asked if I needed new bearings and I somewhat sheepishly said I already had some. He said OK. I asked how much I owed and he said nothing, zero, nothing. That was the day I met my friend and mentor Norman Jones, the principal owner and manager at Engle Motors.

For additional background Norman was an airline mechanic for TWA at their KC overhaul base when Mr. Engle hired him away because of his skills and enthusiasm for motorcycles. Soon the dealership was called Engle and Jones, but when Norman became the principal owner the name Engle Motors was adopted. When I met Norman his son Mike was in charge of parts, and his grandson Adam was but a kid. By now Norman has passed away in his 80s, Mike is the principal owner and General Manager and Adam is in charge of parts. Mike's wife Debra runs the office. Mike and Debbie are approaching retirement time and soon Adam will be the General Manager. All three generations became our good friends.

We now live south of Alpine, Texas near Big Bend National Park, 1,000 miles away from Engle Motors and they are still "our dealer." On many occasions when I was bumfuzzled (tech term) about some maintenance or repair issue a phone call to Engles got/gets me the help I needed. Norman once loaned me several factory tools for the weekend to do some work. Over the years I have bought countless parts, tires, and accessories. We have purchased seven new and six used motorcycles from Engle Motors, including the two G310GS bikes we bought in 2018, 12 years after we moved 1,000 miles away. Every transaction was fair and with zero hassles. On one occasion they stepped up and replaced a rear engine main seal on a well used R90/6 I bought, just because it leaked, no warranty needed. That was just the second of 13 bikes we bought from them.

There are other good dealers out there. We have patronized several while travelling a combined 2,000,000 miles over the years. What is most important is to find one sufficiently convenient to your location (which may be many miles away) and to then establish a good first name basis with the folks at the dealership. It might cost a few bucks more for some parts or tires or stuff, but note and remember that those internet guys and Walmart and Amazon won't help you out when you need it.

So nice to have a dealer you can count on.
I frequently suggest that threads that outline a great relationship with a dealer be forward to the dealer.
Everyone needs a little good news in their life.
om

Omega Man said:

So nice to have a dealer you can count on.
I frequently suggest that threads that outline a great relationship with a dealer be forward to the dealer.
Everyone needs a little good news in their life.
om

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An excellent idea. In the instant case they know exactly how I feel, as they asked for material for Norman's memorial service, and they got it, maybe in excess.

+1 for Engle Motors in KC. Although I do not have nearly the longevity with them that Paul and Voni do, every single one of my dealings (bike purchase, gear purchases, service, parts) has been exactly as Paul described. Engle Motors and the whole crew are great folks to get to know, and to do business with.

gman and 3664

Thanks for the info on the solution for the grips, I will be looking into that asap. Right now I feel like I am trying to hold onto a couple of pencils. Just got home from work and I will be going to sleep real soon, fog in the area that was very thick and greatly reduced visibility. Lights on the bike are good, but not much of anything works well in fog that thick. I am getting to appreciate this motorcycle more as time goes by.

I am also enjoying the folks on this website as well.

ExGMan said:

Grab-On may be wonderful, but there is a vendor who shows up at every BMW Rally and seems like a fine person with a developed product:

See: http://www.originalbeemerbuddies.com

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+1 Original Beemer Buddies! When I got my Wethead I too didn't like the skinny grips, the original beemer buddies fixed that and have lasted many miles. Brought them at the Billing rally.

fog820 said:

Thanks for the info on the solution for the grips, I will be looking into that asap. Right now I feel like I am trying to hold onto a couple of pencils. Just got home from work and I will be going to sleep real soon, fog in the area that was very thick and greatly reduced visibility. Lights on the bike are good, but not much of anything works well in fog that thick. I am getting to appreciate this motorcycle more as time goes by.

I am also enjoying the folks on this website as well.

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I understand your preference for the larger grip diameter. My 86 K75c was sold new with a set of foam grips. They were fantastic and the rubber grips on my subsequent BMW's were soon "covered" with these

https://smile.amazon.com/Grab-Grip-...qid=1580132989&sprefix=grab+on,aps,190&sr=8-3

But, then again, I wear a 2X or 3X MC glove ( perhaps an XL in hardware store gloves ) which may make me a freakish giant. However, relative to my construction working and logging relatives my hands seem slight and wimpy. I have no clue where guys like my relatives would go to get MC gloves, but I understand the appeal of those big grips on Goldwings and Cruisers.

royce said:

+1 for Engle Motors in KC. .

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+2
One time Debbie and I were headed to the Falling Leaf rally when my fairly new K1200RS died. We were about 140 mile from the shop. I called Mike and after we could not figure out the problem on the phone I called road side assistance.
A little while later Mike called me back and told me to cancel the tow and they would pick up my bike and give me another bike to ride to the rally. They fixed the bike over the weekend and Mike had us stop at his house on Sunday to swap bikes.
Another time we stopped at the shop on the first day of a trip to have a warranty repair on both bikes. I think it was the timing chain leak on the K1200RS. They said it would be better to let the sealant cure over night before we continued our trip. Norman gave us his personal pickup so we could get a motel and return in the morning.
One bike we traded in had a problem shortly after they took it in on trade. I told Norman I felt bad they ended up with a repair they did not count on. Norman just smiled and said Don't worry about it some people just know when to trade

36654 said:

I understand your preference for the larger grip diameter. My 86 K75c was sold new with a set of foam grips. They were fantastic and the rubber grips on my subsequent BMW's were soon "covered" with these

https://smile.amazon.com/Grab-Grip-...qid=1580132989&sprefix=grab+on,aps,190&sr=8-3

But, then again, I wear a 2X or 3X MC glove ( perhaps an XL in hardware store gloves ) which may make me a freakish giant. However, relative to my construction working and logging relatives my hands seem slight and wimpy. I have no clue where guys like my relatives would go to get MC gloves, but I understand the appeal of those big grips on Goldwings and Cruisers.

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I am a 2x in the glove size for work gloves as well, the MC store I bought my RT from stocks up to 4xl, I'm going back soon. My big feet also make things challenging, I can just barely get my heel into the sidestand with out catching the shifter I am getting better at it.

Nice thing is for all those folks with small hands and feet they can operate the bike and for those of us with full size appendages we can make them fit.

fog820 said:

I am a 2x in the glove size for work gloves as well, the MC store I bought my RT from stocks up to 4xl, I'm going back soon. My big feet also make things challenging, I can just barely get my heel into the sidestand with out catching the shifter I am getting better at it.

Nice thing is for all those folks with small hands and feet they can operate the bike and for those of us with full size appendages we can make them fit.

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Something that may help with the transition...... Ride with the ball of your foot sitting on the peg. Not the instep. This will position your toe further aft.

In conjunction with an all-leather Merrell Moab hiking or the similar Merrell Moab Performax work boot, I have adequate space with my size 11W hooves.

more good news from the dealer

I went back to the dealer to get some gloves and go over some problems with the bike. Minor problems, one of the elastic straps failed on the left hand saddle bag. Found out on the spot they will order the part and warranty it. The other one failed later in the day after leaving the dealer. I suspect I just got a couple of bad ones. I also checked to see if I could drop it off on next Friday and pick it up on the following Saturday as I use this as my primary transport. Was told no problem they had some time slots open on the weekend. Then they went a bit further and said it only takes a couple of hours to do the work would I like to wait for it and I could leave with it the same day? Friday morning it is.

The sale was made previously, this is what I consider great follow up with regards to service.

They also had a brand of grip buddies that they slipped on the bike for me. Thank goodness for 3x gloves in stock. Expensive, but gortex lined and insulated. Once they break in they should be fine right now a bit stiff and a tiny bit snug. Klien products seem to be rather well made.

This dealer has been around for a while and owned by the same folks. With activities like this I get the feeling they plan on staying around. I consider the products to be expensive, however they seem to be high quality and durable. I do not expect the service to be cheap, but it looks like it will be fast and done right, you generally only get to have two of the three anyway and that is the two I would prefer.

Another good job by the dealer, previously sales, this time parts and service, I think I am going to be their customer for a long time if they keep this type of response up.

European Cycle Sports LTD Plano TX

They sell BMW, Ducati, Triumph, and Ural and I suspect they work on others as well.

On Friday I bought a beautiful R1200R from what I refer to as the Mothership - Max BMW in North Hampton, NH. I could tell a lot of stories about how great Max is; John in sales, Mike in parts, Jeremy in service have all bent over backwards to help in every instance I needed it. Among many great things is that Max speaks fluent airhead; for example, the final drive gear job on my /5, or the great fork upgrade recommendation. And the full machine shop with folks who know what they are doing. And then there's the parts availability...

Probably the best illustration goes back some years when I was first thinking about buying a BMW. My wife and I dropped by on a Labor Day weekend to see what these BMW bikes were all about, only to find the store closed (I found out later that Max closes Memorial and Labor day weekends to give their employees a well deserved break). We looked through the windows at the bikes and resigned ourselves to coming back the next weekend. As we were walking back to the car, a voice said "Can I help you?" We explained that we wanted to look at bikes, and were told "Well, we're closed, but you're welcome to come on in and look around." Turns out it was Rusty, master of all airhead parts. We immediately decided we liked the place, and we've been glad we did ever since. I've bought five bikes at Max (one was for my son) and am very fortunate to live nearby.