K1200LT Who actually replaces the shocks and springs on these bikes? Too Expensive

I remain reminded about the fellow who had a crapped out rear shock - no rebound damping - that tried to leave Alaska with a good friend of mine. The name shall not be mentioned. But after his rear shock stopped damping rebound he was tossed into the weeds and suffered a few broken bones. Boing boing boing. Not fun. If you choose to not keep your bike in good working order, go buy a Prius or Taurus or some safe thing.

saddleman said:

Back your preload adjuster out counter clockwise all the way with the LT on the centerstand. Turn it clockwise if you don't feel tension within 1/2 turn you need to fill the adjuster with hydraulic fluid. If you need to fill it PM me with a phone number & I'll talk you through it.

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Dave,

Did the OP ever make the effort to follow up with you?

98lee said:

Dave,

Did the OP ever make the effort to follow up with you?

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Never heard anything from the OP.

saddleman said:

Never heard anything from the OP.

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Didn't sound like he was really searching for answers. More like looking for support for deferring maintenance because of cost.

98lee said:

Didn't sound like he was really searching for answers. More like looking for support for deferring maintenance because of cost.

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See post #21

I didn't THINK he would find much approval for his method here.

mehrten said:

Rotti is our third K1200RS and hopefully with the right maintenance and available parts I'll keep her on the road for years to come...

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A client of mine who operates a general motorcycle service shop sees BMWs as essentially recyclable. "You just keep rebuilding them", he says, and also, that some other brands are just disposable

And welcome, Nate Harris.

exactly what I thought

mikegalbicka said:

What a helpful reply. And from a moderator to boot. No wonder people leave.

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I have four bikes and I do all the basic maintenance on them. Oil changes, tire changes, brake redo, battery replacing, learned how to sync carbs, change final drive oil, replaced brake lines, replaced shift linkage, etc and instead of a haughty reply I thought there might be some alternative shock out there or a fix. But instead I get a guy who tells me I should sell my bikes.

The 1200 is a great bike and if it made any sense at all I would replace the shocks. I don't see why a BMW shock that handles 800 lbs should be any more expensive than a car shock that handles twice that.

I thought it was an arrogant reply.

Paul

I didn't get any notification of any replies

saddleman said:

Never heard anything from the OP.

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I did not get any notification of replies. But now i can see there were a lot of them. Still there were no revelations. And the answer for me after now reviewing them is that its cheaper to sell it for 2000 and look around for one that has recently replaced shocks and the owner tipped over and could not get it back up ... which is why 90 percent of the ones I see get sold.

I was hoping someone just put a high end auto shock and some new brackets or had tried something unusual, in which case I would buy a car shock and install it and I am sure it would be better.



Paul

thank you I tried that

saddleman said:

Back your preload adjuster out counter clockwise all the way with the LT on the centerstand. Turn it clockwise if you don't feel tension within 1/2 turn you need to fill the adjuster with hydraulic fluid. If you need to fill it PM me with a phone number & I'll talk you through it.

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Thank you for the help

I have done that and it makes the general ride fine... I guess I don't know what I am missing since it only bottoms out when I hit a pothole or dip hard. Its a passable heavy ride. Down the freeway its still good. So why don't I replace them, because its a lot of work, a lot of expense and it doesn't pencil when I have three bikes that I can ride if I want a better bumpy ride.

I haven't seen any alternatives to 1500.00 to replace the shocks if I paid to have it done. I don't own a motorcycle lift or have a place to store it so anything requiring the LT to be off the ground is a difficult endeavor. I am having more trouble each year just getting it on the center stand,

Paul

K1200LT Shocks

mslacool said:

Thank you for the help

I have done that and it makes the general ride fine... I guess I don't know what I am missing since it only bottoms out when I hit a pothole or dip hard. Its a passable heavy ride. Down the freeway its still good. So why don't I replace them, because its a lot of work, a lot of expense and it doesn't pencil when I have three bikes that I can ride if I want a better bumpy ride.

I haven't seen any alternatives to 1500.00 to replace the shocks if I paid to have it done. I don't own a motorcycle lift or have a place to store it so anything requiring the LT to be off the ground is a difficult endeavor. I am having more trouble each year just getting it on the center stand,

Paul

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Paul,

I'm going to throw some thoughts into this discussion:

The LT's, as mentioned above, have fallen out of favor. Probably because of the difficulty to get to "stuff" to do maintenance. PLUS they are heavy machines. Below 4-5 mph they can be a "bear" for an inexperienced rider. Removing the plastic panels, while easy if you have done it a few times, can be intimidating the first time. THEN when you get to things, it still requires some mechanical skill to check valves, etc.. They ARE a complicated "mouse trap" to work on.

The "old" LT's are still one of the best long distance, comfortable, touring machines out there (my opinion). HOWEVER, they are NOT for everyone!!! Given the things you mentioned, such as not having a place (or possibly the inclination) to work on yours. Perhaps your best solution IS to sell it and enjoy one of your other machines.

If putting a $1000 shock on a $2000 bike does not make sense, I can't see how buying a $20,000 bike to avoid the expense does. I think I could double the "value" of my K1100RS by filling it with gas. But, I love the bike and just got her a new over-priced rear shock. Now, even though it makes even less "economic sense", I love it even more.

mslacool said:

I did not get any notification of replies.

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You do not get notifications of replies unless you subscribe to the thread.

In June of this year a friend asked if I wanted his '95 K1100RS.
I asked him, how much?
He said he wanted to give it to me.(the bike)
My immediate reply was NO! (I'm trying figure out how to get rid of a bike or three)

He went on vacation...
For 2 WEEKS!

I got the bike!
It is a well cared for bike with 64,000 miles.
I replaced the original stock shock with a YSS purchased from Beemershop for about $400.00 and have since put 5,000 trouble free miles on it.
The shock works fine, but just as when I replaced shocks on an other bike that I wound up keeping, I'm thinking I should've sprung for a Wilbers or Ohlins shock.



This Kbike is worth keeping.

I have 2 Airheads that each would sell at more than twice the price I might get for a better bike, the K.

The first 2 cars I owned (mid '70's) were VW's, a '55 bug and a '64 bus. See what their value is now!

If traveling long distance my first pick would be the Kbike, the Airheads are well sorted and would be my second and third choices.
You would have to pay me big bucks to drive the VWs farther than a local burger joint.

Bottom line is, suspension takes the beating, and good bits are expensive. If the bike is in good shape, crappy suspension will chew tires up and makes riding it a misery instead of a joy.

Bill

mikegalbicka said:

What a helpful reply. And from a moderator to boot. No wonder people leave.

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Mike, 98lee has a record of being a tremendous help to countless folks in this forum, including myself on multiple occasions. I can assure you that if there were a less expensive alternative to make the repair he would have offered that advice. It sounded to me like there wasn't a less expensive path and he said so. Time will tell if that path becomes available. This forum and 98lee's FREE repair advice providing detailed diagnostic steps, parts accessibility info, and general friendly help is one of the main reasons I am a BMW ON member.

IMHO giving frank advice should be no reason for folks to leave this forum.

Ride safe!

I don't understand shocks much now but I tried. The Bike has a passable ride.

pjar said:

Mike, 98lee has a record of being a tremendous help to countless folks in this forum, including myself on multiple occasions. I can assure you that if there were a less expensive alternative to make the repair he would have offered that advice. It sounded to me like there wasn't a less expensive path and he said so. Time will tell if that path becomes available. This forum and 98lee's FREE repair advice providing detailed diagnostic steps, parts accessibility info, and general friendly help is one of the main reasons I am a BMW ON member.

IMHO giving frank advice should be no reason for folks to leave this forum.

Ride safe!

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The problem with the answer was in his assumption that I wasn't looking for help or alternatives. My question was such that I wondered if other less than mechanical riders had come up with alternatives. One of the answers was a big help, such as looking for a bike that already had them replaced. I had hoped that someone had replaced with shocks or springs from another bike ( such as harleys which are of a similar weight) or was very mechanical and had come up with some other alternatives. The bikes ride is acceptable for what I use it for... the occasional trip where I can leave it at the end of the trip and come back and pick it up or carry on my journey. Its not an unreliable bike but on the other hand there comes a time that its value to other owners as a parts source contributes to the value of the herd. it has developed the dreaded main seal leak and my decision was to ride it into the ground and keep putting oil in it. Two years later it still dripping oil here and there and 10,000 trouble free miles later it still rides well on the freeway but not so well in anything bumpy. My decision is to ride it into the ground and then part it out or buy another one, with already changed out shocks in the same color and use this one for parts.

Im not unwilling to invest in time or money for my bikes but there comes a time when the expense really doesn't justify the investment and enjoyment, such as when you sell a boat ....

But there are always innovative answers to old questions like the guys who put car tires on their 1600s to combat poor tire mileage. Or old used takeoffs on an old truck they only drive to the dump and back but they do need a truck for the dump and back.

I bought a 1600 and frankly hated it. Not because of maintenance but because it was not particularly comfortable and I hated the sound. The technology and power were awesome but 20 years after mine was built, the BMW engineers had figured out a way to make a really expensive bike with a horrible sound system that doesn't keep up with the old LT. The overall geometry of the bike just didn't sit well ( pun intended ) with me. But the answer still isn't paying 1000 a shock for Ohlins and spending umpteen hours installing them for a ride I can't envision, on a leaking main seal bike with 78k. The answer for me is to look to it as a future parts source for me or others when it finally gives out or some unique opportunity comes around to pick up some quality aftermarket springs or shocks for a price relative to the return. For the most part, my two GS bikes provide more enjoyment for the bulk of the riding I do, which involves bumps and off road tours.

Thank you for the varied opinions. They helped. For me the answer is to keep it and drive the wheels off it when I decide to use it. I loan it to people who might want to ride around the area its in. And if someone is selling a set of Ohlins from a bike they wrecked and want to pass it on.. I might find the right opportunity... but for me now putting money into my GS is a better return on my ability to invest. Just as selling my damn boat was the best choice for a similar marine question.

Due to Covid, I am revisiting a lot of things I might not have put time into before. And I thought a follow up on what i did would be a relevant comment to other old owners. In the two years since I have kept track of LT sales informally and what I have found is that other owners are in a real similar situation. Almost every seller ends up keeping the bike because it wont sell for what he thinks its worth. But they are all familar with what it will sell for if they need it out of the garage... which varies from 1000 to 2500 but which is certainly half to one quarter of what they feel its worth. My bike has lots of good parts that other owners will want to snap up and when I end up selling it or the parts I will sell them for a minor price to keep the other guys riding or just give them away for the same reason. I get more value from that idea than from putting 2000 bucks into a bike I ride occasionally and which has other values, despite its lackluster performance in potholes.

I think that custom seats being sold used presents a similar issue but worse. Why anyone would buy a custom seat used for a bunch of money is beyond me. Seats are so personal and I can't imagine buying someone elses uncomfortable custom seat. In a way, the original seat is someones idea of comfortable... If the seat was local and the owner let you swap it out for a trip that would be a great way to buy one. At least with a shock, it isn't so much guesswork if you have an expert put it together. I think the idea of an adjustable shock is a great one and were I to spend the money, I would think that the adjustable shock makes the most sense...

Thanks and be safe