Ignorant Newbie Wants BMW Buying Advice

[rocinante]

Well.....maybe not entirely ignorant but I am a new member here and plan to buy a Boxer twin for the first time. The hundred-dollar question is: What to buy?

I probably want a bike that does not exist. Something stripped down and simple, but with convenient touring features. So I am pretty sure an RT is not for me. I began by looking at the R1xxxr, noticing that most folks have added some touring features to theirs (bags, windscreen, etc). This is thinkable. An '03 or '04 R1150r with these features can be found in the $3k-$4k range. Things like windscreens and bags can be removed for simplicity, or reinstalled for touring.

At the other end of the spectrum i am considering is a Wethead GS, which can be had for $10-$14K. Superior performance numbers, but greater complexity and it has something that makes me want to look away: A radiator. Every motorcycle I have ever ridden has been air-cooled.

So here is what I would like from you: Tell me what you prefer and why. Airheads, Oilheads, Hexheads, Camheads, Wetheads..... Tell me about ease of maintenance and reliability. Tell me what disasters to avoid, like damaged transmission input shaft splines (I have done some homework on this), brake servo failures, etc.

I'd love to hear your advice and recommendations.

 

[20774]

Welcome to the forum! Good luck on your search!

 

[Visian]

An '03 or '04 R1150r with these features can be found in the $3k-$4k range.

This is an exceptionally wise choice.

More than one highly-respected motojournalist has told me that the R1150s are the best bikes BMW ever built.

Almost all service you can do on your own, especially if you become proficient with the GS-911. There is a broad base of knowledge about these bikes available.

Avoid "whizzy" brakes (the brake servo issues you mention).

Also consider 2008-12 R1200 R bikes, the last of the oilheads. This sort of opens the discussion for R9T...

Since then, the R bikes become more complex and more expensive to own.

Ian

 

[rocinante]

Thanks, Kurt. I have admired these Boxer bikes since the R100RS of the seventies.

Thanks, Ian. Your advice is exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[cajunrider]

Keep in mind that the R1100, R1150, and a few R1200 models also have radiators. The oil is cooled in said radiators.
Some are hidden better than others (depending on model and year).

 

[chadhargis]

I have a 2013 1200R and I absolutely love it. I've had every kind of bike you can imagine and I think the R bike is my favorite. I'm tall, at 6'5", and I find that most faired bikes with big screens put my head in dirty air. But the naked bike with a little fly screen works great. I also like to do my own work on my bikes, and not having to remove fairings is a blessing.

 

[lee]

This is an exceptionally wise choice.

More than one highly-respected motojournalist has told me that the R1150s are the best bikes BMW ever built.

Almost all service you can do on your own, especially if you become proficient with the GS-911. There is a broad base of knowledge about these bikes available.

Avoid "whizzy" brakes (the brake servo issues you mention).

Also consider 2008-12 R1200 R bikes, the last of the oilheads. This sort of opens the discussion for R9T...

Since then, the R bikes become more complex and more expensive to own.

Ian

Doesn't the 03 or 04 R1150 have servo brakes? Like you said, skip ahead to the 2008 to 2013 R1200R.
Post #6 is a good example.

For me I would skip ahead to a R1200/1250R liquid cooled. Most of our bikes have been liquid cooled and never had a cooling system problem with any of them.

 

[tsconver]

1150s also had bad clutch spline issues. I think 2002 was the bad year but it is something to research.

 

[kbasa]

Well.....maybe not entirely ignorant but I am a new member here and plan to buy a Boxer twin for the first time. The hundred-dollar question is: What to buy?

I probably want a bike that does not exist. Something stripped down and simple, but with convenient touring features. So I am pretty sure an RT is not for me. I began by looking at the R1xxxr, noticing that most folks have added some touring features to theirs (bags, windscreen, etc). This is thinkable. An '03 or '04 R1150r with these features can be found in the $3k-$4k range. Things like windscreens and bags can be removed for simplicity, or reinstalled for touring.

At the other end of the spectrum i am considering is a Wethead GS, which can be had for $10-$14K. Superior performance numbers, but greater complexity and it has something that makes me want to look away: A radiator. Every motorcycle I have ever ridden has been air-cooled.

So here is what I would like from you: Tell me what you prefer and why. Airheads, Oilheads, Hexheads, Camheads, Wetheads..... Tell me about ease of maintenance and reliability. Tell me what disasters to avoid, like damaged transmission input shaft splines (I have done some homework on this), brake servo failures, etc.

I'd love to hear your advice and recommendations.

Pegs are tight on those, so you're going to want to put GS pegs on it.

The factory windshield is decent. That said, the later GS benefits from a whole host of safety improvements and enhancements, as well as a whole lot more motor.

In my garage right now are:
1967 R60/2
1984 R100CS
2005 R12RT
2019 R1250GS

I can maintain them all, though the GS is going to require some tools and new knowledge to do so, mostly for the valve adjustments and service resets. The others have screw and locknut valve adjustment, but on the /2 and R100, the adjustment interval is shorter than the RT.

WRT to water cooling, don't worry about it. Water cooling is no big deal as a guy that's been running a 1998 VFR800 and, until recently, a 1995 Ducati 916. If anything, water cooling means few concerns about heat, the bike is quieter and will make more power while making fewer emissions.

I love my old stuff, but my advice would be to buy the newest bike you can. "Character" is fun when you're close to home, but less entertaining when "character" makes an appearance in some remote locale.

Consider it like cars. Would you drive coast to coast in a car from 1984? Or would you pick something newer?

 

[Visian]

For me I would skip ahead to a R1200/1250R liquid cooled. Most of our bikes have been liquid cooled and never had a cooling system problem with any of them.

To me, LC engines sound like rock crushers compared to the last of the oilhead.

I am certainly not afraid of liquid cooling, my Honda's engine runs like a Swiss watch.

 

[rocinante]

... especially if you become proficient with the GS-911....

What is a GS-911?

Doesn't the 03 or 04 R1150 have servo brakes? ...

According to my research, they became standard in 2013. Previously, they were an option.

1150s also had bad clutch spline issues...

I've been looking into that. Frankly, I think it's shameful that BMW has not explained the cause of this. This is not beyond the capabilities of those German engineers. But I understand why why would not explain. If I get an 1150, or an early 1200 for that matter, I am likely to pull the transmission and have a look.

....I love my old stuff, but my advice would be to buy the newest bike you can. "Character" is fun when you're close to home, but less entertaining when "character" makes an appearance in some remote locale.

Consider it like cars. Would you drive coast to coast in a car from 1984? Or would you pick something newer?

I have a car made in 1978 that I would take to Cape Horn and back, but your point is well-taken.

Really appreciate all the excellent advice here. Thank you.

 

[Visian]

What is a GS-911?

It's a code scanner diagnostic tool for BMW motorcycles.

 

[lee]

According to my research, they became standard in 2013. Previously, they were an option.

.

I don't remember the exact years. Servo brakes were available in the 2002 to 2008 years.
Maybe you have ABS and Servo confused?


A GS911 is a code reader and can reset the service reminder on newer bikes. 2005 and newer?

 

[52184]

To me, LC engines sound like rock crushers compared to the last of the oilhead.

The quietest boxer I’ve owned was my ‘95 R1100RSL. Simple maintenance, plenty of power, great handling, ABS, etc.
Still miss that bike…

Compared to that bike, my ‘18 GSLC sounds like a Maytag washer. Dealer techs keep telling me the noise is normal…

Best,
DeVern

 

[rocinante]

I know what ABS is in principle, and I think servo is a sort of power-brake mechanism that is accomplished with a motor (as opposed to a vacuum diaphragm like in cars) but yes, I find them otherwise mysterious. And the servo things can go out and the repair can be expensive. I did see one 1150 that had factory ABS and not factory servo.

the comments about noisy modern bikes is interesting given that water cooling is supposed to make them quieter, not louder.

BMW sure changed designs quite a bit over the last twenty years. I guess I feel happy there is so much love for the 1100 through early 1200 bikes here. Simplicity is attractive to me.

 

[83014]

Until I bought my used 2013 R1200R eight years ago, all my BMW’s had been airheads. I find the 2013 camhead to be a great machine. For its power, it is light and it’s easy to maintain. I don’t plan to replace it anytime soon. that being said, my wife and I just enjoyed a tour of Ireland via celticrider.com on a new R1250GS. If I was buying now, I would give it serious consideration. It’s a great motorcycle but, I’m discouraged by BMW’s lack of support for owner servicing on their new bikes. I have some saddle time on the 850GS on a rawhyde tour and found the 1200GS to be a better ride even with the extra weight.

Doug

 

[jammess]

I once owned a 2004 R1150RT and I sold it in 2016 when I bought my 2010 FJR1300A which I would do again in a minute. I also have a 1993 R1100RSL which in my opinion is the best BMW I've ever owned and I put the first mile on it in 2012 when I found it. It was part of a collection of BMW bikes and several in the collection were never ridden or even started since they left the Berlin factory. Yup, the first thing I had to do was replace the fuel filter and the fuel pump as the tank still had the original gas that was put in at the factory in 1993 for final dyno testing before shipment. That was some nasty gasoline that had turned completely to varnish. The transmission input shaft splines did not fully engage the clutch hub on the 1150 like they do on my 1100 and I suspect final drive main bearing shims were not correctly selected. Also, I never could completely compensate for lean running with the 1150 but on my 1100 all I had to do was cut a jumper on the computer connector and she ran to perfection. Later models used a code plug rather than a jumper which made things a bit easier. Nope, I would not own another 1150 but the 1100 is a different story. Come to think of it my 1100 is the last BMW I'll ever own and not just because of my age. The new high tech wonders of today just leave me cold...REAL cold! I can see why BMW won't sell you a factory service manual for one of the new bikes because what good would it do anyone because of the so-called advanced technology. GRRRRRR.....

 

[pglaves]

I consider the Oilhead R1100 and R1150 bikes to be among the very best BMW ever built. I had an R1150R I put 189,000 miles on before I sold it. But, when I rode a friends R1200 R I wished I had waited and got the R1200 instead of the R1150. Live and learn.

 

[rocinante]

.... I had an R1150R I put 189,000 miles on before I sold it. But, when I rode a friends R1200 R I wished I had waited and got the R1200 instead of the R1150. Live and learn.

Was this one of the early 1200 bikes, with the tappet valve adjustments, before 2010?

 

[oldcamper]

Any of these bikes can be the best you’ve ever owned, or the worst. Input splines, driveshafts, abs modules, cams and followers, liquid cooled bike alternators, any of which can leave you stranded with a big repair bill. But, it doesn’t happen often and my advice is, don’t worry too much about it. If reliability is your main concern, buy a Honda (or a Yamaha, Suzuki, or Kawasaki).

I like BMWs in spite of comparative experience with their reliability, not because of it. Try to find a low mileage clean example of a style you like, within your price range. Get a service manual and learn to do the maintenance yourself. It will pay off in the long run.

No one has mentioned the telelever or cross spoked wheels, both unique to some models of BMW. The telelever is anti-dive, but some find it vague in feedback. The cross-spoke wheels allow for tubeless tires, but if they ever get out of whack are impossible to straighten by mere mortals.

Good luck with your search. It is fun. I think we all look forward to finding that next “best bike”.