Hi,
I am a tall dutch guy of 6.35 ft (1.93 m) and thinking to buy a 2nd hand R1150R (with ABS ). I have tried the R1150R and it looks that this r1150r is OK for me. I find it a really beautiful bike, especially in black. I will use it for fun, not too long drives in the weekends only. Good weather drives.... May be some longer drives a few times per year. Also some rides with my wife.
Two questions:
1. Anyone any comments on a BMW r1150r for tall guys like me?
2. What would be the best windshield on the r1150r for a tall guy like me? The standard one?
Also, any thoughts on having the r1150r as my first bike? I am 40yrs old, but new to driving motorcycles. Currently lessons on a Honda 500 cbf.
Thanks.
I am about 6’2”-6’3” and have ridden my Rockster for about 20,000 miles and have found it very comfortable for, me. I have the tall touring screen on the bike (BMW screen) which I use in cold and wet weather; it works well and decreases my fuel consumption, but also directs the wind to my head which can be annoying at times.
Charles, I recently bought my 2004 R1150R (Black ABS) about 2 months ago now. I've had a time trying to make it fit my 6'2" frame. Mine came with a low seat on it (780mm) I tried a standard (800mm) seat,not quite tall enough, now I have the high (820mm) seat ,with also a sheepskin pad on top, (alaskaleather.com) and it finally fits good in the leg area. I had to rotate my handlebars up a bit, which seemed to help, but I might be trying 1"bar risers also. I really like this bike, having owned many other makes and always wanted a BMW. My only remaining "fit" gripe is the right footpeg. I have large feet, (to go with my height) and my right foot (heel) gets tired, from rubbing up against the rear master cylinder guard plate. The left side is fine, as I can slide my left foot inward a couple inches to rest in the arch area. On the right side with this darn "plate", my arch rests on the end of the footpeg, and is unstable at all times. Probably something I just need to get used to. I like the ground clearance and won't even consider these "peg lowering" kits, I know people will chime in about when they read this. Hope this helps-Glenn.
I am 6'2". I have had my 2002 R1150R for six years. I use the tall seat plus a sheepskin pad on the seat and I find the bike to be very comfortable.
I use the BMW touring screen. There are lots of opinions about the proper windscreen in this forum, and it is very difficult to make a recommendation for you. They are all a compromise one way or another.
Some of this is like a "catch 22". If you heighten the seat are you not making the distance to the bars greater? I'm 6'1" and trying to keep an upright position is not to easy for me. I have to remind myself of the posture post. As far as windscreens goe, I wish I could just have about 5 ready and available to test each one back to back for turbulence and effective wind blockage. PS: I have barbacks and risers on my bike as well as lowered pegs.
I'm 6'4" and I find it a comfortable bike to ride, although your legs will be bent more than on say a Triumph Tiger, which I rode and thought had the most lengthy straight-up-and-down position for my legs. You'd think the r1200gs would offer more leg room, but it rides very similar to our Rs, I found.
I've got a 33" inseam and can comfortably ride a full tank (about 160 miles) without feeling uncomfortable. My a$$ always gives out first, anyway.
I'm 6'2",have a ~31" inside leg and have the standard seat. With our without a sheepskin pad I find the ergonomics fine.
My knee is fairly bent but several hundred miles in a day is fine.
I am 6'1", 32 inch inseam, rather short arms. I have installed bar backs, footpeg lowering kit, and I use a Multi-vario touring windshield (the one with the "spoiler"). This windshield is small, but the spoiler smoothes the air flow. For me that is VERY important. I hate wind "noise" worse than wind "blast". This is the 3rd windshield for me, and I love it. The bike fits me extremely well. I haven't tried the windshield in the winter, but I imagine I'll ride my R100RT more in cold weather. In a word, I really like the bike!
Reg
I'm 6'3" and find it comfortable but wouldn't want to be much taller on the same bike. The previous owner set it up nicely for himself...Sargent seat is great, I've not done a SS1000 but I've considered doing it. Handlebar risers that I've considered taking off so see if that lets me "stretch out" more so. Parabellum scout fairing is good, they have a selection of windscreen heights which is nice....more wind in the face during the summer, less during the winter. I wouldn't consider lowering the pegs...I don't think you get enough "lowering" out of the kits I've seen, they're expensive, and I scrape the pegs depending on the curvature of some roads as it is, wouldn't want to actually dig one in because it's 3/4" lower.
edit:
I don't know how much 2up riding I'd want to ride 2up for long distances, I find myself scooting further back to stretch out my legs on longer rides and I don't think my passenger would want to end up sitting on the rack.
This is my first time on the board in over a year and I'm interested to see that the windscreen debate still goes on. There has been a complete solution available for a long time. I tried three until I settled on the Aeroflow touring fairing with tank wings. Protection is almost equal to my previous 1150RT and buffeting is virtually eliminated. A year or so ago we had one of the longest threads ever on this board regarding these tank wings. I had several posts about it and there was considerable interest, but few bought the setup, many because they didn't like the appearance of the tank wings. They look fine to me and when I hit the highway I'm thrilled with the smooth, quiet ride. You can't solve the problem from the top. It's dirty air coming over the oil coolers that causes turbulence. The wings divert the air outward and eliminate the turbulence. Believe me, The Areroflow is the solution.
Thanks everybody for all the feedback. This has convinced me to go ahead with the R1150R! I will post some pictures later this year when the R1150R is on board
The windscreen debate has been solidly in place since the bike was released. I fact, several of the first owners that appeared on this board were whining about windblast....well, ya did buy a naked bike, right?
No matter, just wanted to point out that in 7 years there still has been no "best" solution.
). I have tried the R1150R and it looks that this r1150r is OK for me. I find it a really beautiful bike, especially in black. I will use it for fun, not too long drives in the weekends only. Good weather drives.... May be some longer drives a few times per year. Also some rides with my wife.
