It all started when my 401K September statement came in the mail. It was not good. I lost more dollars than THREE new R1200R's would cost, the blame for which you'll have to go into Pat's PlayHouse section to read who I correctly lay the blame on.
That's when I decided to spend some of my penalty free accessible money on my own happiness in retirement. It may make no sense to you, spending more money when the retirement fund is severely wounded, but I stand to collect Social Security next year and that will make everything really sweet again. Besides, you only live once. That, and now is a good time to trade in my beloved 02 R1150R while it's still viable with only 62,300 miles (100,262 km). Here in the South, I also have frequent overheating issues in the traffic I encounter . . . . which the new bikes water cooling + fan eliminates. I'm also more aware of the 1150R's considerable weight.
About 2 weeks later I went to Atlanta BMW's excellent cookout/open house with the intent of test riding both the R1200R and maybe an F800-S or F800-ST, just because it was the best time to do so. When I got there I found out that there wasn't an R1200R or F800-R there at all. They just sold it yesterday (?). There was a handsome blue F800-ST though. After downing two 8" long fat Bratwursts in 2 huge buns and a can of soda, my turn to ride the F800 finally came. He said 5,000 RPM max and described the ride route for me to take . . . said to be about 8 minutes to complete. I thought to myself "Yeah, right"
It had the on it and they were quite wide for such a narrow bike. Tough to swing a leg over. Did not like the gaudy tic-tac-toe looking external plastic bands cage or the small volume roundish shape of them. Will have to look at the Givi brand. OK, I start it up and a big surprise! The exhaust note is deep, pleasant and one of the loudest stock BMW's I've ever heard. I remember from my pre-ride examination that it does have the stock muffler on it. The throttle response is instantaneous and the RPM's go up and down very rapidly, indicating it has a much lighter than BMW's usual heavy flywheel mass. It sounds like a high performance engine would and should. Running up through the gears was smooth, lively and effortless, with very small throttle openings doing a lot, just like a good Japanese bike. I like the bike's much lighter weight and the good power everywhere on the tachometer (below 5,000 of course). Very little driveline lash with the belt drive. The handling is less stable going straight ahead because of it's lighter engine and overall less weight. Huge 1" tall (25mm) number in the main LCD showing what gear you are in, a nice touch. Fuel and engine temp stacked horizontal bar gauges too. The gearing seemed OK in 6th but my preference is it could use a taller, more of an overdrive, 6th gear. I did note the engine's fuel cut on decel, delivering strong "key off deceleration" terminates about 2,500 RPM on the way down, as opposed to 1,800 on my bike. Engine vibration was slightly more than my bike but only noticeable, without being annoying in any way. The ABS was invisible to my senses when I used either brake. No wining noises or pulsations, even when I stuffed the front brake on purpose, as a test. It had the optional data computer and additional tire pressure monitors, but I didn't play with the left handgrip's "mode" button at all during the ride. The TP's did show 33 & 37 on the LCD display. I thought they were two trip meters until I got back to the dealer. When the time came to make a U turn and go back, I used the afternoon Sun for my compass and took another road I was sure would take me back to the main road. It did, and I'm glad I took it because it had some CURVES. Very nice handling and much quicker response to turn than my heavier 50R. All in all, a very pleasant experience.
I decided right after the test ride to see what the trade in turnkey price would be. He looked at my bike and looked it up in the book. We talked options on the new bike that I wanted:
-Heated Grips
-CenterStand
-Data Computer
-Silver color
It came to $9,500 and my bike, stripped of everything but the K1200R mirrors and Buell FlyScreen. Yes, that means there will be City cases & mount rails, Ohlins Fr&Rr and a set of (no longer available!) GS HandGuards for sale. Maybe the ThrottleMeisters too, if they don't fit the new bike. I would have to order the new bike and he said it could take from 2 weeks to 2 months, because of the way they "batch build" their bike models.
Tomorrow I ride to the "other" BMW dealer in Norcross GA for a turnkey price and a talk with a mechanic.
This is the new 2009 champagne metallic color:
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