Greetings + questions

[drPete]

Looks nice.

Not very easy to get it up on the center stand when fully loaded. Maybe there is some trick to it,

Put all your weight on the center stand lever with your foot. Wunderlich has a $150 lever to give you a grip on the triangular area needed to pull up and rock back slightly. Hardcores will deride using the Wunderlich lever. I like it, been using it for 8 years/92k on my R1150R.

Pete

[Dr. Strangelove]

Yes it is harder when fully loaded and hard to come off of it. Sometimes my 166# cannot do it. If going uphill, forget it.

[foobar]

The owner said that the tires are good but several years old (which possibly means hard).

It's probably a bit late to throw this out there, but you may want to change the valve stems on the tires. It's cheap insurance if you don't get new tires right away. You're looking at something like $20 parts and labor.

[riceburner]

Yes it is harder when fully loaded and hard to come off of it. Sometimes my 166# cannot do it. If going uphill, forget it.

err -just to check - you're not parking with the bike pointing downhill are you?? I wouldn't recommend that at all, I did it once on a very slight slope and the bike bounced slightly on the rear, tipped forward and rolled clean off the stand!

[mcampy]

Thanks for the input. After continued practice, I've somehow figured out how to get it on the center stand with less effort.

As for the tires, I replaced them with a set of inexpensive Conti Force Sport tires soon after I got the bike home. Not the best, but they'll make it through the summer. I was fairly shocked at the amount of rust I saw inside the final drive housing, after I removed the rear wheel. I cleaned it out as well as I could and coated it with thick silicone lube. Not sure how long that will last. The BMW dealer ordered a plastic cap for it, so I'll put that on soon (which will probably trap moisture inside

After owning it for a little over a month and ~3000 miles, I've gotten to know it OK, but am still learning about its "character". You guys know: the surging power delivery when holding constant throttle, despite recent valve adjustment and TB sync; the way the ABS grabs, preventing any fine control of braking at low speed. Those are probably my only two gripes as there is no point in mentioning the fruity switchgear or the absence of road feedback from the front-end when pushing into a curve (these are obvious).

The seat that is currently fitted is the original (low seat?) and while I would rather sit higher up, it has been surprisingly comfortable to me on several days of +400 mi backroad riding. My passenger has been fine with the pillion seating, so that's good. I've checked out the high seat for the front and the comfort seat for the pillion and am just waiting to find a good deal on them.

The BMW system cases are perfect. The rack sucks. Nothing more to say about that. Last weekend my riding buddy claimed that there were two times that I was within 2" of dragging the cases. I didn't drag a peg so I didn't believe him, but am curious if anyone has done this. Maybe the heads would scrape before the bags?

Ultimately, it has done well as a long-day two-up+camping gear bike, excellent on interstates, OK on backroads and not bad on dirt roads. But it isn't a bike that when I see it, I think "I have time for a quick ride, LET'S GO!!!" It's really not that fun to ride, but that's just my opinion. When I rode my old SV a few weeks ago I was flooded with feelings of buyer's remorse over the R1150R purchase. I know it's not in the same "class" as the R, but I do miss that bike. However, the R does well for what I need in the near future, so I'm content.

Cheers and thanks to all of you who make this forum such a great resource!!

mark

[Dr. Strangelove]

Yes it is harder when fully loaded and hard to come off of it. Sometimes my 166# cannot do it. If going uphill, forget it.

err -just to check - you're not parking with the bike pointing downhill are you?? I wouldn't recommend that at all, I did it once on a very slight slope and the bike bounced slightly on the rear, tipped forward and rolled clean off the stand!

No, I try to seek as level as possible. Your experience sounds awful, something we should all remember.