Sold the "R" some comments

[Bud]

After work today I met with a serious buyer and looks like he will buying my "R". Doesn't matter as the Honda dealer has offered to take it in trade and offered me a fair price if you can believe it. I was shocked actually as the BMW dealer here didn't offer me anything near that on trade for a new RT.

Anyhow I wanted to make some comments about my almost three year relationship with my "R". Maybe someone contemplating buying a BMW will get something out of these comments or maybe not, just needed to comment so maybe I'll just ask for you indulgence.

First off I want to thank Doug for taking care of and managing this site. You're a paragon of patience, Doug. Thanks for your contribution to the BMW community.

Next, Partrick, wherever you are, thanks for all your comments, contributions and general good humor. You brightened all of our riding. Thanks also to the gang in SF from this board who invited me for the ride up the coast two years ago, to Tomales, Santa Rosa and the Delta. Great ride and good company, even got to pull a Yamaha out of a tree from the edge of a cliff, switch the brake lever with the clutch lever and kept the rider going, great fun.

1. I love my "R", there is nothing wrong with the basic machine and what could be changed, while annoying, are insignificant when compared to the overall quality and performance.

2. My biggest mistake was when my wife was standing next to the RT and asked "honey this bike has everything on it that you said you wanted", that I didn't say " you know you're right, I'll buy the RT because some day we're going to live in Arizona and I'll have an 85 mile commute and this will be the bike that will be the best." But I didn't because I thought I would be riding mostly in town with occasional short rides in the hills around SF. The rest is history of course.

3. I think the "R" is a great first bike or one that works when returning to riding after a hiatus. Yes, I know there are those on this site that believe you have to buy a used HondSuzuiha 250 and ride it for 6 months and then you will have a better chance for riding safe. I can suggest something equally as important and might save you the cost of that used small Japanese bike, Motorcycle Safety Course. I think I learned more on the weekend (and I had 5 bikes in the 60's and 70's) than I could have believed and yes, they let you ride a Honda 175 or similiar. That's where I learned counterstearing. You can also learn a lot from Keith Code's book "The Twist of the Wrist I and II".

4. Nowadays although the BMW is a great bike, they're all great bikes. There was a track test a couple of months ago between Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Tiumph. They were all 600CC+ bikes and riden by professionals. The difference between these three bikes were separated by micro-whatevers. Triumph got first place but the point is that manufacturers today do a pretty darn good job of making machines. So you don't have to worship at the alter of BMW. It's a great bike but there's a lot of great bikes out there, go ride some.

5. The boxer engine is a solid design. BMW built aircraft engines in WWI and II if you look at the BMW symbol it is actually the sun flash on a two bladed propeller. My father-in-law who is an expert in WWI planes pointed that out to me after he saw my "R". So, there's no magic to the design, it's two opposing pistons that have been duplicated many times on other engines and it's a good design. BMW is a good company and I believe that they also market to a specific group and that's why they advertize, design and run the shops the way they do. Just walk into a Honda dealership and you'll see the difference. They have Honda's for two year olds, they want to get you in diapers and then sell you a Gold Wing when you become middle aged BMW markets to mostly middle age and above people that have some descrectionary money but that maybe changing. The Boxer engine has some design features that make it a little different than most bikes as....

6. The cylinders have a Nicasil coating and therefore are hard to break in but once the rings (hard chrome) are seated the life of the engine is pretty phenominal. Breaking in the engine requires some intelligence and determination or you will end up with an engine that uses oil at 12K, I listered to the BMW mechanic and mine stopped using oil at 3-4K miles. Listen to them and ride the hell out of the bike, do not baby it after the 600 mile service!

7. The transmission takes some getting used to and don't feel bad about the clunking, klanking and general bad behavior of the tranny. It will get better with time if you just ride it. Forget about the old timers telling you that it's you and you just need to master some "snick, snick" BS maneuver with your foot. That's a load of crap and if you just ride the hell out of your bike you will get the hang of it. To be honest BMW should have a warning sticker on the tranny like the one they have on the gas tank only it shoudl read "the clunking sound of the transmission, while annoying is only an indication of normal operation". My transmission is pretty smooth at this point and only occasionally does it pull a "false first" on me or clank into first gear. Most of the noise is coming from the slides which are like a three legged milk stool and engage the gear with similar holes. A mechanic showed me a transmission and the parts. The nice part about this Germanic wonder is that as clunky as it is it will run 200k miles or more without problems. So learn to love it for it's unusual personality.

8. The seat on the BMW was designed by a former SS death camp guard. I'm not a flabby assed old man and my backside just can't take it for more than a hundred miles. Yeah, there are iron butts out there that love the seat but I suspect that the condition their asses by sitting on a bed of nails once a day or something similar. Why BMW doesn't improve the seat? Who knows?

9. My "R" has never so much as hiccupped on me and if I weren't doing the 175 mile round trip commute I wouldn't have sold it. But I can't afford $18k for some tupperware shielding and so I'm going to give an ST a shot and see how I like it. If I thought BMW was making one mistake it is overpricing the RT. For two grand more you can own the K1200GT (I sat on one, wow!) so why buy a boxer when you can own a rocketship? Just my opinion but if the RT went new for about $16K I think they could sell more. Yeah I know it has ESA (electronic suspension adjustment) but is it worth $2K? Maybe, but I'm sure they probably sell all they manufacture so what do I know, I'm just an engineer?

10. This is a great site and on it I have found some great information and some mythical crap that I won't bother commenting on. Read what you will with a grain of skepticism (even this tome) and use the useful info to improve the injoyment of your BMW. I learned to adjust the valves, balance the TB's and take care of my "R" on this site. Thanks again to all who contributed.

Keep the rubber side down and ride safe,

Bud

[MIXR]

Well said and good luck with the new bike. I do resent the remark about the flabby-arsed old men who like the stock seat though! I think it's fine. But then again, I am well padded in that area (but not flabby-arsed!!!!!)

[KHaynes]

Good summary of your experiences. I hope you enjoy the new bike.

[leno]

Budda said 'question every thing I say' which is quite a good way to aproch forums. I can't agree with eveything you say, does that make me an old timer, maybe. But at least 50% of what you said was on the nail. That is one of the plesures of the bikes and people, there is certainly no blandness.

However I am also moving on but for differant reasons. I have enjoyed the bike and taken great plesure from riding it. But the finish on my bike is terrible and is going to get worse not better as time goes on. Compounding that is the fact that BMW have withdrawn the francise from my only local dealer. They forgot to put another one in it's place so I now have nowhere to have the bike serviced without a hack across London. As it's my daily transport it's important I keep it in good working condition.

So on Saturday I pick up my new CBF1000A and BMW lost a sale and customer. It's sad for me because I have had a great time on the 4 BMW's I had. The service at the dealer has been a step above the norm for Jap bikes and the forums are top noch. So thanks guys and guyettes.

[Bud]

Leno, glad to hear from you. London is one of my favortite cities. In the mid-80's I was there several times on business and was very taken in with the hospitality and humor of the people. Good luck with the new bike as well.

Keith, thanks for the regards.

Mixr, sorry about the "flabby-arsed" comment. Having never met you it was unkind to infer such. I will just assume from now on that you Aussies are "tight-arsed" from chasing Kangaroo's.

Here in Southeastern Arizona it's part of the Sonoran desert and they have a season here they call "Monsoon" which has incredible rain and thunderstorms. This is my first year down here and I got caught in this huge storm, 100F temp and a real deluge. I was in a gas station and realized that it wasn't going to stop so dropped the face shield and slipped into the afternoon traffic. It was raining so hard the water couldn't run off the road fast enough and the drops made huge spashes, it was amazing to me as I have hardly seen it rain like that over my lifetime. I was getting soaked but because of the temperature it didn't seem to bother me and there were pockets of cooler air from the rain which made things pretty nice. The lightning and thunder were a bit intimidating though, I must admit. I could hear the thunder even with ear plugs which means it was pretty close by.

I rode out of Tucson on I-10 along with everyone else trying to get home and the "R" handled the water like it wasn't even there. Amazing bike! Later down the road I turned off on Hwy 83 down to Sonoita and through the hills. The ride was one of the prettiest I have ever taken and why I wanted to share it with you. Hwy 83 is a two lane well paved road that is mostly traveled by cattle ranchers and horse people who live in and around Sonoita so the traffic is pretty sparse. It's a 30 mile twisty stretch which I would say is about the most perfect piece of asphalt because it contains about every type of curve, straightaway that you can imagine; tight turns, uphill and down, hi speed sweepers, flat, up and down. Anyway you get the idea.

With the rain we got for the last two days the desert has become a different place. The smells coming into my helmet were intoxicating. As I drove along the desert air and heat dried me out quickly. At every turn and gully that I rode through the bushes somehow had greened out and you could smell the willows, dry grass and mesquite. It was wonderful to be alive and riding through this country. I looked in my mirror on one straightaway and I saw this "waterfall" of rain coming from the sky which was lit up by the sunlight in "bands" of dark and light, incredible! As the road passes through this "station" of a town (Soniota is ab out ten buildings where they used to load cattle on to railroad cars) it heads out East across the valley to some buttes and in between these is a sort of low pass into the San Pedro valley where I live. The valley becomes a series of rolling hills and dry river channels and all across it there were rain showers and this beautiful rainbow arching out from one of the buttes. It was almost a spiritual experience.

The few cars that passed me coming the other direction had their windshield wipers going and it made me laugh because I thought about my semi-wet condition, the fact that I wasn't cold and the beauty that I was riding through. As I said, we are a lucky bunch, old and young to be able to ride these machines and experience what we do. Life is good and to be experience fully (for me) means that my motorcycle is part of that journey.

When I got home my wife looked at me and said, "are you wet? I saw the storm to the North of here. Didn't you have to ride through it?" I told her "sure thing" and explained why it was really a wonderful ride. She, of course, worries but understands. BTW the Beemer rode like it always does, perfect, well maybe not "perfect" but then nothing in this life is perfect.

Bud

[dwayne]

The seat on the BMW was designed by a former SS death camp guard.

BLLLAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AUCHTANG!!!

Ya, it ain't an all day seat.
Thanks for posting that, makes me feel a little better about some of my bad shifts. I get the whole shifting at 5000RPM, but the motor to me sounds like it's going to die, a horrible, horrible death. My only gripe is that I can't get my head around the whole checking oil thing. Chris put me in the right direction, but damn, it's still a PITA.

[peterbulgar]

Bud makes some interesting observations about the R bikes. Here's my take on his comments:
1) For me the best characteristic of the R bike is its versatility. It's as at home in the twisties as any 500+ pound bike will ever be, yet you can attach the system cases and head off for the other side of the country - two up.
2) The BMW tall seat works very well for me, although my son complained bitterly about the rear seat until I replaced it with a Sargent. I've done 500 mile days and 4000 mile trips - maybe an Iron Butt would bring out some shortcomings, but I'll stay with the seat I have for now. Of course seats are very personal, and YBMD (Your Butt May Differ).
3) This is my third boxer, the first being an R75/5 purchased new that I still have. For me the air-cooled boxer twin defines BMW, and as much as I've enjoyed my boxers, I have to think that the day of the air-cooled motorcycle is drawing to a close - liquid-cooled engines just do a better job of coping with ever more stringent emissions requirements and modern traffic conditions. My next BMW may be the F800ST, although I'll give BMW at least 4 years to get the inevitable bugs worked out.

If I were faced with a 185 mile round trip commute like Bud has, I would probably keep the R and look for a used Honda Pacific Coast - the ultimate long commute bike. Still, everything I've read about the ST has been positive, so I can't argue with his choice. Good luck with the new bike, Bud.
Peter '73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

[acejones]

I once met a man who was on his third ST. He had put 200k on each of the first two and had 110k on the third. That speaks highly of STs. I'm still enjoying my RR though. I don't have to use it as a commuter. Thank God for company cars.

[gel9001]

Ace isn't the ST new to this year? I may be wrong, there's the R, RS, RT.


Gene

[Kevin50r]

Good post!. I took the same step and purchased an '06 ST a couple of weeks ago. Loved the R and it was the best of a series of twins I owned over the last ten years. I really struggled with the change but I wanted something new and different and after all these years without significant weather protection, really wanted something with a fairing.
BMW couldn't meet my needs/desires for less than 16K while the honda was 12k with a decent trade for the Beemer.

[wncbmw]

I hope you guys moving on to other bikes will hang around here. We can't tell what you riding on the computer screen!

You can even show up to some rides! We don't care what you're riding.

[rdsmith3]

We don't care what you're riding.

Have I mentioned my pink Vespa?

[yjleesvrr]

As long as you don't hold us up like one of my friends on a Fat Boy that can barely lean...

[Bud]

Vann,

No problem with checking in now and then; great bunch of people.

Bud

[wncbmw]

Have I mentioned my pink Vespa?

Hummm. . . we may have to set some standards after all!

On the other hand, you would be assured of being the target of all the jokes, so sure - bring the pink Vespa!

[Lost Rider]

Bud, thanks for you comments. As a new R owner, your comments about your experience is enlightening and quite useful. I do agree about the seat too. I hope you still stop in here and say hello occasionally. Good luck with your new bike