BMW 1150RT Any good as allrounder?

MSVforever

Cienciano wrote: »

There's a few ST1100 with half that mileage and around the same price on donedeal could be worth a look if you want that type of bike.
I've had a 1150gs and a 1200gs for about 10 years and commuted through town daily. I prefer the upright seating position. Only problem I had was a drive shaft, cost me about €500 to replace. I did have a good independent to do it, as Mak said, stay away from Joe Duffy, their only purpose is to extract money from you.

BTW, I prefer the BMW indicator switches!

Cheers Cienciano.

Had a go on the st1100 but found it a bit too bulky which might be an issue in heavy traffic....
I wouldnt go near a main dealer re servicing an old bike unless the Indy cant fix the issue.

MSVforever

EIRE forever wrote: »

if your a millionaire then buy one, because you gonna pay crazy money for parts just because its "BMW"

lol.... if I was a millionaire I would have multiple bikes for different purposes...

Riva10

MSVforever wrote: »

Thanks.
Sounds good.
Has he got a proper website as he doesnt seem to advertise prices on donedeal?

No proper website but if you are interested He is well worth a phone call. He will haggle and is to my mind very straight. I have no connection with him other than being a very happy customer. I have been a customer of his with at least 20 years.

Hotblack Desiato

Riva10 wrote: »

Definitely not true for the older BMW. Plenty of parts new and second hand available from UK.

Yep MotoWorks for instance. A guy I knew imported an airhead GS from Germany about ten years ago for reasonable money and ran it quite cheaply using spurious parts and doing his own spannering.

EIRE forever

MSVforever wrote: »

lol.... if I was a millionaire I would have multiple bikes for different purposes...

lol, same here. from road to off road id have. I just wouldn't pick a bmw for any of them

MSVforever

Riva10 wrote: »

No proper website but if you are interested He is well worth a phone call. He will haggle and is to my mind very straight. I have no connection with him other than being a very happy customer. I have been a customer of his with at least 20 years.

Thanks Riva10!
If I can't find anything suitable in my price range in the greather Dublin area I will give them a shout.

MSVforever

Is the bike below one of the bullet proof BMW's?

https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/bmw-k1100/12851830

Cheers.

two wheels good

MSVforever wrote: »

Is the bike below one of the bullet proof BMW's?

https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/bmw-k1100/12851830

Cheers.

Yes that's a bulletproof model but not without its own "features".

Crown wheel bearing in final drive. Same as R11xx model too. But not so expensive. If it hasn't been done you'll be doing it soon.
Paralever bearing wear in swing arm. Same as all models. Not so expensive.
Stripped splines on clutch or gearbox input shaft. Bad!
Seized clutch arm and leaky seal at back of gearbox.
Gear indicator not reading correctly.
I'd expect these to have been checked and clutch arm greased when clutch was done.

New clutch is great. Was it the full clutch assembly not just the disc?
Was the output shaft oil seal replaced?
Look underneath where engine meets gearbox. Is there a drip of oil from the little drain hole.
Check the brake disks and front bobbins for wear. Check both heated grips work. (Of course they're heated!)
Examine the service record and invoices.
Nice 3-spoke wheels BTW.

I had the RS version - smooth, fast, comfortable great mpg. Good weather protection even with the much smaller fairing. I'd still fancy another.
The LT fairing is still a bit of a lump to filter with in town traffic.

MSVforever

two wheels good wrote: »

Yes that's a bulletproof model but not without its own "features".

Crown wheel bearing in final drive. Same as R11xx model too. But not so expensive. If it hasn't been done you'll be doing it soon.
Paralever bearing wear in swing arm. Same as all models. Not so expensive.
Stripped splines on clutch or gearbox input shaft. Bad!
Seized clutch arm and leaky seal at back of gearbox.
Gear indicator not reading correctly.
I'd expect these to have been checked and clutch arm greased when clutch was done.

New clutch is great. Was it the full clutch assembly not just the disc?
Was the output shaft oil seal replaced?
Look underneath where engine meets gearbox. Is there a drip of oil from the little drain hole.
Check the brake disks and front bobbins for wear. Check both heated grips work. (Of course they're heated!)
Examine the service record and invoices.
Nice 3-spoke wheels BTW.

I had the RS version - smooth, fast, comfortable great mpg. Good weather protection even with the much smaller fairing. I'd still fancy another.
The LT fairing is still a bit of a lump to filter with in town traffic.

Thanks Two wheels good.
Its great to know where the possible pitfalls are.

listermint

There's only one thing for this thread.

Dl650 or Dl1000

arybvtcw0eolkf

MSV you seem intent on the BMW. My old R1100s is in Bikeworld (was until recently anyway).

In the month I got rid of it I spent approx €1200 on her, if memory serves me correctly I put in a new rear shock and ABS switches.. Its got new tyres front and rear and a givi rack. And it was serviced two weeks before I traded it.

In the last year the drive shaft crown bearing has been done and various other odds and ends including a new rear disk/rotor.

Its heavy on juice, like most BMW's and that's the main reason I shifted her but other than that she was fun to ride ~ oh, its got a full Lazer race exhaust, here she is in all her fire spitting glory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOyBP9ybV50

I miss her sometimes, but I don't miss spending money on a BMW and I'll certainly never darken a BMW dealers door step again, esp Joe Duffys in Finglas (I hold them in the highest contempt).

Personally I'm delighted with my Vstrom, but the R1100S had a lovely engine, it was exceptionally comfortable and handled beautifully ~ but fook they're not cheap to run!.

curiousb

I used to have a mid 90's R1100GS and then a R1150RT, off the bikes for a few years and now back on another mid 90's R1100GS.

This probably covers about 10 years of BMW ownership and to be honest, I've only had to service them. They've been very reliable. I've used them for everything from touring on the continent, 2 up and fully loaded, to commuting, even the odd track day! I love the old GS but the RT definitely has better weather protection!!

But in terms of reliability, my own experience has been positive.

MSVforever

Estelle Wide Frown wrote: »

MSV you seem intent on the BMW. My old R1100s is in Bikeworld (was until recently anyway).

In the month I got rid of it I spent approx €1200 on her, if memory serves me correctly I put in a new rear shock and ABS switches.. Its got new tyres front and rear and a givi rack. And it was serviced two weeks before I traded it.

In the last year the drive shaft crown bearing has been done and various other odds and ends including a new rear disk/rotor.

Its heavy on juice, like most BMW's and that's the main reason I shifted her but other than that she was fun to ride ~ oh, its got a full Lazer race exhaust, here she is in all her fire spitting glory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOyBP9ybV50

I miss her sometimes, but I don't miss spending money on a BMW and I'll certainly never darken a BMW dealers door step again, esp Joe Duffys in Finglas (I hold them in the highest contempt).

Personally I'm delighted with my Vstrom, but the R1100S had a lovely engine, it was exceptionally comfortable and handled beautifully ~ but fook they're not cheap to run!.

Lovely can sound!
It's funny that you mention this as I had my eyes on a yellow R1100s (year 2000; €2495) in bikeworld. It was hidden downstairs beside a Deauville 700.
I was very tempted but hadnt researched it then and the weather protection was missing.
Is it this one:
https://www.bikeworld.ie/site/motorcycle/bmw-r-1100-rs/

What mpg did you get out of her?

Its a bit of a head/heart decision I guess... but I guess the potential high repair bills will draw me back to Japanese bikes.....

I just like the look of the beamers... not much a fan of super sports....(well one hour on a fireblade ain't worth 2 days of wrist/back pain imo).

MSVforever

curiousb wrote: »

I used to have a mid 90's R1100GS and then a R1150RT, off the bikes for a few years and now back on another mid 90's R1100GS.

This probably covers about 10 years of BMW ownership and to be honest, I've only had to service them. They've been very reliable. I've used them for everything from touring on the continent, 2 up and fully loaded, to commuting, even the odd track day! I love the old GS but the RT definitely has better weather protection!!

But in terms of reliability, my own experience has been positive.

Cheers curiousb.
Great to hear that you have no trouble.

Posts like yours draw me back to the heart decision...

listermint

MSVforever wrote: »

Its a bit of a head/heart decision I guess... but I guess the potential high repair bills will draw me back to Japanese bikes.....

I just like the look of the beamers... not much a fan of super sports....(well one hour on a fireblade ain't worth 2 days of wrist/back pain imo).

Dl650 Dl1000 seating position. Reliability. Savage mpg.

two wheels good

There are a good few RTs on DoneDeal. A blue one in Kerry with 67k kms that looks clean. Another in Nth Dublin that seems over priced. Prices do seem very variable.
I'll second that positive comment by curiousb about reliability; My 1150GS is at 112k miles on the original clutch. (tempting fate!) Final drive bearing replaced at 105k miles.

A V-Strom is worth considering too but it won't offer as much weather protection.

arybvtcw0eolkf

MSVforever wrote: »

Lovely can sound!
It's funny that you mention this as I had my eyes on a yellow R1100s (year 2000; €2495) in bikeworld. It was hidden downstairs beside a Deauville 700.
I was very tempted but hadnt researched it then and the weather protection was missing.
Is it this one:
https://www.bikeworld.ie/site/motorcycle/bmw-r-1100-rs/

What mpg did you get out of her?

Its a bit of a head/heart decision I guess... but I guess the potential high repair bills will draw me back to Japanese bikes.....

I just like the look of the beamers... not much a fan of super sports....(well one hour on a fireblade ain't worth 2 days of wrist/back pain imo).

That's my old bike alright, the same one I have posted in the clip above.

Milage, I can't be exact but I got about 160km (max) for €20 but if I gave it some wellie it would be A LOT less.. I'm getting twice this from the Vstrom.

Weather protection was surprisingly good on it, better than the Vstrom if I'm to be honest. Its only when you've rode a boxer for awhile then went back to a Jap that you'll appreciate just how warm and cossy those big cylinders are!.

Tbh I just couldn't live with the cost repairs to date, but a lot has been done to it and if you got that price down to the two grand mark and could live with high fuel consumption (they've a small tank too) then it wouldn't be a bad buy if you're looking for something a long those lines.

If I can recall properly the main jobs I've done is regular services, it had a full BMW dealer history until I bought it. I'm fairly decent on my tools so that kept things like services cheap.

I replaced the drive shaft crown bearing within the last year I had it (they have it since Feb last). I replaced the battery that winter too. The rear shock is a new Hagon unit and there are new ABS sensors (rear). I think I replaced the brake pads too, but I can't be sure ~ but this is a job I'd do myself and I'd never take a chance on pads so I'm sure they're good.. There are also new Bridgestone T30's front and rear.

Oh, there's a new fuel filter in it too. Doesn't sound like much, but they're a whore to do on those bikes and most people don't touch them.

There's a new choke and throttle cables too.

(Anyone would think I'm trying to sell it)

Here's the probably with a BMW with that mileage and years up, when the clutch needs replacing you're going to have to decide on replacing the clutch or the bike.. I thought the clutch was gone and priced a replacement, the cheapest replacement I was quoted was €1000 (yes, a grand for a fooking clutch). But it wasn't gone, there was air in the hydraulic fluid.

And keep away from Joe Duffys is my advice if you want to keep your running & repair costs down.

Finally, get a Vstrom!!.

MSVforever

Thank you very much guys!

I have finally made a decision.
I think for now I have to give up on the idea of owning a BMW bike.
I just can't take a chance in terms of reliablity as I use the bike every day for commuting (I still have a car as a back up however my wife is in the process of getting a car license ) and have to keep the day to day running cost to a "normal" level as well.

Once work has calmed down a bit I will be looking out for a tidy well priced V-Strom 650/1000 or a TDM 900 preferrably in a 2nd hand dealership so I can trade in my Bandit:)

galwaytt

Estelle Wide Frown wrote: »

Its heavy on juice, like most BMW's and that's the main reason I shifted her but other than that she was fun to ride ~ oh, its got a full Lazer race exhaust, here she is in all her fire spitting...

I'd say the full race exhaust has a bit to do with the fuel consumption : I've always found the R's reasonable on juice. A lot more economical than a similar sized Pan or Varadero for example.

The older K's are very light on juice.

Suzuki V-Twins are light on juice alright. The SO has an SV650S.