BMW tourers....opinions?

**sunhuntin** · 13th January 2007, 17:45

been lookin at a tourer/cruiser, and some of the beemers have caught my eye. what does everyone recommend? economical? comfy over long distances? theres a local couple who ride one each, but i dont get much chance to talk at work.
are they reasonably light, and easy enough to ride? am looking at a full decker [fairing, hardbags and tourpak.]

i would prefer a harley, but just a tad out of my price range. id be wanting to paint it as well...

TIA

**pritch** · 13th January 2007, 18:59

Originally Posted by sunhuntin

been lookin at a tourer/cruiser, and some of the beemers have caught my eye. what does everyone recommend? economical? comfy over long distances?

In a former life I had a K100RS. Slow steering, crap brakes, (relatively speaking) but comfortable. Absolutely capable of crrying two people and their (considerable) luggage all day at 160kph plus.

Historically BMW have always made the most comfortable bikes. I read in one road test years ago, "The only bikes on which you can ride a thousand kilometres and still feel like dancing... " Which sort of summed it up then and probably still does.

I don't want to offend anybody, but within your stated aims there would be no way a Harley could compare with a Beemer. Style, yes. Image, yes. But for, comfort, economy, tank range, etc the Beemer should win hands down.

If that wasn't the case I guess all those Round-The-World riders would have been riding Harleys...

**Edbear** · 13th January 2007, 19:19

Pretty much agree with wot pritch said. The 1100R would have to be one of the all time great tourers if you don't want too much weight, either. It's been said that you can't wear out the bores of the BMW twins, just re-ring them at around a gazzillion miles and then they go for a few more gazzillion.

Shaft drives are good and they're economical on tyres too. Too pricey for me at the mo, though. (So are Harley's).

**Ixion** · 13th January 2007, 19:35

What the previous posters said. I dunno that von Klunken would take kindly to being styled a full dresser, but he does have the full fairing, hard luggage etc.

Very comfortable, ride all day and feel ready to ride all night, economy is pretty good (17kpl day in day out).

Handling is good but unexciting. Just goes round corners. No dramas, no fancy stuff. Corner? Ach , zo, und good bye corner.

Lights are very very good, and the shaft drive is real nice when touring, no worries about chain lube or adjustment.

Handles gravel pretty well, basically handles anything without drama.

However , light they most certainly are NOT. Dunno what von Klunken would weigh on the road, but I doubt it would be under half a tonne. And many of them are a high bike, and top heavy with it.

If you can , get one with ABS brakes (wonderful ) and an electric screen (best gizmo ever invented for bikes).

Really, nothing bad I could say about them, except that they are too respectable. The exact opposite of a two stroke, one feels one must ride very safely and respectably.

**avgas** · 13th January 2007, 19:43

F800, its fantastic

**sunhuntin** · 13th January 2007, 20:17

Originally Posted by Ixion

What the previous posters said. I dunno that von Klunken would take kindly to being styled a full dresser, but he does have the full fairing, hard luggage etc.

Very comfortable, ride all day and feel ready to ride all night, economy is pretty good (17kpl day in day out).

Handling is good but unexciting. Just goes round corners. No dramas, no fancy stuff. Corner? Ach , zo, und good bye corner.

Lights are very very good, and the shaft drive is real nice when touring, no worries about chain lube or adjustment.

Handles gravel pretty well, basically handles anything without drama.

However , light they most certainly are NOT. Dunno what von Klunken would weigh on the road, but I doubt it would be under half a tonne. And many of them are a high bike, and top heavy with it.

If you can , get one with ABS brakes (wonderful ) and an electric screen (best gizmo ever invented for bikes).

Really, nothing bad I could say about them, except that they are too respectable. The exact opposite of a two stroke, one feels one must ride very safely and respectably.

top heavy? would a 56 year old bag of bones be able to handle one with a 90-odd kg chick plus gear? he rides fully dressed harleys, and managed fine with me on the back plus gear, but that was 2 years ago.

roughly how much does a second hand 1100 or so go for?

**geoffm** · 13th January 2007, 20:23

What is the budget? Makes a big difference to what you can get. Some of the beemers seem poor value for money when compared with the Japs stuff.
I have had my K100RS-16v (same as K1100) for several years. Pretty reliable, althoguh BMW parts prices in NZ are eyewatering. Order major items from Europe. There is only 1 dealer in each major town, although they are easy to service and there is plenty of info available.
Get panniers with the bike. They are a big plus for any distance work. Mine was my only transport when I was in Christchurch for 2 years, and did a couple of tours of the South Island no sweat. You can cover long distances, but they are porky.
Geoff

**Ixion** · 13th January 2007, 20:31

Originally Posted by sunhuntin

top heavy? would a 56 year old bag of bones be able to handle one with a 90-odd kg chick plus gear? he rides fully dressed harleys, and managed fine with me on the back plus gear, but that was 2 years ago.

roughly how much does a second hand 1100 or so go for?

They're not hard to handle, and once rolling the weights no problem, just don't go too hard in corners.

Dunno really about price, they're quite variable depending on year, condition, specification. R1100, maybe $8k - $12K , the RT models a bit dearer.

One possibility is that every so often ex police models come up, which are usually a lot cheaper.

Bear in mind that BMWs can run up very high mileages without problems, 100000k is nothing on a BMW.

Make a point of finding out when the splines were last lubed . Oh , and the gearboxes are always horrid but difficulty upshifting MAY indicate shot splines.

**sunhuntin** · 13th January 2007, 20:32

not sure on budget yet...its for when my partner comes over. think the way ill work it is pick the bike and then start saving hard out. i prefer to pay in cash.
id prefer to get a harley, but doubt ill ever have enough money for one, so thought id explore a beemer. dont really want to go jap
itd be used for going right round new zealand at least once, and will carry at all times: 2 riders, tent, sleepingbag and spare clothes i guess. plus be used for carryin purchases between postings home.

ixion...so the best way would be to try and buy local? that way i can get it checked out by my favoured mechanic.

**avgas** · 13th January 2007, 22:44

Originally Posted by Ixion

100000k is nothing on a BMW.

Im still to see any post 80's bike which cant do this if not thrahsed.
The exception being a two stroke rocket....which is guranteed to be thrashed

**Scouse** · 13th January 2007, 23:10

BMW's the worlds ugliest bike

**Dadpole** · 14th January 2007, 00:26

Originally Posted by zrxer

BMW's the worlds ugliest bike

Really? Check my profile. Suzuki GSX1100EFG. That is probably the worlds ugliest bike. Full of "styling" oddities such as the infamous "picnic table" below the tail light.

But I loves it I do.

**Titanium** · 14th January 2007, 05:51

K 1200 S is the ultimate sports tourer from BMW.

I have one for sale ...... have had 9,000 kms of fun and comfort.

There is not much more in a motorcycle that you could want.

Cheers

Peter

**Posh Tourer :P** · 14th January 2007, 08:04

If you get the boxer twins, they are manageable with full luggage and pillion.... not sure on the weight of the new ones, but it is lower down than the K bikes..... Check them out.... A lower COG can make a heavy bike seem very manageable