New to the Forum and looking

[Duck Dodgers]

Howdy,

Been riding many years, been making mistakes, over farkeling, second guessing, selling what I should have kept. Buying on looks alone. etc...

I'm looking at a 2004 R1150R. BMW bags, and Screen. 23k miles.

What should I look for in the way of "issues"? I'll be purchasing from the second owner . "only upgrade/engine work is the upgrade for the cam chain tensionor".

I know this is not a KLR. But this is the first I've heard of this "upgrade" or issue. Now granted I'm new to this board. And frequent more multi brand boards. Is this a real concern? Are they failure prone?

What else would one check on before pulling the trigger?

I was given an R1150R as a loaner when having my present bike serviced. I liked the flavor and spirit of the loaner. Decent enough to have fun and a possible ticket. But not a multiple ticket bike in a week w/o trying. DAMHIKT

[sweatmark]

Welcome.

The cam chain tensioner upgrade is just that - an upgraded part (actually, parts) produced by BMW to improve the motor. The new tensioner helps quiet down the boxer engine a bit. Recommend you jump right in and use the search feature here to find more about the tensioner and most every upgrade and issue for the R1150R.

We've had many interested prospective buyers asking the same questions. In short, there are a few known weaknesses for the R1150R, but the bike is a good general purpose machine.

Because the R1150R shares drivetrain (and many other fundamental parts) with the popular R1150GS, it's recommended you take a look at the GS info available on AVD (ADV - Bikes - GSpot - Oilheads, http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3) and the UK GSers board (http://www.ukgser.com/forums/). Unless you read German, you won't find better resources for R1150R/GS ownership than ADV, UK GSers, and here on the Roadster board.

[iowabeakster]

Here is my thoughts of the bike after owning it (04 model bought new) for 6+ years, and reading about all of the problems suffered by the members of this community (also for 6 years).

The motor and transmission on the bike are near bullet-proof. It's not especially fast, but has great mid-range torque. Brakes are excellent. The stock suspension is quite good, and can still be improved with after market shocks.

The CC tensioner is nothing to worry about. The original tensioner has a tendency to rattle, especially at start-up. Some bikes rattled more than others. Some riders were more bothered by it than other riders. Mine has always been pretty quiet (and gotten quieter as time has gone on), so I've never upgraded.

The most common simple issue is electrical. The factory installed some zip- ties holding a couple harnesses under the headlight too tight. With repeated swinging of the handlebars, the zip-ties tore through the outer sheath of the harnesses. Eventually, severing a wire (or wires) inside the harness. It can be fixed once broken, but better to prevent the problem by removing the zip-ties before the wires get damaged. Picture below...



The other simple common problem(s) is the fuel lines. 2 common problems...

1. The factory fuel line disconnects are made of plastic. The can crack (usually when snapping them back together to reinstall the gas tank). Replacing the plastic disconnects with metal ones is highly recommended (about 80-100 bucks). I did this as a preventive measure, before I cracked mine.

2. The factory clamps on the fuel lines might not have been tightened enough, and could leak a bit. Wiggling the clamps will reveal a loose one. Replacing the clamps with Fuel Injector type clamps (not the worm-gear type hose clamps) easily solves this problem. I just replaced all the clamps and hoses when I replaced the disconnects. If the motor and transmission are painted silver, a yellow stain (quite obvious and ugly) on the right side of the bike will reveal if the previous owner had a gas leak.


There have been some more expensive, BUT MUCH MORE RARE, issues. You won't find any model of bike that doesn't have a some unlucky owners. There is no perfect motorcycle. This bike is no different. For the most part, this model bike has been quite good to us owners. The rare, expensive, issues that have been the most common are the final drive unit bearings, and the splines between the clutch hub and input shaft of the transmission. The final drive bearing failure happens more commonly than the clutch spline failure, but the good news is the final drive is also cheaper to fix. Again, these are pretty rare problems, but that will be no consolation if they happen to you.

I am really happy with my bike. I've had nothing go wrong, at all, with mine. I plan on keeping for a lot longer. If, I could go back to 6 years ago... I would choose the same bike again.

[R1150Rclean]

If I could reinspect the bike I bought with what I know now I would have:
1) run it hard and then after letting it cool pull both plugs to look for oil fouling (checked that on mine)
2) carefully checked the front tire for cupping (the OEM MacAdams are prone to cupping), they should have been replaced by now after 24 k
3) put the bike up on the center stand and see if the rear wheel has any side-to-side free play (final drive going)
4) see if the owner has records for changing the FD and transmission oil every 2 years/12 k miles (lack of changing a leading cause of FD failure IMO, after pulling wheelies)
5) look at the clutch oil to see if it is clear or brown, can ask to remove the reservoir cover to look for tell-tale sediment (and also see if he has records for changing it every 6-12 months (leading cause of slave cylinder failure IMO).
6) Check the front and rear shock shafts for leakage of oil (wipe shaft with paper towel), expensive to replace (checked that on mine)
7) were the "over tight" zip ties on the head light and instrument cluster cables cut early in the bikes life to prevent wires from being damaged/broken? (BMW service notice)
8- were the plastic (quick to break/leak) fuel line quick disconnects replaced with metal ones?
9) look carefully to see if the right side TB throttle cable knurled adjuster threads are damaged (used to syn the TBs for a smooth ride), mine was damaged by the previous owner/mechanic and resulted in the balance going out within a week or two (pain to replace)
10) check to see if both the heater grips get hot (if it comes with them)
11) are the cylinder heads reasonably quiet (like the loaner bile hopefully was) save you from having to get them adjusted right away, or learn how to do it yourself
12) does it have a battery charging outlet installed?, big help in keeping the battery properly charged.