joined the oil head club!

[david_the_greek]

Howdy hive, just thought i'd check in as a new boxer owner. I've been riding for about 6 years, starting with a dinky 250 nighthawk. I progressed to an f650cs, which gave me some initial headache, but I still love that bike. Some craigslist browsing (my downfall) and $5000 later.... a beautiful 2002 r1150r brought me home! I may have paid slightly more than market, but i feel everyone got a fair deal. Bike had 50k on the clock and one tiny ding, but seemed very well cared for (P.O. was an msf instructor).

For my dime, i got the following... touring and sport shields, handle bar risers, a ton of electrical hookups and plug in trickle charger, heated vest, olympia jacket, sheep skin seat cover, gs hand guards, oem bmw hard side cases, HUGE givi top case with integrated brake lights, hyperlights mounted on the license plate, cortech 18l tank bag, cover, and some random tools/documentz. Needless to say, seller was a nice guy. I'm sure i'm forgetting something too.... i do really LOVE this bike. Riding position was familiar, but so much more stability and engine under me. I really love the rumble of this bike. It really is a sewing machine, sits at 1k at idle.

I'm still perfecting the smooth shift, but i'm sure i'll get there. Any words of wisdom? I wish I could have found a dual spark, but eh oh well. Whats the concensus on short duration riding? I need to go through the fluids any way, but how much does it cut down on life span? Thanks everyone, looking forward to learning a lot and putting some more miles under my belt.

[omg1010]

Morning David,

I would also assume you have paid slightly too much for that bike. In any case it should have a full service record which shows when the fluids were last changed. If you want to do things by your own I suggest you get yourself the repair manual (either the BMW stuff or aftermarket).

Short rides is not good for any engine. You should plan tours which allow your bike to warm up well.

Brgds
Oliver

[Buckster]

Sounds like a fair price to me along with everything included. Shifting is a little tricky to get it right. Just takes some practice. Preload the shift pedal before the shift, barely let off the throttle and at the exact same time barely pull in the clutch lever about a 1/4" and shift. The quicker you do this the smoother it will be. Optimum shifting at around 4500-5000rpm. The RPM's drop rather quickly on these boxers so the quicker you do this the better!
Welcome to the board!

[david_the_greek]

I knew i was paying a bit more than market, but for some reason here in the Detroit area it's almost impossible to find reasonably priced beemer. With the accessories and condition, i didn't feel too bad. I've been getting better with the shifting and am looking at my first ride out of the state soon.

I just bought a firstgear teton jacket, could anyone give me some opinions on it? I really wanted another olympia jacket, but when i tried some on at a bmw shop, the medium was TIGHT and the large seemed baggy enough that the armor might shift on impact. Combine that with it being well under $200 shipped and i felt i couldn't pass it up. The supposed thin armor on the FG concerns me, but i might try to reinforce the back "cushion" with trimmed armor from my olympia (too big really). Are there any good gear review sites people can point me to?

[redstreak]

Hey David
I too live in the Detroit area and just recently bought an 04 r1150r. You got a good deal with all the accessories.
There's not many bmw in the area that I've seen.
I purchased mine at $6,000 and no accessories just the naked bike. But I loved it after the first ride. Very smooth, and awesome torque. Are you riding these past few days, maybe we can ride since we're in the same area.

[david_the_greek]

Some time has passed and just thought i'd throw in an update...I've put some miles on the steed and am loving this german more and more. I just changed the oil, FD and tranny fluids.... seemed easy. I didn't have a torque wrench and feel a little worried about how much gear oil I used, but I think it's probably fine. Next will be air/fuel filter, brake fluid, and maybe spark plugs. Are the valves as easy to check and adjust as I hear? I'm not the most skilled person with a wrench, but I'm trying!

[gregor]

Not sure what you mean about the gear oil. Do you mean some has disappeared in use (leaks) or are you uncertain about how much you should have put in?

Either way make sure it is fixed. Overfilling the gearbox can cause oil to blow out. The level plug should have prevented this happening- the oil starts to run out of the filler when the 'box is full.

[david_the_greek]

Not worried about the tranny being overfilled, more worried about the FD. Seemed like the threaded portion extends deeper on the rear, as opposed to the front. I was filling, looking from the rear forward and when i eventually changed my vantage point, observed that the rear *seemed to project deeper...

[gregor]

IIRC the oil level is correct when it first touches the threaded bore. So in your case -when it touches the rear. On mine there is not a significant difference.