Welcome New Members (and old) - Introduce Yourself!

[Spookymonster]

Hi all. Just bought a 2000 R1100R with 3k miles on it tonight. Kind of an impulse buy - we've had some crappy weather the last few weeks and I was jonesing for a ride. Went to my local Kawi dealer to see if they still had any Concours's in stock, just so I could sit on it and pine for better weather. As I was browsing their pre-owned stock, the clouds opened and a ray of blue-white light shone down upon a single bike...MY bike . I was intrigued by the price - a practically new BMW for only $5200?? - but fell in love once I straddled it.

I spent the weekend pouring over eveything I could find about the bike (most of it found thru this site, thankyouverymuch). After work today, I went back, checked it out, and worked out a sweet deal with the sales guy (who says being a regular at your dealership doesn't pay off?).

I'm a mature driver (37) but a newbie rider (passed the MSF and got my endorsement this summer). I've spent most of that time on a 1985 700cc Yamaha Virago, developing both my riding and field repair chops . I've enjoyed my time with the Virago (it's been a reliable, forgiving mount and a great confidence builder), but I yearn for something a little more modern, a little sportier, and with a bit more range. The R1100R seems to fit that bill nicely. That it has the prestige and reliability of a BMW (as well as a few more horses under the seat) doesn't hurt either .

Anyways, here's to a long and successful partnership... wish me luck!

[Beemeridian]

567

[Spookymonster]

Spookymonster's the name I gave my cat. She's the epitomy of a scaredy cat - she spent the better part of her first month with us hiding under the bed.

Here's a pic of the bike:


...and here's a pic of yours truly from the 2005 WSOP:

[Beemeridian]

456

[Spookymonster]

Wow, you absolutely slayed them on that deal! No joke!

Final out the door price, including tax, title, reg, and 2 year extended warranty is $6670. Take off $1500 for trading in my '85 Virago 700cc (good condition, 15k miles), and I'm only down $5170.

Kelley Blue Book value for this model w/o ABS without accessories is $5.5k ; NADA average retail lists it at $4.3k . However, once you factor in the windshield and system cases, I think I did pretty well for myself...

[bigdelta]

and BMW camaraderie in general.
John

[NachtRitter]

Hi folks, Great site, thanks to Doug & team for creating and maintaining!!

I started out with an '02 R1150RT back in '03 & have been putting ~12K miles on her each year since. For me this has been the "perfect bike"; gorgeous looks, great sounds, fun in the twisties, decent protection from weather and decent luggage capacity for longer trips. Only gripes are clunky shifting and a less than comfortable seat (I tried both stock and a Cee Bailey aftermarket). No trouble with this bike other than the relatively catastrophic spline failure at 40K miles (2 months of withdrawal).

My wife got an '04 F650CS thumper which she absolutely loves for commuting... but it beats her up on long trips. So we started looking for something that was a bit smoother and had better wind protection while still retaining more of an upright riding position. She tried the RT but the seat was too wide, making it difficult for her to put her feet down at stops.

I found a '04 K1200GT, also a beautiful 'bike, but just not my style. Turns out it wasn't my wife's style either so I'll have to sell that one.

I also picked up an '02 K1200LT for any really long tours. I kinda like having all the farkles that 'bike has to offer, but even for a comparatively "light" touring bike, she's friggin' heavy. Yes, I can still tackle the twisties better than Gold Wings and most Harleys, but it's not anything like the RT.

To replace the K-GT, I just recently picked up an '04 R1150R. This one I like a lot!! I knew I'd like the sound of this R, but I was amazed how different it feels without all the bodywork that comes with the RT. So much more visceral, with the feel of the wind, the view of the road just past the instrument cluster, the responsiveness of the whole 'bike! I may be sneaking this 'bike out for a ride when my wife isn't looking instead of taking the RT... Yowsie, what a fun 'bike!!

Anyway, I definitely appreciate all the knowledge being shared here... I've already done the muffler delete mod, and I really like the way it looks!

[Doug]

Thanks for all of the kind comments, and welcome everyone!

[Gaston]

Hi, My name is Gaston and I live in el Cerrito California, in the east bay of SF area. I'm renewing my love of riding with a very nice 1150R after 13 or 14 years of being off a bike. I have two great kids, 10 and 5, both girls; one into ballet, the other in martial arts and both excellent in so many respects. I'm divorced and we both work hard to take good care of our kids, I'm happy to say. I hope to meet some of the fine folks here in person some day. Let me know if you're ever in my neighborhood or close enough for a ride! Thanks!

[TonyO]

Merry Xmas from the UK,
I purchased my R1150R almost two years ago now and enjoy every minute of riding. I live in the north east of England near to the Yorkshire moors, Whitby, Captain Cook country etc - so there are lots of good country roads around here. As I work shifts my time off during the day lets me ride on fairly empty roads. On a good day out my mates from work and I can get to the Scottish boarders, Lake District and Yorkshire Dales from here.
My previous bikes over the years have been BSA C15(67), Triumph Thunderbird(55), Honda CB450(66), Triumph Bonneville(74), Norton 350 ES2(1958), Kawasaki GT550(84).





My Avatar is the Polish national flag as I'm a first generation Pole. My father - came over here in 1939 and stayed.

[Doug]

Tony, sexy bike!

What kind of camera did you use? The pics have a nice quality to them.

[TonyO]

I use a Konica Minolta Dimage G400. My daughter bought it for me in Toronto last year.
My mates give me a lot of stick about keeping my BMW shiny and clean. They say its for riding not polishing!!! But I say motorcycling has lots of pleasures and facets I enjoy them all.

Tony

[eeguy]

Hello everyone. Been reading here since I bought a 2002 R1150R last year. Great site for information.

[OU812]

Just found this , and well, had to post. First "bike" was Honda 1970 SL70. Got my 1st BMW in 92. 1987 K100LT, NICE BIKE. Always wanted any BMW since I was a kid! First saw 2 riders come into a no-name town I was staying in(1972) on some late 60's early 70's BMW's. Looked like they were on them for week's! Knew then had to have one some day. Just wish it didn't take so long. Anyway, owned too many bikes to list. Raced motocross in my prime. Tried roadracing, WAY to much $! Settled back on the road. Bought my first oilhead, an 02 R1150R, brand new in 02. LOVED IT! Found an 04 with 2400 miles and some extr's for cheap, and snapped that up(wife not happy having two bikes) told her I could sell the 02 for what I paid for the 04, and did. Anyway, GREAT SITE! Lots of interesting banter, and made some buddies on the site. And sold my 02 to a GOOD GUY from Atlanta here. Tks! ps sold lots of stuff here. And bought!

[leoquattro]

Hi
I joined recently but long history with bikes: started with a yellow Lambretta in the 70's, then one of the few Aermacchi Harley Davidson (they had a joint venture time ago in Italy and were manufacturing mainly single cilynders 250/350 cc), then I fell in love with the beatiful sound of a Norton Commando 750, very nice bike (when operational, which was very rarely!). I then switched to a Suzuki 380 two stroke three cylinders, very powerful for those times and very enjoyable, which I still have (didn't run it since 1980 perhaps). After a brief period using just cars, I bought a Honda cross bike 125 cc, which was much fun (I still have that too, even after a year unused, few kicks and it starts again!).
In 2003 I bought a second hand BMW F650 and I started to appreciate BMWs. While my bike was at BMW for routine maintenance they gave me an R850R as a temp replacement, and I liked it so much I bought soon after a second hand black R1150R, keeping the F650 as well (you can imagine what my wife is saying, the official excuse was that because of anti-pollution rules in Italy I would have got few € for that bike, so it was more convenient to keep it at our seaside house and use it in summer!).

Soon after I discovered your beautiful board and I thank you all for all useful and very interesting suggetsions and advice you are posting,
ciao
Leoquattro

[Doug]

Welcome all!

[Mr Episkopos]

Hi (Geia sas)

Im Dimitris from Athens, owner of R1150R 2005 model


Im 34 single but not for long so girls hurry up

[OU812]

Do not get married! I repeat, DO NOT get married. I just had to say that, kind of like a disclaimer.

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

Hi all,

This is my little baby:-



Rog

[Rosbif]

New BMW owner from France. Sorry it's only an R850R, but I hope you'll make me welcome.

I had a Honda ST1100 previously, but the BM is so much lighter and much nicer to ride.