Need an opinion to help make a purchase.

[U53ful 1di0t]

Hello all. This is my first post, and I'm hoping to post many more here after. But I need some input about a bike I have found, and need to know if its worth buying, and how much I should expect to pay for it.

I work at a Honda dealership, adjascent to a BMW/DUCATI dealer, and we currently have a pre-owned 2004 R1150R Rockster in the citrus green color. I know the history of the bike fairly well.

It was bought brand new by our service writer here at honda in 2004, and at around 400mi. he dropped it in an intersection and scratched up the valve cover. He brought it to the BMW dealership next door, and they replaced the valve cover, and did the 600 mile service (oil and gear oil change, etc.) He has ridden it for another 3000 miles after, and then the bike was sold to our dealership, and bought by another customer with around 3400mi. on it. About a week later, the customer returned with the bike, and the engine was "blown". He sold the bike, and Cross Country BMW replaced all of the parts that were damaged. The speculation is that the customer had been doing wheelies and the bike didnt get the oil it needed and eventually seized up (is this possible, btw?). The engine was rebuilt, and has been sitting here at our dealership ever since.

Now I'm brand new to motorcycles, and due to my lack of experience and tall stature (6'4") I was looking into something in the sport-touring category. I am currently immensely interested in a brand new VFR800 due to its sportbike soul, and relaxed, fairly upright ergonomics. However, the VFR is in the 9000-11000 range brand new, whereas I can probably purchase the rockster for 5000.

I am just wondering what kind of issues I can expect from the rockster considering it was rebuilt and dropped, and if 5000 is the right price to ask for it.

Please give me any and all input, and I appologize for the lenghty post. I just wished to include as much information as I could as I really like the bike and would like to make a fairly informed and educated decision based on your experience with this bike.

Thank you all very much.

[GTR350cc]

The only question, it seems, is how good a job did the rebuilder do on that engine? If you have confidence in that, then I'd say $5000 for a 2004 with a repaired engine is good. Other things to check- trued wheels, solid and safe electrics, no frame damage, plastics/painted parts in good condition, no missing fasteners, transmission/spline/final drive condition and performance.

There is a new break-in required as well. Perhaps the selling dealer will permit you a weekend excursion of 250-500 miles to really see if everything is working well.

Good luck.

[U53ful 1di0t]

thanks for the quick reply! The bike is frequently ridden by the owner of the dealerships, and I doubt he would put his life in danger if he knew something were extremely wrong with it. The bike looks nearly brand new, all damaged parts from dropping it were replaced. I hear the BMW techs over at Cross Country BMW are top notch, so the repairs were also done to the highest standards. But rebuilt is never brand new, and since I am not familiar with any quirks of the boxer motor, this is my main reason for scepticism. But I am now talking to my boss to see if they will let me take it for the weekend or so and see how I like it. Everyone I work with is telling me "its slow, its not powerful, etc." but its my first bike, and i need something comfortable and reliable to learn on before I buy a brand new bike. Ill probably keep it for a year or so and then get the interceptor anyway, or perhaps step up to a K1200R........ but now with your positive input, it seems like I would be making the right choice...

[GTR350cc]

Slow and power are very relative terms.

Most owners of the Boxer Oilhead engine find the 85 crank HP and the 80ftlbs torque to be very sporty - no real top end like a 600 or liter bike racer replica, but plenty of grunt and pull.

AND most folks find the balance and suspension of these bikes so positively wonderful that it makes up for the lack of raw power very well.

Yes it is heavier and less fast down the line. But it is a twisty loving bike that you should really appreciate. I hope this works out well for you.

[Ric]

Yes....oil starvation can happen when doing lengthy wheelies, riding it through a few gears or holding it up for long periods.

Most modern jap sportbikes have addressed "Wheelie Death" with some internal mods, but I suspect thats just on the 600's and liter bikes.

[hirsty]

It's all relative, but you wouldn't class the Rockster as slow for a first bike... I think it'd be a great bike that you could "grow into" without being overwhelmed at first.

If you are a reasonable size then you'll have no problem with the size/weight of the bike - many shorties have to wait to gain some more experience elsewhere before feeling confident with the BMW.

Best thing to do would be to try and talk to the techs at the BMW shop who fixed it (both times) - you'll quickly get a feel for whether they did it right or to a price.

[ibux]

I'm 6'6" and I don't experiense any problems neither with bike size nor weight/power..so try it out on the road, doubt you'll regret it

[big papa]

Go straight for the k1200r...

[duke]

... Now I'm brand new to motorcycles ...

Go straight for the k1200r...

Big papa:

Now that is a bloody good advice:

Get someone novice on a bike which produces 163 bhp and 127 Nm at the crank.

I suggest you send flowers to the hospital or the coroners court.

I am sure you have said it with all the good intentions. Please do not take this as a personal attack.

Maybe after some time it will be logical progress to get a K1200R ...

U53ful 1di0t:

I can't see how you could be drawing comparison between VFR and Rockster .... they are so ... different.

I do not know the US models sold by Honda, but IMHO the closest match to Rockster probably is Hornet 900. I know it is inline 4, etc. etc. ... but is a naked bike with all the associated positive and negative sides.

I am sure the VFR is good - never ridden it, but they sound very nice even with the stock exhaust.

You have to figure out what you want from a bike first I reckon ...

[MartyWadd]

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[fnfalman]

I can't speculate about the "blown" engine repair, but as far as dropping it on the side, hell, I took a 40-MPH low side with the bike slid on the road for about 20-yards before hitting soft dirt and the only thing it did was gouging the valve cover and a broken signal light.

I personally wouldn't recommend the Rockster to be a first bike. It's heavy and awkward to handle at slow speed. Not something that's amenable for a beginner. Does this bike have ABS? If it does then the servo-assisted braking system also doesn't teach a beginner squat about threshold braking or brake modulations.

It won't be nearly as fast as an Interceptor, but it's plenty fast enough to have fun in (120-MPH top speed). And it's very torquey so that makes it easy to ride at slow and moderate speeds.

For a 6ft4 person, a tall seat is a must.

I love my Rock, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner just because of the weight and strange handling characteristics.

As far as the K-bikes go, if I were to want an inline four, I'd go Jap.

[Ric]

You couldn't give me a V-4 Honda. As a long time wrencher, just one experience adjusting the valves on my buddies V-4 Honda was all I ever want. Everything about that Honda was a pain in the arse ! And being so I should imagine taking it to a shop for such work will cost an arm & leg. Of course, from what I gather BMW will charge an arm & a leg for a tire change

[dragonmojo]

I just went on a ride in the foothills near here (in 49er Gold Country). The K1200R couldn't shake my Rockster on these roads. On my R1200C I would have to back off because of all the sparks and grinding pegs. What's a sportbike soul?

[chipko]

I had a 1998 VFR 800 fiw (so gear-driven, not chain-driven cams) for two years. Utterly reliable, comfortable, plenty fast enough, and more forgiving than a sports 600 (except possibly the Honda 600, which is very easy to ride). The main valve clearance service is every 12,000 miles and in good old U of K costs £350 from a main dealer, mostly because there's lots of bits to unbolt to get to the engine, and the valves take shims so the mechanic has to get out a calculator rather than a screwdriver. No ABS, but it had front and rear linked brakes.

My 80th Rockster has a taller saddle and is heavier. Less top end and no wind protection, but it's a blast away from the traffic lights. Lots of torque makes for another forgiving ride. I find the servo-assisted ABS linked brakes very powerful but a bit 'grabby', but the ABS is great on slippery Winter roads.

Either go fast enough for me. Ultimate accolade: came back to where I'd parked up the other day as a youth gang went past. All stopped to look at my bike with the comment 'how f***ing cool is that!'. You won't get that with the Honda ...

Try before you buy.

[TonyT607]

Cross Country BMW has excellent techs....Besides CycleRob, they're the only ones who I would let monkey with my bike. They took good care of my '02
R 1150 R and likewise with new ST.

If you don't know him go over and say hi to Brian Donovan, the service manager. He's a good guy and a straight shooter.

FWIW the R was my first bike 5 years ago (having learned on a Harley V Rod and a BMW K1200RS).