OT - slightly - looking into new bike

[bridgebiker]

Hi Guys

SWMBO has said I can upgrade tthe Tiger and I have narrowed choice down to 4 possibles. BMW 1150RT, GS1150, GS1200 (cheap one) or a pan. Those of you who know me will know I'm 6'6" tall and therefore need a tall bike, hence the 2 GS options.
Here is a short list of my thoughts at present

I want a shaftdrive, hence the above shortlist
I would prefer alloy wheels, which means the GS 1150 has a major drawback, its spoked
I love the looks of the 1150RT (hate the 1100 and dislike the 1200)

I intend to commute on new bike "most of the year" and the need to filter is quite high so I need topbox for day to day and panniers for touring. Is the GS noticeably narrower than the RT?

This bike is to last at least 4/5 years, if I buy a 25/30K mileage bike and put 50K on it am I looking at a nil value in 5 years?

Does anyone know when the twinspark 1150 engine was fitted to the GS and RT? Will I notice any difference if the bike is not twin spark?

Long shot, anyone have an idea of difference in cost of service between GS and RT?

I am going to test ride at least the 2 style of beemers on Saturday to see how I get on with them.

Having sat on a Pan I thought it was a little low, which is why it is the last on the list but hopefully I may get to ride this as well on Saturday

Also any websites/forums I could glean info re the RT or GS would help

Thanks in advance for help, and how knows I may even have new bike for 16 days time

Neil

PS

If any one is looking for a 1999 Tiger, yellow, full luggage (triumph panniers Givi topbox, colour matched) Tax Feb 08, MOT OCT 07, scot oiler and 18K miles drop me an email

[ContourMac]

Have checked list twice - no mention of FJR

Man is obviously delusional

[CD]

Gotta be worth trying the FJR alongside that company. Or slum it on a Divvie :-)

Some time ago I looked at getting a GS/RT/RS for similar commuting. The Honda VFR was also on the list (I'm not so tall), but at 15000 miles it has to have the valve clearances checked or the warranty is void. That would have been an annual (at least) cost for me. The dealer said they do them but they never need adjusting. Thats ok then, so its just the £500 labour for a (usually) pointless service check.

Why is this relevant? The Pan might also have similar service demands so watch out. The Honda also needed regular servicing more often than the Beemer. Something daft like every 4000 = Honda and 8000 = Beemer. OK the Honda was more highly tuned but (at least) double the servicing cost?

I began to see why BMWs are so popular with high mileage riders.

People I know say Pans and especially Verybarrows are much more thristy than the Beemers. Others have complained about the multiplex wiring on the Beemer 1200s being unreliable.

PS These people have a GS1150 showing 18K for £5000. It look well cared for when I saw it.
www.bikedirectbristol.co.uk/

[ddfjr]

contourmac said:

Have checked list twice - no mention of FJR

Man is obviously delusional

Here Here.........i'll 2nd that

[Deleted]

How to improve a beemer---------stick a jap 4 in it ;D

[teejayexc]

gordy said:

How to improve a beemer---------stick a jap 4 in it ;D

Surely if you stuck 4 Japs in a beemer it would be called a Toyota? ;D

trev

[HRHpenfold]

i have a twin spark 1150 gs, its crap mate, im gona keep it forever


look at
www.ukgser.com/forums/index.php

for yourself, i would recomend the Adventure model, to tall for me to ride, so i guess just right for you, they do take a good few miles to apreciate, well they did me after the fazer 1000, gona service mine myself, should cost around £70 for a major service, mines just coming up 24k miles

[HRHpenfold]

i did see a 2000 model with 99k miles go for £3k, so my 2003 model at £5400 with 22k was worth the money ;D

[HRHpenfold]

Im looking for alloys off a r1100s, fit straight on and easier to clean, but my spoked wheels are ok, but more difficult to clean ;D

the rt is slightly more expensive to service than a gs, tbh the gs is an excellent tourer,

if you sponser on ukgser, it costs £12

you can then access the "for sale and wanted" section

there are allways lots of bikes for sale

[bridgebiker]

Thanks guys,

I know the FJR is missing but I always thought that the seat height was even lower than the Pan. I had a 900 before the Tiger but found that my knees and hips suffered due to the lowness/seat height, but loved the maintenance free shaft.

Ian any ideas on what you looking to pay for the RS alloys? Do you know when the twinspark was introduced?

Hopefully Saturday will be reasonably dry for test rides, fingers crossed

Neil

[adbru]

i would recomend the Adventure model, to tall for me to ride, so i guess just right for you

I'd second that !!

Recently saw a 12gs and a 12gs Adv parked next to each other, the standard GS looked small !!

I parked my 600 next to the Adv and it looked like the divvy would fit in the top box ;D

I think the height of the Adv would suit you sir.

have fun

Adbru

[CD]

Bridgebiker says low seats hurt his hips & back.

I get similar problems on the Divvie 900. I don't know if its the high footrests (seat deffo not low) or the shape of the seat. I'm beginning to suspect its the seat shape throwing my hips forward and increasing lumbar back curvature. But only way to prove it is a different shape seat. I dont want risk the costs of a Corbin or similar to find the problem is no better or even worse.

[HRHpenfold]

dunno when the twin spark was introduced, but the full range got it, think it was in 2002 as i have seen 2002 models without it


up to £500 for alloys but i have seen them for 300, both secondhand, just paint mine with scottoiler i think and avoid cleaning them and upgrade when a reasonable priced set come available ;D

the 1200 model has alloys, not sure about the adventure one tho

[eliminator]

I've got a 2003 bike with 30,000 miles on the clock.(29000 of them mine ;D) Averages about 50 mpg, easy to service it myself. Finish isn't what you'd expect a BMW to be I ride all year, & cover my bikes with ACF50. ;D

Avoid the servo assisted brakes, like mine. Although if the servo pump dies, it can be bypassed with new brake lines ;D

For all the talk about low down torque on twin cylinder bikes, 6th at anything less than 40 isn't much fun. The 900 Divvy will plod at about just over 20 in 5th.

Iwas behind my mate on his Kwak 900, at the roundabouts I was going up & down the box, he didn't change.

[alpaholic]

bridgebiker said:

Hi Guys

SWMBO has said I can upgrade tthe Tiger and I have narrowed choice down to 4 possibles. BMW 1150RT, GS1150, GS1200 (cheap one)

Have you sat on the GS? It's a tall bike in terms of distance from seat to ground but it's quite cramped once your feet are on the pegs. Also the saddle design prevents you from sitting further away from the tank which makes it even more cramped.

[bridgebiker]

Even with the Tiger the I tend to sit between rider and pillon position'sto get legs comfy, but during a ride I tend to slip forward and certainly on long runs I tend to have a 5/10 secod stint sitting on the pillion seat to ease the legs.

I have sat on the RT 1150 with seat in highest position and it seemed ok for leg position but not tried GS yet. But looking forward to Saturday's tests

Neil

[yorric]

If you're into such high miles you could buy two D9 Yammys for the price of one Beemer! Always have one on the road and hold the other ready for action! There are still plenty of low mileage 900's available for not a lota wonga.
After all we are the Diversion Club! Gotta keep the faith!

[maddogmcq]

I sold my BMW R1100S in January and one of the reasons was that it just didn't sound like a bike! It was fast, handled superbly and the finish was good enough (certainly not outstanding though), but it just seemed a bit errr... clanky and tractor like. I'm guess I'm being unfair cos I like Jap bikes. No I'm not. Yes I am. No I'm not.

Get an FJR!!

[apricot]

"Have checked list twice - no mention of FJR "

"Man is obviously delusional "

He's after a bike, NOT a bus ;D

awaiting stick......

[ContourMac]

Stick in post

[CD]

yorric said:

If you're into such high miles you could buy two D9 Yammys for the price of one Beemer! Always have one on the road and hold the other ready for action! There are still plenty of low mileage 900's available for not a lota wonga.
After all we are the Diversion Club! Gotta keep the faith!

Daisy's 10 in August has done 35000 and the engine sounds perfect. The steering is sharp the gears good (as good as big Yamahas ever are) it does about 45 to the gallon. etc. etc. and it cost £1300.

A newer bike will be smoother and smarter but at 4x the cost for a used GS it should be.

[eliminator]

Regarding the comment about the footpegs, lowering kits are available for tall pepes, as are optional seat heights. Remember, that the std. GS (1150 not 1200) has a front & rear seat, but the Adventure has a one piece, point is that the two piece is stepped.

Buy one and you'll realise the opportunity to change it is almost Harlyesque.

[CD]

I'll have a set of adjustable footrests for Daisy please. Down low for boring motorways where you need the comfort and up high for A roads where you need the clearance.

What? Nobody makes any? Pity, they might catch on.

[speighty]

You sure your only 6' 6" ?

Hmmmm, a bit tall for me to offer any advice really, as im on the short side at 5'6"

[HRHpenfold]

bridgebiker said:

Even with the Tiger the I tend to sit between rider and pillon position'sto get legs comfy, but during a ride I tend to slip forward and certainly on long runs I tend to have a 5/10 secod stint sitting on the pillion seat to ease the legs.

I have sat on the RT 1150 with seat in highest position and it seemed ok for leg position but not tried GS yet. But looking forward to Saturday's tests

Neil

they are about the same iirc, not sure about the adventure though, you can get footrest lower kit from nippy normans, lowers the rests by an inch.

never rode a non twinspark to know any difference, but they are easy to tell, the non twin spark have 4 valve on the black bit of the rocker covers and the twin spark has twin spark on them

[bridgebiker]

Still not done test ride yet as its still only Thursday!

But have found 2 RT's an 03 twinspark, 26K and an 02 not twinspark 18K. The 02 is £200 cheaper with 8K miles less, question will I notice the twinspark difference?

All these problems, not a lot of time to solve them

Neil

[HRHpenfold]

read ;D
www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39108&highlight=twinspark

[CD]

How many sparks do you need? Personally I'd save the cost of extra plugs and get the single spark.

[HRHpenfold]

as many as i can get, was a little disapointed to buy a twin and still have to buy 4 plugs, thing is there is two different types

[bridgebiker]

Cheers Ian, just the sort of thing I was looking for

THX

Neil