R1150gs

[n0other]

Hi folks,

Anyone here has/had the pleasure of owning this bike or R1100GS? I know you can do a lot of touring on FZ6 and that for dirt the GS are considered too heavy but I've brainwashed myself from reading advrider and horizonsunlimited that I need this bike no matter what. For long range two up travel with some gravel roads. R1200GS is out of my price range and I'm not too keen on having CAN-bus on my bike where simple services might require computer intervention to diagnose/reset.

I have no option of test driving it either at the moment and comparing it to FZ6 is not apples to oranges, apples to fish rather..but still, anyone willing to share their opinion on these bikes? Is the weight a problem, are they fast enough to have fun? What's the dry clutch feel like, is slipping the clutch with throttle application a big no no there? How is reliability on these? Some people swear by them being uber reliable but they are usually Japanese bike bashers and I don't take them too seriously, however you can find others who say BMs are expensive junk anyway

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I've ridden several BMW opposed twins. Not a GS. I found a steady constant vibration, not bad, but thru out the entire rev range, (IMHO, quite annoying).

In the little bit of work I've done on my other friends BMW's, they are generally pretty proud of their parts and service prices. I've found , IMHO, their over engineered and are usually NOT user (mechanically friendly).

BTW, While on the interstate (coming back from an 800 mile road trip), my buddy was thinking about getting a Goldwing (which I had) so we traded bikes for awhile. His BMW was confortable, but didn't seem to have the power of an 1100cc MC. The vibrations, also again was a definite NO for me. I couldn't get on my Wing fast enough. He did later get a wing.

BMW is making FS twins that aren't nearly as heavy, water cooled and might be a better option.

Speed wise (acceleration), the FZ6 would smoke that 1100, again, apples to oranges..

 

[Motogiro]

Okay so one of her eye's looks a little funny. I've fallen in love....

 

[PFD023]

Just got back from Motorad this past weekend and the vast majority of BMW's there were GS's......must be alot of people travelling the far reaches of the globe :>
Although I haven't ridden one some of the guys I spoke with this weekend who do/have GS12's and GS11's said the same thing.......the older models feel like freight trains compared to the new GS's.....less nimble.....slow(er) and when hard on the throttle a tendency to pull to one side due to engine/tranny. The kicker for me was when some of them mentioned the $110 "do it yourself" oil changes....no thanks!
TownsendsFJR1300 brought up some vailid points. They are not very user friendly when it comes to repairs and I've heard (can't verify) that you need BMW specific tools for alot of the work ($$$$).
On the plus side they apparently wheelie very well even when fully loaded as was evident during the Motorad BMW (only) owner's parade lap around Mosport.

 

[pookamatic]

In the little bit of work I've done on my other friends BMW's, they are generally pretty proud of their parts and service prices. I've found , IMHO, their over engineered and are usually NOT user (mechanically friendly).

I have found this to be true of all German autos. I own a 2000 Jetta, have owned an 99 A4. They are great in many ways. You have to respect the precise German engineer and at the same time, poke fun at their over engineering. KISS is not in their vernacular. I did the timing belt on the A4 and it took me 13 hours. Granted, there was beer, distractions, and more beer. I found this to be necessary to get through the job with my sanity.

My buddy absolutely hates how their cars are put together and curses me whenever I ask him to help out with something. When asked if he would help with the TB on the Jetta? He said he'd rather set the car on fire and call it a day.

 

[n0other]

The kicker for me was when some of them mentioned the $110 "do it yourself" oil changes....no thanks!

I've researched this a bit and while this may be true if you buy everything with shiny BMW logo there are aftermarket or known to fit (from cars) fuel/oil and air filters, the other consumable is generator V-belt which was used in some Hyunday if my memory serves me right and is made by Contitech. Clutch plate can be found for less than 1/2 of what BMW charges by Ferodo. I've read people recommend 20w50 mineral engine oil for oilheads, the higher viscosity must help to reduce the rattling. By the way the oilheads have a separate transmission (not integrated into the engine), I'm not sure if it takes any oil at all or the parts are just greased there.. Another consumable is shaft oil, but that's like once a year and your friend probably didn't mean to include that into $110 price.

My point is that from a little research I've done you can service this yourself semi-cheap, provided you're not a BMW zealot believing everything must be stamped by them (reality is they don't even make consumables themselves)

 

[SweaterDude]

My dad has an R1150r and we trade bikes on occasion.

Power:

They are exactly the same, but completely different. the BMW is all torque, and the FZ6 is really top end rev happy. in any gear at the sweet spot for both bikes, they will stay side by side. the FZ is a little faster at the very top speed however.

Comfort:

The beemer is more comfortable as far as the saddle is concerned. Period. the ergos, as far as leg space is concerned, are nearly identical. the BMW is a tad more upright and a GS would give you more leg-space than the R.

Feel:

The Beemer handles and brakes more naturally. i cant really explain it, it just is extremely confidence inspiring despite the fact that it weighs 80-90lbs more. even without ABS the beemer feels better under hard braking, but i dont think it really is better, if that makes sense.

The engine is a torque monster and off the line is much stronger than the FZ, but once in 3rd gear the FZ will start to reel the BMW back in and proceed to put a little distance between them.

The Beemer's transmission is weird to get used to. you have to flick the clutch a little to go from neutral to 1st. the shifting feels strange to me, but not in a bad way. i dont notice much of a vibration as mentioned before, but most people, even BMW mechanics, cant tune the Boxer engines very well. luckily here in Nashville we have to guys that are phenomenal with boxers and twins. the valves are just a bit of a pain.

Reliability:

FZ - fewer maintenance intervals, nobody really knows how long they last yet. one guy has over 100,000 mi. on his though......

BMW - lots of maintenance intervals, but ive seen at least 5 boxer bikes with over 100K miles, one guy had almost 270K mi. on his '01 GS.

Looks:

"Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, some people are blind however."
-SweaterDude

 

[SweaterDude]

I've researched this a bit and while this may be true if you buy everything with shiny BMW logo there are aftermarket or known to fit (from cars) fuel/oil and air filters, the other consumable is generator V-belt which was used in some Hyunday if my memory serves me right and is made by Contitech. Clutch plate can be found for less than 1/2 of what BMW charges by Ferodo. I've read people recommend 20w50 mineral engine oil for oilheads, the higher viscosity must help to reduce the rattling. By the way the oilheads have a separate transmission (not integrated into the engine), I'm not sure if it takes any oil at all or the parts are just greased there.. Another consumable is shaft oil, but that's like once a year and your friend probably didn't mean to include that into $110 price.

My point is that from a little research I've done you can service this yourself semi-cheap, provided you're not a BMW zealot believing everything must be stamped by them (reality is they don't even make consumables themselves)

20W-50 mobil1, use it. just do it, i promise you BMWs run better with it.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The older boxer engine is supposed to be one of the most reliable engines made. Its pretty basic, doesn't have water cooling (a good and a bad thing), no cooling system to worry about maintain but then clearances are looser for air/oil cooling only.

They just came out with a water cooled boxer engine, don't know much about that.

On one of my friends BMW STREET bikes (forgot which one-he gets a new every 6 months, literally), we decided to do an oil filter change as the shop was so expensive. First off, you need a special BMW filter socket (no short cuts here, more later). You had to remove 6 bolts and a plate at the bottom of the engine (the oil filter CARTRIDGE, YES a SPIN ON CARTRIDGE). Once you get a cup of oil out all over the place, after removing the plate you see the regular oil filter that's FLUSH with the block. No oil strap wrenches here! Put your $60.00 BMW oil filter socket on it and remove it. Reverse the procedure for re-assembly. Again, IMHO, the absolute WORST OF BOTH WORLDS. The ease of a spin on oil filter you can't access!! The you get drenched in oil to gain access to a more expensive spin on filter...

If you've noticed, BMW has somewaht broke away from their cantilever front suspension cfor a lot of their bikes including the S1000RR and alot of their off road bikes for simplier, standard front ends.

Perhaps they get the higher mileage out of their bikes with the higher maintainance schedules, lower revving engines, generally not driven by newbies, red lining it from day one...

As you've guessed, I'm not a fan but do appreciate them NOT installing helmet locks on their bikes for $20,000 plus bikes. I make brackets to put earlier version BMW helmet locks on them! Thanks BMW!!! :thumbup:

Yep, a cheap plug!!


And of course, for my fellow Yamaha FZ6, S1, buds, couldn't leave you guys out!!


1st pic-RT, 2nd picture-S1000RR, 3rd picture-GT 1300,

lower picture-RS bracket (also have LS) for the GS1200, 1300

lower right picture-04-09 FZ6

 

[Andz]

I have read that the R1200GS is the best selling bike in South Africa. Not hard to believe when you see how many are around. It's not my cup of tea, I found it too rough after riding a four for so long, but they have some diehard fans.

 

[n0other]

Wow such an amazing and detailed response, I knew it's the best place to ask for anything regarding motorcycles!

I've seen images of high mileage oilhead boxers floating around

This one is stated to be on all stock engine internals except the cam chain guides.

clicky

It's seems to be a fairly rugged and under-stressed engine.

Then again, there's a girl on gen1 FZ1 that passed 200k miles last year and has a full expense spreadsheet, albeit the bike took much much less beating than a normal high mileage GS would. Amazing still.