BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I own an '04 R1150R, which I absolutely love. Recently, I was in California on business, had a free weekend, and decided to rent a bike. The only BMW I could find (was looking for an R bike) was an F800GS, so I took it. Rode north and south on the Pacific Coast Highway, 500+ miles total. The ride an...

I have an '04 R1150R with about 14K miles. Bought it from the original owner with 2K on it. All maintenance has been kept up-to-date. The bike has been totally reliable, and runs strong. Absolutely love the bike. Took a couple of relatively long day rides this weekend. I always wear a helmet. When I...

I recently bought one of these. http://www.crampbuster.com Works great in terms of keeping my throttle hand from fatiguing. My hand used to cramp-up within 50 miles or so. Went to visit my daughter in college over the weekend. Rode 120-140 miles at a time, and my throttle hand was fine. But now I've...

Thanks for the responses, guys. I was and am pretty sure that it's simply a single-cylinder detonation occasionally on hot restart. I was just wondering if they all do that. Sounds like some/many do. This board's a great resource! Keith

I have an 04 R with 10K miles. Since I bought the bike (with 2K miles), when starting a warm engine, I hear one "ping" (for lack of a better term) when the bike starts. It sounds to me like one of the cyllinders experiences a detonation when starting the engine warm. (It does not do this w...

Marine Dad, I, too, went from a HD to the R. If you like to ride, as opposed to staring at chrome, you're going to love the R. For a short time, I was going to keep both bikes. I found that, after riding the R for a week or so, riding the Harley was a little scary due to the crappy brakes and sluggi...

I've been using Castrol GTX 20W50 since I bought my '04 R with 2K miles on it. It now has 10K. No problems (although, 10K miles is not many). I change my oil every 3K miles. Oil consumption is now down to almost nothing (i.e., ~ 1/2 quart per 2.5K miles), so I may soon go to synthetic, and increase ...

Michael, I think your best bet, and what I do, is to avoid recreational riding in rural areas early in the morning and at dusk. Those are typically the peak times for deer movement. There was a local guy not too long ago that left his home about dusk for a recreational ride. He did not come home. A ...

If your bike is completely stopped when it won't go into first gear, then all you have to to is to roll it backward a small bit, with pressure on the shifter, and it should go into first gear. I think "they all do that." On the other hand, if the bike is rolling forward at all when you're ...

Here are a couple.

Harley-Davidson, pronounced "Hardly Ableson."

HD; more a** jewelry than motorcycle.

Having owned a Harley for several years, I find the HD jokes particularly funny, as there's a certain element of truth in them.

Keith

Thanks for the helpful input. Looks like I need to add a jacket liner and controller to my current cold weather ensemble, and see if I'm comfortable down to the high 30's or so. At temps below that, the cage looks awful good! Hats off to those of you riding in the really cold weather. I must be a wu...

In another thread on oil, some guys mention using a lower viscosity oil for easier starting at temperatures below X degrees. Some of the values of X are pretty cold! :shock: I'm usually comfortable enough for recreational riding down to 50 degF. Below that, it's pretty chilly at 65 mph. I'm curious ...

I think the manual says that the difference between max and min in the sight glass is about 0.5 quart. FWIW, there's a BMW motorcycle mechanic not too far from my home. He's been working on BMWs for 30 years, until recently at BMW dealerships. He highly recommends synthetic oil once the engine is br...

Irishbiker, I've found that when shifting from neutral to 1st, with the bike stopped, I usually have to roll the bike backward by just a small amount (a couple of inches) to get it to go into gear. My impression is that this is fairly normal. I love the R, but the transmission, IMO, is a little weir...

I'm considering getting a GPS for my RR. (I'd also like to use it in the car.) Walmart and Cabelas have a pretty good sale on the Garmin Street Pilot, 330 and 530, respectively. However, the Garmin website does not list these models as one of their motorcycle models. Do any of you use either of thes...

As with any design, there are trade-offs. But, IMO, the Rs are the most intelligent motorcycle design out there.

Keith

I thought these bikes were supposed to be 85 hp from the factory. Perhaps I'm not remembering correctly. And I'm too lazy at the moment to look it up. Keith

Ray, Hirsty asks some good questions for you to consider. I can tell you that I've had 8 bikes over the years, Japanese and American. I currently have an 04 R1150R, my first BMW. By far, I like this bike more than any bike I've ever had. Comfortable for long rides, fast (enough for me), good handlin...

Good story, CycleRob. I was told once that no do-it-yourself project is worthwhile unless there's significant potential to damage something!

I like Boxer's idea of leaving the stubby key in one of the cases for convenience.

Keith

Thanks for the response, guys.

Keith