Tell me bad things about your R1150R

[stbrown1]

I've owned several motorcycles before, but never a BMW. I'm looking at buying a used R1150R (w/ABS) in the next year or so, and I would like to hear some BAD things about them. Tell me some things to watch for when buying a used Roadster. I can find plenty of good things, but bad things are harder to come buy. Is there something that breaks on poorly maintained bikes, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[NorseMan9]

I've owned several motorcycles before, but never a BMW. I'm looking at buying a used R1150R (w/ABS) in the next year or so, and I would like to hear some BAD things about them. Tell me some things to watch for when buying a used Roadster. I can find plenty of good things, but bad things are harder to come buy. Is there something that breaks on poorly maintained bikes, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The only thing I didn't like about it when I first got it was the riding position. I got used to it, but your knees do come up pretty high. Also, there's a slight forward lean such that my right hand/wrist has some issues. If I change my riding position slightly though, I can ride for hours.

Other than that, I've had no issues after 2,000 miles.

[DSKYZD]

Is there something that breaks on poorly maintained bikes, etc.

It's just not characteristic of most BMW buyers to poorly maintain their machines.

Look for leaks up under the shaft drive. More than one cause of that, most of the time it isn't serious, but can be. If the age and mileage of the bike are low there may be warranty left. In that case you're good.

Best of luck!


DSKYZD

[vinman]

I've owned several motorcycles before, but never a BMW. I'm looking at buying a used R1150R (w/ABS) in the next year or so, and I would like to hear some BAD things about them. Tell me some things to watch for when buying a used Roadster. I can find plenty of good things, but bad things are harder to come buy. Is there something that breaks on poorly maintained bikes, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The only thing I didn't like about it when I first got it was the riding position. I got used to it, but your knees do come up pretty high. Also, there's a slight forward lean such that my right hand/wrist has some issues. If I change my riding position slightly though, I can ride for hours.

Other than that, I've had no issues after 2,000 miles.

No disrespect meant but it sounds like you have long legs and a relatively short upper body to have your legs scrunched up but yet have to lean foward to reach the bars. Obviously sitting position is very individual. But the R1150R doesn't have sport bike ergos. I've heard of short riders using peg lowering kits so their knees aren't too bent and shorter riders using barbacks to reduce their reach to the bars.

Here's my list of "bad" things that is not so subjective as the sitting position, but how "bad" these are is still subjective:

1) it consumes up to a quart of oil every thousand miles until broken in. The engine may not be broken in until 6,000 miles before oil consumption drops significantly.

2) BMW service and parts are VERY pricey.

3) Dealer network is not as big as Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, HD.

4) The use of crimp type fuel line clamps and the way BMW handled the recall is very poor, especially for a $10,000 motorcycle.

5) Heavy - the bike can stand to go on a diet.

6) Transmission is not as smooth as those on may other bikes. It's been referred to as 'clunky' by some.

7) Passenger seat gets uncomfortable after 20 minutes.

Stock exhaust makes the bike sound like a sewing machine.

9) Drive shaft rear seal failures - usually happens in the warranty period but not always - refer to problem #2.

10) Resale value is low, but then again that applies to many other bikes too. You buy a bike for fun, not as an investment.

11) If you want a lot of wind protection the large windscreens offered on the market are downright fugly.

12) Insurance rates are based on engine displacement. Compared to some other bikes you don't get a lot of horsepower for the 1130 cc.

13) Engine and exhaust mods will get empty your wallet for only small gains in HP.

[MikeCam]

Some but by no means all Roadsters/Rocksters develop these problems (in addition to the list(s) above):

fork seal leaks, fork corrosion, front shock leak, ABS module replace out of warranty, dealer brake bleed (nearly required) for ABS equipped bikes, bad battery location, difficult air filter placement, faulty left mirror assembly and retainer, faulty heated grip element (right side), uhhhh!

Now, most people have trouble free bikes. For some one of these things happens. Few have more than one problem.

[klrstix]

Does not getting to ride as much as I want qualify as a bad part of the 1150R?

[DJ Downunder]

No self canceling indicators.

DJ

[NHighCotton]

frigging sight glass instead of a dipstick

[Oilhead]

The brake performance(I have non-ABS).

The seat comfort.

Could stand to lose a little weight.

Battery and Air Filter accessability.

The occasional pinging even with 93 octane.

Terrible terrible horn switch. Did I mention terrible?

Other than that, not too much to complain about.

[Anger]

Burns oil, I've been told this will stop. My R65 doesn't burn a lick of oil so this was a VERY big disapointment.

Uses 89 octane gas. I like cheap gas. When I stop for gas at Costco or Sams Club, all they have is 93 octane. Bend over.

Gas mileage. I'm only getting around 36 to 39 mpg. I expected a little better than that.

There are many positives though, you asked for the negatives.

[johno]

Seat would have to be #1 issue.
I dont have a problem with the indicator controls, others do.
I cant afford to have 2 of them.

[CycleRob]

Only BAD things???? Hmmmmmm . . . .

The seat comfort after 50 minutes is gone.

It's like 525lbs (238.1 kg) gassed up and that's heavy.

"That's cool, I like that, I need that, I'm buy'n it"
--always wins out over--
"Wow, that's expensive!"
for any add-on or accessory.

In 96 degree summer heat (35.5C) in full riding gear you'll still be glad you took the bike to Lowe's instead of her air condittioned car -but- SHE won't be.

If you have the BMW dealer do all your service work it's the most expensive non-Ducati 2 cylinder bike you'll ever own. The exact opposite is true if you do all the work. (OOPS! that was a good thing).

Crazy switch layout (signals, start button, horn) will take 2 yrs to learn and frustrate you until then.

Being air cooled, it'll overheat in a 20 minute gridlocked city summer traffic jam.

The realization how stupid you were wasting all those miles and years on lesser bikes.



BTW, The oil window is a big plus (NOT a bad) if you follow the drill before reading it. Dipsticks are messy and time consuming because they don't show anything until you unscrew/wipe/dip/remove/read/replace them.

[1150929]

...I really struggled for something bad, 'cause I look at it as an all round bike which it does everything reasonably well.

Cruiser types think it looks awkward, sportbike types think its too slow, GS types think its too low...

Ok, got something, don't like the split turn indicator controls. And the choke is plain dumb on a modern bike.

[johno]

Yeah, I must admit the choke is a real pain to use with thick gloves on.
I dont know why they didnt put it on the side facing the rider.
Once you get used to the blinkers, they are not a problem.
I dont see the weight as a major issue, as it helps hold the bike down
in rough weather.
Try riding a Fireblade on a windy day.

[iowabeakster]

bad things huh?

heavy, heavy, heavy,

annoying brake servo noise, difficult to handle at very slow speed (ABS)

crappy turn signal layout

cruddy choke lever

bizarre beak front fender

air cooled

questionable seat

inaccurate tach, speedo

lousy fuel line clamps

battery, filter placement


great motorcycle though, you should get one!

[paroyboy]

Why does everyone seem to hate the sight glass instead of a dipstick? I hate checking oil with a dipstick. Especially since most bike sticks are black! Much easier to see the level in the sight glass. Its one of my favorite things about the R.

[johno]

Another bad thing I just found.
DONT SNAP THE CLUTCH LINE!!!
You have to pull half the bike apart to replace it.
I snapped it fitting GS hand guards. Always in a hurry!

[bad n ruin]

The seat sucks

Poor ergos for horn switch - when you need to stab it quick (and wimpy sound once you find it).

Some wire bundles are tie-wrapped too tight - you need to take the tank off and loosen some of them

Battery accessability

Wimpy kickstand - I almost always use the center stand

Hot Cat (removed mine)

Cheap-ass crimp fuel line clamps


But...one man's garbage is another man's gold -

I Like the weight

Like the sight glass

Like the Beak

Non ABS brake performance is fantastic

Like the function and ergos of the so-called 'choke' lever

The tranny -though sometimes balky, feels like it's overbuilt.

[mcollect]

The seat is horrible! but thier are many aftermarket ones available.
Turn signal cancelling it should have them, Oh I fixed that with Kissan signal cancelers.
BAD side stand, Bob's has a CNC footprint to fix that
Riders foot pegs are too high, suburban makes really nice ones.
Needs more visability, Motolights fixes that.
High exhaust takes away form left bag, Remove the can or lower it.
I really only did these things to mine and the bike is as good as I have ever ridden, more reliable then Duc's or Triumphs. As reliable as a Guzzi but more fun.

[JCsman]

I hate to even post since I LOVE my Roadster, but:

- Mirrors could be larger/better looking (there are posts here on how to swap them out).
- Ditto lack of dealers, mine is 90 miles away.
- Servo whine (not too bad)
- Upswept exhaust intrudes on left case
- Neither case will hold an XL, full-face helmet (but aestetically and for clearance I don't want them larger, either)
- Headlight could be brighter

Now that seems like a fairly long list. Here's a shorter one:
Bikes I'd rather own:
-