Tried R1100r, but didn't like

[S3man]

First off, I am not a troll and this is not to bash the bike. A friend of mine is contemplating selling his 1995 R1100r abs bike. It has 43K miles. It has the Techlusion fuel controller. It has been fairly well maintained and the throttle bodies were supposedly synced. I currently ride a 2000 model triumph 955 speed triple. Any of you whom have ridden one knows that they make almost vibration free power from the bottom end to redline. On the boxer, I did not like the vibration, the sweetspot on this bike was from 2500 - 3000 rpm. She was smooth as silk there. That was around 52 mph in top gear, so virtually useless in the real world. On the interstate, my right hand buzzed to the point of numbness. Going through the gears there was just too much courseness for me.

The good - Solo and 2-up this was the most comfortable bike I have ever been on, yes it had a well broken in corbin. With the backrest in the pillion position I didn't even know my wife was behind me.

Now, have any of you gone from a japanese bike or triumph triple to a oilhead boxer? Did you share the same experience as me? Do you get used to it? Does this bike just need a good throttle body sync and the vibe free range will expand? Is this just part of the character of a bmw boxer?

[MikeCam]

It is a hard comparison between the Speed Triple 955i (a nearly perfect ride in every respect) and the regular Boxer engine. I suspect two things: 1) the bike needs a good tune-up. Not just a throttle body sync, but the whole shebang. 2) The sweet spot on a Boxer is 5500-6500 rpm in top gear (every gear for that matter). If this one does not provide that (after passing through the vibration zone between 3800-4200 rpm) then back to step one.

I suspect the bike shows signs of aging. Perhaps there is a frame crack (where the transmission housing is mounted on the lower rear frame) or perhaps the forks/yoke/telelever are out of alignment. These are things not covered in routine maintenance but do occur. Maybe it needs better shocks and shock mounts, perfectly balanced tires, trued wheels and axles straightened.

Still Boxers, by their nature will vibrate somewhere.

[CRazyCam]

Dunno if this helps you or not, but....

I ended up getting my R850R as a result of getting a Triumph Street Triple.

The triple, basically, is a hooligan's bike, and I love it, but it is hopeless for carrying the wife on the back.
It is also quite difficult for the rider to restrain the desire to grossly exceed any/all speed limits.

So, I got the BM as my shopping/passenger carrying/cruising bike.

I have ended up falling in love with the BM, but ride it in a very different style from the Trumpy.

Roads, that on the Triumph are a constant flurry of gear changes and blasting out of corners, tend to be negotiated on the BM simply in top (5th) gear with a simple roll on or off of the throttle.

In short I ride it more like a cruiser, and, strangely enough, it turns out to be not that much slower.

Both bikes are great, but have totally (to me) different characteristics, so keeping both in the garage makes sense to me.

I admit to being surprised by how much I enjoy the BM as I became more used to the different style of riding.

regards,CrazyCam

[S3man]

My problem for now is being able to keep the triple and get the boxer. I would love to get the boxer for the 2-up and leisure riding, but money, garage space, you know the deal prevent that. Maybe a K bike instead? I think his bike is ok, the more I read about the boxer the more it sounds normal. The mirrors were just barely blurry at 70-75 mph on the interstate. Hey, it was definately smoother than my 00 HD sportster.

[nevada72]

I think BMWs aren't for everyone. That said, they are for me. Fwiw - my right hand never goes numb at any speed or RPM and my bike can only be described as smooth and rock steady - especially at highway speeds. Gotta wonder if your bud's bike isn't having some issues.

[The Meromorph]

I had a similar 'problem' with my R1100R. A new set of much heavier bar-end weights from ManicSalamander.com (18.5 ounces each, rather than the stock 8.5 ounces), cured the resonant buzz around the sweet spot completely.

And, the secret to perfect upward gearchanges is to pre-load the shift lever and then just fan the clutch...
Also use synthetic 75W140 gear oil (supertech from Walmart is fine), and the gearbox will be much smoother.

[webmost]

I did. I went from a V65 Magna to an oilhead. Maggie was a Honda four V-4 and she was smooth as stone-washed silk. I mean you coulda balanced grandma's teacup on the handlebars. All you heard was swish. My daily ride, and I loved her. Her sweet spot was north of 5,000 RPM; and the farther north the better. 112 horses at 10K. Peak torque likely at 7K. From Maggie, I moved to Annie. Annie is an R1200CLC. Her peak torque comes at a measly 3,000 RPM. Peak horses at 5,000. The Honda just barely started coming to life at those revs. On Annie, I go round town at anywhere from 2,200 to 3,200 RPM. In sixth on the freeway, I am showing 3,000 dead on at 70mph. 80 is only 3,500. Now, my point is that RPM times number of cylinders really accounts for what feels smooth. So one of the first things I noticed when I went to a boxer was just what you said: vibration.

The flip side of this is that Annie puts you in the zone. At a nice slow rumble, you feel entranced. She pulls like a mule from low low down, so you rarely shift. There's no way to describe it until you climb on and cruise from here to West Virginia. It's just flat out hypnotic. Let's sum it up like this: I had a V65, a GoldWing, and a CX500 when I bought Annie. Within six months, I sold all of them, because I never rode them and couldn't see where I would again. I have a theory about the feel of that boxer at 3,600 RPM and how it fits our 60Hz world... but let's don't go into it here.

Now, Acela, my new to me R1100R, spins about a grand faster than Annie all the way around, and is much smoother, nimbler, and quicker. She doesn't have as much hypnotism; she doesn't pull way down low; she would rather hum than rumble; but she is far smoother simply because she spins faster. These bikes should definitely never put your hands to sleep. Tuning is a breeze, because they were designed to be super easy to work on.

Consider this, though: Risers are only about seventy bucks. They take the weight off your hands, so that the vibe doesn't go into your palm. That and a trip to West Virginia may be all you need to convince you.

p.s. Give me a shout when you are ready to go. I will drop everything for any excuse to ride Appalachia. Not far from I95 here in Dull-Aware.

[templar]

I like my R11, but not nearly as much as my '85 K100RT. Man that K was FAST.

I'm ready for a fresh mount now tho, after 10 years with this one.

Next bike......prolly a ST1300.

[mjcraft]

I've been riding a r1150r since May and I find it to be an outstanding bike. I commute with it almost every day (at least 90% of the time) and have gone on several 200+ mi rides solo and 1 up.

I, too, came from a Honda V4 like webmost, and the first time I rode the 1150 home from the purchase (~100mi ride), my throttle hand was numb from the vibration! I was a bit worried about the purchase although everything else about the bike was great. However, my next ride (~250 mi) I had no issues with the vibration and haven't since. Maybe I was just nervous about riding the "new to me" bike! Or I wasn't keeping the revs in the sweet spots? I don't know. Now I don't think about keeping the revs in any particular range, and I never have a problem.

FWIW, the bike is well-suited for the roads in SW Virginia. The suspension is awesome on the roll-coaster like backroads, the brakes are great, and the engine has a nice, smooth response. Not to say that my mirrors don't shake into a blur at highway speeds! It doesn't really bother me anymore, and recently added GS handguards seems to have slightly helped, believe it or not, although the bike now reminds me of Bullwinkle.

If you decide to go with the boxer, I imagine that you'll be happy with it, especially once you give it a few days. Now riding other bikes is just bizarre!

-Michael

[philbytx]

Had a CB750....smooth motor, all the power happening above 5k rpm's and not really torquey.
Love my R1150RT.....motor is smooth and hums along at 60 to 80mph (80 is 4k rpm in 6th) virtually vibration free. I really don't have a narrow 'sweet spot' on mine as it is smooth between 2500 and 6000 rpm's.

I do my own TB synch (using a Morgan Carbtune) after a valve check/adjust together with a spark plug replacement every 6k. New air filters every 10k unless the old one looks like crap at the 6k change.

I get the idle as smooth as I can then I (anally) match it up just off idle (1500 rpms) and then at 1k increments all the way to 6k rpm's (using my ThrottleMeister to hold it there).
I then check the idle again, after running it up and down the RPM"s a few more times.
If the Carbtune sticks match up well all up and down the RPM band but the idle ends up being slightly off, I ignore the idle setting and don't fiddle with it.

My R1100R motor has slightly more vibration but it is a low mileage motor (7400ish) and will smooth out with age.

Only thing I miss about the Honda is the total ease of maintenance. However, I love the Boxer motors, they pull like a train and if you tune them right, they really hum along!

[S3man]

Just to put a conclusion on this thread, just last week I purchased a 2000 model triumph tiger with centerstand, triumph's "off road" pipe, hard triumph sidecases, thunderbike crashbars and a corbin seat. I haven't gotten a lot of seat time on it due to the 20F temperatures lately! I think I am going to like it and it will meet my needs for a 2-up short distance touring bike. I do love the triples. Funny thing is that I looked at enough R bikes that I think I will still own 1 someday. Everybody needs at least 1 boxer motor in their lifttime!