Last I checked I was a paid lifetime member of this board... You?
Lest ye forget, Young Caddy of Claptrap - I still own, and plan to keep, my trusty BMW R-1150-R. I think you will find many *MEMBERS* here not only have R-1150-R's, but other BMW's as well as Honda's, Yamaha's, Kawasaki's, Suzuki's, Harley's, and just about any other brand you can name.
Of course, it is easy to see how you are blinded by your myopic xenophobia.
Get back to me when you actually pay up and become a member after a few more loops.
As much as I love my Roadster - and it remains my favorite in my stable, I still have a "need" for variety in my riding life. Having been a member of this board and an owner of a R1150R for over three years, I've long "outgrown" my desire to always talk about the Roadster. Despite my ownership of a Suzuki SV650 and a Harley Dyna Super Glide Sport, I find it more enjoyable to talk about riding even these non-BMW bikes with people here than elsewhere. That is what makes this community of riders special.
Become a member, and you will understand...
Member #93, June 2002
'14 BMW R1200RT "Wethead"
'77 BMW R100/7 "Airhead"
It'd take a smarter man than I to figure this out but I have a theory that part of the high price of today's BMW's is on purpose. Not cost driven.
That purpose being, BMW is the worst maker when it comes to "that needs to be done at your dealer." They all say that, but BMW often times designs it in. (Know many that do their own ABS servicing?) Taking it back a step: BMW needs a stronger dealer network, they're far and inbetween. IF they had a stronger dealer network, they'd vastly increase volume in the long run. SO, to increase dealer network, they need to manipulate their market to make the dealer's more money. Thus, increased service. Another way they increase service profit besides designing vehicles that increasingly need "dealer servicing only" is to price vehicles so high THE TYPE OF BUYER IS RE-FOCUSED. Focused to be a much more likely person to just pay for service, on any machine, regardless of prices, because..they have more money than most buyers. It would seem to me BMW, with a $20,000 RT, isn't just maximizing profits but also insuring they get a few buyers that have much more disposable income than just a motorcycle person per se. They are getting the "lifestyle-purchaser" that so many on HD seem to be. Call it a Roundel premium, but I think it's more involved than that.
Hey Danny-boy,
You must be the clod who continually bashes my favorite bike mag when they don't do an cover on the type of bike you favor. Narrow-mindedness is not welcome here where, though we may do our best to highbrow the competition, we do indeed recognize their merits - as mature people will tend to do. When one of our members digresses to the finer points of what we love best, i.e., two wheels singing sweetly upon the path of our latest dreamy destination (may it be far away), it matters not what manufacturer of said loved conveyance be oft spoken, as long as it is done with passion, pride, and enough forethought to enlighten and inspire the rest of the family here.
You may really be on to something with your theory/analysis... I hadn't looked at it that way, but it makes perfect sense, and could explain what they're up to.
To Yellowjacket...
Don't be tooooo hard on poor, poor Danny-Boy. He really can't help it. It is obvious he is really not a "motorcyclist" in the very real sense. He's just an angry little poseur who thinks owning a BMW somehow means you are supposed to look down at Japanese machinery.
Problem is, he probably actually owns a Jap bike, and only wishes he had a BMW...
We should pity him. It's really hard to afford a BMW, much less a membership to this board, on the tips a caddy makes looping for morons around Bushwood...
Cheers!
Dallara
Last edited by dallara on Thu Oct 13, 2005 5:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
IF they had a stronger dealer network, they'd vastly increase volume in the long run. SO, to increase dealer network, they need to manipulate their market to make the dealer's more money.
It's all beginning to add up. And I don't mean just the price of the ride. Great insight, bakernks.
Some of why I would pay more for a beemer, is about branding. I'm about as plain a person as there is, so I'm reluctant to call it "snob appeal". But I do think owning and riding a beemer is somehow just a bit special. That's clearly worth something, in my book.
Measures of performance, as seen in most of the sportbike mags really don't mean that much (not to me anyway) in the real world. Measures of worth are a bit more difficult... more subjective, I guess.
I would like, for the sake of my own peace-of-mind/self-image, to think that the exchange rate has something to do with the price hikes, but I really don't know. Lord knows the dollar has taken quite a beating compared to the euro over the last couple of years.
Much as I like the R1200ST, I don't think I could justify its price. However, if BMW continues (Ever notice how, on this side of the pond, BMW is singular and on the other side it's plural? I think that's cool.) to drag its feet in releasing the R1200R, and if the R1200S is either too pricey or wrong for me in some other way, I could see myself buying a used ST.
I can afford only one bike at a time. Somehow or other, by hook or by crook, it's gonna be a BMW.
They're no good if they're only half baked, and many of my theories are just that! but thanks anyway for the acknowledgement. I find that being single allows me to ruminate on subjects like :"Why is BMW asking 20 thousand dollars for a 2 cylinder RT?" instead of the guy with a S.O. thinking, " How do I answer her question of Do these pants make my ass look big? without digging a hole for myself?"
You know, I have lurked here for quite a while on advice from a friend who rides an R1150R. I have been thinking about getting one for a while. I DO ride a Jap bike currently. I have been getting tired of it for a year as it just has no SOUL to me. It is always ON or OFF with the throttle. No smooth acceleration. And my buddy's FJR is the same. But the only thing I have seen here lately has been FJR this FJR that, hey Dallara, cool pic of that FJR, you should get an FJR, if you could buy another bike would it be an FJR, if I buy an FJR can I still come here and play. Jeeeezus.
The only info I have seen here about the R1150R, ad nauseum, is how to check the frickin' oil in the sightglass. Why would I join this community when it's turning Japanese???
Let's give ya' the benefit of the doubt for a minute.
Has it occurred to you to perhaps read through many of the older posts here, and/or the archive of the posts from when this group was on ezboard, to learn what you want to know about the BMW R-1150-R?
I imagine just about any question, concern, evaluation, idea, etc. that you can think of has already been discussed here over the years this board has been alive. Tons and tons of information... I used a bunch of it when I was thinking about buying an R-1150-R, and I combed through the older posts a ton before I ever posted and asked my first question.
But, if you don't see what you want to talk about, or are interested in about the R-1150-R, why don't you simply put up a post asking your question? Do you really think bombing a civil thread is going to help you gather any pertinent (to you) information?
Right now there are current page 1 posts running about accessory lights, painting system cases, refinishing damaged cam covers, using different horns, bar backs, rough engine running after oil changes, bluing of beemer pipes, tire choice, etc. all about R-1150-R's... Then some about riding experiences, trips, pictures, etc. that certainly pertain to R-1150-R riders... And some more that are simply for entertainment.
There are four threads on the front page that deal with the Yamaha FJR-1300, and one of those I didn't start... One would have to guess that you are slightly too sensitive to the issue of Jap bikes considering that these represent a rather small percentage of the posts here.
BMW R-1150-R's are wonderful machines, and extremely reliable. Perhaps that's why you see so few posts actually discussing them in finite detail. We all love our Roadsters, and find them satisfying mounts. Perhaps those who have been here a while simply feel we have discussed them enough to some degree, and as such like to discuss other aspects of motorcycling. However, if someone asks a question lots of Roadster owners chime in with as much helpful advice as you will find anywhere, and that's a good thing.
Anyway, as with most things, this board is what *YOU* make of it, and how *YOU* choose to see it. Participate and it can be quite fun for you. Sit on the sidelines and look for the negatives and you won't have much fun, at all. It's up to *YOU*.
Hope you can understand that, and take no offense. After all, it was you that came in here swinging. Join in and have a good time, and it can be like a great party.
Cheers!
Dallara
Last edited by dallara on Fri Oct 14, 2005 6:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
This *is* a BMW site, primarily the R1150R and variants. With some space for the 4-cyl. variety. But...
Since Day 1 it has also been a "motorcycle" site and that's why I've stayed.
I currently have an '02 R1150R, an '06 Triumph Speed Triple, an '01 MZ Black Panther Super Motard, and a '73 Norton Commando. I've had lots of others too, including Jap and "By God American". Loved 'em all. Well, most of 'em anyway!
How boring would it be if we all rode *only* one of *anything*? That's the main issue I have with our Harley (only) brethren is the "If You Ain't Harley, You Ain't Chit!" attitude. Ignorance is not always bliss.
Would it be any less boring, or any less ignorant if we had a "If You Ain't BMW R1150R, You Ain't Chit!" attitude?
I love motorcycles, all of them. I want to see them, own them, ride them, race them, enjoy them, work on them, talk about them, look at pictures of them, theorize about them, smell them, feel them, taste them...what am I leaving out?
Oh yeah, tolerate them.
Dave
#226
I've spent most of my life on motorcycles, the rest I've just wasted...
I bought my first BMW in 1978. It was horribly overpriced at the time compared to the Japanese bikes. It became a love affair.
After a 20 year absence from bikes I decided to ride again. There was only one choice for me. So in February, I paid $3200 for a nice 1974 R90/6. It was worth every penny. But I wonder how much a 1974 rice burner would cost? And where on earth could you get parts?
A few months ago, I bought a new 2004 R1150R. It was expensive and is worth a bit less today but what will IT be worth in 30 years? Failing a major accident, I'll bet it will still be around.
Finally, if one needs more justification, a BMW gets you into the BMWMOA. A super organization if there ever was one, and like it's marque, will still be around in 30 years.
Well, another finally I guess. It seems to me, a person should ride what he likes. There are choices for every taste and one does not need to justify their own. But I weary of reading of the glory of Yamahas and Suzuki's on this web site. Surely, IMHO, there are places for those.
