Welcome New Members (and old) - Introduce Yourself!

[deptom]

Hi! I am re-posting this as I had posted it earlier at the R1150R thread :

Hi guys! Been riding since the late 80's, now 45 yrs old and soon to be a proud owner of a 2003 R1150R (getting the bike Saturday Jan. 07)

Funny how I've always said to myself that I'd never see myself own a European bike. Guess now I know what it means when they say "never say never!"

I own a '99 Honda Hornet 600 (599 in the U.S.) and when this marketing rep friend of mine at a local BMW dealer loaned me this Roadster demo bike for a weekend, I went back to him and said "Thanks for letting me use the bike, but I also hate you for doing so." A few days later, I found myself writing out a check for a 50% deposit for the bike.

Found this website and hoping that BMW enthusiasts like you can help me "grow" with this bike.

Cheers from the Philippines!

*A week after I posted this, I took a bad spill on my Honda and dislocated my right shoulder. A sudden downpour caught me and a couple of my friends on a major expressway when this van stepped on his brake out of the blue. I panicked, used my rear brake, the Hornet fishtailed and sent me flying 15 ft.

Was on a sling for a week and now undergoing rehab and wont be able to ride for another 4 weeks or so. And the Roadster's just there sitting in my garage.

[DJ Downunder]

Geees that's bad luck...

*A week after I posted this, I took a bad spill on my Honda and dislocated my right shoulder. A sudden downpour caught me and a couple of my friends on a major expressway when this van stepped on his brake out of the blue. I panicked, used my rear brake, the Hornet fishtailed and sent me flying 15 ft.

Was on a sling for a week and now undergoing rehab and wont be able to ride for another 4 weeks or so. And the Roadster's just there sitting in my garage.

When you're ready to ride let us know what you think....oh yeah...welcome aboard.

DJ

[deptom]

Geees that's bad luck...
When you're ready to ride let us know what you think....oh yeah...welcome aboard.

DJ

Glad to be on board. Was able to ride it a few times and am now a convert. Wanna hear more bad luck bout the Honda? It was for sale. Fortunately, the guy at the shop who was going to put it back together made me a decent offer. So bye bye Honda hello BMW.

[flugjung]

Hello :

I have been posting for a few weeks but I have not introduced myself. I´m Albrecht Barajas, born in Mexico City almost 32 years ago and been in the motorcycle scene since I first rode a Carabela Pony 100 when I was 8. Needles to say, it was a complete disaster, the bike slipped from my hands and continued its way until disappearing behind some bushes. I was scared from motorcycles until I turned 14 when some of my friends started to ride dirtbikes and mopeds. In spite of my parents fierce opposition (I still remember learning to shift in a 2 stroke Carabela 175 Minienduro) some of my friends and an uncle with a Yamaha XT allowed me to ride and learn.
That wonderful time ended when my parents found out I was riding motorcycles. I was lured out of them with a Renault 18 GTX when I turned 16. A sad thing indeed since I almost killed myself in that car when I was 20... and my parents still say that motorcycles are inherently and hopelessly dangerous...

From that time until now I rode the ocassional rented moped or quad but it was until September of 2005 that I bought my first streetbike; an Indian made Bajaj Pulsar 180. Of course my aim was a bigger machine but I used that as a mobile "classroom" and finally a friend sold me his R1150 Rockster.
Although I found her a little heavy during the first days, after practicing manouvers (and reading Hugh`s "Proficient Motorcycling") in a nearby car park I could finally enjoy my new bike with a trip to Cuernavaca and Tequesquitengo (an 80 mile stretch of good roads and nice scenery) South of Mexico City.


and now...more of myself. I am almost 32, single. I have German, Jewish and Spanish backgrounds and in some ways I´m more European minded than the usual "Latino". I work as a flight attendant in Aeromexico and I also have a private pilot rating. Now I´m working to get a commercial rating and move further ahead into the dingle.

I have a lot of interests but the main ones are traveling, vintage cars, reading, music (my favourites; classical, jazz, and British Rock) ...

cheers!!!!!

...and thank you for the warm welcome...

Albrecht

[kernpanix]

The name is Yassir. Originally from Morocco, but I currently live in beautiful San Francisco bay area. I've been riding for 16 years. I'm the proud owner of an '04 R1150R.

Just thought I'll say hi and thanks to all the members who contribute to this forum. Keep up the good work!
-Yassir

[DJ Downunder]

Albrecht wrote

my parents still say that motorcycles are inherently and hopelessly dangerous...

Yes it's a shame that most of them think that way.

I rode for years without any major accidents and my parents were so pleased when I finally bought a car....a few months later a big semi turned in front of me and almost killed me..and wrote off my new car.

I think they realize now that bikes aren't that bad.

Welcome aboard and congrats on the Rock.

also

G'day Yassir...congrats also on the RR and welcome...any questions just ask.

DJ

[Dr. Strangelove]

Just a short note to introduce myself. I am a New Orleans native and have had my roadster for about 6 weeks now. Still getting to know her, but enjoying the ride immensely. I have posted for a few months trying to get info about various aspects of the bike and the responses have been very helpful.

Of course, I suppose this represents just another mid-life crisis (age 59), but, you know, I've never met a mid life crisis I didn't thoroughly enjoy.

I have only been riding powered two-wheelers for about a year and a 1/2, my first ride being a Vespa et4! I just felt kinda funny wearing all that protective gear on a Vespa, so I had to upgrade my ride to match my wardrobe.

I have commuted by pedal bike for 20+ years and that made me very aware of the safety issues of the invisiblity of two wheels.

So, please be gentle with the questions of newbies and I look forward to many safe miles on my roadster.

John

[Dominor]

I've been reading the posts on this site since I got my '04 R1150R in November of '04. I spend a lot of time on this site - waiting for the snow to melt. The mountains of Colorado are nice in the summer!
This site has really been a wealth of information for me and it has made me really enjoy my BMW. It is also nice to be able to read about accessories before buying them. THANKS!

So far, I've added the following:

Daytona bellypan (carbon),
Sargent seat (very comfortable),
LED brake light with clear tail light assembly,
Clear signal lenses,
Oil cooler screens, and
City system bags.

Near future additions:
Speedster windscreen,
Handlebar riser set, and
Throttlemeister.

[LonestaRR]

I've been on the board for a couple of weeks now but am finally getting around to introducing in the correct place on the forum.

I re-entered the motorcycle world this time by default. My brother-in-law bought he and his wife (my sister) brand new Honda Shadows thinking they would enjoy the hobby together. THEN, they took the motorcycle riding class. After my sister ran into peoplel 3 TIMES at the class, they asked her to leave explaining that motorcycles aren't for everyone. She stewed for a while, then finally called me and said, "would you come over and get this bike out of my garage, I can't stand to look at it anymore." I gladly obliged. Although I had not ridden in several years and never road anything over 175 cc's, I jumped on it and took to it just fine. After 300 miles of riding it though, I knew I needed something a little faster and with more power.
I shopped all the sport bikes and finally settled on a brand new '05 BMW R1150R Granite Grey with Tan seat. I don't know a lot about performance issues yet, but am learning a lot from this forum.

[Doug]

Welcome newbs!

[chris]

Hi Guys
My name is Chris and I've been riding sports/dirt bikes in the UK for 22 years all told. I ride all weathers and right through the winter and at 43, have decided that the heated grips and comfortable seat of an 1150R are just what I need to prolong my riding career and give me a new experience on a bike. Am hoping to find something in the next couple of months and have been searching the net for info about BMW's, which is how I found this forum. Fortunately I have a friend who is a long standing BMW rider so he's pointing me in the right direction. Looking forward to this next bike! I'm married, with 2 teenage daughters so I really need this new machine so I can escape the insanity of a 3 woman household for a while!
C

[turnercj]

I've owned my blue 'R' since 2001 and have gained some useful tips and info from this site so I thought it was time I joined up! It's nice to have a port to call upon when things go wrong and to have such a variety of talent to pick from.
I'm a 36 years old Englishman (NOT British) living in a "city" called Peterborough and work as a police officer (not traffic, no not never).
Previous bikes have been a Yamaha TZ125, a HD Sporster 1200, a Beemer R1100s and finally the R. I have to admit that the HD was terrific fun to ride as the frame used to flex and the brakes were made of wood but at 90mph it felt like mach 1 in a biscuit tin. It's a pity the front drive sprocket nearly came off and smoothed the end of the splined shaft. Completely normal according to HD. I sold it the following month.
I have an irritating habit of dropping my bikes almost as soon as I get them but at least I have the joy of getting to know the machine intimately at an early opportunity .
Due to work commitments and a government who is constantly trying to price motorists off the road I don't get chance to ride as often as I would and have had the bike in storage (my dining room) for the last 18 months but that is all about to change.
The R will shortly be ressurected once it has been serviced, MOT'd, taxed, insured etc etc.
Only problems to date has been the rather amusing fountain of fuel incident when one of those clever little crimped fuel clamps failed and soaked my leg and half my garden fence in unleaded. Not so amusing was the fact that I was sitting aboard the bike smoking when it happened. What a cremation that would have been.
I enjoy taking my 12 year old son on the back of the bike as it sorts the handling out perfecly. It's a bit disconcerting when he falls a sleep but the bungee cords have done a fine job.
Well, thats all folks'

Carl

[DJ Downunder]

Welcome Cris and Carl

have been searching the net for info about the marque

What's that???

and Carl...it just shows...smoking is dangerous.. ...these are great bikes aren't they..

DJ

[turnercj]

Thanks DJ. Perhaps BMW could market this bike as a great incentive to quit smoking

[Wass]

Hi all.
My name is Mike Wassil and I've been lurking about for awhile but post rarely. Figured I'd finally re-register and maybe post more.
I own a 04 Rockster that I purchased in August of 03. It's the orange one, non ABS and bone stock still except for the new Sargent and fresh Z6's last summer. Both these mods made huge improvements.
I bought it at BMW of Detroit, so far so good. Service seems expensive, but its only money.
Love the bike. Its plenty fast for my purposes and solid as a rock(ster).
Some background -
I'm 44, married, no kids, live in the Detroit area. Huge Red Wings fan. Lions....not so much.
This is my first bike after not owning one or riding for about 20 years. The last bike I had was a Honda 350. It had electrical issues. I pushed it alot.
I like almost any kind of machinery. I've owned jet-skis and boats and a buncha cars and trucks and snowmobiles over the years.
My dad worked for Ford all his life so I'm a loyal Ford guy, my daily drive is a Focus. My wife's car is a BMW 328. She also has an MG Midget and of course her own snowmobile.

My job is difficult to describe in a couple words. What I do is program control systems, mostly for large AV systems. Imagine a fancy corporate boardroom or conference room that's tricked out with all the cool stuff; videoconferencing, hi-res projection systems, matrixed audio systems, full automation, networked, etc, operated using a touchscreen. Thats what I program, the touchscreen interfaces and logic controllers. Call me an AV geek from hell.
My wife sells Real Estate and builds a spec house now and then.

I'm also a drummer, been in a buncha bands since I was a kid. These days I play with some other 'vintage' fellas on a not-so-often basis, but I try to keep the chops up.
I'm an old punk rocker at heart.

We love to travel. We try to take a trip far away every year. The most recent trip was Iceland last August.
Before that it was Australia.....who is this DJ guy anyway
Australia ROCKS by the way. I would locate there in a heartbeat. Still may someday.....
Next trip is New Zealand, I think I saw a Kiwi or 2 here.
So thats that. This is a good site and I'll try to contribute more.

[Marc]

Sorry, missed this part.

Hello, I'm a belgian R1150R owner with a very bad english. So please excuse my mistakes.

Very nice forum.

[chris]

Welcome Cris and Carl


DJ

Cheers DJ

Just found my bike. It's an 03 1150R with a flyscreen, white lenses, heated grips, luggage rack and black engine. Pick it up Saturday morning and the weather forecast is good! I've never ridden a BMW and have a 200 mile trip home on it. Should have a feel for it by the time I get back!
Roll on Saturday!
Chris

[chris]

PS. It's silver!

[rupe]

Hey there. I just recently joined due to the fact that I bought my first bike on April 20th (4th anniversary!). Said it was for her but she figured it out fast!

I have been around BMW's for the last couple of years as my father-in-law has owned 4. Therefore I have put miles on a '00 F650, '03 R1150RT, '89 R100 GS, and most recently his '05 R1200GS. Have to say I'd get on any of them and ride around the world! That is why my first bike had to be a BMW. Not to mention the fact that they are a rarity here in Western Arkansas (Fort Smith) - I like to have things that are a little different.

I'm in Pharmaceutical Sales (Animal Health) so if there are any Veterinarians out there I'd love to visit with ya! My wife is a CPA for a hospital here in town and we have a 21 month old little girl...who loves to straddle the 1150!

I'm looking forward to being involved on the forum here and I know that I will be associated with a bunch of experienced riders who can recommend the right way for this blind neophyte!

We'll be in touch.

Rupe

[Doug]

Welcome all!