New Rockster Owner onboard...and 1 question

dacrow · Post by **dacrow** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:43 pm

I lurked on this forum for the past couple of months and read all I could on the R1150R. From what I can see it was the ideal bike for me...and yesterday I found a mint condition 2004 Rockster (non abs) with only 2200 miles on it! I'm in Canada and we only ride for 6 months of the year so December is the best time to get bargains. This one even has the factory warranty until April 2008! Price paid was US$7,400. This one is matte black with lime green.

I'm not particularly fond of the loud green color so in due time where it is green now will soon be silver. I got that idea from someone on this forum!

Spring time can't come soon enough here in Canada! I envy you guys in Cali.

I have a question for my new fellow Rocksters. I've always ridden sport bikes until now. How many of you are converted sport bike riders and did it take long to make the transition? The Rock sure sits up a lot straighter and about 100lbs more than what I'm used to.

dragonmojo · Post by **dragonmojo** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 2:46 pm

Ride it for awhile. Ride it long distances.
Your body will thank you for the riding position.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:49 pm

Congrats and welcome....I can't wait to see a pic of it when you've finished it...it sounds good..

btw...BMW did bring out a black and silver Rockster...but it's rare..I have a pic of it somewhere..have you seen it?

DJ

dacrow · Post by **dacrow** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 5:13 pm

Thanks Downunder. You're right that BMW sold a few silvers. You can even order the silver decals from BMW still...which I plan to do. I've seen a few pics but none were very clear. If you have one on file please post it. I prefer silver because it doesn't scream "LOOK AT ME" like the green does. My wife even calls it Green Apple...ouch!

DJ Downunder wrote:Congrats and welcome....I can't wait to see a pic of it when you've finished it...it sounds good..

btw...BMW did bring out a black and silver Rockster...but it's rare..I have a pic of it somewhere..have you seen it?

DJ

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:49 am

I didn't know there was a silver one, that would be very cool (I'm personally not big on the two citrus options...). Enjoy your new bike though, whatever the colour!

I gave up looking for the 80th Anniversary Special when I bought my 850:

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 8:06 am

Welcome to the club.

I used to ride a Kawasaki ZXR400 (ninja 400?? in US/Can??) and the Rockster is just SOO much more comfortable.

Add a small fly screen and the wind protection is about the same too.

You soon get used to the extra weight - Believe me when I say that with care and smoothness a Rock WILL stay with Sports bikes on tighter roads.

The Silver edition of the bike was, IIRC only sold in Europe (not UK). A friend of mine in Switzerland has one.)

Oh yeah - how on EARTH did you get the warranty extended to 2008??????

Lion_Lady · Post by **Lion_Lady** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 11:18 am

The longer wheel base makes it a bit less 'flickable' than many sportbikes (or so I've heard, I went from an f650CS to the Rock), you'll get used to it.

I took the LeeParks "Advanced Rider's Clinic" last August, at Frederick CC, in MD:

Yeah, it will turn.

P

mitchxout · Post by **mitchxout** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:20 pm

You won't be as fast thru the twisties but the trade-off is comfort. I just a did a 5000k trip on my Rockster and was thankful even for the extra weight. But don't get me wrong, it still takes a fast rider to outrun me in the twisties. The Rockster chassis doesn't get upset easily and the motor has abundant torque.

dacrow · Post by **dacrow** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 6:46 pm

Riceburner, thanks for the welcome. The warranty is to 2008 becuase BMW Canada didn't activate it as a demo until April 2005. I guess the dealer couldn't find a buyer for it during '04. Naked bikes are not that popular in Canada...yet. Thanks for the windscreen tip too.

I've only ridden the Rock for a couple miles from the dealership to my house but did notice a weight difference from the sport bikes...but the torque is awesome compared to the high winding inline 4s I'm used to. Needless to say I took it very easy but once it warms up here and stops raining I plan to put the Rock through its paces. From what you guys are telling me it'll be an easy transistion.

Glad to be part of this new club! The folks on this forum are much more civilized than the yahoos on sportbike forums. Must be a maturity thing.

riceburner wrote:Welcome to the club.

I used to ride a Kawasaki ZXR400 (ninja 400?? in US/Can??) and the Rockster is just SOO much more comfortable.

Add a small fly screen and the wind protection is about the same too.

You soon get used to the extra weight - Believe me when I say that with care and smoothness a Rock WILL stay with Sports bikes on tighter roads.

The Silver edition of the bike was, IIRC only sold in Europe (not UK). A friend of mine in Switzerland has one.)

Oh yeah - how on EARTH did you get the warranty extended to 2008??????

GTR350cc · Post by **GTR350cc** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 6:00 am

Yes, maturity abounds and Doug runs a very excellent, friendly, and well policed site that gets complaints from many rowdies who refer to it disdainfully on other sites. TEHO.

Welcome. I'd suggest a full 6 months of riding, 2-6K miles minimum, before deciding on any ergo changes such as windscreen, bar backs, pegs lowering or the like. This position and the 'fit' to the bike's suspension geometry do grow on most folks.

Your idea for converting 'apple' green citrus to silver is most wonderful! Best of luck with that one. BTW, what color are the wheels?

Many smiley miles!

G

JoeV · Post by **JoeV** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:05 am

The short story: Ohlins!

The longer story:

For the past 2 years I've riden a Ducati Supersport 1000.

I traded the Ducati for a Rockster in September.

Initially I was very disapointed with the handling of the Rockster.

I read a little on the net about suspension adjusting and tightened up the stock OEM shocks. This made a "good" but not great improvement. The Rockster was "OK" for street riding but I like to do a track day or three a year. I just didn't feel the bike handled well enough for that level of riding.

The breaks are great. I have ABS, which for the track might not be best but the stock breaks stop the bike on a dime. The grunt from the twin will not win any 1/4 mile runs but it is great for an inexperienced track rider like me because the bike pulls well even in one gear too high.

The biggest change came when I installed Ohlins suspension last weekend. MAN! HUGE HUGE HUGE difference in handling. I got the bike with 6800 in September. Last weekend it had 9600 when I swapped out the OEM shocks.

If you want a Rockster to handle as close to a sport bike as possible swap out the stock shocks for performances shocks. I went with Ohlins from Kyle Racing. Good support. Good answers to my questions. Installing them myself was pretty easy. You'll need some Torx sockets and drivers.

fnfalman · Post by **fnfalman** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:47 pm

If a rider were to want to put some mileage on The Rock, then he or she should be wise to get the aftermarket suspension bits for it. The factory suspension bits don't last too long. Mine went way soft by 14,000-miles. Luckily I got another factory set for cheap, but I can feel it softening already. Next time it's going to be either Works Performance or Ohlins. Probably Works Performance because the shocks can be rebuilt for pretty cheap.

dacrow · Post by **dacrow** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 2:48 am

Having taken the new ride out a few more times I must say the Rock is one fine piece of machinery. Very solid and full of character...something most sport bikes lack. It is more comfortable but the hardest thing to get used to is the wide handlebars. It feels strange to have your arms so splayed apart! I also find the Rock much heavier when you have to duck walk it or move it around in the garage but that's expected. BMW sure didn't consider any weight saving materials like titanium etc. Just one solid piece of steel...which really isn't a bad thing.

Funny how I can feel my riding attitude change with this new bike. With sport bikes you have this speed freak demeanor and with the Rock you feel more like a cool street fighter or like Arnold in the Terminator.

The green apple color surprisingly is growing on me. It sure gets a lot of looks...or maybe it's a combination of the green and my clashing red racing suit...hmm I guess it's time to get some more subtle gear

I'll probably still change the green to silver though.

The Ohlins suspension mod is a good suggestion if I find the current set up lacking. I don't do track riding anymore and didn't buy a Rock for that purpose. My next mod is to the horn. The stock one is too wimpy. Great hearing from all you Rocksters!

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:15 am

fnfalman wrote:If a rider were to want to put some mileage on The Rock, then he or she should be wise to get the aftermarket suspension bits for it. The factory suspension bits don't last too long. Mine went way soft by 14,000-miles. Luckily I got another factory set for cheap, but I can feel it softening already. Next time it's going to be either Works Performance or Ohlins. Probably Works Performance because the shocks can be rebuilt for pretty cheap.

You must be seriously fussy (or have a very sensitive tush

) - I had 42,000 on one of my Rocks and although the rear shock was replaced at about 30K because it started leaking, the replacement didn't feel much different!

BrocktonR · Post by **BrocktonR** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:52 pm

My last bike was a 99 CBR 600F4. Even though this bike is an 1150
it isn't anywhere near as fast. I am a lot happier on this bike though.
I like the ride better and got tired of the high revving inline 4. With an
Aeroflow windshield, Happy-Trail panniers, and Hella FF50's, I've got
this bike set up just the way I want it!

fnfalman · Post by **fnfalman** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:43 pm

riceburner wrote:
fnfalman wrote:If a rider were to want to put some mileage on The Rock, then he or she should be wise to get the aftermarket suspension bits for it. The factory suspension bits don't last too long. Mine went way soft by 14,000-miles. Luckily I got another factory set for cheap, but I can feel it softening already. Next time it's going to be either Works Performance or Ohlins. Probably Works Performance because the shocks can be rebuilt for pretty cheap.
You must be seriously fussy (or have a very sensitive tush ) - I had 42,000 on one of my Rocks and although the rear shock was replaced at about 30K because it started leaking, the replacement didn't feel much different!

Sensitive tush has nothing to do with it. But when the bike's suspension sagging so much that you start to scrap pegs at the easiest corners, that won't cut it with me. I think that next year I'll have Works Performance whip out a set for me that is as sportiest as they can make it.

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:02 am

BrocktonR wrote:My last bike was a 99 CBR 600F4. Even though this bike is an 1150
it isn't anywhere near as fast. I am a lot happier on this bike though.
I like the ride better and got tired of the high revving inline 4. With an
Aeroflow windshield, Happy-Trail panniers, and Hella FF50's, I've got
this bike set up just the way I want it!

it "can" be as quick, if you ride it that way...

but the BMs are very different to high revving IL4s, designed for a different purpose for starters.

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:05 am

fnfalman wrote:
riceburner wrote:
fnfalman wrote:If a rider were to want to put some mileage on The Rock, then he or she should be wise to get the aftermarket suspension bits for it. The factory suspension bits don't last too long. Mine went way soft by 14,000-miles. Luckily I got another factory set for cheap, but I can feel it softening already. Next time it's going to be either Works Performance or Ohlins. Probably Works Performance because the shocks can be rebuilt for pretty cheap.
You must be seriously fussy (or have a very sensitive tush ) - I had 42,000 on one of my Rocks and although the rear shock was replaced at about 30K because it started leaking, the replacement didn't feel much different!
Sensitive tush has nothing to do with it. But when the bike's suspension sagging so much that you start to scrap pegs at the easiest corners, that won't cut it with me. I think that next year I'll have Works Performance whip out a set for me that is as sportiest as they can make it.

Are you sure it wasn't that the preload reservoir had emptied itself?? this can happen and once you've refilled it (there was a thread on this forum about doing this) it should be back to the correct height.

Sagging suspension would suggest the spring had given up - that shouldn't happen for a LONG time.

Also - if it's ground clearance you're after - a cheaper solution would be a GS length Paralever arm.

fnfalman · Post by **fnfalman** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:26 pm

Au contraire, R1150Rs are notorious for having suspensions going soft by 15,000-miles. And no, it's not the preload reservoir. My personal BMW guru also concurred with me that the R1150R/Rockster suspensions are on the crappy side as well. He also thinks that the clutch spline problems are probably due to suspensions getting too soft and cause the shaft to misalign more than the actual lubrication of the spline.

Post by **MikeCam** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:47 pm

Good insight.... really good.

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New Rockster Owner onboard...and 1 question

New Rockster Owner onboard...and 1 question

Sport bike to Rockster