Six years; 72,000 miles

[R4R&R]

I'm coming up on my six year anniversary with my R1150R and about due for the 72,000 service. I finally gave it a good cleaning last weekend by removing the oil coolers, fuel tank, rear rack/system case mounts and washing the painted parts individually, then waxing the parts. I used Back to Black for the black parts and overall, the bike looks good! Obviously I've added a few things (see if you can identify them!) I was looking for that BMW reliability when I bought this bike and luckily, it's been good to me. I've heard the stories of the clutch splines, surge, final drive woes, wiring harness issues and tried to not think too much about them - if it happened to me then I'd deal with it. [Knock on metal, I haven't had to deal with it!]

New:

six years and 72,000 miles later:


New:

six years and 72,000 miles later:


New:

six years and 72,000 miles later:


One of my ignition coils seems to have recently gone bad, but otherwise it's been a pretty reliable ride. I don't have any plans to replace this bike, but I wouldn't mind adding another bike to the garage...

[The Velvet Monkey]

Congratulations!!

That's a nice hunk of miles and the bike still looks great--a real testament to our bike's quality and durability (note that I didn't say reliability).

If all you've had to fix is a coil I'd say that bike's been friggin great--mine went at 24k.

I hope you put another 72k on her.

[MikeCam]

John,

Great job. Congrats.

M

[towerworker]

Looks good John.

I can't seem to keep mine upright long enough to look that nice.


Wayne

[wncbmw]

John - that is the cleanest I have ever seen your bike! Looks good! Commuting on the thing into DC has to be an adventure in itself and sure racks up the miles!

People still notice these bikes and comment on the looks! I was at an open house last night for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and rode (it was Ride to Work Day after all!) and had several folks comment on how good my bike looked, even with the road spray from riding over in a shower and with nearly 50,000 miles on the clock!

[R4R&R]

I've had a few minor problems over the years/miles, but I can't complain. This is my second failed coil - the first one went bad almost three years ago, when the bike was three years old. Other minor things: bad hall sensor when the bike was new (fixed under warranty); leaky final drive (fixed under warranty); battery went jumblies-up last year; cleaned the starter two times; charcoal cannister clogged; a few burnt out bulbs; broken trip odometer reset knob. All trivial things for the most part.

Vann, I agree; these bikes have a great look to them which still turns heads. Sure there are some other bikes I wouldn't mind having in addition to this one, but I don't have any desire to replace this bike.

Ride on!

[boxermania]

John, she looks like a million bucks....I must confess that red was the color I wanted but was denied. In regrads to what you have added....

GS Handguards
K bike mirrors
GPS mount
Clear turn signal lenses
Obviously you have changed the front shock
New tires
3 tank protectors
After market seats - Sargent or Bill Russell
Removed mud flap or fell off
Removed carbon canister
Removed muffler and installed short turn pipe onto cat converter
Rear shock, unknown brand, possibly OEM, but the pre-load knob has been painted red
Red and blue reflectors holding tag
and last but not least Keith Heines rear wheel plug

Did I miss anything !!!! What did I win ???

[R4R&R]

John, she looks like a million bucks....I must confess that red was the color I wanted but was denied. In regrads to what you have added....

GS Handguards
K bike mirrors
GPS mount
Clear turn signal lenses
Obviously you have changed the front shock
New tires
3 tank protectors
After market seats - Sargent or Bill Russell
Removed mud flap or fell off
Removed carbon canister
Removed muffler and installed short turn pipe onto cat converter
Rear shock, unknown brand, possibly OEM, but the pre-load knob has been painted red
Red and blue reflectors holding tag
and last but not least Keith Heines rear wheel plug

Did I miss anything !!!! What did I win ???

That's pretty good! The shocks are Wilburs; the seat Sargent; the carbon canister got clogged not too long ago and was removed for necessity. The mud flap is still on there, only retracted. There've been quite a few sets of new tires in between although the front is almost due for a replacement.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hi, John

looking good

how did you mount the Wilber's pre load adjustment in the OEM spot. Did you have to replace the tubing with something longer?

John

[machew01]

John,

I'm impressed with how well you have kept up your Roadster. It still looks new!


mac

[Biff's R]

The bike looks great. When you gonna clean mine?

[priapismic]

Congrats, John! She looks good, real good. I'm coming right up behind you, at 6 years, 3 months and 61k miles on the clock. I get a lot of positive comments when people find out the age and miles on mine. I've had about the same issues as you, and, like you, wouldn't mind adding another to the stable, but this one's a keeper!

[two wheel tango]

Wish mine was that clean!

Same vintage (2004/ 2 spark) just clocked 72K a couple weeks back as well -- but a lot more battle scars. When I manage to pick up a cheap ding free tank I'm going to treat her to a real cool paint job... one of these fine days.

On the flip side she's been virtually flawless mechanically... yeah the coils failed about 20K back but thats about it, nothing else of significance to write home about. (I guess I should mention two crashes... one my fault, the other a genuine accident. Hold a salvage title now because of a broken steering stop.)

[R4R&R]

Well, it rained today, so it's not that clean anymore! Plus, if you saw it up close, you'd see it's age. Little chips in the paint, the faded black plastic, the tough parts to clean (the nooks and crannies around the engine/trans.).

I still love this bike!

[two wheel tango]

I still love this bike!

Even as the years and miles pile on the styling and aesthetics on this bike remain so timeless. I can't see myself ever selling mine.. heck I bought it back when the insurance company totalled it out not too long ago!

Battle scars and all she still pulls positive comments - all the time - from all kinds of folks. And that motor... wow- feels better with every passing mile! Its remarkable how sweet she's running these days.