Asking for Advice on Getting a New Bike

[Gary]

I am a fairly new rider with about 2k mile riden. The K75s is my first bike, and am wanting to get something newer, and lighter if possible. One bike I recently started looking at is the R1150 line. I test rode a 2002 R1150RS and did not like the brakes and was not impressed with the motor...sorry. Is this something you just get used to? The R1150R info from the stats page shows that the bike is about the same weight as my bike, but when I sat on one it seemed lighter. Is that just due to the different engine layout?

What is the general opinion on ABS? If you had a choice of having it and not having it, which would you prefer?

[peterbulgar]

Gary,
What do you use your bike for? BMW twins are an acquired taste, and unless you have a reason to want one, why put up with something you don't seem to like? The main reason I purchased my BMW was that it came with ABS brakes. I don't like the servo power assist and after 35k miles it is still annoying. I love the handling and power delivery and the fact that touring accessories are readily available. If your riding is mainly solo weekend rides and maybe light touring, I'd suggest a Suzuki SL-650 - lighter than your K75S, better brakes, similar performance. The only disadvantage is that it is chain drive. You seem to be looking at used bikes, but if you don't mind spending the bucks for new, wait a short time for the R1200R (lighter and smoother than the 1150) or the new parallel twin F800, due out in the spring - water-cooled, belt drive, a much refined ABS.

Personally, I'd suggest putting miles on that K75S for another six months - get more experience riding and you'll have a better idea of what is important to you. While you are doing that, read the bike magazines, go to the International Motorcycle Show when it shows up in CA this fall, hang out at bike shops and visit your local bike gathering spot every now and then. Quite a few people think that the K75S is the best overall bike that BMW ever made.
Peter '73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

[iowabeakster]

the motor on the r1150r i would call modest. great durability but it is not a real power-house. this bike is what i would call a great all-arounder. It is a long way from the cushy "arm chair" type touring bike like a gold wing or a K-LT. It is a long way from sport bike. But it amply fills all the needs of commuting, touring, and some adreanaline pumping fun. It also is great in the curves.

different bikes will feel heavier or lighter depending on things like: seat height, center of gravity, rider position, etc.

ABS is a real can of worms on this board. The consensus is:

Those with it, love it! It is a real step forward in motorcycle safety.

Those without it, hate it! They would not wish it upon their worst enemy.

[Hoosier Rider]

Ride that K75S & enjoy it. I got rid of mine 8 years ago & still regret it.

[qfman]

Sounds like you like Beemers but not the flat twins. Why not have a look at BMW's new paralle twin F800 range. From what I have read, they are every bit as good as the R but lighter and the ABS is less noticeable. I would recommend an ABS bike if you are relatively new to riding. It gives you a lot of confidence when extending your comfort zone.

Tom

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~lonergans/

[wncbmw]

I had a K75S between my GS and my 1150R. The K75 is a great bike and a real smooth runner. But while the 1150 is probably heavier, there is no comparison. Although not a sport bike, the R will pass much quicker and handle much better than the K75.

Out of 5 beemers I have had, the Roadster is by far the best and at this time, I wouldn't trade it for anything BMW makes!

[MIXR]

Gary - The R is the sort of machine that either grabs you first ride, or just doesn't do it for you. At the risk of some political incorrectness, it's like meeting a new woman. Your first impressions really count, provided you had the chance to go for a decent first ride. It's either "Wow, that was fantastic" or "I'll look elsewhere"!

I 'found' my R by accident. Loved the looks, then was blown away by the ride. That's coming from far better machinery from a performance perspective. You will be hard pressed to find a machine that is better balanced than the R.

Brakes are above average, and very adequate if used properly. Power is pathetic, but the flat torque of the engine means you can just roll on and off the throttle and stay with (or ahead of) much 'peakier' and more powerful machines. Bumps and dips won't worry any where near as much as your mates on sportsbikes. It's a brilliant machine in the mountains when the road gets rough. It will get flogged by a country mile on a track.

Sounds like your first impressions were not that great. Just make sure you went for a decent ride, and not just around the block.

[sjbmw]

The one thing that separates the BMW brand is the test ride. Only dealer I know that does it.

This gives you a great advantage. Test ride one!

The guys are right, the 1150R is not a light bike by sport bike standards, and a boxer is unique feel.

But it's planted. The height of the handlebars sold me also. comfortable.

It's the first bike I ever owned that compensated for my lack of riding skills

[boxermania]

It is very difficult to go from the smoothness, turbine like running of a K-75 to the inherent rocking of the R1150r.

Weightwise they are about the same.......the K-75 doesn't have the torque of the R1150R and therefore you have to run it harder to get it up to speed, but all in all it is a good tourer.

I agree with peterbulgar, you are fairly new to the game, get familiar with the K and get some miles under your belt (read, ridding experience) then open Pandora's Box again...........

[dragonmojo]

I have to chime in here, having owned an R80RT ('83-'87), K75S ('87-'99), R1200C ('99-present) and R1150Rx ('03-present). I first became a Beemerphile coming off an '80 Suzuki GS750es. Not as smooth a the Japanese four, but a different animal set up for touring. After 4 years and 32K miles, I test rode the K and liked the smooth triple. I thought this would be my last bike ever, but passion overcame reason in '99 (a mere 64K miles later) and I recalled the idiosyncratic beat of a twin, deciding to try my first cruiser. Some people will call the rocking antiquated; others call it character. I consider it a pulse of a beast I'm commandeering, and I feel involved. In the 7 years I've owned it I have about 62K miles on the clock. Now I also have a Rockster in the stable, and next to the Cruiser, it is a smooooth bike. It took me nearly half a lifetime of riding to determine what type of rider I am, and for me it's a daily commute, and weekends aren't complete without a 200+ mile day in the saddle.

With only 2000 miles under your belt, it may still be too soon for you to determine. A little introspection will perhaps reveal what drew you to motorcycling, why the K75S in particular, what you enjoy most and least about riding (sensory experience, ego satisfaction, cheap transportation?). Be honest. It will take time and exposure, and over its course that definition may change as you grow as a rider. Good luck and have fun!

[single650]

I have both.

The K75s is great for straight motorway's and A roads, the R1150R is great for back roads. They don't compare really they are sooooo different.

I have just ridden in on the lady's SV650 its smooth light and handles like a dream. If you are new to biking I would say its a better bet.

ABS expensive, complicated and a PITA to service and unlikely to ever be called for - its a sort of motorcycle comfort blanket.

[Brownw3]

I would never own anything but a boxer, but they are quirky machines. BMW makes those mighty nice K bikes... pretty sweet but monstrously overpowered. Oh wait is there any such thing as overpowered...

Anyway, on the subject of ABS. I have 25 years riding experience and the ABS was, at first, not fun. I had the same complaints about going into turns "blah blah blah, I know how to use the brakes, I don't need no stinkin computer.

Then, one dya I was cruising down a busy city street and almost got run over by a maniac. The ABS saved my bacon and stopped me straight as an arrow without any panic stopping issues. It was just like a regular stop, only about 30 ft sooner than any human could have done it.

Now I've learned to "one finger it' to scrub off speed before a turn and will tell you there is no better accesory for a motorcycle on the market today.

[paroyboy]

I dont have ABS on my 04 R but with the ease that the back wheel can lock-up, it might not be a bad thing

[Gary]

A little more about myself and how I ride. Got back into riding recently after about 30 years, used to ride dirt and always wanted to get back into it. Now in my 40's and living in a more rural area I convinced my wife. I have liked the look of this bike since it first came out. We have 2 BMW cars, a 1988 325is which I have tracked and autox'd, and my wifes Z3, so I like the brand. I started looking mostly at BMW's when I got my license after taking the MSF. Got this bike from a private party. Had the local dealer do some preventive maintanance, but was told that it would soon need about $1000 worth of work due to leaks, lack of servicing, etc. I put it off so that I could ride it for a while and see if I liked it. The bike does what I want, which is commute and some weekend riding, but was thinking that a newer bike would be nice, including getting ABS, and why not spend that $1000 towards that. I have riden the bike on the track with a local BMW club and it helped some with my confidence, but it does not go into turns as easily as I had hoped. I continue to practice and improve my riding.

[BoiseBeemer]

The one thing that separates the BMW brand is the test ride. Only dealer I know that does it.

Oh, I don't know... the local HD franchise holds a "Demo Day" twice a year here in my neighborhood. You arrive, sign up for one of the bikes they've designated for demoing, wait while the flights of demo groups ahead of you finish, then get on your ride and fall into parade formation behind the dealership's demo-ride leader. The ride? About two miles west on the city street fronting the dealership; turn around; ride back. Never exceed 35 mph. Everyone but me seemed perfectly satisfied with the experience.

Actually, I found it highly enlightening of the HD riding lifestyle. By the time I finished, I knew everything I needed to know about the brand.

The Victory dealership in town, otoh, just threw me the keys and told me when they closed. The Victory engine, btw, is an enormous hoot; after you ride one, you'll stop going on and on about our beloved R-bikes' torque characteristics. If not for the gynecological riding position and fashionable lack of suspension, I could have been tempted. Oh, and thank you, Orange County Choppers for convincing the American public that a 21"-diameter, 2"-wide wheel with the one disk brake it can handle without breaking loose on even normal pavement is actually functional. Harley had a decent handling bike in the Super Glide Sport, but they've dropped the second disk off the model this year, since hard braking from 35 mph isn't a priority and "biker" fashion has dictated that one disk looks better than two.

In the end, however, I was looking for the old "standard" motorcycle: a versatile, do-it-all machine with adequate power biased for torque over maximum hp, moderate, upright ergonomics, better-then-average handling, great brakes (with the ABS option), low-maintenance air cooling and shaft drive... i.e., the same thing I used to get riding Suzuki GS-G fours. The Japanese, unfortunately, have abandoned shaft-drive (or I might have considered both the Suzi Bandit and the Yammie FZ-1). I tour a lot, so integrated, lockable hard bags are also a prerequisite.

When I got back into motorcycling after a 12-year layoff, I found regretfully that the only marques still making my bike were BMW and Moto Guzzi, two unique companies that I'd always admired but could never afford. Imagine my astonishment at discovering that BMW was actually offering the perfect bike at what was for them an "entry level" price. One test ride was all I needed to confirm that I had found my beloved Suzuki GS850G again, but with quite a few upgrades and a Beemer roundel. I quit looking immediately and started negotiating.

This, btw, is my pet peeve with the motorcycle press. Populated by current-, ex-, and wannabe-racers, the only thing that matters to most reviewers is how many pounds have been dropped and how much unusable horsepower has been added. As top-line bikes have migrated toward racer-replicas, everyday riding has been completely sacrificed, to the detriment, in my opinion, of motorcycling in general in the United States. Bikes that can handle are supremely uncomfortable, difficult to ride, and chain-driven (of course, since only a chain can extract that last bit of race-track performance). Why? Do I really need a bike that can accelerate to 150 in six seconds and be literally a pain in both the neck and the ass in seven? Or would a bike that can accelerate faster than any car on the road and cruise comfortably at 85 mph all day long be fast enough? A 400-pound, 150 hp bike is impressive, but I'll take my 75 horsepower 500-pound Beemer anyday in a crosswind next to a 16-wheeler. After 10 or 12 hours in a hard rain, I'm also kinda partial to my "performance-robbing" shaft-drive and that unfashionable, waterproof, hard luggage that unlocks with the same key that turns the ignition.

I'm not a racer; I'm a rider, everyday, in all kinds of conditions. My Roadster thrills me on weekends in the mountains, nimbly runs errands through city traffic all week, and takes at least one 3,000+-mile tour every summer and can easily handle a thousand-mile Bun Burner if I ask it to. And looks sexy doing it all.

If the motorcycle press ever remembers that bikes are also transportation and not just expensive toys, perhaps U.S. motorcycling will finally have a chance to grow beyond its cruiser/crotch-rocket niche trap. I'm not holding my breath.

Hang in there, BMW... somebody has to keep making bikes for people who actually RIDE their motorcycles and need to know something more in a test ride than how good the chrome looks in a 35-mph parade.

Okay, daily rant off now.

[JCsman]

Okay, daily rant off now.

Ahhh, but it was a goodun, Mr. Jones. I agreed with every word.

[peterbulgar]

Agree completely with Bruce Jones' (BoiseBeemer) "rant". I use my R1150R the same way that Mr. Jones does - commuting, weekend rides, and a long tour every summer (or two if I can arrange it - in fact this past summer I was in his town of Boise at the BMWRA rally). I also agree with his assessment of the R as a great do-everything machine.

Gary, glad that you clarified your background and experience. As an MSF graduate and a reentry rider with prior dirt bike experience, you are hardly a neophyte - from your original post most of us probably assumed that you were. I'd still say to stick with the K75S for another few months, but if you have to spend $1000 on it I can see why you'd rather spend the money on a bike that you really want. Obviously, the people on this forum are big fans of the R bikes, but I think that we are all aware that they aren't for everyone - it's not a street racer for one thing.

I started riding bikes when you needed both hands on the front brake to stop quickly, and shortly after purchasing a modern bike with dual disks on the front I managed to lock up the front wheel and tumbled to the ground at about 50 mph. Given enough time I may have been able to unlearn my old habits, but it seemed easier to let the ABS do the job. In almost three years of riding the R, I don't think that the ABS has kicked in once, but I'm still glad that it's there.

Back to Mr. Jones' comments: The cover of the latest issue of Motorcyclist asks the question "Do we really need 160 horsepower on the street?" Predictably, 3 of the 4 testers answered "You bet!", but Alex Hearn dissented and had the following comment: "...I'd rather make a slow bike go fast than barely hang on to a fast one."

Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) is an excellent magazine that tests bikes in the real world. It is expensive (no ads) and only available by subscription (http://www.mcnews.com), but they usually have a booth at the International Motorcycle Show - coming to San Mateo, CA in mid-December (about two hours from Ripon?). Motorcyclist is very performance oriented, as is Cycle World, although to a somewhat lesser extent. You can still learn a lot about the current crop of new bikes by reading those magazine, but you have to keep in mind that their evaluations are based on minute differences in performance that very few of us can exploit on the street. A few hundredths of a second in quarter mile times or a 165 mph vs. a 170 mph top end is very important to these people.
Peter '73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

[Gary]

Thanks for the additional comments. I am really just looking for a good, fun, sensible bike, and due to the amount that I want to spend, will most likely have to go used. My idea is to use the K75s until at least the spring, and may just go on longer. In the meantime, I will go see if I can test ride a 2005 R1150R that my dealer has for sale and see what I think.

[dragonmojo]

If the motorcycle press ever remembers that bikes are also transportation and not just expensive toys, perhaps U.S. motorcycling will finally have a chance to grow beyond its cruiser/crotch-rocket niche trap. I'm not holding my breath.

Hang in there, BMW... somebody has to keep making bikes for people who actually RIDE their motorcycles and need to know something more in a test ride than how good the chrome looks in a 35-mph parade.

Okay, daily rant off now.

BMW will hang in there, following in the footsteps of HD to provide bikes for the OTHER types of riders (i.e. those who do not actually ride their motorcycles, but bought them for the badge). Otherwise, there are many nice bikes that are transportation (and NOT just expensive toys like BMWs and HDs). These will be overlooked by prospective buyers who demand the proper badges regardless of any measure of the machine's performance.

[BoiseBeemer]

BMW will hang in there, following in the footsteps of HD to provide bikes for the OTHER types of riders (i.e. those who do not actually ride their motorcycles, but bought them for the badge). Otherwise, there are many nice bikes that are transportation (and NOT just expensive toys like BMWs and HDs). These will be overlooked by prospective buyers who demand the proper badges regardless of any measure of the machine's performance.

Huh? As I said, I would have cheerfully bought another Suzuki if they still made the kind of bike I prefer to ride (and I listed my own criteria for determining said suitability). They don't; BMW does, and for a reasonable price (or so it was in 2004). Unfortunately, it looks like the new R1200R may be violating my affordability criterion, but it also looks like the new 800-series vertical twins might be a worthy replacement. Fortunately, I expect my R1150R to last as long as I want to continue riding motorcycles, so if BMW fails to capitalize--or "hang in there"--on the existing good will of the RR line, it won't be my problem. As for the K bikes, I might agree with what you seem to be saying.

I guess I don't get your point. For some, the BMW line may indeed be considered a status possession, but I don't think anybody can reasonably argue that the Beemer hasn't also always maintained a reputation as a serious rider's machine. I don't think even staunch Harley owners would suggest that anything other than the Road King is actually built for the long haul. The Motor Company's Roadster is the Sportster, and I've never met ANYBODY who has ridden one longer than a hundred miles in a day. With a 3.3-gallon tank, not even HD expects you to spend much time on the ROAD.

Other than absurd prices for the upper-level models, how are these two "badges" alike?