I've just put a deposit on a BMW

But before people get too excited (you know who you are ), it's of the two wheeled variety.

I've owned a fair number of BMWs over the years and before buying a Triumph a few years ago, I had planned to purchase another one until the sales muppet at the then-local BMW dealer pretty much told me that sir was looking at the wrong bikes and steered me towards their cheaper used options that I didn't have much interest in.

I've not been too enamoured with the Triumph or the GoldWing 1500 that followed it, and decided that I was going to get another BMW because I wanted to ride a bit more again. Buying newer BMWs is a bit of a minefield thanks to some idiosyncrasies that I'm only too well aware of and which are mostly caused by people skipping maintenance of certain expensive items like brake servos. And my budget (10k tops) didn't stretch to bike and replacement servo...

Anyway, I found an ad locally-ish for one that looked reasonably promising, plus the seller had a bunch of aftermarket options that he was willing to fit to the bike if someone wanted them. Went to see the bike yesterday and both the seller and I realised that I had looked at some Moto Guzzis he had for sale a few years ago. Small world.

Bike looked good, he'd just done some catch up maintenance including the all important brake circuits, and it was offered for a decent price for what it was. Not a killer price as he definitely knows what he has, but a good priced for what the bike is an how sought after GSs are. I didn't have my gear with me as I hadn't expected the seller to get back to me within an hour, so we agreed I'd come back with my gear for a test ride this morning. The test ride was pretty much "hello, old friend" after getting the bike out on the road, so we put a deal together, I left a deposit and get to pick this beast up next weekend:

(Photo from the sellers ad because apparently I can't take decent photos at 8am).

It's an 06 R1200GS Adventure that someone definitely kitted out a bit more - it's got good aftermarket suspension and some other little farkles that suggest someone put it together for some serious riding. Mileage is pretty low - about 34k - so nothing that should be too much of a worry.

I do need to find the correct top box for the bike so the other half has something to lean up against, but other than that and maybe some tires in a couple thousand miles it should be pretty much a case of "press button and ride". Got to get used to the high center of gravity again - this thing has something like an 8 gallon tank and is pretty tall so it does require a bit of a deft hand when the tank is full. All of that disappears once the bike is rolling, though.

And no, I'm not planning to take it off road other than maybe a dirt road.

Nice ride, it looks great. I have a R1100RT that I love and have always wanted to get an Adventure. I imagine just pointing it in a direction and not caring what the road does and riding all day. Sounds like fun, hope you get years of enjoyment from it.

Beatiful bike! 

That one is air cooled, correct? Does it vibrate too much?

I rented a 2015 GSA in Germany with my wife and rode it all the way to Throndheim, Norway and accross to Sweden. It would eat miles. I put around 4500 miles on it in a few weeks. 

I loved that bike and thought a lot about getting one when I got back. But I probably would not have gotten the Adventure version as it was a beast of a bike. I think with all our luggage it was probably 1k pounds or more. It was heavy and TALL when riding it with the electronic suspension set-up for a passenger. 

I did find later that the seat could be lowered a bit and I would also sometimes switch to rider only before coming to a stop on an incline. The bike would lower itself and it would be more manageable. I still managed to not drop it   

Also, the one I rented had the BEST headlights of any motorcycle or maybe even car I ever had. 

I was riding through some wooded areas at 3 am in Norway and I could light up the road like it was 1PM. 

If you like BMW motorcycles, they are pretty amazing machines. Being a BMW, of course, it will have BMW foibles one either will tolerate/plan for or avoid like the current virus.

Sadly(?), I have never liked any BMW motorcycle I have tried. Can't explain why.

My brother-in-law just upgraded to a GS this year from a R1100R and is enjoying life. Me, I'll keep my Triumph Tiger for the forseeable future.

Congrats! She's a beauty 

salaryman has all the fun 

Slippery said:

Beatiful bike! 

That one is air cooled, correct? Does it vibrate too much?

Thanks. Yes, this is an early 1200 and thus air/oil cooled, doesn't have the watercooled heads. Vibration is pretty minimal if you don't lug the engine.

I rented a 2015 GSA in Germany with my wife and rode it all the way to Throndheim, Norway and accross to Sweden. It would eat miles. I put around 4500 miles on it in a few weeks. 

I loved that bike and thought a lot about getting one when I got back. But I probably would not have gotten the Adventure version as it was a beast of a bike. I think with all our luggage it was probably 1k pounds or more. It was heavy and TALL when riding it with the electronic suspension set-up for a passenger. 

Adventures are definitely big and tall, but I don't find them that heavy (don't fancy picking it up either). They are rather top heavy though, especially with a full tank. This one doesn't have the ESA, and I'm not sure it was available for this model year. One less thing to go wrong, plus it has aftermarket Touratech suspension. Not that that lowers the bike in any way, shape or form.

ddavidv said:

If you like BMW motorcycles, they are pretty amazing machines. Being a BMW, of course, it will have BMW foibles one either will tolerate/plan for or avoid like the current virus.

Foibles and potential issues they definitely have. This one has most of the issues addressed by the PO, which is why I was willing to pay a little more for an older bike. A lot of the issues on these are maintenance related, with the classic one being that they really need brake flushes annually to keep the brake servo happy. A lot of people skip that because it's expensive and a bit more complicated, and then end up with a dead servo that costs about half as much as the bike to replace. There are a couple of other items like that that require a tad more taking apart and maintaining than you'd get from the average Japanese bike, and you have to be aware of those.

Sadly(?), I have never liked any BMW motorcycle I have tried. Can't explain why.

My brother-in-law just upgraded to a GS this year from a R1100R and is enjoying life. Me, I'll keep my Triumph Tiger for the forseeable future.

BMW bikes are an acquired taste - you either like them or you don't. In general my experience with them is pretty good, and the ergonomics work well for me, especially on the GS.