Dear UKRM... advice please

I've been considering buying another bike for commuting to
work and general use. I have a round trip of about 120
miles a day and have been using a BMW K100 for the last year
or so. I would guess my annual mileage is likely to be in
the region of 25k.

I've had some minor problems with it (left me stranded in
bordeaux; fuel pump wiring) and am wondering if it wouldn't
be wise to rely on something a little less old.

So... my short list contains:

BMW K1100LT, BMW R1100RT, Honda PanEuropean.

I'll probably spend around 3.5k on it so I'm wary of the
sort of Pan I'm likely to get for that money.

The BMWK1100 seems to have been hit hard by depreciation and
I think I could get a low mileage (well, 25-30k) example for
this money. The R1100RT isn't depreciated as hard but I'd
think that I could probably get something with about 40k on
the clock.

My priorities are reliability, comfort, weather protection,
ease of servicing (I'll be doing my own) and fuel
consumption (would like around 45mpg on a motorway commute
at 80mph ish).

I realise I'm getting old and all the rest of it.

 

It would be a bit of a shed of a Pan for that kind of money (that's what
stopped me from buying one - loadsamoney for quite an old bike).

If you sacrifice some weather protection, you probably couldn't go far
wrong with a Divvy 900. You'd get an absolute minter for that kind of
money.

 

That's the sports-tourer - not a bad bike, but a bit on the hefty
side.

I rather suspect you're thinking of the R1100S - with underseat
exhaust et al.

 

Dunno about that, but it's out of scope 'cos it's not a
shaft drive.

And the Divvy900. Sure it's capable but it's not what I
want.

 

A what? I think you need to read up on the BMW range a bit. In the K
range (flat fours) there's the RS, successor to the K1, it's newer,
fatter brother, the GT, with built-in luggage and more fairing, and
the LT, which is the full-dress tourer.

The RT is a boxer, hence it's an R1150RT. There is also an R1150RS -
not sure what the difference is.

Must have been the K1200RS then, unless you're mistaken and it was
actually an 1150 - yes, it can wheelie - I tested one a couple of
years back, thinking of it as a successor to the trumpet, but in fact
it did everything slightly worse, with finish and long-term
reliability its only real plus points.

 

wrote

Perhaps a more or less complete set of spares would ease the burden?

 

SNIP

SNIP

I knew it, I just fucking knew it. No sooner do I shift the mintiest K11
freshly fitted with Ohlins finest and you get ready for the change! £3.3k
with that shock as well.
For reliability and cheapness of running at your level of use the K11 is top
dog in the list. http://makeashorterlink.com/?I28B236D5 seems like a good
deal from a dealer as long as it has the luggage.

Given your commute and declared riding style one of the smaller faired
Boxers would be pretty good and they just have less to go wrong! Graham's
has a silver R80RT with 30k http://makeashorterlink.com/?O54C126D5 and he
prepares them pretty well (ex Jeffries mechanic). I bought my 100RS from
there. Those later nickasil barrel Mono's will give at least 3 years
commuting without major trouble. Of course with the K you get ABS2 which is
nice when barreling down a wet winter M4.

Beware some nasty engine/drivetrain reliability problems on the earlier
R1100's. Keep to 1995 on (or is it '96!). You do get ABS3 but a poor fairing
on the LT.

 

SteveH fascinated us all by saying...

Why? Fit a scottoiler touring kit and you'll be loking at changing chain
and sprockets once a year at most, price appx 120 quid all in if you fit
them yourself. I'd rather have a chain than dubious handling of a shaftie


--
Lozzo
'95 Kawasaki ZZR1100D, '97 Kawasaki GPZ500S, '83 Honda CB250RS
Big Zed Little Zed Dead shed
New to ukrm? : www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmscbt.html
"He's not big and he's not called Tony"

 

SteveH fascinated us all by saying...

Fitting a Scottoiler is common sense, I can see why you failed there.

As for adjusting the chain, I only have to do that when I change tyres.
Every 6K miles or so is about normal, and that's the way I ride too, so
say 8K miles for yourself.

--
Lozzo
'95 Kawasaki ZZR1100D, '97 Kawasaki GPZ500S, '83 Honda CB250RS
Big Zed Little Zed Dead shed
New to ukrm? : www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmscbt.html
"He's not big and he's not called Tony"

 

Use a t-piece (included) tp connect to the fuel tank vacum feed.

HTH

 

There is no fuel tap.

Needs further investigation.

 

SteveH fascinated us all by saying...

Tap into the vacuum feed for the fuel tap then

--
Lozzo
'95 Kawasaki ZZR1100D, '97 Kawasaki GPZ500S, '83 Honda CB250RS
Big Zed Little Zed Dead shed
New to ukrm? : www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmscbt.html
"He's not big and he's not called Tony"

 

You'll get quite a nice Beemer, a dodgy R1100RT, and a possibly dodgy
Pan.

At the risk of being partisan, consider a Triumph 1200 Trophy. Strong,
and as good a tourer as any of the above (albeit without a shaft).

 

That I can understand. As one who had one for three years, it is
amazingly efficient at what it does, superb VFM, goes on forever, dead
easy and cheap to look after, and about as soporific as a couple of
megs' worth of uk.legal postings.

 

*Ding*

 

Although my first chain managed the 25K, subsequent replacements[1] have
been IMO fairly crap even with a scottoiler ~10K.

[1] DID gold IIRC the 3rd one is on it's way out ATM

--
Ian
From & Reply-To are valid but filtered http://www.despammed.com
znvygb: (ROT13 all of it to mail me)
FAQ here http://www.ukrm.net/faq/index.html
98 FZS600, 72 T120R two#34 MIB#21 TWA#6

 

IMHO, for reliability get a Jap bike.

 

I was just surprised to hear you describe it as 'sportier'. Although
TBF I agree with you top an extent, I just didn't expect it of you.

You're getting old. And being bikeless tends to lose one's
perspective, perhaps? ;-)

 

Shame to discount a bike purely because of chain drive. It isn't
unheard of for a shaft to fail in 50k miles and I'd rather replace a
chain than a shaft drive.

<experience>
XBR500, 50000 miles on the same chain. (The original lasted 7k before
the Scottoiler was fitted). I don't know how far it got on the chain
after this because I sold the bike. This was done in under a year on
a combination of town and distance circuits.
</experience>

Having said all this, I'd probably still go for a more recent K100 or
K1100 in your position. Chunky, solid, boringly reliable, OK on fuel
and run for moon mileages. They also seem to resell even with high
mileage which is something Jap stuff doesn't do at all well.

Alternatively get a ZX9R and a job nearer home.

Alan
NX650

 

Alan fascinated us all by saying...

He already has a ZX9-R and 2 K100s

--
Lozzo
'95 Kawasaki ZZR1100D, '97 Kawasaki GPZ500S, '83 Honda CB250RS
Big Zed Little Zed Dead shed
New to ukrm? : www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmscbt.html
"He's not big and he's not called Tony"