airheads vs. oilheads [Archive]

almostblue

10-01-2007, 04:05 PM

i'm thinking of picking up a '95 r1100rs i found for a good price. any insight?

kbasa

10-01-2007, 04:09 PM

i'm thinking of picking up a '95 r1100rs i found for a good price. any insight?

You'll find that they're wonderful bikes. When I rode to WV a few years ago, the RS got the call.

reimerdavid

10-01-2007, 05:21 PM

You will love the air head

lkchris

10-01-2007, 05:35 PM

First year for this model.

Lots of transmission problems--perhaps fixed by now.

DarrylRi

10-01-2007, 07:18 PM

First year for this model.

Lots of transmission problems--perhaps fixed by now.

No, the second year for this model. The first model year had the noisy-in-neutral but otherwise fine transmission. The second year bikes had the quiet in neutral transmissions that had a tendency to pop out of first gear. Probably ALL of those transmissions are gone, there was a quiet campaign that allowed replacement of them under warranty.

The bikes are basically sound and strong. But, be sure to take a test ride. Get the bike warm, then try to ride it in second gear at a steady 20-25 mph, to see if it "hunts" or "surges". Some do, to the point that owners hate it. Mine doesn't. Then take the bike on the highway and rev it up to near redline in 2nd and 3rd to verify that it doesn't have the "skip" -- feels like it briefly jumps out and back into gear -- this is a sure sign of impending transmission replacement.

I have 197k on my R1100RS and had 86k on my R1150RS and they are great bikes. But you've got to be careful about why they're being sold.