enjine
09-28-2005, 10:42 AM
Hello everyone,
I've been riding motorcycles for about 5 years now, have only owned one bike--a '95 honda nighthawk 750--and have now moved on from there to a beautiful BMW R1100 RL. Walking around Boston's Beacon Hill and staring at all of those old boxers was what originally got me to take the plunge years ago and buy a motorcycle in the first place. Now I have my own BMW, and this is my first impression of it.
But first a short back story...
My buddy, who has never driven a motorcycle in his life, bought a great old '67 Moto Guzzi this summer. He wanted to get in to riding, and I helped him pick out a bike that suited his style. Well, after looking at hundreds of bikes on Ebay, Cycletrader, and other websites, I'd found the bike for him. After he bought it, I kept looking at all of the sites to see what I would like if I were to buy a new bike. I knew it would be a BMW, but which one?
I thought a late 70's boxer at first. I tried one out even. I was set on a '77 R100 at one point, but it was expensive and far away. I waited. Eventually I realized that what I wanted was something more modern than one of those old boxers, coming from a japanese bike, but something still with the feel of the bike being classic. I saw an R1100 RL on the street one day here in Manhattan and I literally drove my motorcycle onto the sidewalk and back down the one-way street to go look at it. I knew from then on, that was the bike i wanted. I found a few online, waited longer, found some more, then found a great deal on a bare bike on ibmwr.org.
I immediately sold my old bike, flew down to VA and bought the bike. That gave me about 400 miles of getting to know the bike as I took my time driving home through backroads and a short bit of interstate 95. Here are some things that struck me:
- The engine.
The engine sounds like an old boxer, but it's on this futuristic-style frame. I can't say how perfect that is. It has the warm and chunky rhythm that I want to hear. Starting it up cold is a bit of a task, as with say an R100, but when it BANGs and turns over, it's very gratifying. My Guzzi friend was especially relieved at this too.
- The seating position
Very up front. I readjusted the height twice to see if that would do anything. I'd expected more of a cruiser-style position towards the back because the driver seat has that big lip in the back, but no.. the position is up against the tank, almost like a sport bike. Very strange. I might get a new seat, but I'm going to give it some time first. Any suggestions on *comfortable* seats out there?
- The controls
ABS, check. Heated Grips, check. Fuel Level, check (how cool--no more odometer guessing).
I love the dash controls, but the handlebar switches, i think, were not build for human ergonomics. I'm not sure who they expect to be driving these things, but the blinker switches, the blinke cut off especially, the horn and the lights are all so unnatural to my hands, that I have to look at them pretty much every time i need to use them. I think these controls might be my only complaint about the bike. They expect you to dig your thumb in + under the handlebar and then push *UP*?? Too weird for me.
The handlebars themselves are also positioned just a bit inward, instead of straight. This made my wrists ache noticibly.
- The Torque.
Jesus. I could be going 80 mph, and twist the throttle a bit more and jump forward to 90. This bike has so much torque that I do it just for fun. And the sound/feel of the engine when it pushes like that is extremely gratifying. That being said, the RPMs at 80 mph are at 4.3k. Is that normal? Seems a little high for a 1100cc bike.
- The transmission.
Whoah. Shifting gears is now a task. Kick it in to first, and you can hear it a block away. Trying to find neutral is an 80/20 prospect, and downshifting from 5th through the gears must be done slowly. I've read some other posts about tapping on the gear shifter lightly when downshifting and going between the gears. I've experienced this too, but I think I just have to get used to the switch a bit more. It sure isn't a Honda.
- 5.5 Gal tank.
Bigger is always better. This is a great size tank for my needs.
- Classic Style.
I drove up through New Hope PA on Sunday for a bite to eat with my girlfriend. If you've ever been to New Hope, you know that the main street there will fill up with 50 or more Harleys. THe bikes just roll in and out all day long. That makes for a good amount of gawkers who walk by and eye up all of the bikes. Pulling in with this beautiful classic (black with white pinstripes) bike, I ate lunch at an outdoor joint and watched as people stopped by my bike when passing the Harleys, and stare.
All-in-All, this bike is just perfect for me, and if any of the above are complaints, they are minute and stick out in my head only because the bike as a whole is just so great. This particular bike has seen a lot of action--72k miles on purchase with the first owner having driven to Alaska. Hopefully I can take the bike back to Alaska someday too. It doesn't drive anything like what I'd expect that much milage to drive like, and I think it will go 300,000 more.
I've been riding motorcycles for about 5 years now, have only owned one bike--a '95 honda nighthawk 750--and have now moved on from there to a beautiful BMW R1100 RL. Walking around Boston's Beacon Hill and staring at all of those old boxers was what originally got me to take the plunge years ago and buy a motorcycle in the first place. Now I have my own BMW, and this is my first impression of it.
But first a short back story...
My buddy, who has never driven a motorcycle in his life, bought a great old '67 Moto Guzzi this summer. He wanted to get in to riding, and I helped him pick out a bike that suited his style. Well, after looking at hundreds of bikes on Ebay, Cycletrader, and other websites, I'd found the bike for him. After he bought it, I kept looking at all of the sites to see what I would like if I were to buy a new bike. I knew it would be a BMW, but which one?
I thought a late 70's boxer at first. I tried one out even. I was set on a '77 R100 at one point, but it was expensive and far away. I waited. Eventually I realized that what I wanted was something more modern than one of those old boxers, coming from a japanese bike, but something still with the feel of the bike being classic. I saw an R1100 RL on the street one day here in Manhattan and I literally drove my motorcycle onto the sidewalk and back down the one-way street to go look at it. I knew from then on, that was the bike i wanted. I found a few online, waited longer, found some more, then found a great deal on a bare bike on ibmwr.org.
I immediately sold my old bike, flew down to VA and bought the bike. That gave me about 400 miles of getting to know the bike as I took my time driving home through backroads and a short bit of interstate 95. Here are some things that struck me:
- The engine.
The engine sounds like an old boxer, but it's on this futuristic-style frame. I can't say how perfect that is. It has the warm and chunky rhythm that I want to hear. Starting it up cold is a bit of a task, as with say an R100, but when it BANGs and turns over, it's very gratifying. My Guzzi friend was especially relieved at this too.
- The seating position
Very up front. I readjusted the height twice to see if that would do anything. I'd expected more of a cruiser-style position towards the back because the driver seat has that big lip in the back, but no.. the position is up against the tank, almost like a sport bike. Very strange. I might get a new seat, but I'm going to give it some time first. Any suggestions on *comfortable* seats out there?
- The controls
ABS, check. Heated Grips, check. Fuel Level, check (how cool--no more odometer guessing).
I love the dash controls, but the handlebar switches, i think, were not build for human ergonomics. I'm not sure who they expect to be driving these things, but the blinker switches, the blinke cut off especially, the horn and the lights are all so unnatural to my hands, that I have to look at them pretty much every time i need to use them. I think these controls might be my only complaint about the bike. They expect you to dig your thumb in + under the handlebar and then push *UP*?? Too weird for me.
The handlebars themselves are also positioned just a bit inward, instead of straight. This made my wrists ache noticibly.
- The Torque.
Jesus. I could be going 80 mph, and twist the throttle a bit more and jump forward to 90. This bike has so much torque that I do it just for fun. And the sound/feel of the engine when it pushes like that is extremely gratifying. That being said, the RPMs at 80 mph are at 4.3k. Is that normal? Seems a little high for a 1100cc bike.
- The transmission.
Whoah. Shifting gears is now a task. Kick it in to first, and you can hear it a block away. Trying to find neutral is an 80/20 prospect, and downshifting from 5th through the gears must be done slowly. I've read some other posts about tapping on the gear shifter lightly when downshifting and going between the gears. I've experienced this too, but I think I just have to get used to the switch a bit more. It sure isn't a Honda.
- 5.5 Gal tank.
Bigger is always better. This is a great size tank for my needs.
- Classic Style.
I drove up through New Hope PA on Sunday for a bite to eat with my girlfriend. If you've ever been to New Hope, you know that the main street there will fill up with 50 or more Harleys. THe bikes just roll in and out all day long. That makes for a good amount of gawkers who walk by and eye up all of the bikes. Pulling in with this beautiful classic (black with white pinstripes) bike, I ate lunch at an outdoor joint and watched as people stopped by my bike when passing the Harleys, and stare.
All-in-All, this bike is just perfect for me, and if any of the above are complaints, they are minute and stick out in my head only because the bike as a whole is just so great. This particular bike has seen a lot of action--72k miles on purchase with the first owner having driven to Alaska. Hopefully I can take the bike back to Alaska someday too. It doesn't drive anything like what I'd expect that much milage to drive like, and I think it will go 300,000 more.