BMW

[struan80]

Hi,

What do you guys think of BMW as a brand?

I know so many people that diss them. Is it the stereotype 50 year old middle class man on a GS. Taken up riding because he can't get it up anymore?

My mate wants a S1000XR and I told him he doesn't really want it because it is a BMW. I don't know why I think like this. Would love a S1000RR they don't count as a BMW.

Is it to do with the cars? Is everyone that drives a BMW a prick? (I used to have an old M3, so I am that prick).

[arry]

I don't really buy into the brand but I do ride a BMW because I liked the bike.

I have to say, fit and finish of it are first class but they should be since it's a £12k or so bike new. Mechanically, however, it's a bit loooolz since it gets through a fair bit of oil (if I were going on a bit of a tour I'd be taking at least a litre with me...) which is absolutely ridiculous given it's the same boxer that's in the GS. Adventure bike that can't do a couple of thousand miles without carrying spare oil around And they make that topping up thing difficult with a ridiculous 'anti-tamper' filler cap. Stupid as can be.

It's also a bike that has an accessory catalogue that includes a surfboard holder Good job I'm not image conscious.

[kgm]

I'd happily have a BMW. I've considered a GS before as it would suit a lot of my riding pretty well I reckon. The price and potential for expensive failures are what has put me off previously.

I don't really care about the brand or their image, if I like a bike and how it rides I'd have one. Unless the particular brand had a reputation for poor parts availability or particularly atrocious reliability of course.

[Ste]

S1000 isn't an old man BMW Ewan and Charlie wannabe bike!

You should be encouraging him.

[Bhud]

I really, really like the old boxers. I also like the K-series flat-4 fuel injected tourers they made in the 80s. Nothing they (or, perhaps, any company) produce today has any draw for me. I don't know about general impressions of the brand, but for a long time I think BMW Motorrad was such a completely independent division of BMW AG that it had its own corporate culture, and this is an important reason why they were able to manufacture all those legendary steel machines before and after the war. I don't think that's the case any more. As bikes, they (the new ones) just don't hold any attraction for me. I don't think it's anything to do with the people who ride them or even about perceptions of the brand itself. It's just twilight zone ICE tech - too far removed from a world I can legit say I even slightly recognise and understand. But then all manufacturers make bikes like that now. So, I'm indifferent.

[wr6133]

They make some nice bikes. Arry's R-nine looks absolutely stunning in his pictures. I'll even begrudgingly say the big GS isn't a bad bike, the one I've ridden I couldn't really pick fault with based on 20 minutes on Tarmac. It's the giant panniers covered in stickers of places they've never been crowd that the things seem to attract annoy me. Those that are renting a fantasy Charlie McEwan lifestyle that they will try to engage you in conversation about at a burger van, when all you can think is "feck off I just want to eat this sodding burger not listen to your never going to happen fantasy about riding your nazi barge to Mongolia".

Most people annoy me they are just a subset that particularly annoy me.

[notabikeranym...]

I liked my BMWs. Although I'd say compared to Jap bikes they aren't nearly as robust, but not that far off. Jap bikes like my Yamahas were completely and utterly bulletproof and never missed a beat.

R6 nothing ever happened to it in 22,000 miles from new.

Had to overly bodge the positive terminal on the 2016 S1000RR's battery to make sure it was tight at around 8k because it won't actually run without the battery connected (does all sorts weird things like bogging down, not revving past 3k, speedo going haywire). Then it developed an engine oil leak around 15k miles which was very disappointing.

S1000RR 2020 ended up with about 5k miles on it from new, cracked it's own shark-fin fairing on the right side out of nowhere, had weird engine cut-out issues, lumpy cold start, electronics extremely intrusive (I say this because with everything completely turned off, it would not wheelie in 3rd gear or above and this was tried in parallel to an R1 which could be wheelied in 5th gear by the same guy), vibratey mirrors to the point it was kind of meaningless having them, and at 5,000 miles the coil pack on cylinder 3 shit itself and had to be replaced under warranty. There was quite a list with that bike, and it was shocking considering it was a brand new 2020 bike. Service from non-franchised dealerships was shocking too.

Both RRs were absolutely incredible on track though so I'll probably get an M1000RR for track when I'm back to riding.

I'm thinking of getting a Jap sumo or R1 for the road though because those R1s wheelie like an animal and that's lots of fun.

Edit: Rode a GS850, RnineT, and a 1000XR before. They're all great bikes. Do love the electronic suspension adjustment on the GS, RnineT was ridiculous fun especially slapping the throttle open in 1st and 2nd and having it belt your front wheel up into the air all choppy-like. XR was alright, bit cumbersome though.

I don't think I like electronic suspension offered by BMW overall though. My R6 had unmatched handling once the suspension was set up.

[Freddyfruitba...]

Well I ride a BMW 1200RS - IMHO highly underrated sports tourer - which I totally love. Certainly wouldn't have a GS for all sorts of reasons.

[Polarbear]

BMW have never made a bike I want except the K1600GTL. I'd have one tomorrow except for the fact they are upwards of 20 grand and for that money I'd rather have a GoldWing.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[struan80]

Big BMW tourers are classy but very big, too big for me.

Got me thinking about the S1000RR, could trade my bike in for a second hand one hmm . Apparently not just best on the track but road as well.

I can just imagine nipping to the shops in the Goldwing, love them though.

Love all bikes except the non bike things with the two front wheels. Also can't be doing with choppers, again three wheels.

I like bubble cars with three wheels, were they not made by Germans?

[Copycat73]

[MCN]

04 GS Brake Modulator crashed at 7k. My fault for not having BMW extended warranty.
06 GS no real issues.

10 K1300 all the toys. Last GS was parted for that) Paint fell off all metal parts. My fault for not having BMW extended warranty and I used the wrong shampoo. (Aye, that's what the fat cunt at the Glasgow dealer told BMW. 🙄)

10 S1000RR. No issues except the sump dissolved at 5k. My fault for using it on the road.

They do what they say on the tin but consider purchasing the BMW extended warranty. It's as expensive AF but peace of mind.
And you can quote my history to any BMW sales Muppets. 👍

I would never buy another BMW bike for all of the above and could not recommend anyone buy one without their prohibitively expensive BMW extended warranty.

The K1300 and S1000RR are still mine and still go like fcku though. 😎
Probably tick more or as many boxes as any of todays bikes barr the cosmetic appeal.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[arry]

[Pete.]

I've put 60k miles on my 2004 R1100S and I think it's been topped up between services perhaps 4 or 5 times.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[arry]

[Nobby the Bastard]

That's almost on a par with the appetite of the Exup Valdez.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[arry]

[Nobby the Bastard]

The trick with a exup was to use 25/50 rather than 20/40. The trouble is the exup valdez fucked it's big end not long after I started to use it but my very experienced mechanic said it probably wasn't the cause as it was a known solution to the excessive oil usage that exups are reknown for and wasn't known ifor causing engine failure.

He has his own fzr (pre exup) and actually bought mine for the special cams to put in his own so he knows them very well.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[jeffyjeff]

[arry]

[Pete.]

People love to knock them but my BMW has lasted twice as long as any other bike I've had on my London commute. I got no complaints about it in the grand scheme.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[jeffyjeff]

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History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men - BOC

[jeffyjeff]

[arry]

[jeffyjeff]