Somebody please tell me why I have a BMW

[Malindi]

The key in riding old machines is that you need to rebuild ALL the bits at the 20 or 30 year mark. I have a 1983 RT and a 1986 R80G/S. The G/S saw a frame-up rebuild in 2002. Once they are rebuilt, they run trouble free for a very long time. The problems start when people try to nickel and dime the repairs over a period of time. If you don’t fix the whole thing at once, then you’ll hit a string of “end of life problems� and it will seem as if the bike is always “down�. When I hear about the issues people have with new R1200GS’s and all the surging on the oil heads, I wonder why they keep buying them. A rebuilt airhead is super reliable.

[norton73]

One nice thing about totally rebuilding a bike and holding every single nut, bolt, and part in your hands is that you now know the bike inside and out. Having the Norton in little pieces many years ago (along with several others through the years) means there are no surprises. . By that I mean I know what I'm looking at or for when something does go wrong.
Another plus is that you never have warranty issues, if it leaks, or has other problems, you only have to look in the mirror to find the mechanic.
I've never had the K-bike apart, except for the transmission, so when things break, it's a learning experiance. Which isn't a bad thing, unless it's at the side of the road, 500 miles from home.
I worked for a BMW dealer back in the late '70s and early '80s, and went to the BMW service school when Butler & Smith was the importer. I feel I know my way around a Airhead pretty well, except the Paralever and the electrics.
I swore many years ago that I would never own a bike with more than 2 cylinders, but then I got a good deal on the K-bike, so I soon broke that promise. But never again, once the K-bike is worn out, that's it.

[moterbiker]

This is why my wife and I sold 2 1150GS's this year and bought Suzuki V_Stroms. My GS was out of warranty and if I had something major break I couldn't afford to fix it.

[Loadedagain]

Originally Posted by andy112652

BMW riders get the girls

not the ones i've met. you've been sniffing glue again haven't you?

[cat]

Originally Posted by moterbiker

This is why my wife and I sold 2 1150GS's this year and bought Suzuki V_Stroms. My GS was out of warranty and if I had something major break I couldn't afford to fix it.

[maybe this should go to another forum, but...]
how d'you like the V-Strom? -- after the 1150GS? did you get the 1000 or the 650?
you'll probably get better reliability with the Suzukis.
i'm thinking about getting a V-Strom -- or a DRZ400S ;-) -- because my R100GS has turned out to be a "project bike" and i need something to ride now.

[moterbiker]

Originally Posted by cat

[maybe this should go to another forum, but...]
how d'you like the V-Strom? -- after the 1150GS? did you get the 1000 or the 650?
you'll probably get better reliability with the Suzukis.
i'm thinking about getting a V-Strom -- or a DRZ400S ;-) -- because my R100GS has turned out to be a "project bike" and i need something to ride now.

We ended up getting the 1000's, I also added the extended warranty from Suzuki which gives me 4 years unlimited mileage. For 17k I got 2 bikes with the warranty, how the hell can BMW beat that?