I would do the 04 with the ohlins in a heartbeat. I just sold mine with ohlins and 81k miles for. 7,500
Well, I feel a little better about the lack of known maintenance history on the '04 bike after reading through the shade tree account of final drive replacement. This sounds like a job I would be comfortable doing myself (and could do for less than $400 instead of the $2000 number I saw tossed around for a dealer replacement) if it came to that down the road. Cam tensioners also don't sound like a huge ordeal. Were those still a problem on the '04s or was it fixed at the factory by that model year? Still looking for more input. Which bike would you buy if you were to choose?
My March 03 build 2004 required the tensioner update, (left side only). It is simple.easier than the FD bearing replacement by a long way. The throttle cables may benefit form an update as well. small stuff. If I were doing it all over, I'd still buy the 2004 dual spark Adventure. It has been my favorite bike of nearly 40 years of riding. It has also been the most expensive to get to 100,000 miles, and may be the first to hit 200,000 under my butt. When I bought mine in September of '04 I knew very little of it's maintenance, and what I knew of was supposed to have been performed by the local to the city BMW store. They had not gotten a couple of things right when they did the previous service. I'd still buy the same bike from the same guy, but I'd take a couple of weeks to get home. And I'd have brought my good camera for the trip. A Fall trip across the Colorado Rockies requires that. I'm on business travel, on my bike and have a weekend off coming up. I plan on exploring some gravel roads. Knowing what I know about how I THINK I want to ride I THINK I want a thumper to replace this big Adventure. But, I keep putting that off. I sort of figure to stop repairing the Adventure and sell it when the parts can't be bought or repaired at reasonable rates. How I really end up riding is on the road nearly 99.9% of this bikes life has been lived rolling along on tarmac. That is a result of way too much work located too far down the concrete strips. Partly my fault too for not taking the time to spend more time on dirt and less working. IAs it is, I'm always on the lookout for a spare F/D, transmission and a second spare rear hub. What's that tell you about how serious I am about giving up the Adventure? Not very huh? I'll be the poser at Starbucks with the slightly worn KLIM adventure suit, and the complexion of one who never sees the sun. Go buy that 2004. Life is an adventure and that bike might just be the E-ticket to the ride.
The tensioner is no big deal. It is a precaution move and only has to be done on the left jugg. Buy that bike.
Thanks for the input, guys. You both make it sound like an obvious choice which is good to hear some consensus. Still interested to hear more of the same or contrary opinions. I have 2 days before I head that way with cash in hand and will likely buy one or the other. Mr Head - Since you say you are always looking for parts (and I'm sure you aren't alone in that), I thought you might be interested in this ad on CL. http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/3624367540.html He's got a ton of parts left and they seem to be pretty reasonably priced for the most part.
if it looks like this it might be my old bike issues: http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?6400-What-should-I-look-for-when-buying-a-R1150GS
There's a link with pictures on post #20. Have a look. If you think it was yours I'd be interested to know more about its history. The only thing the owner could tell me was that he thought it went for an around-the-world trip prior to his ownership. Where in puget sound are you?
Well, I want to buy a bike the way I take care of a bike. I'm pretty fussy. I just spent $ 600 on my KGT not because anything was wrong, it was just that BMW called for it and I could not do it. Now I know everything is done and ready to go. That 03 GS looks pretty neat and tidy. Service history included. On the 04 GSA, it has stripped valve cover screws, which are not the end of the world...but jeez, I wouldn't ride my with them like that, yet alone try to sell it that way. Then there is the wiring hanging all over the place under the instument cluster. Real nice neat job there. And then no service history. In most cases not a deal breaker , but in this case, it is the nail in the coffin to me. I wouldn't run my bike that way and I wouldn't buy one like that. $ 6-$7 grand for a 9 to 10 year old bike with 50,000 + miles is not a fixer upper. You are paying close to top dollar for a bike of that vintage and you should be getting one . Forget the farkles, they are just that. Go with the 03.
Probably not mine - Fun bike but got tired of BMWs for a while and went to ST1300s and then back. I thought they had a recall or something on the footpeg mounting or something - could be wrong I live south in Puyallup
My first GS ride was aboard a 1980 R80/Gs we stayed late to uncrate and assemble at BMW of Denver. We rode in the dark around the then vacant lot next door. I didn't get it entirely then. I was a pavement guy. Dakar didn't mean much to me. I'd read the magazine accounts but knew little of it. But, I liked how easy it was to flick the bike around. I wanted a bigger tank. A few years later a friend loaned me his new to him that day; R100G/S and we rode over the CD one day. The R100 was a bumble bee with the new tubeless yet spoked front wheel. I spent a fair amount of time picking it up off it's side above timberline that day. We all did. note: proper offroad attire? In my case I had, after a lot of researching and reading decided I wanted the 2004 dual spark over the single spark. I figured I'd get used to the ABS linked brake weirdness. I still don't like the brakes. At the time I was looking, the 2004 bikes were gone from almost all the shops. I searched far and wide for one set up as a demo the way I wanted it. I missed three across the country. One in San Jose by minutes, thanks to a waste of my time mandatory meeting at work. I wanted the Adventure because of the stock protection; skidplate and crashbars. The Adventure also came with stainless overbraided brake lines. And I wanted the single piece saddle. I preferred the narrower and more comfortable to be seat. I liked the 8 gallon tank since the bike would mostly see service as a commuter across Orange County California. I knew from test riding a friends standard GS the bike was plenty comfortable and either the plastic bags or Adventure bags would fit the bill. So, I had a shopping list: 1. 2004 GS Adventure with hard luggage. 2. Used, demo preferred so I'd have low miles and maybe some dealer installed bling. 3. Adventure has larger fly screen though not adjustable. Can be made to be. 4. Mileage under 15,000 miles. 5. Fly-buy anywhere in the US. I found one in the Flea Market in Kansas City Kansas. Left Coast Dave was a pleasure to work with. he picked me up at the airport, neither of us had, had the foresight to send photos of either of our mugs, but we managed to figure it out. The airport isn't that big and we were the only two people who looked like one of was selling a bike and the other was buying one. Less than an hour later I was happily droning north toward Iowa to wish my baby brother happy 50th birthday. I wanted the dual spark motor because of the lean surge the single exhibited and I first experienced when the oilhead first came out. My 2004 never exhibited ANY surge at any speed until it hit about 60,000 miles. At which point I know one of the stick coils had gone bad. I didn't know that for certain until I found a thread by or where JohnJen had posted how to diagnose same. Of course I was on business travel and got to discover Ride West BMW. Great bunch of folks there. I got the coils and suddenly my Adventure would power wheelie with a full tank of fuel. And I've never looked back. That was in 2006. I returned to Ride West in 2010 and bought my Rally3 jacket. Here I sit at 186,500 miles. Looking back I'd do the same again, all things being the same. Knowing what I know now and working on nine years of riding this bike I also can say I won't buy another. I think I know what I want in the next bike. But, that is a choice between two paths. depending on how the trail runs up to that intersection will go a long way in deciding which trail I chose when that time comes. I happy with the 2004 Adventure, but it has been the most expensive motorcycle I've owned to get to that first hundred thousand miles and the second hundred thousand has not proved too much less expensive than the first. The only expense I'd have avoided with the earlier models would have been buying stick coils. The single spark tubes are cheaper. There still would have been drive shafts, starters and fuel pumps. Seats and grips would have worn out. Only a few maintenance items are easier. ABS bleed is a bit simplier. Two less sparkplugs. At 5'10" 32" ish inseam I can ride it, even on uneven terrain. It does take some practice and getting used to, but I have learned. Also I seem to be the perfect height so the fly screen works perfectly for me. No buffeting or much problem with wind at speed between the bike and my helmet. When I wear it out enough to where it costs more than I want to spend to keep going, I'll stop riding it and I'll have arrived at that crossroads. We make our choices, buy the ticket and take the ride. Some decide partway into the ride to stop and get off not wanting to adapt to finish the ride or decide another ride looks more fun. from the moment I first rode my friends GS I knew this was the last BMW I'd ever "need" to own. And now it's got me thinking it indeed may be that. I am not interested in anything newer that BMW have come up with. The HP2 almost got me, but not quite. Of course I daydream about a KTM990 Adventure or a 690, or painting my frame bright red. Mostly I'm thinking about riding out to find some gravel roads tomorrow. I have not been on unpaved roads since 2011.
Thanks for all the help guys! I went and test rode the '03, which was super clean as advertised and owned by one of the service guys at Ride West BMW. It's well worth the price, but I decided I would rather have the lower non-adventure model. Also not a big fan of the monster tank. It had the stock shocks too. Even so, it was easily the most fun bike i've ever ridden! The '04 sold for $6500 about 3hrs before I got there. Turns out it all worked out for the best because I found a PERFECT 00' GS (ABS) with 50K miles, Ohlins front and rear (already tailored to my weight), 100% complete dealer service history since new, and a whole mess of top shelf farkles. Plane ticket is bought and 3 days to ride up the 101 set aside! Even with the plane ticket and gas for the drive home, I still have money left over for a new helmet or something! But I'm not excited or anything... Thanks a million for all the help!!! Q
