Question for the beemer owners on here....Just supposing hypothetically that a person with an n+1 mentality was to consider buying an older high mileage R1200GS, say about 2004 and 150000kms......would that person have lost their mind? Is it likely to have lots wrong with it or having lasted that long most of what might go wrong will have already happened? If something major happened do people do their own repairs or are they too complicated for that?? Asking for a friend........
if you are prepared to do a little work on them and have the tools, skills and mechanical sympathy, then there are some absolute bargains out there they usually start at about 100,000km, which is when most other riders are running scared from 2nd hand since the 80s bmw engineering has seemed good for 200,000+km, meaning you're more likely to get bored with a perfectly good bike than find it is no longer economically viable to run their engines are generally located in the frame with some thoughts about ease of servicing and when stuff does go wrong bmw are very good about keeping the parts supply flowing, plus with the internet, wreckers and non-oem parts are easily available from all over the world, also many of the people who buy them are the kind who make videos of all the maintenance issues and how to fix them...in between boasting of their pointless bolt-on-additions i used to always buy the haynes manuals but now all that info is available on the net most bm riders don't thrash their bikes and their easy servicing is generally done.... but the engineering is where it all starts from a well designed engine will run on almost any oil but a poorly designed engine will still die early no matter what engine oil is put into it my 2006 1200GS, 150,000km, took me down to chch and back on dirt roads and freaked me out on the return at tauranga when the final drive started leaking oil...but the leak was slow and nothing ever started grinding, so just nursed it home and it turned out to be a cheap + easily replaced worn out seal my ex-rental 2009 hexhead only really needed a front drive boot changed in my time 112,000 - 145,000km..did much the same trip but to queenstown and back....it was a bargain at 1/4 new price my new to me ex-rental 2013 water-cooled has 125,000km and it looks like the clunky gear change will annoy me enough to change the wet-clutch pack and, (early models only, too short clutch release rod)....not something that really needs to be done for touring but as i ride daily in city traffic it's nice to have everything ticking over like a swiss watch and well worth the few hours extra effort and minimal cost considering it would make it almost as good as the newest bikes but at only 1/3 the cost doing my own work on the hexheads was only slightly more complicated than working on my own K bikes but then wethead seems actually slightly better thought out so slightly easier to work on ymmv View attachment 2451906 in its 125,000km it seems unbelievable to me that no one had ever connected the installed plug to open up the enduro pro mode, which seems like the only one that would get you up a corrugated dirt track without giving the traction control fits
A 2004 will have the servo assisted ABS brakes (or at least it will if it is the one on TM as it has a front tone ring). As it is no wof/no rego, make sure the ABS is working. If it fails it is an expensive fix or a long wait for a cheap fix. Otherwise it is a case of performing an ABSectomy which is well documented online. A savvy wof inspector might then recognise the need for certification, but most won't. Personally I would stay away from an 04 - 06 ABS bike regardless of the mileage. I stopped watching prices in Nov when I brought mine, but until then the occassional one would pop up around $7.5K with 70 - 100K KM. I would be more worried about the Servo ABS than the mileage, and whether the previous owners had kept up the maintenance.
my 2009 with 145,000km will be up for sale soon newer abs, warrant, rego, vario panniers, alloy camhead covers, top box, touring screen, headlight protector, bmw tankbag(busted zip), oil filter tool, fully serviced, spare dry clutch, has the final and best vented-camhead final drive. $6.5k heated grips no longer work( the 2008 was quite an upgrade with smoother engine having an extra 5hp, frame and chassis tightened up a bit with a steeper head angle, better display with standard on board 'computer', changed hand guards, cosmetics etc
I had an ex-rental 2006 that went to 130,000 with a few maintenance things - I do all my own work - that would have put plenty of folks off...spokes, gearbox, rear hub, swing arm bearings, plus regular maintenance. Sigh. I still loved it though! Then I got a 2009 and it was like a COMPLETELY different bike!. So nice. There were so many improvements! Buy a high mileage bike that has a service history. Learn to go your own maintenance on these bikes (you don't want to pay BMW rates!), and you will be good. Keep changing the fluids and it will go for 500,000.... there are examples on the www.
Personally I keep looking at 1200s but when I think about it for what I need my 2000 1150GS that I have tweaked to fit me is my perfect bike. Must be getting close to classic status soon Adrian
Tiger is the same for me although it won't be a classic for some time....there's always a better bike is a syndrome much like N+1...go down that rabbit hole and there's no coming back
I had an 04 1150GS with 120k miles. Just needed a new big bearing at 119k...I rode the piss out of it and it didn’t seem any different than my buddy’s 03 GSA with 50k miles on it.
i should have been touching wood when i wrote my post to oldbeer jul28 his 'friend' did come round to ride the 2009 and compare it with my new to me 2013 and we both noticed something odd with the motorway tracking on the older bike it was only minor but needed continual adjustment, just like overly tight head bearings on a normal bike forks after making sure the tyre pressures were ok i decided to change the worn tyres it seemed to mostly go away but when it went in for its covid delayed warrant last week they flagged excessive play in the swingarm bearings and also in the steering head, can't complain of bearings getting a little loose at 141,000km i guess now baking the top triple clamp to get the steering head bearing out, a generic 5204-2RS $43 replacement is in the freezer, (very wide fitment on bmw bikes from at least the R1150 through to the k1600) once the steering head and bars are nice and tight again will try and back-off then retorque the swingarm bearings to remove the slop, (apparently works 50% of the time) but presumably the bmw only bearings will also need changing...not to bad at $60 each, but will mean dropping the final drive and removing the driveshaft again and buying the big socket for the left side lockring?
