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2002 BMW 1200RS with 38,000 miles - good or bad?

JPK said:
Not necessarily. There are plenty of accounts of boxer engines burning slight amounts of oil until they hit the 20k-ish mile mark. Not meaning to start a "how should I break-in my engine" rathole, but clearly these engines do take a bit longer than most to fully seat their rings in some cases.
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Air cooled engines consume oil, period.
 
Burning1 said:
Air cooled engines consume oil, period.
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True, but like I said, there are plenty of accounts on ADVrider and other places of these engines consuming significantly less oil after the first 20-30k miles.
 
So what I'm hearing is that BMW R1200's are great bikes until they break then it's lots of $$$ to get them fixed. Higher mileage is not a problem as I was originally worried about in my original post. Yes, there is no chain maintenance but the shaft drive has it's own issues.

I think I'll stick with my original idea to get a V-Strom for commuting and just put up with the chain maintenance issue. Plus it will get better mileage than a big BMer - just not a comfy.

There's a used 2011 V-Strom with ABS in Cycle Trader with 910 miles on the clock for $6399. Trouble is it's at a dealership in Banning (where's that?)
 
V-Strom is a great commuter and will be cheaper to operate than a BMW but will not be quite as comfortable or powerful. If you're worried about the chain maintenance put a Scottoiler on it. $6399 sounds a little on the high side for a used V-Strom, but the ABS ones can be harder to find used so they do command a little bit of a premium. (I know because I sold a 2011 ABS V-Strom when I switched to my GSA).
 
Burning1 said:
Air cooled engines consume oil, period.
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Amen, I'm more than happy to put oil in my r1100s. To be honest though, if I'm not riding flat out in the desert and I change it at 3k miles, I never have to add.
 
JPK said:
V-Strom is a great commuter and will be cheaper to operate than a BMW but will not be quite as comfortable or powerful. If you're worried about the chain maintenance put a Scottoiler on it. $6399 sounds a little on the high side for a used V-Strom, but the ABS ones can be harder to find used so they do command a little bit of a premium. (I know because I sold a 2011 ABS V-Strom when I switched to my GSA).
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I've heard of a Scottoiler but what is it and what does do for the chain? How is it attached?
 
I know it's just anecdotal. but I've had my F800GS for almost 2 years, ~22,000 miles so far and the only thing that failed was the gear indicator potentiometer which was replaced under warranty, though I replaced the chain and battery @ 18,000 miles, neither of which BMW manufactures. I've taken it in like clockwork for the 6000, 12,000 and 18,000 miles services.

I've had the rear suspension tuned, upgraded the front fork springs, added aux headlamps, adjustable windscreen, aluminum boxes, GPS stand and crash bars, and I'd really love to ride this thing to 100,000 miles. I think the engine is the last thing that will fail if I take care of it.
 
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greenmonster said:
I've heard of a Scottoiler but what is it and what does do for the chain? How is it attached?
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Honestly, don't bother. It's a device you attach to your chain that adds oil for your progressively. It's expensive and messy. I have a chain drive...I use one of my two odometers to keep track of maintenance and I clean and lube it every 600ish miles. Takes 5 minutes on the center stand or less.

http://www.scottoiler.com/
 
greenmonster said:
I've heard of a Scottoiler but what is it and what does do for the chain? How is it attached?
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A Scottoiler is an automatic chain oiler. Webbikeworld has done a few reviews on them - worth reading if you're interested:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/site-search/search-results.htm?q=scottoiler

I've never used one personally, because I never minded chain maintenance all that much, but if chain maintenance is a serious concern of yours this is one possible solution.
 
As I mentioned before in another thread, in my opinion, if you ride them every day, I tend to, they seem to be more reliable than if they sit for months or years at a time. I had a K100 until 75k, no issues except for a misfire in rain that I never bothered to fix. Of course, I wouldn't buy one with that many miles, but thats just me.
 
Cincinnatus said:
Once you go BMW, you'll never go back. :teeth

Every once in a while there'll be a maintenance issue that will be more painful than having your wisdom teeth and appendix removed simutaneously (kidding, kidding...) but the quality of the ride will more than make up for it.

Doo eeett.... Doo eeeettt nnaaaooouuwww... :party
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this is totally false. I've had 3, and not rushing to get another one.

I went vfr1200. 0 regrets.
 
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