Getting to know you ...

[PaddyDaddyO]

Well, 10 days and 1100 miles into this new relationship with my 1999 R1100S and I am finding more to like each time I ride.

The goods:
· The suspension adjustability is great; especially for riding on these gnarly back roads in rural Maine. The Paralever/Telelever combination eats up almost all of the bumps and left over frost heaves, and allows for confident line changes mid-corner to avoid hazards. Big thumbs up.
· No surging to speak of, but the fuel injection requires more finesse on the throttle, especially in the corners. The power is good, and it pulls nicely even if you cross up and are a gear too high on occasion. Thumbs up.
· Controls are wicked decent (that means really, really good in Maine lingo). I like analog gauges and the switching is perfectly laid out for my tastes. The heated grips rock. Big thumbs up.
· The looks … sehr schön! I think the R11S is by far the best looking bike BMW has made in a long, long time. The lines are sweet and everything looks like it belongs. I am out in the garage at night with a puro just admiring it as art. BIG thumbs up.
· Mileage/range. I had heard a lot of complaints about this before, so I expected worse. So far, I have averaged 40.3 mpg over the 1100 miles of combined in-town travel and back country road burning. Best tank so far averaged 44.2 while taking it “easy” (ten over posted) on a trip to Portland and back. If I can comfortably go 160 miles before tanking up, I am fine with that for a sport/touring mount. I need to stop every couple of hours anyway, to stretch my legs and to hit the head, so I will calculate refueling stops at 150 miles. I had a Hoske on my R100 for a short while that gave me over 350 miles per tank range. Way overkill. I found I am not into the “Miles for miles sake/Iron Butt/Mileage contest” mentality. So for me. the R11S range: Thumbs up.

The bads:
· Buzzy. I knew it was going to be, but it is more so than I expected. There must be some remedies; weighted bar ends, fill the tubes with lead shot, etc. Open to all suggestions here. Thumbs down.
· The seat, although attractive, puts me nutz-up on the tank constantly. Maybe a Sargent or Corbin replacement (though I wasn’t too impressed with the last Corbin I purchased) will do the trick. Thumbs down.
· The stock screen is either just a bit too tall, or just a bit too low. The laminar flow hits me square in the neck and creates mucho extra noise in the helmet and some excess buffeting. Not really a thumbs down, as it is particular to my height and reach, but I need to take care of it nonetheless.

That is about it so far. More shall be revealed to me over time, but as it stands, I am loving the bike … and it seems to like me too. Hopefully, it is the beginning of a good solid relationship.

[Daniel Restrepo]

good to hear. that's how my bike treated me as well. seat problem is an easy fix. i just put a cruise control to give my paws a rest on the super slab. in the twisties i never notice the buzz though im sure it's still there. having too much fun i guess. good luck

[Migs]

Looking into seat fixes myself. The new grips are thinner, not ribbed (leave that alone...) and allow more vibs through. My old "wrist-saver" won't fit the new grips w/o sliding around, so I trying to find the smaller size. Helps alot w/ the vibes. I was getting 42 mpg/160 miles until reserve light with the modded '00(Remus,chip,K&N)...so far about 45-46 mpg with the Remus only '04.