First impressions: 99 R1100S

[AZ_Tim]

I've commuted on my new (to me) 99 R1100S several days now and I REALLY LIKE IT!

Very smooth, handles nice, good power, quiet, shifts easily. What more can I say? Oh yeah - it looks good too.

QUESTION: There is a very slight vibration when I go thru 4000 RPM that quickly disappears. Do others have this vibe at that RPM?

Haven't had the bike over 6000 RPM yet. Bike has 10,300 miles.

Enjoying the hell out if it!

Tim

[Bart_dood]

Originally posted by AZ_Tim
I've commuted on my new (to me) 99 R1100S several days now and I REALLY LIKE IT!

Very smooth, handles nice, good power, quiet, shifts easily. What more can I say? Oh yeah - it looks good too.

QUESTION: There is a very slight vibration when I go thru 4000 RPM that quickly disappears. Do others have this vibe at that RPM?

Haven't had the bike over 6000 RPM yet. Bike has 10,300 miles.

Enjoying the hell out if it!

Tim

I think mine has a very similar vibration, that I "ride through" so I wouldn't worry about it. My bike has twice the mileage and is going great, although I just replaced the rear pivot bearings as they were in a bit of a mess.

[gigantic]

Originally posted by AZ_Tim

QUESTION: There is a very slight vibration when I go thru 4000 RPM that quickly disappears. Do others have this vibe at that RPM?

They all do that.

[AZ_Tim]

Originally posted by gigantic
They all do that.

That's good to know.

I thought it might have been the way it was broken in - you know - some people think that the best way to break a bike in is to drone along the highway for hundreds of miles at the same RPM.

[pwillikers]

Actually, they all do that until you get the throttle bodies synched to within an inch of their lives. Do a search on "surging" and you'll be entertained for hours...

[AZ_Tim]

Originally posted by pwillikers
Actually, they all do that until you get the throttle bodies synched to within an inch of their lives. Do a search on "surging" and you'll be entertained for hours...

Yep. I had a 2002 R1150R for a short time - bought it used in 2003 - sold it 6 months later. My son used to call it my "goofy clown bike".

Anyhow, the R1150R forum must have had a hundred threads on the surging problem in those bikes...

[lht]

Thats funny BMW says there is no problem with surging.

[pdonnell]

Very Smooth?
.
.
Sure thats a boxer twin?

[jclark]

>QUESTION: There is a very slight vibration when I go thru 4000 RPM that >quickly disappears. Do others have this vibe at that RPM?


Ask this question again after you break it in - in another 10k miles or so...
You may not have to...

:D

jeff

[Bart_dood]

Originally posted by pdonnell
Very Smooth?
.
.
Sure thats a boxer twin?

LOL, I have been commuting on my bike to my new job for the past four weeks on and off, and lots of comments from non-biker (or semi biker) folks seem to go along the lines of....

"oh a BMW, they are real smooth aren't they?"

"oh no chain, must ride really smooth"

"a two cylinder? that must be really smooth"

I dunno if the BMW marketing machine has been going overtime in the last few years, but the perception of joe public is that BMW's glide along like KY jelly on cindy crawfords bottom (yum)...

[bikerfish1100]

Originally posted by AZ_Tim
Haven't had the bike over 6000 RPM yet. Bike has 10,300 miles.
Tim

umm, you got a bump stop that hits at 6K? what cha waitin' for- there's good power up there. take it out and play with it.

[SCOTTinNJ]

Originally posted by bikerfish1100
umm, you got a bump stop that hits at 6K? what cha waitin' for- there's good power up there. take it out and play with it.

Agreed. 10k on the clock - let her rip. There's lots of fun waiting above 6k!

[lemec]

Yep, gas it! Mine was rough around 4k early in its life, not sure if tinkering with the TB sync or just more mileage is what smoothed it out but now it's "smooth" everywhere except above 8k

[Effervescent]

Enjoy the best bike ever.

-Eff

[AZ_Tim]

Hey guys, I AM enjoying it...

And when I say "smooth" that may be relative: I have two Moto Guzzis, an HD XL1200R, and a Buell XB9S.

Tim

[Steve Carlton]

Welcome to Goldwingville.

[bradzdotcom]

not to wander off thread, but you said: "shifts easily".

are ya SURE that's a bmw?

all the ones i've ridden shift like two ballpeen hammers in a battle-bot cage.

you should take it back.
somethings horribly wrong.

[AZ_Tim]

Originally posted by bradzdotcom
not to wander off thread, but you said: "shifts easily".

are ya SURE that's a bmw?

all the ones i've ridden shift like two ballpeen hammers in a battle-bot cage.

you should take it back.
somethings horribly wrong.

Look back several posts and see what I'm comparing this 99 whisper jet to...

[bradzdotcom]

tim~
yea, saw that.

even still, get this tattoed on your right hand, upper side:
"Do NOT EVER ride a japanese inline 4. EVER!"

and on the palm:
('specially a 600cc supersport version).

stay away from 2-stroke motocross bikes completely too.

in our own defense, ballpeen hammers last a very long time.
it's come a long way from the days of hodakas and tiny ball-bearings.

one unique characteristic of the bmw that i've always liked is starting it when it's cold. mine shakes like a wet dog. kinda cool.

[AZ_Tim]

Brad,

Yes. I've owned a LOT of Japanese bikes, many were in-line 4s, and I agree: They usually shift better/easier. But I've had a few that were , how do I say it, vague..

When I had my 02 R1150R (albeit for a short time) I had to "re-learn" how I shifted a m/c - and this has helped me since then. I now continue to hold pressure on the shift lever while letting out the clutch - it's a subtle thing and it took me weeks to get down smooth - and I still can't shift as fast as I used to.

Tim