“Tell me what I should know. Everything. Tell me answers to questions I don’t even know enough to ask”…
Here goes…
An early 21st century BMW; an “ought” is your desired motorcycle. I’ve had a bunch of them and put a lot of miles on them. I do my own maintenance. My local shop loans me special tools. How great is that? I’ve written many inspection check lists for friends. The S and BCR are my specialty but any 259-motored BMW of this era is pretty similar. I’ve done buyer’s checks on R, RT, CL, S and BCR bikes.
Four of my last five bikes were ‘04 1100S’ and BCRs. I’ve owned and ridden 20-motorcycles in the past 55-years. 12 were BMWs. I didn’t start keeping miles-ridden per year until 1990. From 1990 to 2016 I averaged 13,000 miles per year. Most of this was daily commuting 30-miles round trip mostly on interstate. A few long distance trips of a couple thousand miles and a few track days were also done. I rode in all weather, year round in the Cincinnati area.
I tell you all this so you can consider the source. Almost all of these forum-answers are anecdotal-seldom are they data-driven even though real units of measurement are frequently used-this is stuff that happened to we forum members. Some of it is very deep but usually very narrow, experience-wise.
Miles ridden per year will be a very big factor in the yearly maintenance costs you will incur. Riding under 5000 miles per year should keep maintenance costs relatively low. If you aren’t going to do your own work, buy a Japanese UJM as you can’t open a car door without hitting a UJM-dealership. BMW dealerships are few in this country.
Once a bike is bought and brought up to rideable condition*, a battery tender is a must if a BMW of the years you prefer is not ridden everyday. During this era more electrical-load was added but the amp hour of stock batteries was reduced. My guess is that a weight and cost savings was sought by BMW. The good news is alternator output went up and with microprocessor, electronic fuel injection, starting became easier. That said always replace this era’s battery with the same or more amp hours than recommend. 19 amp hours was standard in the oughts.
20-year old BMWs with under 10,000 miles on them are common in the US where most motorcycles are used as “toys”: seasonal, short-distance use. Do expect to have to replace tires and battery. Mid-2023 cost for these two items is around $800 (if you install the battery and remove and replace the wheels yourself).
John F. states suspensions are worn out at 30K-miles. I think it’s more like 10K-miles but if you don’t intend to thrash your new old bike at the track or overload it by a factor of two, the original suspensions should suffice long enough to determine if you want to keep it.
If you choose an S there may be some very low mile OEM shocks out there as many an S-owner upgraded suspensions from the get go.
I’ve heard horror stories about drivetrains and ABS. I’ve had a K100RS, K1, R1100RS, R1100RT, four 1100S’(two of those BCRs) and a K1200GT. With the exception of the K100, these nine bikes had Paralever drivetrains. Seven had Telelever front forks. Seven had ABS and five had linked, servo assisted power brakes. Total miles ridden by me (I’ve never had a new BMW) was/is 330,000 miles. Total mileage for these nine was/is 365,000 miles.
During this time one u-joint and one driveshaft failed. Pivot bearings (which are said to last only 15,000) miles were replaced on only two of these nine Paralever models. One set was worn past adjustment and one was replaced (prudently) on the bike that failed the u-joint. All the clutches (93,000 miles the highest, on the K1) all lasted and were within tolerance when I sold the bikes.
No ABS failures. Bleeding the brakes on the 1100S/BCR with ABS, linked, power brakes is expensive if you pay to have it done-there are nine brake bleeders. If when bleeding any of the nine, air gets in, start again. The double secret bleeding procedure is out there. I have it if you need it. It takes a long time compared to conventional brakes. Swampe, I think it was, noted owners screwed up brake maintenance and had to have a dealer straighten it out. I’m not surprised.
In those 365,000 miles I’ve never had a spline issue. I’ve inspected only four by disassembly. All were good.
I have avoided newer Can Bus equipped models as I add high visibility tail and brake lights and turn signals and Motolights to my bikes. Can Bus bikes can be electrically-accessorized but it is more expensive and time consuming.
Further, I wire for heated visor, gloves, jacket, pants and socks and radar detector. The 780 watt alternator can handle a very large parasitic draw.
Hard bags and boxes are almost universally available on these model-years. They make good crash bars. I high sided the K1 and low sided the 1100S’. K1 plastic was expensive but the frame, tank and drive train were undamaged. The S’ main fairing-tube frame was straighten-able, no plastic damage. Saddle bag, top box and valve cover protectors were abraded. One mirror broken. S ended up upside down in a ditch, K1 in the middle of the track.
The oil head engine is very torquey, the gear selection is not critical in critical situations; it will pull very well at low rpm. The K-engines are similarly torquey but the K-bikes are heavy and very hot above 70° F ambient.
This era BMWs had five- and six-speed transmissions. I like the six-gear transmission for high speed fuel economy but that said this era mpg at speed is not great: 42 mpg at 85 mph is about as good as can be expected.
Note that Swampe, like me seems to have ridden several of this era BMW many miles with very few issues.
Be patient and willing to travel (or ship) far and you can find a very passable ready to ride 20-year old BMW.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten some minor issues. If you find something you like let me know and I will give you a check list (if I’m familiar with the type).
*rideable condition is the long pole in the tent. A low mileage bike sitting for a long duration is common. Dealers, if they will take a 20-year old bike in trade, are faced with usually having to replace the entire brake line-system and sometimes control units and hydraulic actuators of ABS-models for liability reasons. But my experience with older, low mileage BMWs has been very good. My K1 was eight years old with 917 miles on it. My lowest mileage BCR was 12-years old with 2500 miles on it and my K1200GT was 15-years old with 3000 miles on it. None of these had brake issues for the entire time I owned them.
The K1 required fuel injection cleaner to bring its fuel map into the the proper window; it was running too lean as the fuel injectors were a bit restricted by deteriorated fuel.
I expected hydraulic leaks on all these bikes. Only one fork seal needed replacing.
