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Dave Harding

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I'm new here, and am thinking of buying a used 1200rt. At 62, my HD UltraGlide has become less enjoyable to ride, especially, 2-up, due to size and weight. Never was an HD only kind of guy, and just finished an advanced rider course, where the trainers were police that extolled the virtues of the 1200rt. So, I bit and looked and must say these bikes seems made for me.

 

I had looked at 2007-2011 to be in my price range, but see many improvemenhts were made in 2014, but out of my current price range. So will be haunting these forums for info on the 2007-2011 and what to watch for and try and get more familiar. Any suggestions as to general info/For example, I joined a 1200r group, but apparently there is more to these numbers than I knew. They were nice about it and directed me here:)

 

Will be selling the HD (2003 FLHTCUI loaded) to purchase the bike, if all works to my advantage. Will be reading thru theses forums for info

 

Dave

 

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Welcome, Dave. This is the best BMW RT forum you'll find anywhere IMO. :)

 

Yes an RT isn't an R or a GS, although they're similar in major ways. If a '14+ is beyond your budget, I'd definitely look for a 2010+ with updated camhead motor -- the most refined of the oil-cooled motors that is still found on the current RNineT.

 

Check out Jeff Dean's http://bmwdean.com for lots of RT info.

 

Good luck in your search!

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Dennis Andress

Welcome.

 

BMW's model naming starts with a letter. R for boxer engines. K for various 4 and 6 cylinder bikes, F for vertical twins. and S for later 4 cylinder bikes. In most cases the numbers: 1200, 1150 are the engine displacement. The letters at the end denote the purpose of the bike; big or small fairing, no fairing, dual sport, track bike, etc.

 

If you would be okay without a fairing, the R1200 R should weigh about 100 lbs less than the R1200 RT.

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That r is a good looking bike, but the fairing and touring features make the rt the better choice for me. Need the creature comforts! It would be 250 lbs lighter than my HD, so that is significant. Power to weight also very much improved. I'm liking what I see in this bike.

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Dave. Good to have you here. This site will be a great source of information and guidance, not to mention opinions.

 

FWIW I was on a Tour Glide Ultra Classic of about the same years as yours, when I bought my 2005 R1200RT. I had both in the garage for a while and everytime we went for a ride I asked my bride- which bike. After the first time on the RT... she never chose the H-D again. It sold and I have never looked back. She was a smart woman.

 

Your category of '07 to '13 is certainly a good one but a word or two for a new-to-BMW guy. Those years contain two-eras of bikes and you might want to know that, as well as the differences... and they may make a difference- other than just the availability and price.

 

The "traditional" family names for the BMW line, as named by us- not the factory- are: '05-'09= Hexheads... the "Hex" refers to the visual look of the valve cover bolts of those years. '10-13's are called Camheads due to the evolution away from mechanical adjustments to the valve train in favor of shims (and other changes). There is very little performance nor styling change between those two families. The main thing is if you are a mechanical kinda guy... If you like to do valve adjustments mechanically yourself- then the Hexheads are the way to go. (yes valve adjustments are part of the normal maintenance schedule). If you do not mind fussing with shims then the newer models may work well for you.

 

Note: The age grouping you mentioned- starting at the '07's, leaves out the earlier Hexheads- the '05/'06's. Those were great and I rode an '05 for years till I went with the '14. Some in the collective think the 05's/06's were not as good as the 07-09's but the differences were negligible.... others will disagree with my thoughts on this but my '05 was great. Having said that- the '07-'09 were too. The difference between the 5/6's and the later Hexheads is that the earlier models had brake systems powered by a Servo mechanism. Those made a noise and the bikes were "affectionally known as "Whizzy-brake" bikes. The Servos added a tiny bit more in the brake-service department but they also aded quite a bit more braking power. Trade-off. I liked the whizzy brakes myself.

 

If you discover one or more candidate bikes do not hesitate to consult with the guys/gals on this board... we will probably have opinions and maybe even some facts- that might help...

 

Welcome on board.

 

Edited by hopz
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A Laurel & Hardy Harding Welcome!

 

 

06 rider here. Love it. Wizzy Brakes are fine . . HOWEVER . . . if the Wizzy servo bites the dust, that's a expensive repair. 75,000 and counting on my RT and every mile has been a real pleasure. The absolute bestest and funest of those miles have been chasing following members of this board. Just as much fun is the time spent with them off the bikes - reliving rides, sights, roads, missed turns, family, past experiences and plans to get together and do it all over again. Consider joining us at the 'UN' Rally in July. One thing I'd change about my time here at the board is that I posted for 7 years before I attended my first riding event. :dopeslap::facepalm: As the saying goes, 'You don't know what you don't know . . ' So now YOU know! Some of the best people you'll ever meet are here and so much more lively in person. Especially when Bud shows up :stir:

 

Let us know what you're looking at and you'll get plenty of feedback.

Edited by workin' them angels
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Thank you all for the warm welcomes. Hopz, thanks for the breakdown. I had noticed the need to do valve adjustments, and that the twin cams() needed shims...As I get better acquainted and better informed (thru forums like this) I'll figure out more of what is important, what I need and what I don't. So far the only negative I have heard was the cost of clutch replacement on the pre-14's (and now the "wizzy brake repair) Everything else I have read put this bike at the top of the heap for tourers and sport tourers . I did ride a GS a couple of weeks ago, it was, compared to my HD, light, agile, and fast. Anyway, too early to commit to anything, but I am putting together the sales info on my HD.

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First of all " Welcome ".

Great to have you. It's a really knowledgeable group of guys who love to ride and just as importantly , love to share there knowledge and passion.

On the bike side , my first and so far only Beemer is an 03 1150 rt. It's not perfect but i LOVE it.

Let us know your experiences and misadventures. Think you found a home.

Welcome. JB

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Dave,

I wanted to add a bit more to the post... just my opinion... the clutch thing may happen but it is rare and certainly on a low/normal mileage candidate bike it should not be an issue. Any bike cold have a bad clutch if the previous owner abused it...

 

I do not know if you are familiar with the BMW Records system... If you find a candidate bike... no matter what the owner/seller says he/she did... get the VIN and go to the BMW dealer. Ask the Service Manager to run the VIN and they can tell you the service history. IF it has been maintained at a dealership you will know all that was done. IF there is no history beyond the delivery date, etc... then you will know that too.

 

 

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Welcome to the family Dave. :wave:

 

Good to have another member. I ride mostly old oilhead bikes so have no advice on the new ones except the are mostly all several generations better than my 03 R 1150 R.

 

Good advice above. Keep us updated as your search continues.

 

Would be great if you could show up at an UN or some other event so we could meet face to face.

 

PS you might want to disregard some of what Dave said. :rofl::whistle:

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Who's Dave? Where are the events listed? A Laurel & Hardy Harding Welcome! Funny:)

 

The easy question first. The UN Rally is unique in that it has it's own Sub Forum. The Un alternates between Westerly and Easterly locations generally. The Activities and Events Section holds the UN subject area and also Ride and Event Planning - where all other events are posted and listed and bantered on about until the event itself. Once the event has taken place, discussion about the events shifts to Ride Tales.

 

Activities & Events

 

As to your complicated second question, I'm by no means an expert - but I've heard tell of a few legends, stories and alleged sightings here and there about this Dave guy.

 

Firstly - DO NOT BE FOOLED! This is NOT HIM - this is an IMPOSTER!

 

ken.insley2.jpg

 

 

 

There are some who say he's the finest they've ever met and that The Boy Scouts of America (and Canada) modeled the 12 traits of Boy Scouts after him (Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent). Others claim it was the McDonalds Bic Mac lingo that he inspired - Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles, Onions all on a Sesame Seed Bun. Still others say he's the kind of dude who is Always Working Them Angels and that his varied musical tastes include a liking to Rush - among many others. [EDIT: Personaly, I've seen no evidence to support the Rush claim] And still others are sworn to secrecy.

 

Fortunatly for you, Sir - there is an alleged and recent Dave sighting in this thread- with a typical sorted tale of the kinds of things he reportedly gets mixed up in - a few posts below the picture.

 

Reported Dave Sighting

 

I'll leave it to you to form your own opinion.

Edited by workin' them angels
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That Imposter is making the rounds lately...and no one has mentioned ATGAT :bike:

 

I thought the imposter WAS wearing a jacket that was just flesh colored . . . Looks tough enough to be. :thumbsup:

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I might just feel at home here. Was afraid you beemer bikers were hoity toity, but seems yer just regular biker clan

I am seeing that the 06 - 09 bikes will be on my radar. A well sorted, well maintained fully optioned bike is likely where I'll be looking.

 

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Dave H:

This group is the antithesis of hoity toity...unless you want to discuss the virtues of 10+ year old Scotch or Bourbon or why you should always check to make sure you have a corkscrew for long trips. Outside of that, this is a great group of folks with knowledge and humor to spare. Welcome to the gang, and do not forget to check out the Hex Head section of the forums. A lot of issue(s)/concerns and questions are in there that may help you in your journey.

 

Mike

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Yes, been reading thru all the forums, checking accessories prices, parts prices, used bike prices... Currently looking thru Wunderlich parts and accessories listings. This forum seems to have a small town vibe to it, and that's a nice feeling. The Harley worlds joke is HD, hundred dollars, but theses BMWs got that beat:) I have heard of the 2k$$ clutch service, kinda scares me. When I bought this HD, I made sure to get one that had all the $$ stuff already done with good service records, that's my plan here, too. Will try and make one of the local meet ups in the coming months, too, to get some firsthand info.

Edited by Dave Harding
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Dave:

You will see some horror stories in regards to clutches and final drive failures. You will not see that often those that have 75k-150k on their machines with OEM clutches and FD's. When things go sideways with a BMW, it tends to be costly and time consuming to repair. Yet, if you look and see when these things occur, it is usually 50k, 60k, 75, 100k and so forth. These bikes get thousands of miles (my personal goal is 10k a year min) put on them a year. Outside of other Sport and Long Distance touring machines and riders, we BMW riders pack on a lot miles very quickly. When one looks at the repair costs in regards to time, some may think that BMW are a money pit (but most toys are anyways), but when you look at miles traveled the story changes a little. I think someone here had a lot of time on their hands and actually did a per mile cost analysis of their machine and compared it to a car and other motorcycles (I think, I hope I am not getting the MOA site confused with this one...might be time to up my Aricept).

We have a few members in your area...and I think an admin or two as well.

Happy hunting on the bike

 

Mike

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