2001 BMW R1100RL

[Matthew Miller]

A couple of weeks ago I purchased an R1100RL with 20,000 miles on it. The bike has Black paint with white pin stripe, spoked wheels, chrome valve covers, chrome bar ends and cool gauges. My question is why can't I find much information on this model online. Even the BMW dealer had very little information on the bike. Is it a limited edition or something or was the bike just a modified 1100R. The side of the bike says R1100R. Some things I have read online say it is a 75 anniversary model while others say it is 100 year model. I know that can not be since BMW is only 94 years old. Neither date would correspond to 2001. Please help me understand my new bike. My other bike is a 1970 Moto Guzzi Ambassador that I am rebuilding from the ground up. Hit a car with it 9 years ago and crumbled the front forks. Soon it will be back on the road hopefully. Thanks again for everyone's help in the future. Matthew Miller (Hat City Martial Arts)

[mneblett]

Pic?

[tallman]

2001 was the last year of production for the 1100 R model.

I think the bike you have is a limited production version that was a throwback version w/pinstripes/black etc to pay homage to the traditional BMW.

 

 

[Matthew Miller]

Thanks for the reply so fast. Any idea why there is so little mention of the bike online for parts. I have not found a single site for parts that list this model. Is the 2001 R1100RL rare or something? I am looking for things like cup holders for the bars or custom seats from Seargent or one of the others. I know the RL has a larger front wheel than the other R1100's according to Max BMW In Brookfield CT. I have an 18" front tire. Thanks.

[Glenn Reed]

I'm assuming yours looks something like this:

 

Although I'm guessing the handguards are an add on.

 

If so, and I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong - but aftermarket manufacturers will just treat this as an R1100R, and not worry about the extra "L".

 

Except of course in the areas where this special edition is different, the spoked wheels, chromed valve covers and chrome exhaust.

 

Best of luck with it!

 

I've also seen mention that some refer to it as an R1100R SE, standing for Special Edition. You might try that when talking to the dealer.

[tallman]

What Glenn said.

It is an R1100 R afa parts, except for where it isn't, like the gas tank.

Be kind to it, I'm sure it isn't cheap to replace.

[mneblett]

From a 2008 post on the MOA forum:

 

"The R11RL differs from the R11R in that it has the black paint with white pinstripe, spoked wheels, chromed valve covers, and chrome bar ends."

 

The wire wheels are not "unique" -- they are the standard R11xxGS wire wheels.

 

EDIT: The front *may* be the 18" wire wheels the CHP wire-wheeled bikes had. The GS front wire wheel is a 19.

[Tri750]

Whats a cup holder?

[Matthew Miller]

where else would you hold a beverage while riding, truthfully I probably would never carry a beverage with me but you never know. My 1100RL looks just the picture except fairing has black smoke color over bottom portion of fairing and no hand guards. Why would a person want hand guards on the street anyways, I wear gloves. Does anyone have a suggestion for a great touring seat. My shorter rides in the past are usually about 300 miles per day. I have the seat set as high as it will go which made the foot peg placement a little better for me but I had to sacrifice firm flat footing on the ground. I am 5' 6" and 210LBs. My rear end just does not fit the stock seat great. I feel like I am sitting on the back rim of the front seat or I am crushed against the tank. In the past being crushed against the tank did not bother me on my Sport Bikes, but this is not a sport bike even if it does handle very well. Please forgive some of my stupid comments, I am new to BMW Motorcycles. My Brother has a 98 K1200RS that is very nice. Thanks for everyone's help. you are all a great bunch of people. On my 1970 Moto Guzzi Ambassador which is not even remotely stock, I was met with all kinds of nasty remarks from other Moto Guzzi owners at events. One person walked up to me and said "if you wanted a bike that looks like a Harley then perhaps you should ride a different bike." The only comment I could come up with is I wanted to ride bike as ugly as yours I would have kept it stock. Sorry for pissing off some people. I love my Guzzi and BMW both.

[tallman]

Hand guards cut wind/rain, improve heated grips.

 

Saddles are like opinions and it all depends.

Do a search here for Russell Day Long, Dill Mayer, Rich's,

Sargent, Corbin, A Great Day to Ride (Freddie), Seth Lamm,

Cee Bailey, etc.

 

Best suggestion I have is try to get somewhere and compare.

Best wishes.

[Matthew Miller]

The hand guards make sense when you put it that way. Hopefully I will find the right seat without having to by bunches of them to find the right one for me. One last question, did BMW make many of the R1100RL. Some people at a local motorcycle Sunday morning meet told me they have only ever seen a couple of them. Most of the people at the meet ride either BMW, Moto guzzi, Ducati and a few stragglers. Once again thanks for everyone's help.

[Matthew Miller]

Sorry I just thought of another question. What is a good local cruising RPM for the R1100RL, My Guzzi is comfortable below 3,000RPM, The Dealer told me not to ride the BMW below 3,500RPM. That sounds pretty high for an 1100CC bike. I am a fairly conservative rider nowadays. Not into tickets and knee dragging anymore.

[Michaelr11]

Some people at a local motorcycle Sunday morning meet told me they have only ever seen a couple of them. Most of the people at the meet ride either BMW, Moto guzzi, Ducati and a few stragglers.

 

What is a good local cruising RPM for the R1100RL, My Guzzi is comfortable below 3,000RPM, The Dealer told me not to ride the BMW below 3,500RPM. That sounds pretty high for an 1100CC bike. I am a fairly conservative rider nowadays. Not into tickets and knee dragging anymore.

 

Local Sunday morning meet? Marcus Dairy in Danbury?

 

Your R1100 will be very happy running at 3500 - 4500 RPM. You don't have to collect traffic tickets, just select a lower gear for the local speed limit. Compared to your Guzzi this may seem too busy but it isn't. Once in a while keep it in 2nd or 3rd and run it out to 5 or 6k. It's not a cruiser, your BMW is designed to run at higher RPM than the Guzzi.

[Matthew Miller]

Thank you once again. I know Marcus Dairy is gone unfortunately but about 50-100 people meet in front of Panera Bread in the same lot where Marcus Dairy used to be. It is next to Whole Foods Market across from the Danbury Fair Mall. Did you used to go to the Dairy since I see you are in Trinity NC as of now. If you are up here lets go riding.

[Michaelr11]

Yes! I used to live in the area and Marcus was a great location to either begin or end a ride. Every Sunday, a hundred or more folks there each week a different marque would show up as the featured marque of the week. Super Sunday a couple of times a year with close to a thousand riders. And of course, breakfast at the Dairy Bar.

 

http://www.molaver.org/md1.htm

[AndyS]

Ride your bike at whatever RPM's you feel comfortable with so long as you are not lugging it (and you'd know).

For general pootling around, riding at elevated RPMs is a crazy.

I know 4000rpm is far from red lining, but the bike treats you to a much more leisurely / wafting ride when the revs are lower.

[Jim Moore]

Sorry I just thought of another question. What is a good local cruising RPM for the R1100RL, My Guzzi is comfortable below 3,000RPM, The Dealer told me not to ride the BMW below 3,500RPM. That sounds pretty high for an 1100CC bike. I am a fairly conservative rider nowadays. Not into tickets and knee dragging anymore.

 

There is nothing wrong with running that thing up to redline at full throttle every chance you get. In fact, there is a school of thought that says it's good for the engine to do just that. It certainly hasn't caused me any issues in nearly 300K miles of oilhead ownership.

[Matthew Miller]

Thanks everyone. I have seen the l8ght with your help. This info has been better than the local bmw dealer. Will never use them for anything after the way they treated me my first time there. Luckly i do most of my own work.

[Glenn Reed]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a great touring seat. My shorter rides in the past are usually about 300 miles per day. I have the seat set as high as it will go which made the foot peg placement a little better for me but I had to sacrifice firm flat footing on the ground. I am 5' 6" and 210LBs. My rear end just does not fit the stock seat great. I feel like I am sitting on the back rim of the front seat or I am crushed against the tank. In the past being crushed against the tank did not bother me on my Sport Bikes, but this is not a sport bike even if it does handle very well. Please forgive some of my stupid comments, I am new to BMW Motorcycles.

 

Some folks (me included) have had good results with raising the front of the seat bracket, and therefore the seat itself, changing the angle of the seat. Putting 1/4" or a little more of space under the front of the bracket (washers, bar stock, whatever) and then using a longer bolt to fasten.

 

You're 5' 6", and having trouble flat footing the bike with the seat in the highest position, that makes sense. But the problem you're trying to solve is opening up your knee angle. In that case, you might want to look for a peg lowering kit, which would open up the knee angle and let you use a lower seat height. Here's one such from Suburban Machinery. (No Affiliation)

 

Both of these mods are less expensive than a replacement seat, and will probably still make sense even if you do replace the seat.

[Matthew Miller]

thanks for the link. Here is another example of why I will not go back to the local bmw dealer. When I asked this question there they told me no one makes a kit for my bike and I would get used to it.

[tallman]

Sorry I just thought of another question. What is a good local cruising RPM for the R1100RL, My Guzzi is comfortable below 3,000RPM, The Dealer told me not to ride the BMW below 3,500RPM. That sounds pretty high for an 1100CC bike. I am a fairly conservative rider nowadays. Not into tickets and knee dragging anymore.

 

There is nothing wrong with running that thing up to redline at full throttle every chance you get. In fact, there is a school of thought that says it's good for the engine to do just that. It certainly hasn't caused me any issues in nearly 300K m

iles of oilhead ownership.

 

 

Exactly.

Quicker response if needed is one advantage, stays out of the "surge" range, usually helps stop excess/any oil use, among others.

Experiment, you'll find a comfortable place.

When I was selling them biggest issue was a new to BMW rider constantly short shifting resulting in under performance/lugging which was always cured with admonition to ride again with some enthusiasm.

How far are you from Max's?

Never used them but heard many positives.

Some dealerships have need of a personality transplant, others don't.

Try again, shop around.

Should eventually allow you to see and sit on more than one tyoe of saddle.

Alasksa leather sheepskin helps the seat as does (for us) an AirHawk.

100 miles or so stock or with sheepskin

All day/multi day 1200-1500 mile weekends we use the AirHawks under the sheepskin.

Enjoy your ride.

[Matthew Miller]

Thanks, I am about 15 Minutes from MAX BMW. Personally my first experience with them went like this, perhaps you can tell me if I am being to harsh on them. I purchased the R1100RL from New Haven Powersports about 3 weeks ago. They got the bike in on trade from someone on a Saturday. The person traded it in for a new Moto Guzzi Norge. They did a basic tune-up on the bike and listed it on their website on Monday. I called them on Tuesday and told them I would be there on Wednesday with a down Payment. When I arrived they told me all of the maintenance had been done at Max BMW and I could go there and get all of the service records. The R1100RL was in immaculate condition with just under 20,000 miles. On Thursday I went there with the balance of 3,500 dollars and my new insurance card. They are a great dealership to deal with. On Friday I called Max BMW up and made an appointment to get a new front tire put on. They told me no problem come in at 3:30 and they would install it. I arrived at the dealer at 3:00PM and walked through the showroom floor and not a single person even said hello considering the salesmen were sitting there doing nothing. No big deal I can handle that. I went to the service counter to tell them I was there. I told them I purchased it at New Haven Powersports and was told they did all of the service on the bike. Their first words to me were "Oh your the one this bike got unloaded on". That pissed me off however I asked what they meant. I was told they never did the service on the bike however the previous owner had brought it to them to trade in. When they inspected the bike they told him the Rear Drive Pinion seal was leaking and needed replacing along with a new front tire which was supposedly dry rotted. They wanted to charge me 500 dollars to replace the seal plus the cost of a tire. Since the bike had a 30 day warranty on it I called New Haven Powersports up and told them what Max BMW told me. Just to let you know the lead mechanic in New Haven was a BMW mechanic for 10 years. They told me no problem bring it back in and we will fix it under warranty. This sounded awesome. By now 1 1/2 hours had gone by and Max BMW told me sorry it turns out we do not have a tire for it but we can order it for tomorrow. Tomorrow came and no tire arrived. I went back to New Haven on Monday and left the bike with them for inspection. They took the entire rear end apart and found the seal and pinion shaft were in perfect shape with no leaks. This made sense as I had just put on 300 miles on it and saw no leaks anywhere. Especially where Max BMW showed me where to watch for the leak. As for the tire there was not any dry rot and the only reason I changed it is I want perfect tires on a bike. I have gone down in the past do to poor tires. Most people would have put on at least another few thousand miles on the tire that was on there. So please tell me, am I just being a jerk and to hard on Max BMW or would you go back to them if this happened to you. I choose to believe that they do not represent the great BMW People that I have come to trust. I am sure other people will have a different view of Max BMW and perhaps I caught them on a bad day, but I run a business and would never treat a potential customer that way. Unless someone can convince me that I am wrong in opinion I will never step foot inside their dealership again. I also have a 1970 Moto Guzzi Ambassador that is completely custom that I do all of my own work on. The Moto Guzzi dealers that I have been into for information were always very courteous even if I was not spending money with them. Sorry about ranting and raving on you great people but sometimes it just helps to get things off ones chest, it won't happen again. By the way I love my R1100RL with a couple of exceptions like the seat and the height of the pegs, both of which will get adjusted for me as I get more money.

[Matthew Miller]

My Brother has a 98 K1200RS in Yellow with lots of work on it. I love that bike although I find it a little long for me even with the bars moved closer to the saddle.