What's the better BMW's to go for?

[bikerbaker]

I saw a lovely old R80 or R90 Cafe racer last week.....

STOP IT!!

[knapdog]

I'm enjoying the RT.
It feels very light for a big bike. I sat on a FJR1300 months ago and you felt you needed a crane to bring it from the side stand to upright.
The gears are slick once out of first, and a much lighter clutch than my big Honda, although once moving, I use the pro gear shift whereby I just use the gears without the clutch lever.
By pulling the front brake towards you when stationary, it activates the hill assist, which holds the bike. This can be handy as you can put both feet on the ground, if you wish, and just accelerate away.
Obviously there's the suspension set ups which you can change on the move, cruise control, heated seats etc.
There's loads of poke, 125 hp, weather protection and very comfortable.
The main thing that comes to mind is its "lightweight manners" considering it's a 274kg bike.
Billyfix and I swapped bikes recently (he on the cbf1000) and I eventually had to ask him, "May I have my bike back now please ?"
I had to raid the bank to buy it which is not the end of the world as I had it at a very good price and the residuals are good. In other words, there's still money in the bike, if you get my drift.
My main concern is BMW reliability. When things go wrong it's expensive. I've still got the warranty until Sept 2017 and may well take out the extended warranty for peace of mind.

Here are some pics without the side panniers :

[fatboytours]

This is my occasional ride. really notice the difference between the liquid cooled one and the air head.

You're right it is really light once it gets moving. I'm going to see if it's fitted with hill assist tonight

[Bogger]

I really like the RT. It will probably be my next big bike.

Bogger

[knapdog]

One thing I've noticed is I find the grips are a bit narrow and so I've fitted a pair of Grip Puppies. They don't make any difference to the effectiveness of the heated grips.
Nice bike btw fatboytours. That's a great service you voluntarily provide for us.

[r80rob]

I currently own this (for the second time):



This (although not for long):



And I've owned this twice:



The first is probably my favourite , it's a '79 r80/7 frame with later lighter flywheel and electronic ignition r80 motor and twin brembos rather than the odd swing calipers. Well balanced and enough power to pull two up fully loaded.It has 147k on the clock and is still on the original rings and barrels.

Down side of the airheads parts are getting into silly money but bargains do come up every now and again, for example a reconditioned beval box is £500 plus.

The blue one ) another 79 r80 / 7 but fitted with an rs fairing ) I brought for this reason but can't bring myself to break it so it's up for sale , auction finishing this weekend, I've removed the luggage though.

The k is an '84 k100 so very early no abs to go wrong , never had a bike with fuel injection before but found it trouble free. The ks are creeping up in price but are really good value still , I paid £500 with mot and two new tyres , it's heavy and not as well balanced at low speeds. The aluminium tanks corrode and can end up being expensive.

I would like to try a k75 as I'd imagine them to be lighter and a bit more nimble , probably a k75rs or rt.

Worth mentioning all the airheads and ks have gearbox spline lubrication as part of the major service , this is often overlooked as it involves removing the gearbox , worth asking if its been done recently as having the splines shear whilst over taking at speed is both costly and dangerous as I found out

[Bogger]

I nearly bought a K75 a couple of years ago. I went to have a look at it but the timing chain was rattling it's tits off, so I walked away. He only wanted £700.00 for it

Bogger

[bikerbaker]

Since we are posting pics:-

F800.jpg

Evening at Playa D'Sowfend. Hope the view doesn't make you homesick Rob.
Incidentally, I am trying to find out the date when they are going to blow up the powerstation chimney, would like to watch that. I watched them build it in the 70's!

[Diesel Dave]

Top box higher than screen..........

[knapdog]

Nice colour, bb.