New wheels

Scott,
Nice bike!! Last April I bought a 13 GSW cause I wanted a dual sport with cruise control. I found one used and saved some $$ on it. I've only had it off road a few times and for me it is a handful in the dirt. I am wanting to go back to a sport touring bike, lighter than the ST, but a new RT is not in the budget. I am looking at the FJR pretty hard and if anyone would like a nice 1200 GSW check out the bikes for sale here. Did you get the low version?
Enjoy and Ride Well
Suprdav
 
No more lowered version it's available. The whole bike is an inch or so lower than previous RT and there is a hi/low adjustment that works with either a high, standard and low seat. Standard seat set on low works for me.
 
Chris Parker said:
Here is a breakdown of maintenance so far:

600 mile break in: just under $200.00

6,000 mile valve check and oil change: approximately $200.00

12,000 mile Service 2: $357.00 (New plugs, oil and filter, final drive, Valve check, new brake fluid, and new Air filter)
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Valve check every 6000 miles?
 
Throttlejockey said:
Congrats Bones! Can you touch flat footed?
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With the low seat, yes, completely flat footed, but I went with the standard seat. In the low position, the standard seat has me comfortably on the balls of my feet, about where I am on the ST with a Spencer seat lowering mod and on my Versys with the suspension lowering link.

I had two issues with the low seat which I used on the demo ride. (1) With my butt closer to the ground but no change in the location of the pegs, there was too much bend in my knees. (2) The way BMW gets the low seat low is by removing padding. The seat pan is the same. I found it hard and not particularly supportive.
 
Yeah, I forgot with the new wet heads that they bumped it up to 12K. On the old Oilhead, Hexhead and Camhead, it was every 6,000. BTW, one other thing that is consistent with every water-cooled boxer that I have seen, NOT a drop of oil is consumed, in comparison to the old boxers. I have not had to add oil between services. That is definitely a plus. All my riding buddies with R1200GS bikes report the same.
 
Bones said:
With the low seat, yes, completely flat footed, but I went with the standard seat. In the low position, the standard seat has me comfortably on the balls of my feet, about where I am on the ST with a Spencer seat lowering mod and on my Versys with the suspension lowering link.

I had two issues with the low seat which I used on the demo ride. (1) With my butt closer to the ground but no change in the location of the pegs, there was too much bend in my knees. (2) The way BMW gets the low seat low is by removing padding. The seat pan is the same. I found it hard and not particularly supportive.
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From one short rider to another, I find flat footing is highly overrated. If flat footing was required of me I'd never get to ride the bikes that interest me.
 
Very nice bike - Congrats on the purchase.
I had the opportunity to exchange bikes on a ride through Idaho with a buddy. Took his RT in the twisties for about 2 hours. The lesser weight was amazing, you just have to think about where you want to be in the turns and the bike is there with no effort and felt very planted.
 
I'm a little late to the party, but it seems you have chosen wisely and have an excellent mount for years of spirited riding going forward. Safe travels!
 
Chris Parker said:
BTW, one other thing that is consistent with every water-cooled boxer that I have seen, NOT a drop of oil is consumed, in comparison to the old boxers.
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That's nice to see. I never had to add oil to my ST in 86,000 miles.
 
Yeah Scott, you'd think that this would not be a big deal, oil consumption, but two things I think contributed to that in the OLD boxers (1994-2013). First, nikisil coated cylinder walls... pretty tough to break in. You would ride for about 18,000 or so miles before they settled in and didn't allow for oil consumption. And secondly, with the oil and air cooling method, you had a wider range of temperature ups and downs where I could see greater tolerance for expansion and contracting of engine parts. Now with water cooling, you have a degree more consistency of temperature ranges.

But I could be wrong. I am not a mechanic, I am an artist, what do I know. :)
 
Artist knowledge is right up there with writer knowledge...
 
Bones said:
That's nice to see. I never had to add oil to my ST in 86,000 miles.
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I've loved my ST's complete lack of oil consumption. It sounds like BMW has made great strides with its wet clutch and other upgrades.

Does it PTTR like the old 1150s did? If it now tracks as true as the ST, that could be tempting
 
BendBill said:
Does it PTTR like the old 1150s did?
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Not that I have detected. I am riding on Sunday and will likely encounter some slowpokes on winding roads on the weekend, so I'll have opportunities for quick passes that will show whether that characteristic remains.

In general, the bike tracks true as can be. The other day on MA 67, a gently curving 2-lane along the Quabaog River, I set the cruise, took my hands off the bars and rode several miles steering the bike with my knees. I could have tied a necktie and eaten a sandwich.
 
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