Newbie advice needed: Considering buying a low mileage 2003 R1150RT.

[Painter]

Hi All,

 

The question I have for anyone who'd care to respond revolves around a BMW R1150RT that is up for sale. Year 2003, 11800 miles on the clock. Excellent all-round condition. New tires three years ago. It has an initial service history, but.... the bike has been standing indoors, undercover, for the last five years. It wasn't serviced at all over that time. The second and current owner started it occasionally and managed to put on 900 miles in five years. 

 

The bike starts easily, runs well and seems on a cursory examination to be leak free.

 

I understand that US and South African prices will differ, but as an indication, the owner is asking $3000. 

 

Should I be worried that it has been standing for so long? 

 

I've done a lot of research, and the answers seem split evenly between "Don't touch it, this could become a long-term maintenance issue" and '"BMW's are robust, this shouldn't be a problem."

I spoke to a BMW certified mechanic, and his suggestion was that if I could get the bike for $2000 and then have a major service (leaving some budget for minor repairs) it would be a good buy. He also suggested looking at a more recent F-engine bike in my price range. He offered a recently serviced 2008 F800ST with 25000 miles on the clock as an alternative. That one's price is $2500. However, the F800ST doesn't look like a comfortable long-distance tourer to me. I'm 6"2', weigh 200lbs and I'm active. 

 

Any advice will be much appreciated. My heart likes the R1150RT. My head worries that it's not the right choice.
I'm looking forward to enjoying the forum and hopefully reading your responses.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice. 

[dirtrider]

Quote

 

Hi All,

 

The question I have for anyone who'd care to respond revolves around a BMW R1150RT that is up for sale. Year 2003, 11800 miles on the clock. Excellent all-round condition. New tires three years ago. It has an initial service history, but.... the bike has been standing indoors, undercover, for the last five years. It wasn't serviced at all over that time. The second and current owner started it occasionally and managed to put on 900 miles in five years. 

 

The bike starts easily, runs well and seems on a cursory examination to be leak free.

 

I understand that US and South African prices will differ, but as an indication, the owner is asking $3000. 

 

Should I be worried that it has been standing for so long? 

 

I've done a lot of research, and the answers seem split evenly between "Don't touch it, this could become a long-term maintenance issue" and '"BMW's are robust, this shouldn't be a problem."

I spoke to a BMW certified mechanic, and his suggestion was that if I could get the bike for $2000 and then have a major service (leaving some budget for minor repairs) it would be a good buy. He also suggested looking at a more recent F-engine bike in my price range. He offered a recently serviced 2008 F800ST with 25000 miles on the clock as an alternative. That one's price is $2500. However, the F800ST doesn't look like a comfortable long-distance tourer to me. I'm 6"2', weigh 200lbs and I'm active. 

 

Any advice will be much appreciated. My heart likes the R1150RT. My head worries that it's not the right choice.
I'm looking forward to enjoying the forum and hopefully reading your responses.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice. 

 

Afternoon Painter

 

The major worry on the 1150RT is the chance of transmission spline stripping issues. They don't all have spline problems but the ones that do get REAL expensive in a hurry. This is difficult to check for on a motorcycle that isn't already yours. 

 

As for possible storage problems, was it stored with E-10 (alcohol containing fuel). If so then a real possibility that you have possible corrosion on the fuel pump parts. This should be checked out if possible. This is fixable but sometimes not cheaply.  

 

Open the fuel filler cap then sniff the fuel, if it smells sour (not like new clean gasoline) then possible problems inside the fuel tank. 

 

If it was stored with regular non-alcohol fuel then less chance of internal problems but internal corrosion is still possible. 

 

On the F bike,  some of those had charging system issues, the 800ST was better than the 800GS but still could have issues. Kind of an expensive repair to fix them correctly as it requires a new flywheel.  

 

They could both be great motorcycles, the above is just thing to look for & keep in mind. 

 

 

[Painter]

Thanks Dirtrider. 

 

I'll try to get through to see the R1150RT this week. I'll do a sniff test on the fuel in the tank to see if it's degraded.

 

We don't add ethanol E-10 to our fuel in South Africa, so that's good news.

 

The 800 ST has just had a major service. I hope that Charging system issues would have been sorted at that service.

 

Once again, thanks for your advice,

[dirtrider]

7 minutes ago, Painter said:

Thanks Dirtrider. 

 

I'll try to get through to see the R1150RT this week. I'll do a sniff test on the fuel in the tank to see if it's degraded.

 

We don't add ethanol E-10 to our fuel in South Africa, so that's good news.

 

The 800 ST has just had a major service. I hope that Charging system issues would have been sorted at that service.

 

Once again, thanks for your advice,

Afternoon Painter

 

If the 800ST charging system already was failed they would probably have addressed it. But the charging isn't something that they check or look at during a service.  

[Cap]

Just to add some perspective to what DR said above... The R1150RT is a great bike with a couple of major ticking time bombs.  The first is the transmission input spline that DR mentioned.  and the second is the EVO power ABS brake module that has a tendency to fail if not religiously maintained.  There are some minor issues as well: they run lean, the stick coils fail periodically, the throttle bodies need frequent synchronization.

 

With the exception of the transmission input spline, these issues can be overcome with careful preventative maintenance and some aftermarket parts.  So, I wonder if you are comfortable and capable as an owner -mechanic?  You will need some specialized tools and a lot of patience.  For example, just to remove the bodywork, there are 53 torx-head screws. 

 

After some experience, I have come to believe that EVERY R1150 engine has fretting of the transmission input shaft that will eventually fail. There is a permanent remedy if you replace the clutch with one having an extended spline collar.  This requires and extensive tear down to break the engine and transmission apart.  But if you do it early enough then the problem should be solved.  A bike with only 10K+ miles seems like a good candidate for this fix.

 

So, it really comes down to how much you love that particular model.  They are the last of the full-bodywork RT's.  I think they are beautiful, and I enjoyed owning my 2004 model.  But I eventually became weary of the constant tweaking required to keep it reliable and running smoothly.  I moved on to a wethead RT that requires less attention to keep on the road.

[strataj]

I had an 02R1150RT Titan Silver like in the picture, best looking RT ever!  I loved that bike.  I agree with both DR and Cap and I'd add if the brake lines haven't been changed over to stainless steel I would. 

[Painter]

2 hours ago, Cap said:

Just to add some perspective to what DR said above... The R1150RT is a great bike with a couple of major ticking time bombs.  The first is the transmission input spline that DR mentioned.  and the second is the EVO power ABS brake module that has a tendency to fail if not religiously maintained.  There are some minor issues as well: they run lean, the stick coils fail periodically, the throttle bodies need frequent synchronization.

 

With the exception of the transmission input spline, these issues can be overcome with careful preventative maintenance and some aftermarket parts.  So, I wonder if you are comfortable and capable as an owner -mechanic?  You will need some specialized tools and a lot of patience.  For example, just to remove the bodywork, there are 53 torx-head screws. 

 

After some experience, I have come to believe that EVERY R1150 engine has fretting of the transmission input shaft that will eventually fail. There is a permanent remedy if you replace the clutch with one having an extended spline collar.  This requires and extensive tear down to break the engine and transmission apart.  But if you do it early enough then the problem should be solved.  A bike with only 10K+ miles seems like a good candidate for this fix.

 

So, it really comes down to how much you love that particular model.  They are the last of the full-bodywork RT's.  I think they are beautiful, and I enjoyed owning my 2004 model.  But I eventually became weary of the constant tweaking required to keep it reliable and running smoothly.  I moved on to a wethead RT that requires less attention to keep on the road.

Thanks for your response, Cap. 

Sadly I'm not a capable owner/mechanic, but as I'm keen to own a touring bike, and considering my meagre budget, I'm going to have to become one if I want this dream to come true. 

After all the advice I've received and read, I'm probably going to let this particular R1150RT pass me by. There are just too many unknowns to make this a comfortable purchase. 

Your input has been very helpful, and as I'm looking later this week at another 2004 model that hasn't been standing for 5 years, I'll be bearing your cautions in mind. 

[Painter]

1 hour ago, strataj said:

I had an 02R1150RT Titan Silver like in the picture, best looking RT ever!  I loved that bike.  I agree with both DR and Cap and I'd add if the brake lines haven't been changed over to stainless steel I would. 

Good point on the brake lines, Strataj. 

 

Yes, they are beautiful bikes!  I was attracted to the aesthetics first, and then when I read the reviews on comfort and rideability I was sold. I'm going to keep looking though, just opening my horizons to wethead RTs as well. 

[TEWKS]

19 minutes ago, Painter said:

just opening my horizons to wethead RTs as well.

Too bad there’s an ocean between because my garage queen 2014 is getting closer to being put up for sale.  The difference between the two bikes is incredible. Honestly, it’s been a lot of years since riding the 03 but that’s what my memory tells me anyway. PS.. only thinking of selling the 2014 because I’ve become more of a GS adventure type of rider.

 

[Painter]

1 hour ago, TEWKS said:

Too bad there’s an ocean between because my garage queen 2014 is getting closer to being put up for sale. 

She's a beauty, that's for sure. 

It looks like if you open that throttle she'll fly. ✈️

Just not sure about flying across that ocean, though. 😁

[TEWKS]

They are surprisingly quick for sure! 

[Cap]

6 hours ago, Painter said:

...I'm keen to own a touring bike, and considering my meagre budget, ...

 

Honestly, an old BMW and a meager budget do not mix.  Instead, the best value in a sport touring bike is a gen 1 Yamaha FJR1300.  My riding buddies have 3 between them, and they are bullet proof.  I think gen 1 bikes are well within your price range.

[Painter]

10 hours ago, Cap said:

 

Honestly, an old BMW and a meager budget do not mix.  Instead, the best value in a sport touring bike is a gen 1 Yamaha FJR1300.  My riding buddies have 3 between them, and they are bullet proof.  I think gen 1 bikes are well within your price range.

Hey Cap, 

A man can dream, right?

I do appreciate your advice, though.

[szurszewski]

21 hours ago, Painter said:

Thanks for your response, Cap. 

Sadly I'm not a capable owner/mechanic, but as I'm keen to own a touring bike, and considering my meagre budget, I'm going to have to become one if I want this dream to come true. 

After all the advice I've received and read, I'm probably going to let this particular R1150RT pass me by. There are just too many unknowns to make this a comfortable purchase. 

Your input has been very helpful, and as I'm looking later this week at another 2004 model that hasn't been standing for 5 years, I'll be bearing your cautions in mind. 

Most of what you've been cautioned about above - the expensive parts - are going to be true for any similar year/1150RT, so do keep that in mind if that's what's shying you away from this one. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy one, but don't think one that's fresh on maintenance can't have the shaft issue they mention or the failed ABS problem (there is no maintenance schedule that will save the output shaft - but the brakes are *less* likely to have a problem if they are flushed regularly). 

 

I happen to have two 2004 BMWs in the garage - one with 12,000 miles (that sat mostly the for three years right before I got it) and seemingly no problems (including the powered ABS brakes); the other one has about 60k miles and had both the mentioned big failures between 40k and 50k (I got it for cheap when, just several thousand miles after fixing expensive-at-the-dealer shaft issue the bike developed the just-as-expensive ABS brake issue - I suspect the owner's wife said: get it out of here!). I think both are great bikes, but I also paid little enough for them that if they developed a big problem I couldn't fix myself (and I'm not great mechanic, so it could certainly happen), I could part them out and mostly get my money back out of them. 

[Witty_Low]

Hard decision. I was in your shoes a few months ago, but after doing my research, I decided to buy the older, more reliable R1100RT. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the issues of the R1150rt.

[Painter]

On 10/10/2023 at 4:06 PM, szurszewski said:

I happen to have two 2004 BMWs in the garage - one with 12,000 miles (that sat mostly the for three years right before I got it) and seemingly no problems (including the powered ABS brakes); the other one has about 60k miles and had both the mentioned big failures between 40k and 50k 

It's strange, isn't it? You'd expect the one that was standing to give the problems, and not the other way around. 

Ultimately if I get the bike for the right price, I should be safe. They do hold their value, unless of course there's some catastrophic failure. I just have to make the decision now. 

[Painter]

4 hours ago, Witty_Low said:

Hard decision. I was in your shoes a few months ago, but after doing my research, I decided to buy the older, more reliable R1100RT. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the issues of the R1150rt.

It's great to know I'm not the only one who's had to face this decision.

The problem here in South Africa is that there just aren't that many used BMWs coming onto the market. So, the decision isn't always one of choosing between two options, it's more of saying 'no' to the one available and hoping something else will come along that's equally appetizing, if not better than the one you refused.

Having said that, I live in hope.

[szurszewski]

1 hour ago, Painter said:

It's strange, isn't it? You'd expect the one that was standing to give the problems, and not the other way around. 

Ultimately if I get the bike for the right price, I should be safe. They do hold their value, unless of course there's some catastrophic failure. I just have to make the decision now. 

 

 

Agreed - I'd normally expect more problems from a mostly sitting twenty year old bike with low miles than a regularly maintained bike of the same age with "normal" miles on it. In this case, the one with the problems was one-owner and had been used for commuting mostly and a few "long" trips (long being, a few hundred miles a day for a couple/few days). The other one had 800 miles put on it between 2004 and 2008 by owner one, then 10,000 miles in the next twelve years by owner two before he let it sit for three years. I think about mid-way through those three years it got an oil change and brake flush and a new battery. I'm not really sure how often the fluids were changed in the 12 years of one thousand miles per year riding - I suspect not every year, but maybe? 

 

I will say that the higher mileage bike came to me with much more usable tires (because they were not 20 years old!).