R1100RT-P newb question.... is this too many miles?

[beekay]

Hey folks, found a few R1100RT's on craigslist this fall and was looking to jump on one. One seems to be sitting for a bit here in Boston at a fairly low price of $4800. it is a police model from So Cal with 79k miles on it.

 

is this a lot of miles for these rigs?

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mcy/1460852650.html

 

From research, it sounds like it is common for them to come out of service around 60k miles and the equipment is removed and it is made a civilian vehicle. Not sure if this is one of those, but there is a market for these over 60k miles, it seems.

 

I am wondering what is keeping people off of this, aside from mileage and the reconstruction title (as it was a service vehicle). does this sound like a huge pile of service waiting to happen? I do a lot of work on my 74 Ironhead, but they are fairly cheap to work on. this thing looks a bit more involved!

 

 

thoughts are appreciated!

 

Bill

 

[Tony_K]

What keeps people off is the fact that it is a police bike. Uncertain history and previous use / abuse. So with that said the hard part has already been done -the civilianization. That's about 1500 with dealer suppied parts. Less with a wrecked bikes parts.

 

So I would approach with a 1k less offer and see if they laugh at you or maybe consider it. Keep reading this site for helpful hints if you really want a RT everything has been disscussed over and over throughout the years.

 

I don't like the fact that the last line in the ad says "research 1150 rt-p". They are two VERY different bikes. Sounds like the seller is a quick turn dealer.

[OoPEZoO]

So I would approach with a 1k less offer and see if they laugh at you or maybe consider it. Keep reading this site for helpful hints if you really want a RT everything has been disscussed over and over throughout the years.

 

I think thats pretty good advise right there. The big question about a former police bike is the clutch. Its a lot of work to do it yourself, the parts are somewhat expensive, and having a dealership do it for you would damn near break the bank.

 

As far as the miles.......its not enough to scare me off, if it has a good service history. I bought my '00 RT with 60k miles on it, and have since put another 60k miles on it. I don't plan to retire it anytime soon. Take note though.....in that second 60k miles I have had to replace my clutch, rebuild my transmission, and replace the stock shocks. All three of those are pretty high dollar repair/upgrades. I'm sure the last thing you want to do is spend that much on a bike and then throw another $3k worth of work into it.

 

If it was me.....I think I could find a standard RT with less miles, that was well maintained (and documented) for around the same price point or maybe just a little more.

[rgraham]

First of all, there is no such thing as a Califronia State Trooper. California Highway Patrol, yes.

 

This motorcycle looks like it has spent some time out in the weather, or under water. Look at the rust on most of the nuts here and there in the photos. If it was a CHP motor, then the mileage was mostly high speed highway miles.

 

I bought an RTP not long ago, and here was the lowdown.

 

64,000 miles. Needed new tires. Included all service documents from new. From ten feet away, it looked almost new. The CHP has a cosmetic standard that they maintain on all their vehicles. It turns out to be a really nice motorcycle. Price: $3,500.

 

My advice would be to keep looking. Cop bike or not, there are better deals out there. Also, the listing just smells fishy.

 

[ShakataGaNai]

I just spent a good amount of time doing this very thing "Do I buy an RT or an RTP?". I ended up with an RTP. At least here in the SF Bay Area, the prices top out around $5000 for an 1100. The concerns stated above are the major ones, also the condition of the electrical system. Since they pull out a bunch of junk, some times things can be a little wonky.

 

I've also heard that due to the law suit, CHP isn't retiring their bikes till 100k miles any more. Also, you can buy a "fresh off the auction" RTP w/ 100k miles for about $2500 (of course that isn't inspected, fixed up, yada yada), just to keep in mind.

 

Me personally? I'm so far (it has only been a few months) very happy with my RTP.

[beekay]

You guys rock! I have my eyes on another RT that is about $5800, but the miles are more inline with normal use and still under KBB value by about $800 if that is worth anything.

 

I agree, the spider senses were tingling as this has been in craigslist for about a month now..... something ain't right.

 

I am selling my 35 year old sportie because I want something that can go farther than a tank of gas (2 gallons) without some wrenching (which is normally tightening bolts up as they get loose from that famous patented vibration). the last thing I needed was to pick up someone else's total nightmare waiting to happen. especially with some of the dime that is noted above!

 

Thanks for the assistance guys! much appreciated.

 

bk

 

 

[NonComp]

Kinda looks like a storage yard. Some of the vehicles in the background don't have plates on them. I bet the rust on the bolts is from the bike sitting for a year, maybe under a tarp or M/C cover.

[mikecrml]

I took a chance and won a non-running '04 1150RTP that was listed as 'possible parts bike'. Won it at $2100. If it was really bad, I'd part it out. Trailered it home and it had a fuel leak and the main wiring harness was un hooked. 20 min fix and it was running fine. It was a city police bike with 60,003 miles, minor scuffs and scrapes on the crash bars. I did a full service (brakes were no fun, this site REALLY helped) and I could not be happier. Now 62,050 and no problems. Will need a new front tire next month. And my wife said to buy somthing visable- no black Ducati's or HD's. REALLY recomend taking a chance on a RTP city bike. Stay away fron the CHP bikes with 100+

[upflying]

It does appear to be a genuine CHP bike, vehicle #8278.

Transmission and clutch will be the problem areas..listen for second gear rattle and clutch slippage when you ride it.

Looks like it was dropped on the right side. Why use all capital letters in the ad?

I bought my bike at a CHP in auction in 2003 for exactly $6,000. At the time it had 36,000 mi and was auctioned because it was 5 years old.

I now have 66,000 miles, not a bit of trouble except a HES.

If I sold my bike today, I would ask $2500. For many reasons, cop bikes are worth less than civilian bikes.

[mikecrml]

How much more is a 1150rtp worth then? Bob- was yours a city bike, parade bike, funeral bike? Look me up if you ever make it to Carmel. Not too many riding police bikes around here.

[NonComp]

Personally, I think I'd rather have the 1100, for a variety of reasons. Simpler technology for one.

[karlheinz]

It,s all a big gamble with an rt/p.Of all the people that i know that have one some are happy others can tell horror stories including me.

[karlheinz]

Just looked at the pictures again on craig,s.This bike was reworked to a duel seat,not stock.Also i believe there are the two LED's missing on the dash (these where for the strobes).The front crash bars are gone.Large bag lids,not city lids.I think this bike had a rebuilt title and not a reconstructed title.I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.(crash bike)

[rgraham]

What lawsuit are you speaking of regarding the 100K mileage?

[ShakataGaNai]

I don't remember the details or have a source offhand, someone else might. A while back Harley filled a lawsuit against the CHP because the deal they got with BMW was "unfair" or some such nonsense.

[rgraham]

Good enough.

[beekay]

Thanks again guys! I was hoping to get this kind of help. We do this on the xlforum (in the ironhead section), but so many places just flame folks for asking (audiworld for example). very cool.

 

bk

[Starfighter]

A year ago, I bought my 04 R1150RTP for $5K with 27,000 miles on it.

Still, it had seen some hard use............but I love it !

[tallman]

First, price tooo high.

Second, the "unfair" ness was that the BMW police bike kicked the HD in all the tests.

Huge contract, lots of $$$, so the results were ignore to give HD another chance, again, to compete.

This dragged on.

Do a search here .

[r77toy]

My big problem with this deal is the "reconstructed" title, I've never heard of changing the title to put another seat on. A BMW dealer should be able to search the service records through the VIN. RTP's are all serviced at a dealer.

[upflying]

How much more is a 1150rtp worth then? Bob- was yours a city bike, parade bike, funeral bike? Look me up if you ever make it to Carmel. Not too many riding police bikes around here.

Mine was a CHP bike..a sergeant rode it in he Santa Rosa area, hence the low miles. I have since painted mine a medium dark metallic gray. Black and white was too conspicuous. Still have the rest of the RT-P stuff on it though.

[ratfink]

I have a 99 r1100rtp. I bought it with 42k from Washington State Patrol. It came with complete service records and had a recent clutch job.

 

It has over 60k on it. I have 2 other street bikes and my rtp would be the last one I would sell. The problems I have had were a broken throttle cable and bad HES.

 

The nice things about a P model include the crash bars for mounting driving and fog lights, the extra fuse panel to wire accesories and the fan on the oil cooler. Extra swithches are already there too and usually a Euro headlight switch. The 1100

has a weak headlight but otherwise I think it's a better choice than the 1150.

 

I would never buy an RTP sight unseen. Many of them are relegated to the training fleet before going surplus, where they get used mostly for drills; feathering the clutches and dragging the rear brakes, lots of stop and go and getting dropped.

 

The sidestand gets a lot of stress from LEO sitting on bike while using radar or laser and +1 on shocks will probably be worn out.

 

If you want an RTP, be leery of CHP bikes. There are bikes out there from other agencies that are parade quality.

 

Good Luck. If you find a good RTP you'll probably really like it.

 

[rgraham]

Another thing I just found out yesterday, is that it's very difficult to get out the front shock to replace it on the RTP. There are two bars that basically imprison the shock from being removed without major surgery that are not on the RT. The labor ended up costing me twice what the usual charge would have been for an RT. Not a nice surprise, and very expensive. Not to mention the thrill of spending 6+ hours in a waiting room. I had both shocks done.

[ratfink]

Would you mind giving us an Idea of the cost?

 

I'm under the impression that RTP's came with a heavy duty shock, maybe only on the rear though. Did the dealer mention this for your replacement.

 

Also if it is any consolation, if you ever have to trailer the bike or put it on a tow truck (flatbed) the crash bars are great tie down points. Tying down a standard RT is tricky. Also if you ever drop your bike, there will be much less damage, the extra labor you paid could easily be saved by the cost of replacing a mirror and scuffing a bag or other potential damage.

[Allen Rowand]

If my RTP had a heavy duty shock on the front, I'd hate to see what a standard one looks like. It looked like a #2 pencil next to the Ohlins that went in its place.

 

Dealing with the front subframes shouldn't add more than 45 minutes to changing the front shock on an RTP if you know what you're doing. 8 bolts and one nut, plus snipping a couple zipties. It took me 45 minutes to figure it out, but I never said I was smart.

[notacop]

I had an 1100 RTP I got with 60K on it and ran the snot out of it for 3 years and put another 62K miles on it. I replaced the HES cus it died and changed the alternator belt. I checked the valves occasionally and tried to balance the throttles. After dumping it in the back yard and not being able to pick the big pig I traded it for an 800ST i've had for 1 1/2 years now.

Got $1000 trade in for the RTP. The rear shock was leaking, needed buttons and pads and a proper tune up. Trans was getting noisy and some other things that I can't remember.

Great bike and a perfect solo platform but to dang heavy for a skinny little sh-t to hoist around.

No clutch problems and ran great. I've seen other RTP's that had local municipality use and had low miles that would be a great buy.

I removed all the bar mounts and extraneous metal I could and the bike lost about 30 pounds. Was great fun to scare the crap out of the Ricky Racers on the Crest riding the Black and White. They were never sure if it was me or the real CHP who loved to give us all tickets.

If you want a big heavy bike, it's perfect. The RTP's normally got proper dealer service and were well taken care of.

[rgraham]

Well, maybe I was getting the shaft. These were a set of Wilbers I had bought, and didn't want to deal with the installation. The guys I bought them from put them on bike. This is a 1998 RTP, so maybe yours is a different setup.

 

I wish I had you do mine. Could have saved serious money and time.

[BMDoubleYou]

I just found this thread and am not sure, if my comment is anymore of any value.

 

I bought my 2000 R1100RT-P in 2005. Very little miles (something like 28,000) and added a couple thousand miles more on it.

I got a clear title (no salvage, reconstruction etc.).

 

Every problem I ran into, I could fix myself. A couple of months ago, I had to change the clutch switch at the clutch lever and btw. got great help from people in this newsgroup.

 

The first thing that died on my RTP was a battery which really freaked me out because of the hissing sound. But, I got over it and was able to get a new battery, put it in and works fine up to this day.

 

I got new tires, but only because I needed them after all the miles I put on. The tires were actually done by a dealer. Much better for me.

Which reminds me, that the front brake line leaked and I had this done as well.

 

I take back, that I was able to fix everything myself. I am getting old, I start to forget things. ;-)

 

The R1100RT-P is not exactly a lightweight, and I converted it myself into a civilian two-seater bike, but left it black and white. At the beginning I really enjoyed that everybody noticed me / a cop bike. Nobody got in my way. But I live in an area with millions of tourists coming through each year and I noticed that it can be very annoying when those tourists go slower than the speed "recommendation", because they think they have a cop behind them. But again, at least they see me.

 

I never had buyers remorse.

 

However there are many points already mentioned by others like: condition of the motorcycle, potential abuse and so on.

These are important for any used motorcycle. The average police motorcycle might get more abuse, than mine got.

 

I am very happy with my baby on two wheels.

And my kids intervened when I dared to mention that I was thinking about selling it one day in the future - for a R1200GS Adventure.

My son (12 years old) wants to inherit the RT-P, my daughter (8 years old) loves to ride with me and tells all her elementary school buddies, that I ride a police motorcycle. As long as it keep the evil kids away from her, that's fine with me. LoL!

To prevent them from trying to get to their inheritance early, I decided against selling my RTP. I might look better on a R 1200 GS Adventure, but my kids will pick my nursing home.

Besides that, I look better than Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman anyhow. ;-)

And perhaps, one day, the RTP will have a GSA sitting next to her, telling her about my long way down. ;-)

 

Have fun with whatever bike you get and enjoy every mile of it,

Michael.