Frank Cloud Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 The last five years haven't been good to me for getting in rides, but I did finally break the 40k mark. Several years ago, before time became a premium, I considered buying a new bike but couldn't justify it. Now at 40k, see no reason too. Not only for the decrease in riding habits, but because the bike remains so good. It feels like it's just getting broken in. Link to comment
JonathanE Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 My '99 RT was nearly flawless to 60K, and was just a good until it died an early death at Dave's hands a few years later. I don't know what the odometer mileage was showing at that time. Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Keep her going Frank. I am at 101K now and the rt has never run better. I almost went for an R1200RT 2 years ago and the deal fell through, I am glad it did. Sounds like 99 was a very good year ! Link to comment
eddd Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Congrats on your accomplishment. Coincidentally, I just turned 140,000 this week on mine. Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 The last five years haven't been good to me for getting in rides, but I did finally break the 40k mark. Several years ago, before time became a premium, I considered buying a new bike but couldn't justify it. Now at 40k, see no reason too. Not only for the decrease in riding habits, but because the bike remains so good. It feels like it's just getting broken in. I sold my '99 R1100RT with 175K miles and it is still running with it's second owner. Ref. your signature: A clutch spline lube after 40K miles and 11 years is not a bad idea. Link to comment
bmw_rider Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Keep riding you are getting close having in broken in!!! Do the miles you can do, we all have different demands and commitments in life. There is no need to feel guilty because somebody just passed 1.5million miles or did 100K in one season. I'd love to do that to, but the lottery gods haven't been that good to me. Ride and enjoy. Link to comment
pjw73nh Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Frank, I hope I am as fortunate. My 02, just had "clutch and spline" surgery. I've only had the bike since 04 (20k). I hope this was the first spline shaft. If so, I've got another 25-30k to go before it needs it again. Which may very well out live me. If not, it's a crap shoot. I am having difficulty building confidence in the bike's reliability, but it's growing daily. Especially the more I learn from this forum about fixing it. I too am slowly decreasing the miles/year. 40k is a good sign for you. I hope it continues flawlessly. Also, one more post and you'll hit the 1000 mark. Best. Paul.../NH Link to comment
r77toy Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 147K on my '97 RT, looking forward to 200K. Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Great news on the 140k eddd. Maybe we should start an "over the hump" category? Link to comment
Quinn Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Does BMW have mileage badges like Mercedes? Come to think of it, I don't see the badges on their cars anymore. Guess I'm showing my age again. ---- Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Does BMW have mileage badges like Mercedes? Come to think of it, I don't see the badges on their cars anymore. Guess I'm showing my age again. ---- Yes, both BMWNA and BMWMOA (national BMW club) award badges and diplomas every 100.000 miles. They are for total miles on BMW bikes. Does not have to be on the same bike. Link to comment
GrayNFast Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I have a 2000 R1100RT with 46K and no problems except one crash. Also and 1996 R1100RT recently purchase with 58K and only problem has been a front master cylinder that failed from sitting in a garage for about three years. Been a BMW fan since the mid seventies and these are both keepers. Dean Link to comment
Selden Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 ... A clutch spline lube after 40K miles and 11 years is not a bad idea. Does this maintenance require splitting the bike? (He asks, dreading the answer.) I read that one way to tell if it's needed is to pull the starter (not so hard) and peer inside with a flashlight; if there is a bunch of debris, lube needed. If not... Link to comment
BeemerBerg Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 135K on my '99 Boston Green....the prettiest color. Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Does BMW have mileage badges like Mercedes? Come to think of it, I don't see the badges on their cars anymore. Guess I'm showing my age again. ---- Could be that Mercedes can't do the mileage that they used to? Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 ... A clutch spline lube after 40K miles and 11 years is not a bad idea. Does this maintenance require splitting the bike? (He asks, dreading the answer.) - YES - I read that one way to tell if it's needed is to pull the starter (not so hard) and peer inside with a flashlight; if there is a bunch of debris, lube needed. If not... (Inserted the YES) If you see a lot of debris you probably need more than a lube job. Link to comment
Frank Cloud Posted March 15, 2010 Author Share Posted March 15, 2010 Funny, did 2/3 the first five years. But, hopefully, there will be more riding in my near future. Regarding the spline lube, I'm going to look into that his year. I am curious to see what condition they are in. Link to comment
Parrothead Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 The clock on my 96 only reads 81K. I'm far behind.........I need to take some time off Link to comment
MontanaMark Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Just turned over 102k on my '99. I tend to think that '99 was a vintage year for the RT. Link to comment
99rtRon Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Bought my 99rt in Boston Green new, in April, 1999. 65,000 miles and the only broken parts so far have been my fault! Great motorcycle that is worth far more to me than its current market value. May add a new Concours 14 but the Rt will stay. 1959 Duoglide 1970 Commando 1971 Boattail Sportster 1999 R1100rt Link to comment
Gary S Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 I bought my 99RT in 2001. It had 7800 miles on it I've got 77K on it now. This past weekend I went to the dealer and tried to do a trade. The bike is immaculate. They had their mechanic look at it and couldn't find anything wrong. They basically "IMO" wanted to steal it from me. I decided I love the bike and if it's only worth as little as they say then I guess I'm gonna ride on. Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Gary, I had almost the same experience about 2 years ago. The dealer just did not want a high mileage 99. He told me the best thing I could do was to keep it and let my brother in law ride it when he came to visit. He may have thought that was funny, but it really pissed me off and I have not been back to that dealer since, not for parts either. He does not know my brother in law or how much I dislike him. I wouldn't let him ride my wheel barrow. By the sound of this thread, seems like there are a lot of high mileage 99RTs going strong. I think it was a very good year. I plan on keeping mine as long it keeps going with TLC. Link to comment
Selden Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 If you had accepted the dealer's low-ball offer, you can bet your bike would have been offered as in pristine condition at a relatively high price. There's nothing inherently wrong in that; dealers are in business to make money -- if they consistently don't, we don't have any dealers. Link to comment
Gary S Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Well as far as the lowball offer I fully understand the dealer needs to make a profit. I was willing to accept an offer under the trade in value of the motorcycle. But I wasn't going to give it away. So in a nutshell no deal and the great thing is no payments. Especially in this environment of economic uncertainty. Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 From behind the counter: If you own a high mileage bike you know how it was maintained and that it is a good bike, but any future buyer does not have that information. As there always are many low mileage bikes for sale at very good prices, for a dealer it is very hard to sell that bike. None of us would probably buy a high mileage bike unless we know the owner or the price is very-very low. Link to comment
boatzo Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 You are right Seldon, and I didn't have to take his offer and I damn sure didn't. I thoroughly agree that everyone needs to make a (reasonable) profit. But they also do not have to be so Cavalier! They lost a sale, end of story. Link to comment
notacop Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Any older RT, 1100,1150, with 100K is a boat anchor and dealers won't won't give but about 1000 dollars for it on trade. Best to keep them and run them into the ground until they can't be fixed cheap anymore. I've got my original 80/7 with 120K on it and have ridden others past the 100k mark. My R65LS I put 217000 miles on it and sold it to a used bike guy just to get rid of it. Still ran as well as it ever did. Cleared the garage of most of the airhead stuff when I got the 1100RTP. That got gone for an 800ST 2 years ago. There will be another used RT in Pomona soon cus my friend cannot ride it any more and his wife is asking me to make it run to sell. Old worn out and probably good for parts and not much else. Then again someone could well ride for another 100K if they had a mind to. Link to comment
LuckyLeif Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 As a quick check of "asking" market prices I went to IBMWR Marketplace and found 5 listings for 1997 - 2000 RTs. None had over 50K miles and the asking prices were all between $5 - 6K. I've always done private sales of my bikes when being replaced. I assumed the majority of BMW riders did similarly, simply because it nets several thousands more than a trade-in and our little "club" (as a whole) is notoriously stingy! I see a trade-in as the price one pays for a quick disposal of the bike. I've sold 3 used BMW and none were on the market for more than a month and all were at mutually fair sales prices. Link to comment
A.J. Minhas Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I bought my 99RT in 2001. It had 7800 miles on it I've got 77K on it now. This past weekend I went to the dealer and tried to do a trade. The bike is immaculate. They had their mechanic look at it and couldn't find anything wrong. They basically "IMO" wanted to steal it from me. I decided I love the bike and if it's only worth as little as they say then I guess I'm gonna ride on. Yeah, they steal it from you and put it on sale for a fortune. Keep the bike. It seems like you really take good care of it and you love the bike. Link to comment
Mitch1352 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 What is "clutch and spline" surgery? My '00 RT has 43k on it and sometimes has trouble downshifting...feels like the gear shift is locked tight. I release and regrab the clutch lever and it shifts. Link to comment
pjw73nh Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Hello Mitch, Welcome to the forum. Given the symptoms you describe, it may be well worth your while to search in the forum here for - spline shaft failure, spline lube, and words of the such. Certain model years have an inherent issue with failing (stripped) clutch plate hubs and spline shafts. It's all here in the forum. In a nutshell, The general consensus is: Appears to be more often than not the 2002 1150RT model, but I've heard of other years as well. If it happens to your bike. It will most likely happen again at similar mileage. BMW NA will not entertain ANY out of warranty (goodwill) assistance whatsoever. Whether you do it yourself, or have a repair facility do it, it will be expensive. Parts are generally about $1000 and labor is about the same. Some fail with your symptoms, others give no warning at all. There is no *conclusive* answer as to why it happens. There are a few theories. Start searching. Paul.../NH Link to comment
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