Buy a 1995 1100RS ?

[dave_a]

This would be my first BMW. A 33K,3 owner bike. Had a recent 2 page service at Max BMW. A short ride in the rain revealed the bike runs and shifts fine. How concerned should I be about the trans jumping out of gear issues I've read about on the interwebs?

 

Before I buy I'll load/unload throttle in each gear to make sure it holds in gear. If no trans issues show should I buy it? Anything else to be concerned with with this model?

$2600 & needs a rear tire. Seems like a deal. thanks Dave

[dirtrider]

This would be my first BMW. A 33K,3 owner bike. Had a recent 2 page service at Max BMW. A short ride in the rain revealed the bike runs and shifts fine. How concerned should I be about the trans jumping out of gear issues I've read about on the interwebs?

 

Before I buy I'll load/unload throttle in each gear to make sure it holds in gear. If no trans issues show should I buy it? Anything else to be concerned with with this model?

$2600 & needs a rear tire. Seems like a deal.

 

Morning Dave

 

When someone sells a car, boat, or motorcycle RIGHT AFTER A MAJOR SERVICE that usually puts up a large red flag for me.

 

While it might be the guy found a new ride while at the dealer there is also an above average chance that something impending was noted during the major service that prompted the guy to get the bike sold before the problem went critical.

 

If the trans is a ticking time bomb you might not get it to act up with a short ride & loading/unloading the throttle in each gear. Sometimes it takes many miles of riding & getting the gearbox/gear oil very hot before they will jump out of gear. Obviously IF it gives you a problem (jumping out of gear) on a short ride then you will know what to do.

 

On something like a used motorcycle (especially if the seller knows how to make it look/ride like a better bike) your best indicator is in how much you TRUST the seller & what he is telling you.

 

The big thing that you need to get a trustworthy answer on is: why is he selling that bike after "a recent 2 page service"?????????????

 

 

[dave_a]

Dirtrider, thanks for the reply. I didn't make the sequence clear in my post. Owner #2 had the service done, over a year ago. Current owner #3 claims that the riding position is not compatible with his body. So I'm not sure there's a smoking gun. I am working to get a copy of the service record.

 

My real question is how pervasive is this trans issue?

Do many 95's suffer this fate? Is it just high mileage, perhaps abused units?

Dave

 

[tallman]

And sometimes, folks just get their bike serviced before selling to expedite things.

Just depends.

With 33k, A major 36k service was coming due. Is that what they did?

Or has the bike been w/out service for a while and they just did

annual and major?

Any major work beyond; standard amintenance?

Max BMW has a good rep AFAIK, perhaps they know the bike history.

33k is low mileage for a 20 yr old boxer, could/should last a long time.

Best wishes.

[dirtrider]

Dirtrider, thanks for the reply. I didn't make the sequence clear in my post. Owner #2 had the service done, over a year ago. Current owner #3 claims that the riding position is not compatible with his body. So I'm not sure there's a smoking gun. I am working to get a copy of the service record.

 

My real question is how pervasive is this trans issue?

Do many 95's suffer this fate? Is it just high mileage, perhaps abused units?

 

Morning Dave

 

No, not all early 1100 5 speeds suffer from trans problems but a number of them did. As a rule it takes more than 33K but with that bike being that old & only having 33K that probably tells us that it was ridden locally & probably shifted a lot.

 

If you can trust the seller that is probably your best bet but riding it as far as possible to see if it stays in gear sure won't hurt either.

 

 

[tallman]

DR

 

First, you are certainly an expert on these bikes.

Not trying to be argumentative, but, from selling them many moons ago, sometimes a low mileage bike was mainly used for touring and as the owner either moved on to other bikes or interests, didn't do much more than 1500 miles a year on a couple/few tours.

I bought a very low mileage '96RSL in '04 that the owner rode about 6-800 miles a year on a couple weekend tours.

No issues for tens of thousands of miles, don't think the new owners had problems.

Just adding another POV about how some riders use their boxers.

Best wishes.

[dave_a]

So - there are lots high mileage '95's w/o tranny issues. That's good to hear. All I can do is ride it and do my best to conclude if the transmission is fine. No sense speculating.

 

So guys - Lets say with a tire & service, some odds n ends... I wind up with $3K in it. A fair deal? Great deal?

Where does my purchase fall in the world of oil head boxers?

 

Thanks to all for the council!

D

 

 

 

[BIGTEX]

Just buy it where any surprise is a good surprise.

[kalali]

So guys - Lets say with a tire & service, some odds n ends... I wind up with $3K in it. A fair deal? Great deal?

Where does my purchase fall in the world of oil head boxers?

 

Just as another data point, I bought my first boxer, a 1999 R1100R with 15500 miles back in August and paid $3300. It was a two owner bike and the first owner was a young lady whose husband owned several bikes and bought this bike for her to go on long weekend rides. During the 11 years she had the bike, she only put 6500 miles on it, all touring miles. The bike was serviced along with the other bikes in the household regardless of the mileage - 600 mile service, three oil changes and one trxn/FD fluid. The guy I bought it from had four other bikes including two newer K bike. He rarely rode the boxer and that's why he sold it. In my opinion, low mileage could be an issue if the bike is only ridden short distances and/or the bike is not garage kept. Otherwise, I would not worry about it. But aside from all this, even the newer and improved post-1998 (M97) 5-speed gear boxes are very clunky and you may want to take that in consideration. I still like the bike and enjoy riding it but I would have preferred if the gearbox was smoother.

[Jim Moore]

That seems like a good deal. If the transmission goes bad it will cost you about $1500 to have it rebuilt. Worst case you'll have a strong bike with known-good transmission for $4000 or so.

[Scud]

That seems like a good deal. If the transmission goes bad it will cost you about $1500 to have it rebuilt. Worst case you'll have a strong bike with known-good transmission for $4000 or so.

 

This is a good way to look at it. If you're buying with the intent of keeping it around a while and riding it, then this bike seems to make good sense. You can lose $4,000 in a year if you buy a new bike. You're not going to lose $4,000 here.

 

If you like it, buy it, ride it, keep up on the maintenance, and have fun.

 

If you're really worried about the transmission, just set some money aside for a potential failure. And make sure you're covered for a long ride in a tow-truck - AAA's RV option and AMA membership are good for that.

[tallman]

Agreed.

 

Just a note wrt AAA. They are "local/regional" clubs.

Was a member for 40 yrs before realizing that if I was in certain parts of the country my club may not cover what I wanted or needed.

 

Added the Allstate/KOA which is nationwide.

.02

YMMV

 

The RS is a bike that should always have a certain value north of $2000 no matter what mileage.

The better it is cosmetically and the better shape it is mechanically, the more it is worth dud .

 

Personally, I like the seating position on the RS better than th RT or R and the looks better than the GS.

Try a frank discussion about the bike with the dealership see what you can find out. Perhaps even contact the owner (previous?) to see if they'll talk w/you (is the bike on consignment?)

Best wishes.