Why an R bike?

[JimJeffers]

I purchased a new R1150RT in August of '04. It was a dream of mine every since my junior high school friend told me if I wanted a "real bike" I'd get a BMW like his uncle (this was in the late 60's). So finally almost 40 years later (and several other brands) I did. I love it. But other than just because in my mind a BMW is a boxer... I don't know what the advantages of an R over a K are (or are there?)?

[chrisz]

R bikes are nice and quiet. Fuel ecomonmy is not too bad provided you ride responsibly, good for 2up riding, decent gas tank size, you sit up high and hence can see the traffic easily, comes with decent side cases, reasonably comfortable on long rides without much modifications. Other then that, no other benefits that I can think of (after drinking a bottle of wine). But something you need to get used to are; they tend to fall over at the latest provocation ususally at 5 mph or less, they sound like a decent Singer or John Deere, the ABS brake servos wheeze during stops when the brakes are applied. Other than that, enjoy your ride, it does have character which is more then I can say about my VFR.

 

Chris...

[DEF]

R series BMWs=character....no other bike like it.

[matanuska]

R bikes are nice and quiet...

...but K bikes are Silent! On my old R at 70 mph on the highway, the engine was as loud as, if not louder than the wind noise. On my K, I have to look at the tach to see that the engine is actually running!

 

My best anology would be that riding an R feels and sounds like flying in a single engine Cessna, while a K is smooth like a jet. Don't get me wrong, I really like both. As Dennis said, the R's have character - fun and nimble to ride. The K's are a little bigger & heavier, but are smoother and have tons of power to spare. Two different animals, each with their own personalities.

[livennjoy]

Your question made me sit back and ponder some before responding. I've owned a few models just because I liked a little something different about each one. I've spent time with everything from an R60/2 to a '78 R100RS, an R100GS/PD, and a K75S. Now? I'm riding an '02 R1150RT. That darn K bike gave me a grin because it did so many things well and was sooo very smooth. Just not the best 2-up bike. The R1150RT meets my current riding needs and my wife likes the comfort so we both enjoy riding.... but my heart will probabably always be with the airhead boxers, especially that RS. They just have soul.

[Haynes]

For me, it's all about the throb from the big twin.

[Boone]

Everything above, plus I think it's the safest bike on the road. Fast, responsive, maneuverable, and great brakes. The windshield on the RT (mine is '02) pushes most bugs away from my face. I can get out of a jamb with a number of different options (throttle, brake, swerve) when presented with one and I know the bike will execute. K bikes are safe too...but enough heavier that for me they are hard to manage alone - that falling over thing mentioned above.

[Knighthawk]

I fell in love with BMWs and specifically Boxer motors back in the mid eighties on my firt tour of duty in Europe. They are quiet, very easy to work on, and damn near indestructible.

 

Last year at the BMW Motorcycle meeting in Garmisch, I met a 82 year old German man that owned a 1968 R50 with over 1 million km.

 

Try that with any other motor.

[toby]

I too fell in love with the boxer twin concept many years ago, and although I have owned and loved both styles, it's the R bike that makes me a BMW owner. OTOH, the current boxer is certainly NOT the motor of yore - although it still has character, the days of thinking of BMW as the preferred bike for round the world travel are unfortunately over. Current boxers are no more reliable or easier to work on than the K or other motors. Modern electronics, compression ratios, clean air requirements, and etc. have all conspired to make a motor that is more reliable out of the box, but far harder to work on. It's a trade off, but the current motor simply has less character than the older airheads. There seems to be an inverse correlation between reliability and character.