Traded in my 2007 white S40 for a 2001 BMW R1100RT. Needless to say, about the only thing they have in common is two wheels and a seat….

Some background; I rode a Yamaha XS650 all through college and logged a lot of interstate miles. Back then, no one knew you needed heated grips, air seats, integrated hard case bags, electric windshields and a host of other bells and whistles. You just got on, strapped on a ¾ helmet and road couple hundred miles.

I put away street bikes for the next 20 years or so (still rode and raced dirt bikes however) until 4 years ago when I stopped in a Suzuki dealer and bought the Savage when gas hit $4.00 gallon. I’ve not ridden any other rode bikes other than that XS650 or the Savage for the past 20 years.  

Now I’ve bought this BMW. It’s like night and day. It feels like I’m riding around town while sitting on my couch. I think I could read a newspaper there is such little wind with the windshield fully extended while on the highway. I’ve heard of people falling asleep on long interstate rides and I can understand why.

I can tell I’ll miss being able to toss the Savage around any direction I want to go in the blink of an eye. I realize now that I never thought about the actual process of riding while on the Savage, I just did it. Sort of like walking down the street.  

With this BMW, you have to plan out parking, slow turns, etc….it’s a big bike with the saddlebags and top case on. However, I can load up enough stuff and take some 1000 mile rides. I want to see if I like that as much as I think I will. If so, this was a great buy. If not, I’ll keep it this summer and then see how the new Honda CB1100 goes over and maybe switch out over the winter.

I will also say from what I’ve seen of the BMW forums so far, they can’t hold a candle to suzukisavage.com

The technical know-how of the people on here is nothing short of amazing. Forums like this is why some companies now have cut back their technical support groups and simply refer people to forums because they’ve realized that, collectively, the men and women on forums like this have forgotten more about this bike than the manufacturers and engineers knew in the first place!

If (when) the Zombie Apocalypse hits, it’s the people who post those amazing technical pieces on here,  discovered and worked out themselves in garages and basements across the globe, who will rule the earth!

Congratz!

Check up on us occassionally. You may want to come back home after a fling with that, that, dressed up hussey (Is that spelled right? Never used that much?). No, I think BMW makes a good bike. They have their detractors among their own ranks, so the old guys with the air cools may shun you.   And they have fuel leak recalls ocassionally, but yes, I'd ride one till it fell over. Good luck and happy riding. Boofer

Washed the Savage and softened yard more than anticipated. Heard a noise and she had drilled kickstand into the ground needed help picking that one up.  

WebsterMark wrote on 03/11/13 at 05:35:31:


Well, well, well, if it isn't somebody I know who's gone the same "day&night" path I tread some years ago !!!  

WM,  I bought my Savage in 2005 and my BMW R1200ST in 2012.
They ARE like night and day, and it couldn't be otherwise.

One is a carburetted thumper, and if it weren't for the Electronic
Ignition  little black box, she'd be just like a BSA from the 1950's.

The other is a highly refined, 8-valve, twin spark alloy fklat twin with so much electronics she IS a veritable spaceship on two wheels.

I have called my two bikes "Barabbas" and  "the Trans-Europe express", guess which is which !

Incidentally, my Savage has been spending its winters in a cosy, heated Suzuki dealership workshop for the better part of the last two winters (I am stretching my 2011 insurance all the way into fall 2013!) and have been commuting in hectic Roman downtown traffic with the Beemer...
...no fear, you will have already noticed that, once moving, the Beemer is agile as a horse and will do just about anything you can ask of her...

Incidentally, I will go down through bends (almost) to the point I'm dragging my footpegs, and last year, when I participated in a Motorally in the Austrian Nock Mountains, my "chicken strip" was a mere half inch wide...
...talk about learning to ride !!!  


(no, it isn't me, it's a library pic off the Italian BMW Forum, which IS high tech... we like to hack, peek and poke   )

(see "Nockalmstrasse, Austria" on googlemaps)

After a full two and one half years of use, my R1200ST is on its second set of pilot's footpegs and I know of at least ONE rider who's actually scraped the panniers in happy-go-lucky mountain riding !

One word of advice: please do NOT trade in the BMW for a Honda CB1100...

If you had a BMW 7-series sedan, would you trade her in for a Chevrolet ? Really ?  

I don't know where you live but I can guarantee you... BMW test drive their car and motorcycle prototypes in the Bavarian Alps and on the Autobahn;
the RTs are standard tested since the "vintage" R100RT of the '70s on a  "1000 mile / 1600 Km endurance run" with rider and passenger, at a cruising speed of 180 Km/h (120mph) from Munich to Hamburg & back, a few times over, just to check pannier stability, rider comfort in the rain (they sell rain gear and helmets, want to test those as well) oil consumption and tire wear (Bridgestone as OEM fit).
Also standard test ride is from Munich to the Stelvio Pass, up one side and down the other (it's in Italy) and the Grossglockner (up one side and down the other).

I am well aware that the plains in Colorado and Utah will have you cruising on flat roads at 9000ft altitude, but in Europe to get that high you have to climb the Alps !

You have the Grand Staircase in Escalante (9600ft = 2900 m) and it looks FLAT



We have the Stelvio in Italy (2760 m = 9000 ft) and the Grossglockner (2570 m = 8400ft)

_

but see how much more difficult these are ! It's alla matter of geology...

BMW are THE ultimate goal for any seriously involved motorcyclist.
I do not use the word "biker" here because there are far too many "bikers" who will ride only to HD Meets and Runs, and commute by car to work, or even trailer their bikes to Sturgis !!!

But if you're seriously into motorcycles and are the kind of rider who will not flinch when riding through a downpour "in one side, out the other, I'll dry off as I ride", then it's BMW or MotoGuzzi.

Only one brand has ridden around the world more often than BMW, and that's Vespa  

If I was there Id go back & forth a few times before I went on my way.
Havent you guys been out on a ride & hit a corner that just Demanded you run back thru it a few times? A stretch of road like that? Id hafta buy a day pass.