Why do some say that they prefered their old 1100 to their current 1150?
GS1100-1150 comparison
- Thread starter PWA
- Start date
Mainly ...
... I suspect due to the gearbox; the 5 speed always felt less frenetic than the six in my opinion, plus as the first of the oilheads it is a bit iconic and was quite a rare beast in it's day
... I suspect due to the gearbox; the 5 speed always felt less frenetic than the six in my opinion, plus as the first of the oilheads it is a bit iconic and was quite a rare beast in it's day
rockchunk
Registered user
the slightly better build quality done it for me ,,,95 1100 ,,,03 1150
D6
Registered user
the 1150,s better for the longer runs ,,, lower revs , at a given speed,
theres feck all in it really in the real world, uggs got the 1100, iv the 1150 , ugg takes off a bit faster, up to 60 ish prob, and mine is a bit faster top end,
but, whats it matter? top speed and acceleration isnt why you,d buy a 11xx series,,,
as for build quality, dunno, mines an 03 an its not rusty, so that,l do me
theres feck all in it really in the real world, uggs got the 1100, iv the 1150 , ugg takes off a bit faster, up to 60 ish prob, and mine is a bit faster top end,
but, whats it matter? top speed and acceleration isnt why you,d buy a 11xx series,,,
as for build quality, dunno, mines an 03 an its not rusty, so that,l do me
Canuck
Registered user
If I had to have just one... I'd buy the 1100. 
Its cheaper and does the same thing!
Its cheaper and does the same thing!
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1100 also has a better power to weight ratio than the 1150
If I had to have just one... I'd buy the 1100.
Hmm. Would it be greedy to have both?
All i would say on a long trip 5000 miles or so , the 1150 had better fuel economy , but not much more .
My 1100 was better on steep hills n round town. lower gearing.
The main stand on the 1150 is much easier to use when taking bike on and off stand with heavy luggage on ,than the 1100.
Better gearbox frame mounts on the 1150, ye dont need hard parts if , hard riding off road.
Lights on the 1100 are , not very good standard. Fit a bi-xenon H4 50W HID kit , then yer sorted .
1150 , lights are better standard , but most owners fit a HID kit also
The pipes on the 1150 are tidier , but nowt to stop you changing the headers on the 1100 , if ye want.
The 1150 dosnt have an oil pipe on the alternator you have to remove if changing the alt belt.
On the 1100 you have to remove this pipe ,n if the bloody bolt is ceased , its a pain.
There are some good research points on the 1150 , that previous 1100 riders have commented upon.
So bmw changed these lil niggles , and came up with a upgraded model 1150.
As for my 1100 , itl do me for now , till i decide to upgrade to a 1150, (may bee)
like D6 says , nowt much in it.
ugg
dancata
Registered user
I would love to have an 1150 GSA, because of the 6 gears instead of 5 on my 1100 
.
And the 1150 looks better than the 1100.
. And the 1150 looks better than the 1100.
motobiker
Registered user
I would love to have an 1150 GSA, because of the 6 gears instead of 5 on my 1100
And the 1150 looks better than the 1100.
The extra gear is neither here nor there for me.. I avoid motorways like the plague. Though I will be using them for the first part of my trip in june... from Notts to the Black forest. from then on.. no more motorways.
As for looks.. my first reaction to the 1100 (given to me as a courtesy bike in 97) was.. OH MY GOD!!
However.. a fortnight later when i bought one!!! my attitude had changed somewhat. I prefer it's looks to the 1150.
All that aside.. its a damn good bike 'standard' there's very little you can do to improve the way it rides. You can easily improve the lights.. either as Ugg says.. swap over to HID. or what I did.. add a couple of spots on a light bar.
The standard luggage is enough for me.. I have added a gobi top-box.. but I've shied away from the aluminium crates. riding solo I simply don't need them.
I've raised the seat by 3" - seemed a better idea than lowering the pegs.
And fitted 'proper' road tyres.. 020/021 + Wilbers fore and aft. Vario screen and Steptoes quite marvellous headguards.
Current bike (no2) was 10 years old in December.. and despite the fact its lived outside all its life - you wouldn't know it. Only fly in the ointment is a few bubbles on the timer cover.. but thats common on all Beemers. Had it resprayed a very pale cream when I removed the bagster cover. (was originally a black un and very originally a Dakar)
If the worst happened.. i'ld buy another '99 no doubt about it.
I don't believe there's much (if any ) difference on paper, but my 98 1100 just feels a bit lighter n nimbler than my ex 03 1150. Easier to move around the yard/garage.
Also feels a tad shorter (good thing in my case), but again I don't know if it actually is.
Build quality seems better (fork legs and front cover starting to peel at 19k miles on the 1150 - still holding up at 37.5k miles on the 1100.
) difference on paper, but my 98 1100 just feels a bit lighter n nimbler than my ex 03 1150. Easier to move around the yard/garage.Also feels a tad shorter (good thing in my case), but again I don't know if it actually is.
Build quality seems better (fork legs and front cover starting to peel at 19k miles on the 1150 - still holding up at 37.5k miles on the 1100.
Nice bike
What kind of seat is that and is that how you raised the height by 3 inches?
The extra gear is neither here nor there for me.. I avoid motorways like the plague. Though I will be using them for the first part of my trip in june... from Notts to the Black forest. from then on.. no more motorways.
As for looks.. my first reaction to the 1100 (given to me as a courtesy bike in 97) was.. OH MY GOD!!
However.. a fortnight later when i bought one!!! my attitude had changed somewhat. I prefer it's looks to the 1150.
All that aside.. its a damn good bike 'standard' there's very little you can do to improve the way it rides. You can easily improve the lights.. either as Ugg says.. swap over to HID. or what I did.. add a couple of spots on a light bar.
The standard luggage is enough for me.. I have added a gobi top-box.. but I've shied away from the aluminium crates. riding solo I simply don't need them.
I've raised the seat by 3" - seemed a better idea than lowering the pegs.
And fitted 'proper' road tyres.. 020/021 + Wilbers fore and aft. Vario screen and Steptoes quite marvellous headguards.
Current bike (no2) was 10 years old in December.. and despite the fact its lived outside all its life - you wouldn't know it. Only fly in the ointment is a few bubbles on the timer cover.. but thats common on all Beemers. Had it resprayed a very pale cream when I removed the bagster cover. (was originally a black un and very originally a Dakar)
If the worst happened.. i'ld buy another '99 no doubt about it.
What kind of seat is that and is that how you raised the height by 3 inches?
My 850 is shorter than my 1150 by about half an inch at the seat (preload on minimum on both) although it's done a lot of miles so maybe the springs have sagged a bit compared to the relatively low mileage 1150 ones. The 850 is easier to 'paddle', though.
D6
Registered user
odd that, iv noticed the same, i wonder why that is?
I would love to have an 1150 GSA, because of the 6 gears instead of 5 on my 1100
And the 1150 looks better than the 1100.
Horses for courses I think. I always felt the 6th gear was too high on my 1150 and it was pretty much redundant until you were cruising at 80mph and even then I felt that you should change down for an overtake or on some long motorway drags.
Im looking for an 1100 right now
Canuck
Registered user
I saw we start a thread and call it 'show us your 1100 and 1150 side by side!'
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