GS1100R

[datsun]

Hi all

I'm a newcomer to the BMW, I have an interest in the GS1100 series. As this would suit the highway and dirt roads in our region.

A number of owners machines I have investigated, bikes are in the 140000km range. Time for a major service and also with gearbox seal & clutch issues. My question is how reliable are these machines in this km range if they are service regularly?

Thank you in advance.

 

[motobiker]

GS1100R


Not only are these antipodeans upsidedown.. they're also back to front. bless em.


Rock solid reliable.. will be fully sorted. they are after all at least 9yrs old.. so any early faults would've been fixed long since - get as late a bike as you can - pref manufactured after 97 - but thats not a 'must' by any means. 'Hard parts' - bits of kit that protect the few areas of the bike that are prone to damage 'in the rough' should be on your list of 'extras' to look out for.

High mileages are what these bikes are all about - but regular servicing and particularly regular oil changes are vital.

I'm sure someone else will be along soon with an exhaustive list of things to look out for... But in the meantime have a good look around the site.. so much to read and digest.

welcome to the site mate.

 

[Bryn]

Hi all

I'm a newcomer to the BMW, I have an interest in the GS1100 series. As this would suit the highway and dirt roads in our region.

A number of owners machines I have investigated, bikes are in the 140000km range. Time for a major service and also with gearbox seal & clutch issues. My question is how reliable are these machines in this km range if they are service regularly?

Thank you in advance.

Welcome to UKGSer Datsun There are some on here that would say a 140 000km R1100GS is just run in nicely....and as Tony has said.. at that mileage issues would have been sorted long ago

If its been serviced regularly and there are receipts for work done you shouldn't go far wrong

 

[datsun]

Thanks Fellows for the advice. It is as I would have also thought that at these high Kms most issues (unless reoccurring) should have been sorted.

 

[Flipfly]

I don't really think it's worth asking the question. Every bike is different and has been looked after differently. I didn't have a BM service history on my bike, but I changed the oil every 3000 miles and filters every 6000. Does this make mine a worse buy because of the lack of BM history???

Bikes fail, so don't buy one thinking that it won't go wrong.......it possibly will. When I bought my 1150 it had a new gearbox at 36k (I bought it with 40k), but the pivot bearings destroyed themselves within 2k miles

Thankfully it's a fairly cheap job (compared to a gearbox).

Test ride it, if it rides nice and you like it, buy it, enjoy it, and if it goes wrong........fix it and repeat

 

[motobiker]

I don't really think it's worth asking the question.

oooh you little ray of sunshine you.


Of course it's worth asking the question!!! And this is exactly the right place in the forum to ask!!

He is new to bm's and for most other bikes 140,000kms or 87,000 miles is a HUGE mileage.... most other single make forums would warn him to steer clear - look harder and find a bike thats had much lower use - as it's downhill all the way to decrepitude.

But thats not really the case with the GS - is it?


.

 

[Flipfly]

oooh you little ray of sunshine you.


Of course it's worth asking the question!!! And this is exactly the right place in the forum to ask!!

He is new to bm's and for most other bikes 140,000kms or 87,000 miles is a HUGE mileage.... most other single make forums would warn him to steer clear - look harder and find a bike thats had much lower use - as it's downhill all the way to decrepitude.

But thats not really the case with the GS - is it?


.

Not strictly true. I'm sure there are more than a few knackered GS's with less that that mileage on them, and I know plenty of other bikes that will happily top 200k miles.

I'm only suggesting that many bikes are capable of the mileage if well looked after and that the question is really not worth asking. Most GS owners will say their bikes will do 200k miles, truth is though that many of them wouldn't buy a bike with 60k on it. If they are so bullet proof why the reservations about buying a high mileage one??????

Personally I buy a bike on how it runs, how it feels and how it's been looked after. You can always buy a lemon that will fail in a very short time, that's the law of sod. Personally I haven't been caught out but as I explained in my post, I was caught with a £150 bill pretty soon after buying the bike. There was no movement in the bearings when I bought it, so it was bad luck. Could just have easily been a gearbox bearing.

No machine is foolproof, so asking whether it is worth buying a 140,000km bike depends on many variables which nobody could really give a valid viewpoint on without seeing the bike.

Ask the question by all means, but the answers aren't worth pish