R1150GS purchase advice.

[bluebear]

First of all, thanks for being accepted to the forum
Im after some advice on getting a R1150GS.
Theres quite a few out there for sale. What would your advice be? Im thinking of maybe to get the one with the fewest miles on it? That of course will be more expensive. Or should i go with something with more miles but cheaper? Is a bike with 70k miles still as reliable as one with 25k miles on it?
I don't mind spannering on my bike, in fact thats a huge reason im chosing the 1150, i believe its still a bike where you can work on yourself without having a degree in nuclear physics. I think im basically asking is how reliable are these bikes, are they still reliable at high miles?
Thanks of course in advance.

 

[oblertone]

JB to the big, slightly outdated 11** phone; JB please ...

In all seriousness, these are great bikes with known faults that can all be corrected when they happen. My choice would be a bike with a proven service history, over a low mileage garage queen; mainly because all the 'faults' may well have been addressed. The youngest will be 20 years old so ABS has probably been removed (good but prone to fail), it may have had a clutch or two, and a Hall Effect sensor. Some minor pipework in the tank fails over time (U shaped), but can be a pain to change. OEM suspension would be a worry, but can be refurbed or replaced. Just my views, and others will be along shortly

 

[Aidan1150]

I wouldn't let the mileage be too much of an influence to be honest @bluebear as these bikes are capable of big numbers. I have one with over 133k and a second with more than 87k miles on her.

Overall condition married with any recorded service history would be more relevant to me than the numbers on the odometer.

There is a huge knowledge base here on the 1150s spread over several owners and hundreds of thousands of miles, so don't be afraid to go for the bike that ticks all your boxes.

HTH

 

[Udders]

I have a fairly low mileage garage queen 1150 and almost everything possible has been done / renewed. It’s 100% reliable and mega easy to work on.
Most nowadays have has a servoectomy if they had one origionally so one less thing to worry about.
They’re fantastic bulletproof bikes.

I think there’s a few good 1150 bikes for sale on here at the moment. Probably the best place you could buy one from too I reckon.

 

[bluebear]

Thanks for the replys so far, so look for something with a FSH more than miles?

 

[dub 24]

Welcome to the fold

As Udders said look here that would be my advice as well . If you pay the Subscription you'll see all there is for sale here.

I can also say with 100% confidence buying from here will give you peace of mind and confidence in your bike.

 

[theoneandonly]

IMHO , mine had BMW s/history , didn't stop bolts from breaking cos they never got lubed.
almost everything is known about them , plus how to fix them .
g/boxes go at 85k if you ride it . maintenance is easy so no reason to be skipped over.

 

[Neil W]

Check the wiring, due to age almost all will need the harness wrapping redone, it crumbles to dust.
Brakes will probably need full caliper overhauls especially on low mileage rarely used bikes.
Be aware of failure of the ignition switch , not the barrel itself but the electrical unit at the base of the switch.
I would go for overall condition rather than lowest mileage.
When looking a few years back some of the ones I saw with low miles were utter sheds,I eventually managed to get a really nice running low mileage non ABS bike privately (21,000 miles) BUT it still needed all of the above in the following 12 months

 

[Skid06]

20-40k mls non ABS, as mint as you can find, you might pay a bit more, 4-5k. but its one hell of a bike for that money

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Just do it
Very nice bikes
A bit awkward at times because of the stupid short side stands (easily remedied)
1150’s can still hold their own in more modern company (touring France and Germany with a 2026 1390 Super Adv, last month)