33 years old now but I enjoy riding it as much, if not more, than my newer motorcycles. Last of the air-cooled boxers, BMW quit making them a couple years later.

Very nice, I tried a few times to buy VTail's BMWs [R65 & K75S], but timing & finances never aligned.

I'm always browsing, an older BMW or something in the Triumph Bonneville line [Speed Twin] would likely be my next bike.

Very cool. I got a close look at one of those when we were in Toledo last week. I was impressed with how simple everything looked, and I'm sure they're remarkably easy to work on. Looks like a fun bike for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Very nice, I tried a few times to buy VTail's BMWs [R65 & K75S], but timing & finances never aligned.

Thanks. I doubt he still has either, right?

quote:

I'm always browsing, an older BMW or something in the Triumph Bonneville line [Speed Twin] would likely be my next bike.

Triumph T100 Bonnevilles can often be picked up pretty reasonably. I passed on a nice 2024 T100, red and white, with 4,400 miles for $5,600. I told my friend about it and he bought it. I like some of the Royal Enfields too and they can be had used for not much, I wonder if they have enough power though. Another classic motorcycle you might consider are Moto Guzzi's V7 or V85 line. Still air cooled, shaft drive, simple, essentially a modern BMW airhead, and come in a number of different styles and versions.

quote:

Very cool. I got a close look at one of those when we were in Toledo last week. I was impressed with how simple everything looked, and I'm sure they're remarkably easy to work on. Looks like a fun bike for sure.

Yes they're pretty basic and most things are easy to do on them, essentially the opposite of my R1300GS.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Very nice, I tried a few times to buy VTail's BMWs [R65 & K75S], but timing & finances never aligned.

Thanks. I doubt he still has either, right?

Yeah, I know the K75 is gone, and pretty sure the R is as well.
I used to email him from time to time about them, just never had the timing right, especially with the distance.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Yeah, I know the K75 is gone, and pretty sure the R is as well.
I used to email him from time to time about them, just never had the timing right, especially with the distance.

Two BMW's I keep an eye out for are nice examples of a K75S and K100RS 16v (both of which I've owned in the past). Antiques by modern standard but very innovative and well built.

There was a non-running K75 on marketplace locally for $650 right before I bought my F650. I thought about it, but really wanted something I could ride, not a project. But it definitely looks like a cool bike and I'd like to try one someday.

I really lile the boxy look of the K75, and the simple looks of the older airheads.

Had a R1150GS pop up local, nonrunning, for $750. Thought about it, but it was gone before I could think too hard.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I really lile the boxy look of the K75, and the simple looks of the older airheads.

Had a R1150GS pop up local, nonrunning, for $750. Thought about it, but it was gone before I could think too hard.

Yeah, that would have been really tempting. I need another bike like an extra hole in the head right now, and I really do love my F650, but the curiosity to try other drivetrains is strong. I'm especially intrigued about the shaft-driven stuff, like the K75, 1150GS, and V85TT. A cheap project like that seems like an achievable way to get into one. The boxer or the moto-guzzi seems like it would be easier to work on than the inline K-bikes, though.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Had a R1150GS pop up local, nonrunning, for $750. Thought about it, but it was gone before I could think too hard.

Good that you thought about it. Parts are expensive and unless you know how to work on them they can be very expensive to fix, especially anything major.
The R1150GS I had was one of my least favorite BMW's. It was plagued with low speed surging, 1st gear was way too tall, and final drive failures were common. My FD didn't but my friend's had to be replaced twice over 51,000 miles.

Good to know.
I've long pined for a R11S, loved the look on them.
No new bikes on the near horizon for me, and it'd likely be buying my father in law's 2001 Indian Scout if I did jump on anything quickly.

Not having a proper garage helps put a damper on it.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Had a R1150GS pop up local, nonrunning, for $750. Thought about it, but it was gone before I could think too hard.

Good that you thought about it. Parts are expensive and unless you know how to work on them they can be very expensive to fix, especially anything major.
The R1150GS I had was one of my least favorite BMW's. It was plagued with low speed surging, 1st gear was way too tall, and final drive failures were common. My FD didn't but my friend's had to be replaced twice over 51,000 miles.

Good to know. Are the 1200s better than the 1150s, or is the FD an issue across the board? I know in my research on that K75 it was definitely listed as something to watch for, but that bike seems like a pretty different design overall.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Good to know. Are the 1200s better than the 1150s, or is the FD an issue across the board? I know in my research on that K75 it was definitely listed as something to watch for, but that bike seems like a pretty different design overall.

IIRC FD failures really started being a problem on the 1150's and continued into 1200 production which began in 2005. By 2009 they were seeing far fewer failures. 2010-2012 camhead R1200's were probably the best of the air/oil cooled R1200's. Actually BMW still sells them today along side the water cooled R bikes.
IMO the 1200's are much nicer than the 1150's. They run smoother, are lighter, and geared better.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Had a R1150GS pop up local, nonrunning, for $750. Thought about it, but it was gone before I could think too hard.

Good that you thought about it. Parts are expensive and unless you know how to work on them they can be very expensive to fix, especially anything major.
The R1150GS I had was one of my least favorite BMW's. It was plagued with low speed surging, 1st gear was way too tall, and final drive failures were common. My FD didn't but my friend's had to be replaced twice over 51,000 miles.

Good to know. Are the 1200s better than the 1150s, or is the FD an issue across the board? I know in my research on that K75 it was definitely listed as something to watch for, but that bike seems like a pretty different design overall.

I've heard, maybe from VTail directly, that the K75 is an amazingly smooth engine.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

I've heard, maybe from VTail directly, that the K75 is an amazingly smooth engine.

I've heard the same. I've also heard that it's an inline 3 (or 4 in The case of the K100) out of a Pugeot, and it'll leak oil into the heads if you leave it on the side stand. Not sure if that's true or not.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

I've heard, maybe from VTail directly, that the K75 is an amazingly smooth engine.

I've heard the same. I've also heard that it's an inline 3 (or 4 in The case of the K100) out of a Pugeot, and it'll leak oil into the heads if you leave it on the side stand. Not sure if that's true or not.

Have never heard the Pugeot reference, but with it being a horizontal engine, I suppose that's conceivable, if it's 'head down' on the side stand for an extended period.

Edit: A quick Wiki search shows that the K100 prototype did indeed use the engine from a Pugeot 104

K75's were incredibly smooth engines only exhibiting the slightest vibes over 75 mph or so. The K100 engines were a little buzzy in certain rpm below 75 mph but were quite smooth above.

The BMW designed K100 engine is completely different than any Peugeot engine. BMW may have used a Peugeot car engine in an early prototype.

Early K100/75's might smoke on start up after resting on the side stand from a few drops of oil seeping past the ring gap if they were positioned down. Later K75/100's incorporated pinned oil control rings that prevented the gap to be at the bottom which solved the issue.

Put in close to 200 miles on the F650 today. Rode up to Amish country to check out some bulk food stores and get some Cheese. It was 42 degrees out this morning, and while I'm typically reticent about luxury items on vehicles, I did take advantage of the heated grips for the first time, and admit that I thoroughly appreciated them.


This evening I rode down to a friend's place with the plan of doing some camping in his woodsppp, but my kids kinda bailed at the last minute when they found out it's supposed to get down to 35 overnight, so I ended up coming home. I did get to try hauling my camping gear on the bike, though, and it worked great. I even still had enough room for a small range bag in the panniers, and made a quick stop at the range on the way.



So what does that have to do with an airhead, you might ask. Well, my buddy has this in his barn. It used to belong to his dad, who has now passed, and my friend used to ride on the back a lot as a kid. It's been sitting for years, needs tires and the carbs gone through at the bare minimum, and he doesn't have the time so it'll probably sit a lot longer. I did get to sit on it, and it's amazing how light it feels, even though Google says it's about the same curb weight as my bike. Those low slung cylinders really do keep the weight down low. It really feels like it would be fun to ride, even if it only makes 40hp.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Put in close to 200 miles on the F650 today. Rode up to Amish country to check out some bulk food stores and get some Cheese. It was 42 degrees out this morning, and while I'm typically reticent about luxury items on vehicles, I did take advantage of the heated grips for the first time, and admit that I thoroughly appreciated them.....

Do you have a heated jacket liner? If not I highly recommend getting one. Plugs right into the SAE Battery Tender cable you likely have. Packs about the same size as a sweatshirt.

quote:

......So what does that have to do with an airhead, you might ask. Well, my buddy has this in his barn.....

A 600cc version of my first BMW which was a 1976 R75/6. Nice old bike (other than the brakes).

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

A 600cc version of my first BMW which was a 1976 R75/6. Nice old bike (other than the brakes).

Early R60/6 had drum brake in front. Later production switched to front disk.