A tale of two Beemers
I am thinking about buying another bike. The Speed Triple was wonderful, but I found that I wasn’t putting that many miles on it. Not enough of my riding is that intense, and most of the time I needed more luggage.
As usual, my first consideration is another BMW. I have had a lot of great times on these bikes, and they ha
The BMW R1100S
ve been good to me. More important, they come with ABS, and even linked brakes. Some have ASC, although it is a primitive version, not the same as that on the cars.
Lately I have been stopping in at San Francisco BMW’s shop on Bryant Street. This has become a great place since it was purchased and removed from the car dealership. A few weeks ago I spent 45 minutes just talking shop with the owner. It was years that San Francisco lacked a BMW dealership that actually was a motorcycle shop, and it is great to see that we have one again.
Although there is an undeniable appeal in the GS bikes, that promise adventure touring, the reality is that I don’t have the time to really use that type of a bike. Riding season is here, and with it the demands of injured riders.
As a result, I am drifting towards the R1200RT, which everyone says is a great, enjoyable, sport touring ride. I have to admit, though, that despite the lower weight than the previous model, the huge amount of plastic is a turn off. That leads me towards the iconic R1100S, which looks SO much cooler. The S can be had with luggage in the form of hard side cases, although a top case is an awkward add on. The other downsides of the S are the seating position, which puts some weight on the wrists. A fair amount of them have risers added, and I think I would have to be one of them.
The BMW R1200RT
Of course, it is just a matter of time before BMW revises the RT yet again, and they have had a string of winners lately. However, by my calculation, this will be another two years in the future. In the meantime, the 1600GT as received rave reviews, and I am tempted to explore it. However, the few of these bikes that are actually being built are all spoken for. On the one hand, I have the experience with a big heavy bike where this would be a breeze for me. On the other hand, there is nothing like a smaller, lighter bike for fun riding.
Those who know me well also know that I love to agonize for months over the next bike to get, and the smart money is on something either new in design or very different from the mainstream.
It will be interesting.
