These are my favorite posts to write up, and this one’s an extra special one for me because…I bought it! Earlier this year I featured a R1100S for sale at a dealer in Wisconsin, concluding the post with, “I think it’s a very reasonable asking price and I’m sort of hoping one of you buys this so that I don’t keep tempting myself!”
Some of you may remember that I used to have one of these about a decade ago. Well, nostalgia won me over and I succumbed to the temptation.
The seller was Road Track & Trail, and several people I trust reached out to give me a bit of warning. John Irvine (and a few other folks) left a comment about the dealer:
“Buyer beware, that dealership buys thousands of bikes, gives them a bath, and out the door they go. They don’t seem to check much, they aren’t always completely disclosing, and they don’t follow through on promises. Might catch a good one, might not. Lovely bike.”
I spoke with a member of the sales staff there and made an offer which was countered and then accepted…and then I waited for HaulBikes to bring me my new baby.
A month later and it was delivered to Iconic so I could give it a once over. The problem was that Iconic was about to move our entire shop so it was going to be a while before I could take advantage of our facilities. Road Track & Trail said they gave the bike a multi-point inspection and that it was ready to ride but my bike arrived with a rear tire that was 19 years old.
I guess I should have suspected something when the inspection on the “Buyer’s Guide” said there were 11,002 miles on the odometer but the bike had 10,899 when it was delivered to me. I’m guessing they just went off the mileage on the title (not sure why that was wrong) as opposed to looking at the bike itself.
So I replaced the tire and then met some old friends for lunch. I couldn’t help myself and had to commute on it for a couple of days, which is when I discovered that the fuel reserve light doesn’t work and had the pleasure of coasting to the side of the highway:
This cool guy stopped to check in with me as I was waiting for fuel on the side of the road:
I figured that was a sign that I should go through the bike properly. Seeing as Iconic was still moving our shop, I sent the bike to my favorite independent BMW mechanic for a more comprehensive once-over: Valdi Slusarczyk of Valdi’s Motozone.
Valdi performed a major service, which is due every 12k miles. The bike wasn’t due for it mileage-wise but a.) it’s 20 years old and b.) I like having a baseline for my own future maintenance. In addition to the usual services (valve check, spark plugs, fluids, etc), he fixed the fuel reserve light and replaced several components in the fuel system.
$2,000 later and the bike had a clean bill of health. The next service is due at 17k miles, and I’m going to try to get there quickly! I’ve put about 1,000 miles on it so far and I’m loving it – last week I led a group of friends on a ride through Angeles Crest Highway, Angeles Forest Highway, and some of the areas best backroads en route to lunch at River’s End BBQ.
In conclusion, I probably wouldn’t buy from Road Track & Trail again. But it’s nice to have a R11S back in my life again! Looking forward, now I’m thinking it’s time to do some 2-up riding with Vy on it again and see if she remembers it as fondly as I do…
On one of our two up trips to Mexico…over a decade ago.