When it comes to motorcycles 2012 was a rough year for me. It started off with hope and promise of many smooth miles but quickly turned into a nightmare. Last spring I had a deposit on an r1100RS when dad and i found a K1200RS at national power sports. He bought the bike but quickly realized it was more my style than his. I end up not buying the R1100 and begin my journey with the K12. The first 2k miles were sheer bliss. The seating position was good, the power was awesome and i was in love. This is where the fairy tail ends. After about 2k miles the temp light came on and i found out i was losing coolant. I had foamy oil and i wasn't please, but i wasn't too worried. K bikes have notoriously unreliable water pumps right? So a couple hundred bucks and a weekend later i was back in business or so i thought. Over the next few thousand miles i keep having the same problem until i finally said F**K IT, its a head gasket and undertook the most ambitious and possibly stupid project ive ever done. With no experience i dove in and got it done. yes, it took 9 weeks of my riding season and more money than i dare to total, but i got it done. I was happy and the bike ran again. There were a few issues here and there with leaking silicon seals and crossed fuel injector wires that took time to track down but overall i was happy. I rode for a few weeks in the fall and put the bike away for the winter. A few weeks ago i got the bike out and took it for a 35 mile ride and the temp light went on again. I nearly lost it when i saw that my oil looked more like shaving cream than oil, yet again. For me that was the last straw. I cleaned out the engine with a few oil changes and coolant flushes and traded it in to the place where we got it last year.

This is where the story has the happy ending. National Powersports had an R1150RS with ABS and bags. It was the bike (albeit not exactly) the one i was feigning over last year. Well i bought it. Traded in the headache and nightmare for a far simpler machine. something oil and air cooled. While i dont want to say never, but i cannot see myself on a watercooled bike for some time after my experience this past year. 

I picked up the blue beast on Thursday night and have since ridden 350 miles. Its quiet, quick (not quite like a k12, but no slouch none the less) comfortable for me and with all of the things my K was missing. It has a functioning gear indicator, both heated grips work, the speedo doesn't jump around at idle and it doesn't weigh as much as a freight liner. 

I'm happy as a clam and even happier to be riding without the fear of that temp light anymore. I will keep you all posted on the adventures of new blue. 

Congratulations!!!

I wouldn't say the head gasket replacement job was foolish. It made sense to attempt at that time. Sorry you have so much trouble with that bike. Sometimes it makes sense to let a problem go.

Congrats on the new bike!

well i know the K engine (pre transverse mounting) pretty well, and we have 2 R bikes... looks like i get to learn something new this year:D

Sorry to ask...but...Why exactly are BMW's so awesome? There are a few of us on the forum who ride other brands that make more power, handle better, are more comfortable, with better parts availability, service availability, better reliability, all at lower cost. 

Help me understand, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE know that I'm not knocking BMW. As my friends know I've tested many of them and really like them. I just get the feeling that it's becoming a bit of a "brand", much like Harley Davidson (and do not knock HD for their prowess at brand creation...it really is genius); where BMW has created a very full and complete mythology with well defined user bases and well crafted messaging. I'm not saying BMW makes crap, I'm just saying that the remarkable brand loyalty may be based on the same phenomena that Harley Davidson, NASCAR, F1, Sports Teams, and Coke/Pepsi have created - and not tangible, quantifiable performance. It's an interesting discussion to be sure.

Quality engineering, simplicity and attitude. To explain this best i must tell a story. 

Last year i was riding one of NH's most scenic roads( Kangamangus highway) in early may. It was a cool morning and the roads were deserted. I was riding briskly in a particularly twisty section just enjoying the road when i came around the corner to see a sherrif coming the other way. He put on his blues and i was already pulled over and helmet off by the time he pulled up to me. I was on a the red BMW k1200rs wearing full protective gear and a safety yellow jacket. Needless to say he was surprised at my age when he saw what i was riding. ( kids my age dont ride bmw's) I was doing 64 in a 35 zone. We had a conversation about the road not becoming 50-55 MPH until a particular marker up ahead of which i was un familiar due to my direction of travel and being unfamiliar with this section of road. He takes my info and comes back about 5 min later with a written warning and says this.
"one: slow down!, two: put an extra 20 bucks in the collection plate at church on sunday cus this would have been a 205 dollar ticket had i chosen to give you one. Three: nice bike, if you would have been on a honda you would have gotten a ticket. Have a great day and a safe ride."

Its not the bikes themselves that we are all so addicted to its the culture and the perception. punk kids ride honda's and jap bikes. Educated weekend warriors, doctors and lawyers ride BMW's. I like to consider myself un-squid like, therefore i choose to set myself apart by riding a bike that comes with the perception of a little bit of smarts between the ears. 

I hope this clears it up a little for you. I appreciate, respect and love most motorcycles, but what i choose to own, at least for now, will be a BMW. 

isurfne This was one of the best, certainly most honest and self aware, answers I've heard: "

Its not the bikes themselves that we are all so addicted to its the culture and the perception." . And, it makes perfect sense. There is a part of me that thinks I should be insulted to be called a "punk kid", LOL but at my age I'm taking it as a compliment.





Cheers! and hope you can join us for a ride some day.

Joel, you got me totally baffled with this brand loyalty.  The brand totally let you down and you went back for more because?  I for one would never buy or not buy something based upon any stigma, real or perceived.  So I'm to understand that BMW has superior engineering yet you can't buy a water cooled bike from them?  Makes no sense to me.  

A company gets one chance with me.  If they blow it, I go elsewhere.  Proof?  I've owned for different machines from four different manufacturers representing four different countries.  The one from Japan and Yamaha has been outstanding. The one from Germany and BMW was not.  And the one from Canada and BRP was awful. To early to tell about the British Triumph but I'm pretty optimistic.  I won't go back to BMW or BRP any time soon. They had their chance and blew it. 

I'd buy another Yamaha tomorrow.  But I'm not loyal to any brand, especially if they ever sell me junk. 

And if a cop decides who to give a ticket to based on brand he's not a very good cop.  I think you read a bit much into one guy's actions. 

My motto, buy the best thing for you personally.  Not what a magazine tells you to buy or any slick marketing campaign.  Nobody has a monopoly on engineering, no company or country.

Just because you own a Japanese sport bike doesn't mean you are irresponsible. Just because you own a Harley doesn't mean you are a Hells Angel. Just because you own a Speed Triple doesn't mean you are a hooligan. And just because you own a BMW does not mean you are staid and responsible.  Some people with BMWs apparently speed excessively.  :-)

I want to clarify a few things. I used the story about the cop to illustrate a point, not to drive any divisions into the group over brands. I choose to stay w. BMW as i had a fantastic experience w. my first and second bike an 1975 r60/6 and 85k100rs. It was a true joy to ride except for the ancient drum brakes in the case of the r60. i dont think that people on japaneese bikes ride fast or that harleys are hells angels', but the public perception of these stereotypes do exist. I just wanted to shed some light on my view of the whole BMW selection for myself. 

isurfne, well said. 

But Joel, who cares what ANYBODY else thinks about what you spend your money on?  Seriously?

No offense here ever, just adult conversation.  The ONLY thing I ever say is "I wouldn't have bought X" but NEVER "that guy is an idiot for buying X". I respect any rider who is responsible, never stops learning, and wears all the gear all the time. Otherwise I don't care what they ride.

Just had another thought.  You may be giving people way more credit than they deserve or projecting your biases and knowledge on the general population. Most people have no idea what you are riding.  They couldn't tell the difference between a Star and a Harley or a BMW and a Triumph at five paces. When I had the BMW the response I got from most non riders when I told them what I was riding was "BMW makes motorcycles?"  

I also am fairly confident that police officers aren't much better at identifying brands.  What they will identify is the difference between a sport bike, a cruiser, and a touring rig.  I think THAT may have been why you didn't get a ticket!

jpcfjr, that has not been my experience. 

I had to chuckle uncomfortably Yermo at your post. I think the average highway law enforcement officer would potentially be facing a quandary with you, and they aren't always good when outside of their comfort zone. Very polite, vaguely "foreign", clearly uneasy in their presence, and probably overcompensating. Yes, all the makings of a bad roadside pull-over experience.

rshaug, lol. Actually, the few times I've had any dealing with law enforcement when on my bike, it's been uncharacteristically pleasant.

I must confess that this conversation has preoccupied my thoughts today.  I'm a big believer in contrast, in the sense that often one cannot see something until it is contrasted with something else. I think I see something more clearly that's been hinted at before. We ride for varying reasons and choose our bikes based on varying values. I suspect we are operating in radically different contexts.

I'm fascinated by the differences in people, especially the internal differences; the values, insights and experiences through which we filter our world. It's gotten me to think about many of the choices I make, where I feel comfortable and where I don't and possibly why.

Time permitting, I may try to articulate my thoughts in an article. 


I ride BMW's because they feel like home. 

Other bikes, while very competent excellently engineered machines, simply don't give me the same feeling. 

"
I ride BMW's because they feel like home." followed by "Other bikes...simply don't give me the same feeling".... I could write for days and days about those comments. Knowing some of the history, I'll stick with the Kawi's



Cheers

I would have to agree with Yermo's point. I rode Japanese bikes for many years and many miles.  I like and respect them to this day.But when I sat on a BMW, everything felt different (and this was *not* based on anticipation--I had ignored them for years as "interesting oddballs" and "motorcycling side notes" prior to this). The thinking and design philosophy that has gone into the bikes resulted in a vehicle that "feels right" to me (from seating position, engine response, sound, look, handling, engineering choices--and so many other intangible things I'd have to really think about to be able to put into words). This more or less  mirrors my experience with German cars. For years I drove American, with the occasional "foreign car" in the mix--then I got into the right German car, and my primary driver has been German ever since--it just "felt better" to me overall or "made more sense to me" in some visceral (and not so visceral/reason/fact based) ways than other choices that were available.As motorcycling and driving are to some extent "optional" activities (we could have a whole sub discussion about that), I intentionally choose (where possible at least) to make them as comfortable and pleasant as I can, starting with the vehicle(s) I use to drive.Until I find a motorcycle or car that feels better/more comfortable/pleasant/enjoyable to drive than the ones I have now, I'm going to be unlikely to alter those choices

I have tried the rubber mallet approach and that has not seemed to work.  I will now try the 24 ounce claw hammer method.  Depending on the responses I get to this I may check out for good on this and other topics.
I urge all of you who have been extolling the virtues of BMW motorcycles to go back and objectively read your posts.  This could be difficult but try to see how what you have written might be subtly offensive to people who do not currently own or have never owned a BMW and own another brand.  We all want to feel good about our purchases and what I have read here is a subtle way of putting down other brands.  To say that BMW has “superior engineering” is to say that every other brand has inferior engineering.  This brings into question why we would buy what we bought.
Then there is this mystical soul (not necessarily explicitly here but implied here and explicitly elsewhere) that some of you have projected on your machines.  Huh?  First of all, I hang out with very intelligent, progressive thinkers who would never try to argue the existence of god or the flying spaghetti monster and yet their bike has some greater-than-human quality?  And again, this is to imply that any other brand does not possess this invisible and fantastic benefit. 
I owned a BMW, albeit for less than a year but I can tell you it did not have a soul.  My Yamaha does not have a soul but it is a damn good bike.  The Triumph also does not have a soul and the Can Am, while it was quite possibly possessed by the devil, certainly did not have any supernatural powers.  What my BMW did have was some ridiculous Rube Goldberg engineering that was inadequate at best.  But mostly it was a machine that was built by humans using lathes, presses, ovens, grinders, mills, wrenches, paint, plastic molding equipment, and other equipment.  It was designed by engineers and poured over by accountants and worked by marketing people to make us buy it…JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER MOTORCYCLE AND PRODUCT ON THE PLANET.  (Side story, stop me if you’ve heard it before:One of my roommates in college used to give me crap about my ’78 Toyota Corolla wagon because it didn’t come from the black forest.  Apparently it “had no soul”.  His Peugeot did have soul however.  Seven years after graduation, with 172,000 miles on the odometer, my car was still humming along not burning a drop of oil.  His Peugeot had burned to the ground into a heap of ashes five years before.  Soul.)
As I have said in other posts and alluded to here, BMW has no lock on engineering.  On the aggregate, their engineering is probably about the same as the other top manufacturers.  On a model to model basis, some bikes are better than others but I don’t see anything special coming from BMW overall.  They have stuff that fails just as often as everybody else.  Maybe even more often from what I’ve seen.  To say that BMW offers superior engineering is not only hogwash, but it is frankly offensive to anybody who spent their hard earned money on something else.  I see people trying to validate their purchases by putting down others’ choices, nothing more.  And a side note here, as for the S1000RR, when BMW decided to play in this sport bike arena what did they do?  From where I sit, they COMPLETELY ripped off the Japanese manufacturers from the inline 4 cylinder mounted transversely all the way down to the chain…which BMW owners used to make fun of incessantly.  For some reason now it’s ok to have a chain.  Superior engineering?  I frankly have no problem with them copying the Japanese sport bikes but let’s call it what it is, copying with incremental improvement.
If this site is to be all inclusive, like I think it should be, people need to be very careful about how they justify their purchases.  Among non BMW riders there is often talk about how stuck up the BMW crowd is and there is a reason for that.  Comments like my bike has soul and my BMW has superior engineering don’t help that situation at all.  The second time I went to Deals Gap the group consisted of 3 BMWs and my Yamaha on the trip.  There were subtle hints at this issue when people on the trip said things like “oh, you don’t have a BMW, but your bike is really nice too”.  A backhanded compliment at best.  It took me a while to realize what was going on but some who shall go nameless were really looking down on my bike (or at least that is how I perceived it, perception = reality) and I felt bad about it for some period of time.  It’s simply not fair to do that to people.
Yermo, if you want to write a column or article on the BMW superior engineering or this mysterious soul or intangible qualities that it has you will not be helping to include non-BMW riders here.  Here is how I think the article ought to go:
Why I Ride A ______, by Any Writer.Because I like them and it works for me.  If you don’t like it you can piss off.  Thanks for reading.
Finally, let me say that everybody should be free to feel good about what they spend their money on.  No company or country has a lock on knowledge, engineering, or quality.  Every manufacturer has had quality issues and/or produced something that was subpar at one point or another.   If you sit on a bike and you like it and you buy it and it works for you, great.  Who cares where it comes from or who made it?  Feel good about what you have and don’t try to justify it to anyone.  But at the same time be sensitive to others and try not to be so blinded by your brand loyalty as to think and say the brand can do no wrong.  Nothing I own is any better than what the rest of you own…apparently it’s better for me or I wouldn’t have bought it.  I suspect that some of you still won’t get it.  We’ll simply have to agree to disagree in that case.  That’s the end of my rant.

I had no idea the can of worms i opened when i posted this. I apologize if i started any divisions of people for what brand they ride. I really enjoy the lively discussions but i apologize if i have caused anyone any negative emotions toward each other or the group.
This is miles by motorcycle, not miles by bmw. and it think we should all be more mindful of this. ( Myself included)

If anyone thinks this thread is getting ugly just ask which tires are best; or oil; or leathers; or god help us all...ask about helmets.

As my friends know I have basically no brand preferences (ok ok...maybe Shoei) and like to objectively test for purpose. It's why I got a Hyundai Genesis even though we had already test drove a bunch of cars and had settled on an Audi A6. I owned an epic BMW car that I loved and then traded it in on an epic Mustang. Because I like cars and was done with the BMW and wanted to burn tires for a while. Now BMWs (cars) kind of suck in a way. Even the ultimate BMW car whore of all time, Car and Driver, picked the new Lexus over the 3. When it came time to want a new bike I test drove over a dozen, including multiple BMWs. And, in fact if Triumph had closer dealer support for me I would have bought the GT. And not because it was a better machine than the Ninja - it isn't - but because I simply "liked" it.

That's what people (especially really intelligent, thoughtful, and logical people) have such a hard time admitting. That they picked something because they liked it, just plain liked it. Instead the decision has to be defended with all sorts of "evidence" and justifications. 

I'm old and successful enough that I don't give a rat's ass what someone else thinks of my decision process for my toys. I got the Ninja because I liked it. Same as the Blackbird, ZRX, Gamma, Vulcan, GSXR, etc etc etc. Not everyone is comfortable standing alone and saying that they did something just 'cause. 

It's OK, we understand.

BTW, isurfneI applaud your honesty and self confidence. You stated clearly that you chose your bike based on "
the culture and the perception" and that it was those elements which were important to you. You got what you wanted for your own reason, and are totally comfortable with the reason and the decision. Bravo! Apply that to everything (within reason LOL). Your dad must be proud.





Cheers

LOL, yeah, as Rob alluded to, this is adult conversation, sometimes it's messy.  No hate whatsoever.  I congratulate you on the new bike Joel.  Please ride it safely and in good health.

Gentlemen, we have now reached a place that I have honestly dreaded since starting this site and I am ill-equipped to help get us back to the level ground that we all enjoy. 

Let me try.

I asked isurfne to post about his bike as I do with everyone who gets a new bike. I feel truly terrible, and it has harshed my calm, that we greeted what should have been a good day for him the way that we did. It reflects poorly on all of us. This is not what I want this site to be about. As Joel points out, this is not Miles by BMW. It could have been, but it is not. It's Miles by Motorcycle. For this site to succeed and become something, it must be inclusive.


It is far too easy for special places like this to unravel as more people from wider backgrounds become involved. Let's do our best, together, to prevent this fate from coming to pass here. 

Yermo The raw truth is that Mile-by-Motorcyle is absolutely slanted to BMW. BUT....there is a BUT.... of course it is simply because you are slanted to BMW and this is your project. The second raw truth is that if you want to have open forums than you will have this kind of heated debate, and that's not a bad thing. It is OK to disagree, and to disagree publicly. 

And really....who truly enjoys level ground all the time?

We all congratulate Joel on joining the motorcycle fraternity and celebrate his acquisition of a fine motorcycle.

Some of us simply are just a little weary of the BMW elitist bullshit and feel comfortable enough in this forum, with these people, our FRIENDS, to actually say it out loud.

You should be VERY proud to have created an environment where we all feel comfortable enough to say what we feel, tell each other what bothers us, share that we don't agree with, and let it fly.

I do.