TOUGH DECISION FOR THE BMW R1150RT. IT'S VERY SICK. SHOULD I SAVE IT?

[@bmepdoc9675]

Okay, I came across this video and had to call my father who owns a couple of oil heads including a 2003 R1100S which (for those unaware) is BMW's earlier sportbike version of this. He went outside to confirm the mileage as being 158, 253. Yes, that's one hundred fifty eight thousand two hundred and three miles. Original motor and still consumes a minimal .5 liters of Rotella T4 every 2800 miles or so. Only issue he had was the clutch hub splines spun and failed over 100k miles ago, so he replaced that years ago with an updated longer hub friction disc, then - about a year later the original transmission input shaft bearing failed so he found a replacement at a parts dismantler and its been a peach ever since. Other than that it's been a model of reliability and his local bmw dealership has used it as an example for the marque. According to Dad, it is the utter incompetance and just lack of proper maintenance which leads to the vast majority of problems regardless of marque. His bikes are serviced 100% by the factory owners manual. From oil change intervals to valve adjustments and everything in between. All by the book, full stop, period. Us kids and visitors have mercilessly beat on that bike as it is used as the family moto-mule. Dad even makes it a point not to be scared of revving it as long as we're not bouncing off of the rev limiter. Your bike at barely 65k miles is a relative child with who knows how much life ahead. If you're intersted in dad's bike and its story you can find a lot of information at pelicanparts dot com. His username is jozefschumann. Our family originally hails from about 30 kilometers away from where these bikes are built. Good luck!

[@vroomroom1]

Thanks for the info, found your post very interesting and it's great to see a bike still going with that milage. Will check out your dad's bike journey via the link 👍

[@John64125]

I’m an RT addict so biased but 60k isn’t a huge mileage for that engine so if it’s clutch and starter it has to be worth doing. It’s done a bit of work but looks pretty straight, it’s surely worth saving. Glad you are giving it a chance. I generally prefer older RT’s to the newer ones. They got more and more complex and less comfortable. The 1200 is probably the sweet spot but this is a great bike.

[@vroomroom1]

Thanks John, really looking forward to getting stuck in, was very surprised how well it rode once the tyre pressure was correct 👍

[@John64125]

@@vroomroom1They are very tyre sensitive. The rear is bad for flat spotting, when that happens the handling is ruined. I suppose it’s the same with all big tourers but RT’s like good tyres.

[@GummeeH3]

60-some odd thousand miles is middle aged on these bikes. While you're doing the clutch, do the splines on the output shaft

[@vroomroom1]

Will have a look at the splines 👍 thanks mate

[@davidguille5992]

Hi Jay I recently bought a R1150rt, got about 100 miles from the sellers house and gave it a handful and the clutch slipped bad😢. So I set about replacing the clutch, it turned out the issue was actually the slave cylinder had leaked and sent fluid along the push rod and contaminated the friction plate. Anyways it's not that hard of a job, time consuming but simple enough, if you can strip it down to the point of having the rear of the body swung up then you can actually remove the gearbox, swing arm and final drive still together. You need a slave a friction plate and a felt seal for the shaft from motorworks, along with brake clean, lots of brake clean. As for the abs, that is a massive issue with the 1150, better that it's already be deleted. Starter can be rebuilt with brush kit from motorworks. Please give me a shout if you need any advice, manuals or anything, I have them all and since doing the job my bike is perfect. Sorry for the long winded post, trying to think of everything thing I could offer advice on (with a hangover 😂) hope you fix and enjoy the bike, they are fantastic miles munchers.

[@vroomroom1]

Hi David, thanks, there's a lot of great advice in your post and I wil have a good look at the slave cylinder and it's good to know the ABS is a normal delete. 👍

[@spinaway]

I was going to say but you beat me to it, the starter sounds like the brushes are done and commutator needs a clean, also i know from experience the abs is a common delete. it would cost more than the bike to repair.

[@vroomroom1]

@@spinaway didn't even think about replacing the brushes, just went and ordered a new starter. Will keep that in mind next time 👍

[@suzyamerica4679]

Taking the bike in half is not too hard. I just did it to change the clutch on a 2007 R1200RTP. Lube some splines while it's open, eh.

[@vroomroom1]

@@suzyamerica4679I would do another if it came along, was just a bit of a surprise how involved it was. And did remember to lube the spline 👍 thanks for watching

[@suzyamerica4679]

@@vroomroom1 My use for the RT is general riding plus a number of long trips throughout the year. I am strongly considering tearing it down yearly to lube all 3 sets of splines and do a bunch of maintenance at the same time. Some of my bikes have gotten 16K miles per year. Peace of mind. Easier than having it fail on the road somewhere.

[@D_Grouchy_Old_Man]

The radio is supppsed yo be in the left glove box. U need to pull the final drive and use Honda Molly 90 greasr on the splines. Regular grease equals eatly failure

[@vroomroom1]

@@D_Grouchy_Old_Man good to know 👍 I did look at a replacement radio but will leave the decision of if to fit one to the new owner once it sells.

[@peterk2455]

Will be following this closely, as I just picked up an R1150R, for the less than the price of two tyres, with similar issues.

[@vroomroom1]

@@peterk2455 thanks for watching Peter 👍

[@edwardwest5035]

Good news, the brake light works.

[@yorkshireperson]

I've got an 1150rs (basically the same bike underneath the fairing), I had a similar decision after the number of small jobs added up to ££'s that i wasn't sure i wanted to spend on a 21 year old bike. In the end i like the bike so have been doing it bit by bit over the last 8 months, but with a bike that can generate massive bills such as these 1150's I know at some point I'll need to walk away. I guess it helps that I have a second (reliable) bike, if the 1150 was my only bike I'd have bought something different by now.

[@vroomroom1]

From my limited experience so far, these deserve to be appreciating classics, good to hear you didn't give up on the bike and fingers crossed any future issues are small one's 👍

[@InterimExec]

I'm acquiring one of them. I think the way to look at it is that add the purchase price and repair/maitenance and you are with a bike that will DO EVRYTHING a new would at half the price...and no one really knows how old they are.

[@JIMWSMITH]

There certainly not easy to work on compared to a st1300 for example, but like you say these era of bikes do the job so well and ride excellent. This could end up being someone's work horse or touring bike , with a new clutch and good service its got thousands of miles left in it.👊

[@vroomroom1]

Thanks Jim, looking forward to digging in to it. Was surprised with the work needed for the clutch but hopefully it will go okay 👍

[@rmK8TOB]

I've bought a 2004 1150RT a few years ago with 75,000 miles on it. Same color as yours. I believe I'm the third owner, seems the first owner put 38,000 miles on it the first year of its life. Do my own work on it, put a new starter on about a year ago. First tried just cleaning up the old one, but ultimately needed replaced. I'm not sure if the clutch has ever been replaced. I may just change it out, just so I know it was done. At 69yrs old, I would love to have a bike lift to do the job, but may just have to come up with a way to do it on the ground. I'll be looking forward to your adventures. Love the BMW's, had a '99 1100GS, '00 1100RT, '01 K1200LT, and this '04 RT is my favorite.

[@vroomroom1]

Thanks Robert for taking time to comment. Really pleased that most people do love these bikes, looking forward to digging in to it. Great to read your experiences with it. Would love a ramp and hopefully will get one once the car port has been completed. Ride safe 👍

[@steveclews6557]

Pretty easy to work on 👍👍👍👍

[@vroomroom1]

@@steveclews6557 I agree, just could have been designed more with DIY maintenance in mind.

[@christophermcnally8782]

Still not much wrong with it overall I just did my clutch, abs removal, tires , cam chain tensioner, fuel filter and a bit more on my 2003 1150 RT. Its just maintenance. still tons of miles on it yet.

[@vroomroom1]

@@christophermcnally8782 seems a common thing to delete the ABS. Must have been a real issue with these bikes. Thanks for watching 👍

[@peterk2455]

@@vroomroom1 While ABS might be a useful aide for many, it does create other issues. Longer braking distances for is one, electrical faults are another. It's personal choice.

[@trevorgadd8491]

I had the clutch spline go on my 2003 r1150gs at 95000km. I did the job myself and it is a lot of work. she gave no issues after that now have another 70000km since repair. Only thing is lots of small expensive and frustrating issues since. I am in Canada and the parts are super expensive, even things like oil seals. I just did a leak down test and find that the left cylinder is down 30% compared to the right cylinder. This means rings as the leak mainly heard in the crank case. Also, the left cylinder is the reference cylinder for tuning which makes tuning tough. She is stored for the time being and am riding my harley but would love to be on the bmer. I think you should do a leak down test and get a good grasp on where the engine health sits and go from there. I tell you there are many good bikes out there so why spend the time and money on something like your bike? I buy most of my parts from Motor Works which is at least close to you and decent prices compared to North America. My intuition tells me that the previous owner had decided to give up on the bike and part it out...maybe you should too?

[@vroomroom1]

Hi Trevor, cat N in the UK means written off by the insurance from cosmetic reasons. This was stolen recovered. Still think there's a small profit in this bike but if not then it made good content, I learnt a bit about BMW's and it's another one saved. 👍

[@trevorgadd8491]

PS. The prices for these bikes here in Canada is low otherwise mine would be gone right now. Mind you , everyone here in Chinada is suffering as the economy is in the toilet. You may get a couple of hundred bucks for yours. I have an honest 10 to 12 grand in mine with original purchase and repairs and would be lucky to get $3K Chinada Pesos. (1700 quids) So don't think collectors will be knocking your door down any time soon.

[@danreich4320]

I had $8300 into mine and after 3 separate break downs for 3 different reasons sold it for $1,500. And felt lucky to get that.

[@weetodd]

Tell EVERY woman you know to shut the fuck up- Trudeau and Biden elected by women who never have to fix anything...we do.

[@steveclews6557]

My “ears” are drilled and tie wrapped as well as the bmw fixings to stop theft etc. there’s a how to vid on here to do the clutch

[@vroomroom1]

@@steveclews6557 the aftermarket mirrors are not the best fit, used a bit of duct tape underneath as well just for added rigidity 👍

[@texastyrannyresponseteam794]

65k isn't that much on a boxer BMW.. I have the same bike at 56k.. she's like new.. i see them well over 100k al the time still purring along.. it's all in how you maintain them..

[@D_Grouchy_Old_Man]

The BMW whole drive train is prone to failures. They use a dry clutch unlike all other motorcycles that use a superior wet clutch. To replace the clutxh u have to tear the bike literally in half

[@vroomroom1]

@@D_Grouchy_Old_Man I noticed lol, won't be doing another anytime soon, was a job even my friend with a motorbike shop said he avoids

[@carsyoungtimerfreak1149]

I know one or two things about these bikes. Own both a 1150RT and a1150GS. Have to say, yours looks pretty rough with the Tupperware off. Lot of surface rust on frame parts. One more test I suggest: bike om centerstand, in gear and than try to spin the back wheel by hand. It obviously should not spin. If it does you probably have not a clutch problem but a problem with the splines of the gearbox. They tend to strip... Sorry. If they are stripped easiest way to repair is another gearbox... It is actually a design fault of the 1150. They are excellent and reliable bikes when maintained properly. If not, I will walk away. It is not that difficult to find a well maintained one.

[@vroomroom1]

On my way home now, when I get there will definitely give that a go. Thanks for the comment 👍

[@D_Grouchy_Old_Man]

I learned these things too late. I own a BMW K1200 LT which lost the clutch and then I boughtba 2003 BMW R 1150 RT to drive while I fix the LT. Ill never buy another old BMW knowing what I know now. The final dtive splines on all other bikes are bathed in oil but BMW (Bummer Maintenance Weekly) decided to move the final drive splines forward outside of the lubricated area which makes them much more prone to fail than other brands

[@BMWLDRider]

Good gawd!

[@captlarry-3525]

had BMW's for 45 years, /2's, /5's, Ks, 650 single, and I would NOT own one of these things.

[@vroomroom1]

Is it the look of the bike? Performance? Reliability?

[@emanuelmarcos]

Why? 🤔 Im thinking in getting one for myself.

[@danreich4320]

@@vroomroom1 I had one. My experience: constant, never ending $$& problems, due almost entirely to very poor design and atrocious reliability.

[@vroomroom1]

@@danreich4320 looks like another issue is first gear, been reading that lots of these bikes had a shared first gear problem where selecting when cold was extremely difficult. Thanks for watching 👍