any words of caution about older BMW 1100/1150 GS's?

[feralchimp]

I've been seeing what sound like solid deals on older ('95-'00) BMW 1100/1150 GS's on Craigslist lately. The mileage spread is all over the place; from almost too-low (10k or so) to well over 40k. If I drive all over tarnation to have a look at some, anything in particular I should ask about or watch out for?

[TheIglu]

Rear drive failures.

[kbroderick]

40k isn't high mileage.

Mine's a 2000 with 103k on it, and around 100k I've had a few issues (the most notable being failure of the fuel-line quick disconnects and throttle body failure). There have been some FD failures, but with proper maintenance, I don't think that's nearly as big an issue as it gets talked up to be—it's just that if it happens, it's a PITA, and it's not cheap. I bought mine with 83k on it, and aside from routine maintenance, a bit of trauma related to riding it off road, and a few issues related to it being a project bike of the original owner, it's been pretty good to me. With that said, the FD was new at 60k, but the original owner switched it to get a different gear ratio, not because of failure. The fuel-line QDs should be replaced (BMW changed the spec on the item but never recalled the originals), either with the updated BMW part or with the even better part from Beemer Boneyard.

Oh, but I don't have ABS or servo-assisted brakes, thankfully. Check the FAQ linked below, but (IMO) the non-servo assisted brakes are a simpler system and thus better, particularly as the bike ages. There were also transmission issues with some of the R1100 transmissions, which are documented in the FAQ.

If you haven't yet, I'd look at the ADV GS forum.

[Garandman]

I've been seeing what sound like solid deals on older ('95-'00) BMW 1100/1150 GS's on Craigslist lately. The mileage spread is all over the place; from almost too-low (10k or so) to well over 40k. If I drive all over tarnation to have a look at some, anything in particular I should ask about or watch out for?

Plenty.

You might try Yankee Beemers.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/64223509417/

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=885705

[Paul_E_D]

Ya, get one that has had the FD JUST replaced.

[zombie]

I have an 04 with 60 k on it and it runs sweet.
Final drive is fine just have to change the fluid regularly.
Love this big bus and it will go anywhere.

[Trouble]

There are low mileage GS's out there. I picked my 1150GS up 1 1/2 years ago with 8,000 some odd miles on it. As far as I can tell there are two types of Beemer owners. Those that ride the shit out of their bikes year round and those that pretty much like the concept but don't ride them. Find one of the latter bikes. It'll take some searching and luck but they're out there.

I can't speak to the reliability of mine yet but my father has a two 1100GS's and he has never had any major repairs. He's travelled all over the US and Europe on them and isn't religious about maintenance.

The ABS doesn't work on mine but I don't feel I need it and the removal of the light bulbs eliminated the obnoxious flashing idiot lights.

[feralchimp]

Thanks everyone; I really appreciate it. I'm looking at two in particular right now: one of the sub-10k garage queen variety, and another of the 28k unspecified maintenance-religion variety. The 28k one is a cool $2k less than the first one, though. How much is a FD overhaul?

Edited to add: ...and then there's the G450X, which is giving me sort of a "awesome until it breaks, which it very well might" vibe. :/

[Garandman]

Thanks everyone; I really appreciate it. I'm looking at two in particular right now: one of the sub-10k garage queen variety, and another of the 28k unspecified maintenance-religion variety. The 28k one is a cool $2k less than the first one, though. How much is a FD overhaul?

There are many tales of woe on the Yankee Beemers site. Parts alone can be over $1,500. BMW's official response is "I see nothing!"

The President of Yankee Beemers just had his fail. Luckily he'd purchased an extended warranty/insurance program.

[nhbubba]

I had a lengthy discussion about this with one of my neighboring BMW heads. He rides an R1100RT, but I assume some of this xfers to the GS:

Final drives, he had his "rebuilt" at something like 60k for big money. I believe the term $800 was used. But that was a while ago and he commented that he only had 1 of the 2 bearings replaced. I forget which.

He claims the earlier 1100 rears are "bulletproof... right up until they fail" and would not hesitate to buy one. I heard that shimming matters. He says the shimming fiasco is the newer bikes; very late 1150's and 1200's.

He says look out for the hall effect sensor on the engine. Engine will not run once it fails, and it will fail. I believe this is what failed on my friends' 1150RT when he was in east-bumphuck WV summer before last. So apparently this is common.

He says the early 1100's have a very closed EFI system that is difficult to diagnose. Things get progressively better with the 1150's and on up through the newer 1200's. The early 1100's are virtually impossible to diagnose, apparently.

He commented that his 1100RT's rear weeped some fluid pretty much from day 1. BMW's response was always "oh, they all do that".

He has over 100k very happy, very hard miles on his and is overall a very happy customer. But his closing comment of the conversation was "I am really glad there are more choices nowadays."

[kbroderick]

I just did the Hall Effect Sensor on mine. $230 in parts, but it can be done for less if (as is common) the wiring fails and you have the ability to replace and repair just the wiring; my soldering skills aren't great, so I opted for the easy route. Based on the amount of grime and grit on the one I pulled, I'd have to guess that mine may have gone quite a bit longer if I'd been nicer to the bike.

I'm pretty sure you can pick up a used FD for a lot less than $800, too; there are several on FleaBay for $200-300 at the moment, for example. If you bring your bike to a dealer and say "fix it," then yes, it's going to be painfully expensive.

[feralchimp]

Sounds like servo-assisted ABS came on the scene in 2002; luckily both of the 1150's in question are 2001s.