Did I post a pic of my 1100? Can't remember. Anyway, here is my time-warp 21000 mile '97 with the bits I've added recently: Have now fitted fancy (and very effective) Wilbers shocks front and back, HID50 fogs and spots (comically bright, better than my [quite good] car), Touratech handguards to get rid of the flappy elephant ear o/e ones and the gearbox plates plus HEL stainless lines all round. Rode an 1150 and my bike back to back a week or two back and it was noticable how much quicker my bike turned- I have Trail Wings, other bike was on Avon Distanzias. I think apart from the gearbox which is a bit sucky it's the best GS. Gotta get it dirty somewhere interesting now... Three Dawg
I have been thinking about another bike for awhile and just came across a '95 (it may be a '96, I haven't seen it yet, friend of a friend thing) 1100GS with 70K mi, from what I have read in this thread the miles should be no problem if it has been maintained. one question I have is how are they for two-up touring? it seems all the pics I see of them it is a solo rider, are they comfortable for the passenger? I would like to take my 15yo daughter on a few long rides. Also, is the $5800 price in the ballpark
I usually ride my 95 solo but it works just fine with a passenger too. Agree with the previous poster - $5800 would have to include an awful lot of high-end accessories, brand new tires, etc., etc., to be the right price for an early model with 70K
Clean '98's can be had for that with far fewer miles. I would think $4500ish is probably more fair unless it has Ohlins and lots 'o farkles.
The pillion seat is quite roomy for a passenger - I've had numerous passengers and they were all favourable over the comfort. My wife rides her own motorcycle [V-Strom 650], but if we go to parties she will ride pillion to be able to drink some wine. She likes the comfort too, even though the pillion seat [unlike the rider's seat] is still standard BMW-issue. If you want to increase pillion comfort, there are aftermarket seats available from Wunderlich/Touratech/Sargent/Corbin and others.
Thanks for the info. From what I have read the 1100GS is just the bike I am looking for, simple and durable, good road bike and fun to play on the dirt roads with, now I need to find the right one at the right price. I will try to get a look at this one and see what condition it is in and what extras it has.
Beware of ohlins-as-added-value. I've got ohlins on my '96. The ohlins have about 25,000 hard miles on them. Actually, the front ohlins is shot and rebuilding it will cost a few hundred $. The rear ohlins, in it's current condition, is only a tiny bit better than the stock shock. It also needs rebuilding. If you find a bike with ohlins, hopefully it'll also have the stock shocks so that you have something to use while you have the ohlins re-built. I'm not trying to dis ohlins. I love mine and they were a huge improvement over the OEM shocks. There was no way the OEM shocks would have held up to the abuse I put myself through for the last 25,000 miles. I'm just sayin' they're not worth much more than OEM once they have a few miles on them. A new set of Ohlins is about $1400. Re-building costs about $500-$600 if you have Ohlins do it. $1400 minus $550 is $850. Maybe apply a 25%-50% factor on the $850 and you end up with an increased value of $200-$400? My $.02
I like to call it the KLR of the GS's. All of the "improvements" on the later model GS's seem to take something away from it with each model year.
The only thing ( and I mean only thing ) i'm not happy with is the wind noise / buffeting from the windsheild, can you supply a little more detail, maybe a photo of your 1100GS? Thanks
I got a chance to test ride a '96 GS the other day, it was my first time riding any BMW, it started good from cold and ran well, the bike seems to have been maintained well, new brakes,tires, recent clutch, my question is that the trans is somewhat notchy shifting, is this a common trait or a sign of trouble? I am also having a hard time puting a reasonable value on the bike, it has 60,000+ miles, BMW side and top cases & tank bag, crash bars, aux lighting and a few incidentals thrown in. There are not a lot of 1100gs' for sale to compare it to, I am stretching the budget to even consider this bike so I can't afford to spend much on repairs, although I can do most any repair myself. Would anyone that has purchased a similar bike care to share what you paid for it or anyone have thought on a value?
trans is very clunky, thats pretty normal, it should NOT however come out of gear, just a nice clunk when you shift. value? varies greatly, BUT I bought a 95 1100gs, bone stock, with new tires, and 80K miles for $3400, that might be a tad high, but not too bad. they seem to be easy to work on and maintain on your own, im a half assed mechanic, been tinkering with stuff for years, and they seem well designed, and simple to service. repair parts DO get expensive though in the case of internal transmission or final drive parts. used parts are pretty well available though. I like mine alot.
Used Ohlins fetch $600+ on eBay, almost regardless of condition. That should make them worth at LEAST $400 on the bike - probably more. However, if an owner can't tell you honestly what condition the shocks are in or when they were last serviced, you should be looking for a big price break on the entire bike.
If you try to space the stock screen away from the instruments and headlamp by adding a 2-3" "arm" to each mounting point (a bit of 3/4" or 1" aluminium bar stock will work just fine) you will find that the lower "arms" won't fit because the lower corners of the screen wrap around and are in the way. All you have to do is cut away the corner by removing a small triangle of material, maybe 1" per side. When you look at the screen this will all make sense. I'll send some pics when I get a chance - might be a few weeks I'm afraid.
