Can you save me about $30,000? BMW shopping....

[GregC]

More complex machines take more complex maintenance. I still like the BMWs for the tech. The nc700 doesn't take much maintenance, but there's a good bit of cost to do things like make the suspension handle a "normal" American male, improve weather protection, lighting, etc. that comes "standard" on the more expensive bikes.

It's all a trade off. [emoji41]


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[bvogel7475]

The Ducati Multistrada is also a good option to the NC if you have the cash. They just released a 950 model that saves a couple grand. These bikes have amazing power, incredible braking, lean angle traction control, multiple ride modes and much more. The only problem in my book is the chain. I love everything about my NC except the chain maintenance. I've done lots of chain maintenance over the years and I was very happy not even thinking about the chain when I had my BMW 2003 K1200GT. Alas, that wasn't really that fun around town but it was fun out on the open road on long trips or through the twisties. I think everyone should have the bike they dream about at least once. The BMW was mine and unless I win the lottery, I will probably be sticking to Honda's from here on out. My next bike will be a used VFR 1200X with the DCT. They just started selling them here in the US. So, it will be a few years before I can get my hands on a used one.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

I haven't even noticed "vibes" using the Barkbuster bar ends, even with very light summer gloves. Maybe it's because of risers and bars set up just so for great ergonomic comfort and habits built riding the WR250R off-pavement.

 

[eastbayandy]

I haven't even noticed "vibes" using the Barkbuster bar ends, even with very light summer gloves. Maybe it's because of risers and bars set up just so for great ergonomic comfort and habits built riding the WR250R off-pavement.

I had the numb hands problem on my Suzuki Bandit 1200. I sold it for that issue,that and it was crazy fast and I thought i'd kill myself on it.Don't notice it on the 700 at all. I keep thinking I miss my beemer [K75s}, but then I go for a ride and appreciate the 700x for what it is, a fun ,all around bike, easy on the wallet , gas, and a nimble and powerful enough bike for me. My wife will not ride on the back, which may be a good thing.

 

[OldJeff]

I had the numb hands problem on my Suzuki Bandit 1200. I sold it for that issue,that and it was crazy fast and I thought i'd kill myself on it.Don't notice it on the 700 at all. I keep thinking I miss my beemer [K75s}, but then I go for a ride and appreciate the 700x for what it is, a fun ,all around bike, easy on the wallet , gas, and a nimble and powerful enough bike for me. My wife will not ride on the back, which may be a good thing.

And then the fight started

 

[OK Lyle]

Thanks so much for all the comments. I'm going to try and fix some of the gripes and keep my nc700x. I'm not even going to go test ride the bmw at this point to avoid falling in love.

So I was looking at the reviews of the kaoko throttle lock for Honda with barkbusters at twisted throttle and several people said they don't fit this bike. Does anyone have experience putting these on a nc700x with barkbusters in place?

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I put them on my bike right off the bat. No problems at all. There is a specific Kaoko model for barkbuster compatibility. After a few cloudbursts and big bug impacts at 65mph, before they got installed; I REALLY appreciated the barkbusters for protection. They also make a big difference in chilly temps. I moved a pair of grip puppies over from my Burgman, just to make the grips bigger, but I hadn't noticed vibes before they were installed.

Cheers, OK Lyle

 

[Beemerphile]

I heard the beamers are not that reliable.

I have never DNF'ed a road trip on a beemer in 41 years of riding them, but I have had it happen twice with Hondas (ST1100 and NC700). Even still, I would not say that Hondas are unreliable, or even that they are less reliable than BMWs. My personal data points aside, Hondas are probably more reliable than BMWs and certainly they require less regular maintenance. Beware a man with one data point and a firmly held conclusion. More still, a man who has heard of someone who had a data point.

I ride BMW's because I enjoy them... The character, the performance, the kinship with other BMW riders. Even though riding motorcycles is a pretty shallow element of one's character, I look back at the time I have spent riding them, working on them, and associating with other riders and consider it a high point of my admittedly shallow life. I have met a few very fine people on Hondas as well - most of them right here.

Right now I have three BMW's and no Hondas. Every time in the past 41 years that I have bought a Honda it was sold after 2-4 years because it failed to trigger anything within me. I'd say they were appliance-like. Some people love appliances and I am fine with that. In fact, I keep telling myself that I should like them too for all of the same thoroughly logical reasons. That is probably why I buy another one every ten years or so. However, for my own personal mix of values, I am willing to do what it takes to own a BMW because to me they are worth the effort. You will hear similar emotions from KTM owners, only more-so. Some of them have horrendous tales of ownership woe but still could not be pried away from the brand. The price of ownership is higher even than BMW, but in their opinions, so are the rewards. Then a Yamaha Tenere owner shows up and tells them they are idiots to choose the KTM because the Tenere costs less and never breaks. Or an appliance-lover buys a KTM and it breaks and he gets insulted and goes on an internet jihad against the brand littered with pictures of his new Tenere.

It is good that we have choices and everything and everyone is not the same. It is also good that we get to decide for ourselves what is most important to us. Looking for a bit more oomph and "character" in my road bike than I thought the NC provided, I bought a used 2013 R1200GS. It was less than the cost of a new Africa Twin and had no chain to deal with. I love the bike and it has been totally reliable. Might blow to hell tomorrow. If it does, I will deal with it. My 41 years tells me that most likely I can keep the unreliable POS making motorcycle noises from the beginning of the trip to the end. That same 41 years tells me that it will most likely be a very rewarding experience.

Peace, out.

 

[SleepyC]

If anything BMW wins for the most evil looking bad *** ADV bikes. I'm am slobbering all over the GS 800's.
Unfortunately, unless someone wants to give me one, it's just on my dream list... The larger ones, I'm afraid I can't even dream about... That's a LOT of loot!

 

[GregC]

I have never DNF'ed a road trip on a beemer in 41 years of riding them, but I have had it happen twice with Hondas (ST1100 and NC700). Even still, I would not say that Hondas are unreliable, or even that they are less reliable than BMWs. My personal data points aside, Hondas are probably more reliable than BMWs and certainly they require less regular maintenance. Beware a man with one data point and a firmly held conclusion. More still, a man who has heard of someone who had a data point.

I ride BMW's because I enjoy them... The character, the performance, the kinship with other BMW riders. Even though riding motorcycles is a pretty shallow element of one's character, I look back at the time I have spent riding them, working on them, and associating with other riders and consider it a high point of my admittedly shallow life. I have met a few very fine people on Hondas as well - most of them right here.

Right now I have three BMW's and no Hondas. Every time in the past 41 years that I have bought a Honda it was sold after 2-4 years because it failed to trigger anything within me. I'd say they were appliance-like. Some people love appliances and I am fine with that. In fact, I keep telling myself that I should like them too for all of the same thoroughly logical reasons. That is probably why I buy another one every ten years or so. However, for my own personal mix of values, I am willing to do what it takes to own a BMW because to me they are worth the effort. You will hear similar emotions from KTM owners, only more-so. Some of them have horrendous tales of ownership woe but still could not be pried away from the brand. The price of ownership is higher even than BMW, but in their opinions, so are the rewards. Then a Yamaha Tenere owner shows up and tells them they are idiots to choose the KTM because the Tenere costs less and never breaks. Or an appliance-lover buys a KTM and it breaks and he gets insulted and goes on an internet jihad against the brand littered with pictures of his new Tenere.

It is good that we have choices and everything and everyone is not the same. It is also good that we get to decide for ourselves what is most important to us. Looking for a bit more oomph and "character" in my road bike than I thought the NC provided, I bought a used 2013 R1200GS. It was less than the cost of a new Africa Twin and had no chain to deal with. I love the bike and it has been totally reliable. Might blow to hell tomorrow. If it does, I will deal with it. My 41 years tells me that most likely I can keep the unreliable POS making motorcycle noises from the beginning of the trip to the end. That same 41 years tells me that it will most likely be a very rewarding experience.

Peace, out.

That just about nails it.


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[misterk]

I was thinking about a gsa, but I am sold on the dct. I know they have he shift assist, but I prefer the dct.

 

[OneGun]

My next street bike will be a GS1200 R. My hope is 2 years from now, I can make that happen. Spring 2019, I'm taking delivery. That's the goal.

 

[pprior]

So an update. I decided to try and stay frugal with the economy the way it is now. I bought the kaoko system and despite buying the one for bark busters it did NOT fit correctly. I had to add a couple washers to get the friction area to work correctly. In the end however it works and I've used it a couple times, is a nice addition. I have to fiddle with it quite a bit given we have a lot of hills in my area, but it does work easily once installed.

No solution for wife issues yet. Still have to keep myself from going to the BMW store, but I do enjoy riding my NC700x and plan to keep doing so for now. If major tax cuts come this fall I may revisit the issue.

 

[yticolev]

Here is another perspective on cruise controls: Love them! I constantly use it in my car. I've only had one car with one, but had wanted one for thirty years previously but I just could not justify paying for a third party one on the cheap cars I owned but in hindsight wish I had. When I got my current car, I discovered that I have very mild sciatica that is only triggered by long bouts of pressing on the accelerator. Long trips (and short trips) are way better with cruise control from mental relaxation to physical comfort.

Rather expensive to add an electronic cruise control on a motorcycle. I was hopeful that the NC had a OBD2 port like a car, which would make it easy and realatively cheap, but motorcycles are still not there yet.

I've had throttle friction control on two previous bikes. One was a third party adaptor for my 1967 Triumph. It had an ingenious design that was mostly a balance spring that inserted inside the handlebar providing a light touch both directions. I looked for something similar when I bought my NC but no one has anything similar. I was able to get a Euro spec throttle friction screw for my 1977 BMW, no modifications required. Also worked great.

Since the BMW, I have developed carpal tunnel from extensive bicycle riding. It only takes ten minutes of holding the NC throttle to start getting a numb right hand. Something had to be done!

I researched all the throttle locks and decided they were not for me - I like to maintain a constant speed and in all the reviews I read, not one discussed being able to make small changes in throttle settings to adjust for changing conditions like hills. I saw a tip about an inexpensive friction setup here that I've been using for the last four years. A simple O-ring between the plastic handgrip and handlebar clamp is all you need. One second installation.

The effort to move the throttle either direction is just about perfect, however the rubber against rubber does feel sticky, not as smooth as my prior two friction setups. It doesn't feel dangerous in the slightest but it may entail a small change in muscle memory for riders who let the throttle self rotate home. From what I read, there is much more adjustment required to initiate and disengage most throttle locks.

It stopped working a couple weeks ago after after 4 full years of use and I replaced it at the full retail cost of 63 cents with tax. If anyone wants to try the one I used (the only one from Ace Hardware that was the perfect fit) is #34, part number 357488B from Danco. Certainly worth a try to see if it works for you before the more expensive options.

 

[happy]

Whatever bike you buy....make sure you can HANDLE it easily.
If needed, rent one for a weekend just to make sure.

 

[SleepyC]

HOLY BALLS>.. you guys see the deals flying out the door on ADVrider.com? Dudes selling BMW's GS A's for CHEAP. There is one for $9999 that I'd sell my nuts for, but unfortunately for me, my wife currently has my nuts in her purse and I can't sell them.

 

[OneGun]

HOLY BALLS>.. you guys see the deals flying out the door on ADVrider.com? Dudes selling BMW's GS A's for CHEAP. There is one for $9999 that I'd sell my nuts for, but unfortunately for me, my wife currently has my nuts in her purse and I can't sell them.

ADVrider's market place is the devil.

 

[SleepyC]

Been eyeballing the Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX...

WOW. 8.5 gallons of road eating juice holder and you can get them for $5500 - $7000 used...

 

[MalcolmReynolds]

Seems like I have been in this loop for like 15 years looking at the BMW's. I would really like to own an RT. But it seems like every time I get that bug I jump on the forums and try to get a pulse of what is needed to keep one on the road. Then all the horror stories are all over the place.

If it were a maint item that a person can deal with that is one thing, but when it turns into electronic gremlins, sensors etc then it seems to turn into an expensive guess and does not go well. So I continue in this loop after I get the poo scared out of me from all the expensive repair stories.

I was just watching some vids last night and ran across a guy down under who loves his RT, so he was showing his bike... Dang ABS light was on... He said it was $2600 to fix it, so he is riding it as is while he saves up the money to get it fixed. This wasn't a bike with the servo brakes either so I wouldn't have expected that. So then you look up what he described and sure enough it is a known issue. Now this guy loves his bike warts and all. But at some point it would only take me about 1 or 2 of those kinds of repairs to be thinking about a different bike. O2 sensor issues is another one I see mentioned again a very spendy repair from the sounds of it. Just seems like a list of expensive repairs when you google the known issues.

Then I scratch my head and ask myself how can so many people have so many issues and still love these bikes? That for me is the disconnect.

If I buy one it will probably be an older bike that I can pick up reasonably since all the liquid cooled bikes are the rage today and people are selling the air/oil cooled bikes for a reasonable price. So if I decide to tip my toes into the BMW water that is probably how I will do it is with an older garage queen RT that someone is letting go for a good price. I absolutely would want to limit my losses if the maintenance and care issues were to get too costly. I mean if you spent 6-9k on a older used bike and just one repair is $3000 it really begins to negate many of the benefits of bike ownership.

So if I decide to tip my toes in the water to see how the other half lives then that is probably how I would do it. I couldn't see myself sinking what they want for a new one. But then again I am "cheap". LOL

 

[pprior]

Still riding my nc. 45 min today and my hands are tingling bad. That's the biggest complaint right now


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[MalcolmReynolds]

Have you tried a bar snake or bar end weights to smooth out the vibration? Also I was wondering if you have added risers? That may also help if you have not tried risers yet.