In reply to Ian F:
The cargos on that link look good. I'm way too cheap for that though... but I have 3 pairs of these: Sliders 4.0 Cargo Pants
In reply to Ian F:
The cargos on that link look good. I'm way too cheap for that though... but I have 3 pairs of these: Sliders 4.0 Cargo Pants
Haven't ridden one. If I did I'd probably need to sell a child or two.
Grtechguy wrote: Haven't ridden one. If I did I'd probably need to sell a child or two.
THey aren't THAT expensive... $14k will get you a nice low miles (1823 in my case) '16 fully loaded except for luggage.
So... all you need to sell is a slightly defective boy, or any type of girl baby.
So another 1500 for hard luggage?
Grtechguy wrote: So another 1500 for hard luggage?
It looks like it comes with all the mounts installed so if I get used bmw bags it's under a grand. Givi, Jesse, TT and the Chinese knockoffs all have a fit too.
What's the details on the GS?
My BIL is looking and I'm PA
octavious wrote: What's the details on the GS? My BIL is looking and I'm PA
It's an '07 R1200GS Adventure w/ 30,100 miles. All but 4k of those since I bought it in 10/14. I have the factory adventure panniers but not the top case. Sargent seat as well as the factory seat and pillion. Mods:
I have all the records of everything I've done maintenance and mod wise. It has some "adventure" related scratches on the crash bars and a small (1") crack repair on the windscreen but nothing out of the ordinary for a bike of this mileage. It runs well - if I don't sell it to buy the red rocket above it will be going on a 6k mile ride in June with just another oil change and probably fresh tires. It's pretty awesome.
PM me for pics and price.
Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: I see my FJ-09 as the poor man's version of the S1000XR. They actually look very similar in the styling. Both are not very attractive unless you're sitting on the saddle.
The XR was what got me thinking about getting rid of the 'Busa I had been completely happy with for five years. Superbike motor in a real world package... just what I wanted! 
I demo rode an S1000R, and was suitably impressed but thought the gearing was ridiculously short.
BMW took too long to get the XR to market, and I didn't think the $3500 premium over the S1000R was worth it, so I ended up with the FJ09. 90% of the XR at half price... never looked back.
Spend some time on the XR thread on ADVrider before you pull the trigger... not everyone has been completely happy with it. And for $20k+, I'd need to be really happy! 
In reply to Rodan:
It's not 20k ... it's $14,4k with 1800 miles if I quit dicking around and do something quickly - hence my sweaty palms. It's still a lot of coin. But it's a lot of bike.
The gearing didn't bother me much on a test ride - it's an inline 4 - cruising at 7k@80mph is normal. Most of the complaints are about vibration from people who came from smooth-as-glass touring bikes. It seems like the fix for that is just bar weights and rubber pad inserts.
Still, you are right - $11k gets an FJ-09. It's 27% cheaper and fills the same role with a little less performance, a little less gadgetry and a little bigger aftermarket. Plus, I'm a big fan of Yamaha going all the way back to a 5 valve FZR1000 that tried to kill me on every ride.
If there was one local to me at that price, I'd have sweaty palms too.... especially if it comes with bags. 
It's definitely a lot of bike... just trying to help with a fully informed decision. 
My 'Busa turned ~4.5k at 80, so the S1000R seemed really over geared considering the power/weight and available torque. Out here in the West, it's pretty easy to spend hours at 80+ on a trip, so a little less gear is nice.
I am a big fan of Yamaha 5 valve per cylinder heads, like on the 4AGE.
In reply to Huckleberry:
I'd bet you can still find left over '15s for less than 9K. Mine was 9K 6 months ago...
Didn't some guy on the FJ9 forum just pick one up for $6999 + tax/license? That's a smokin' deal... but it is 2 model years old off the showroom floor.
Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: I'd bet you can still find left over '15s for less than 9K. Mine was 9K 6 months ago...
I need to find some time and weather to go try the super duke, FJ, M-10, and a few others. I have to say though... I rode a few of these (FZ, not FJ) and a KTM 1190 on separate days last year and nothing made me scream "take my money" except the 1190 and then KTM were shiny happy people on an epic scale and I declined.
The XR, from the first blip was something else. It's got whatever DNA made the cars special back when they still were. It's both insane and practical.
I'm trying to be impartial but I already know how this story ends.
I'm not sure about the current year FZ9, but I rode them back to back before buying my FJ9 in '15, and the FJ's suspension and fueling were significantly better than the FZ.
The Yamaha 900 triple isn't turned up to 11 like the BMW, but it's a peach of a motor. One of the most entertaining engines I've ever had in a bike, and though not the fastest, it still makes me laugh out loud when I go for a ride.
Well... that escalated quickly. My fly and ride to Alabama turned into a Ride and Ride to New England. In February. This should be interesting. Next Friday is the day!
The deal was pretty good to start... 2016 w/ 3k on it. NO blemishes. BMW warranty until 12/18/36k with option to buy 12/22 unlimited. They threw in factory hard panniers and engine guards to sweeten it and then shipped it to their closest location to me for free.
If the deal goes as smoothly as the process so far - I'm a big fan of a dealership for the first time EVER.
That looks really good.
If it's Max, I've always had great service from them when buying parts and accesories. They been very cool about returns as well.
In reply to Slippery:
It's Max, yes. Any dealer with it's own machine shop and a bunch of old airheads, that puts on track days, enduros and so on should be cool... and so far, so good. We have not done that awkward part where I ride 200 miles to drop off a trade, pick up my new bike and they aren't ready or try to change the deal. If they don't mess that up - stamp of approval. If they do... ride home on same bike I left on, tell AMEX to cancel the $500 down.
I'm too jaded to be optimistic but I do want to love again.
It's an amazing bike... best of luck!
So... I got up at 6am today and rolled out on the '07 GS Adventure's last ride in my care. It was low 40's and drizzling. I had the heated grips on but I had stripped the bike to factory spec so no heated gear, touring screen, etc. 100 miles into the trip it started pouring and I got caught in the wash behind two tractor trailers battling for the slowest drag title in history. It was salty - but not the delicious kind that you get from movie popcorn. I reflected on how awesome this bike was and that I must be nuts for trading it in. Here I am in a low 40's salt/rain bath with buffeting crosswinds cruising along like it's no big deal. The rain quit not too long after and it warmed up but that little bit of awful weather rattled my confidence in my choices here.
220 miles later, 55F, sunny and I'm dry, salty, muddy, warmer and turning into Max BMW in Troy NY. Maybe looking for them to give me a reason to leave on the same bike I rode in on. They didn't. They were actually fantastic. Offered me a hot cup of coffee when I walked in... offered me a place to drop my gear and the owner came out to talk. He gave me tour of the machine shop and garage. The idle sales guys talked bikes with me while I waited. They looked over the trade, followed thru on every single letter of the deal we made on the phone, gave me a free key chain and pick of t-shirts... and offered to take my pic with the bike before it got dirty. Top notch guys - it was pleasant.
So, with that out of the way - I have a new bike. I had only ridden a similar one for 15 minutes before executing this hare-brained scheme at somewhat great cost to me. After two tanks of fuel worth of detours, wet, dry, highway, country, and various flavors of twisties on the way home I think I can say without a doubt - the S1000XR is the best motorcycle I have ever ridden by such a wide margin that I don't have words. But I'll type some anyway.
It's face-melting fast. Nothing I have ever ridden or driven except maybe a shifter kart accelerates as hard - in any gear, at any speed. Wick it open and hang the berkeley on. It's stupid fast. But it's delivered in a way that is anything but stupid. So smooth that you can roll on and off with no abruptness at all. Like buttery violence.
It handles like a sport bike. Not like a sharp big bike pretending to be a sport bike... like a 600 SuperSport. It attacks corners. It has more mojo that I could work myself up to try on my first day. I'll sneak up on that limit - it's going so goddamn fast in corners that I need time to adjust my reaction time.
It's GS comfortable. There is literally no downside to hopping off a GS and jumping on this. Except I won't need an expensive aftermarket seat. The stock one was fine after 4hrs - so much so that I was sorry I had to stop for the night.
The clutchless downshifting is amazing. I'm not easily woo'd by technology but flying into a sweeper WOT, brake hard... close throttle and zing, zing, zing turn in. Like a MotoGP boss. I was laughing out loud in my helmet. It's so unnecessary but cool. And it's so much faster than I could do it manually.
It's loud as berkeley. And it sounds like a Ferrari. If it has a downside at all it's that. With Givi Trekker luggage mounted and me sitting upright behind a windscreen it's stealthy and blends into the "must be a geezer" crowd but as soon as you wick any throttle it screams "HEY COPS! Pay attention - some E36 M3 is about to get real!". Well, that, and I only managed 30MPG on the ride home because I couldn't stop wailing on it.
That was long. The adrenaline has not worn off from the ride home. I'll stop now and go get a beer. Maybe I'll take a pic tomorrow to put here.
Pic added. It's a tad damp because I didn't bother to check the weather and went out in what I thought was a chance of drizzle. Maybe this whole "not watching the news" needs a re-think.
In any case... my earlier wall of text stands. This bike is THE bike. You would think a 160HP 1L motor would be a handful in the wet but it's not. It's so linear that you can play with traction limits or just have traction.
It needs hand protection in the rain. Wet is cold. I'm off to the internet to acquire some since BMW thinks they cost $154 + 90/hr labor. I expect comp accessories $79 bark busters and 10 minutes of my time will solve the problem.
Glad you're enjoying it! The whole hooligan bike in touring clothes is a pretty good concept...
Take a look at KTM 1190 handguards... I swapped them onto my FJ9 and they look good and work great. P/N 6030217910030. No mods necessary, bolted right on. And pretty cheap!
In reply to Rodan:
Those look factory for your bike! Nice.
I ended up ordering a set of Givi hand protectors that are made specifically for the XR because most of the others have fit issues with the way the BMW left hand control is configured. They were on sale at TwistedThrottle for 30% off too so - bonus me.
In reply to Huckleberry:
Did you end up selling the GS then?
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