BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I'm ready to upgrade from my '09 F800ST to an R1200RT.  A trusted friend will sell me his for trade in value - $6000. it is a '14 that is pristine and has 95k miles.  The bike runs beautifully, has been meticulously maintained, dealer serviced, oil changed every 3-5k, more than $5k worth of farkles.  Would the 95k scare you off?  Your wisdom welcome.[/font][/size] [/font][/size]

My bike is at 103,000 Km. Got it 2.5 years ago at 87,000 Km. Just put tyres and services on it since then. OK so the service costs probably increase as the bike ages but hey much cheaper than buying a new bike.

what classes as excessive mileage is very much a personal thing. Worth however bearing in mind that Cheshire police consider 60,000 miles to be the point at which they pension their motorcycles off!

BMW Insured Warranty have a mileage limitation of 80,000 miles, perhaps they don't have much faith in their products beyond that mileage.

Also depends on the mileage you do. If you're an occasional leisure rider, putting on say 5k  per year it should do you fine. However, if you intend to do high mileages and depend on the bike, I'd be less likely to risk it. You pays your money and take your chance.

2014 registration... does this mean an early water cooled boxer or a leftover oil/air cooled bike?

At that mileage I'd pick the water-cooled bike in a heartbeat due to lower maintenance/repair costs (just think "clutch replacement"  ) but you must prepare yourself for a lot of things that could potentially go wrong. One thing I am thinking are the sidecase locks: maybe I was just unlucky but I had them replaced on both the RT's I've owned. Warranty took care of mine but paying customers are looking towards €240 + labor per case. Also consider how worn parts may be: most people ride around on Space Hoppers disguised as shock absorbers at higher mileage.
Replacing the oil at lower than recommended intervals is no replacement for new brake discs, fresh shock absorbers etc.
Another thing I'd want to check are the wheels, and most serious tyre shops can do that for a small sum... motorcycle wheels are not only expensive but used fronts in acceptable conditions are hard to come by.

Finally let's talk price. I know BMW motorcycles command a premium in the US but six grands for a bike that mileage are really too much. Unless "farkles" include new shock absorbers, a genuine BMW top box (€1,200 last time I checked!!!) and other desirables they are best left to the original owner to sell on the side for extra cash.

zip50 wrote: I'm ready to upgrade from my '09 F800ST to an R1200RT.  A trusted friend will sell me his for trade in value - $6000. it is a '14 that is pristine and has 95k miles.  The bike runs beautifully, has been meticulously maintained, dealer serviced, oil changed every 3-5k, more than $5k worth of farkles.  Would the 95k scare you off?  Your wisdom welcome.[/font][/size] [/font][/size]

The mileage wouldn't scare me off. However, the gearbox would.
From 2016 they reworked the transmission and transformed the gearbox action. They still 'clunk' into 1st gear from neutral, but the rest of the gear changes are silky smooth.

zip50 wrote: I'm ready to upgrade from my '09 F800ST to an R1200RT. A trusted friend will sell me his for trade in value - $6000. it is a '14 that is pristine and has 95k miles. The bike runs beautifully, has been meticulously maintained, dealer serviced, oil changed every 3-5k, more than $5k worth of farkles. Would the 95k scare you off? Your wisdom welcome.[/font][/size] [/font][/size]

If the bike is known to you and you know it has been maintained properly that should offer a lot of comfort.  However, it is still a 95,000-mile bike and there will still be the mechanical wear / risks associated with that mileage.  Personally, the 95K would not scare me off at the right price but $6K would be too high in the UK for a machine with that mileage.     

heathy65 wrote: what classes as excessive mileage is very much a personal thing. Worth however bearing in mind that Cheshire police consider 60,000 miles to be the point at which they pension their motorcycles off!

Although 60000 police miles is no comparison to a privately owned bike.

heathy65 wrote: what classes as excessive mileage is very much a personal thing. Worth however bearing in mind that Cheshire police consider 60,000 miles to be the point at which they pension their motorcycles off!

That seems an awful lot, Hampshire Police get rid of the bikes at around 30k miles

All sage advice.  Will ride it in the next couple days and decide after that.  [size=2px]Thanks all.  [/size]

Just traded my 2014 RT (WC) in for a 1250, got just £4600 for a fully loaded LE but the corrosion was appalling. So why another BMW... The bike was fantastic, 3 year warranty and a determination to crucify them over ANY blemish under warranty and a commitment to trade in at 3 years.

My bike covered 46000 miles including several UK, European and a single Norway tour. I took it in for its service and it was going to be the best part of a £1000. Discs need replacing at around this age (with the way I use them) rear gets seized, the exhaust valve seems to stick requiring a replacement exhaust system every 15000 miles. Everything says buy Japanese but the bike is just so good to ride - range, economy, no need to thrash it on revs, handling, so light (for it's class) room for kit on long tours two up.

When I bought my bike in 2015 I was not expecting a huge trade in value but I anticipated 100k miles and 8-9 years - I got half that before it became a liability unless I could do the work myself.

Picked her up today and she rides beautifully.  Now we'll see how well she lasts.

California Highway patrol trades there air cooled bmw’s at 150,000 miles, with people standing in line to buy them. No idea what they go for
Mileage on clutch and shocks would be the deal breaker for me as they both are $$$$ items


Jim

zip50 wrote: Picked her up today and she rides beautifully.  Now we'll see how well she lasts.

Well done . I'm sure she will many more miles in her yet
Happy riding