2004 BMW reviews

I Have owned this motorcycle now for 2 seasons and have put over 11000 miles on it. It is quite comfortable and my wife loves riding two up. She handles quite well for her size in the twisties. It has more than enough power for what is needed. I'll be buying another motorcycle in the future but will never get rid of this one. Show less

I have owned the motorcycle for about one year now. I have put 6200 miles on it and it has proven to be extremely reliable and comfortable. There are people that talk about it being underpowered, however I have not found this to be the case, I can always drop a gear and accelerate. Even with my wife on the back the bike will just get-up-and-go. Show less

I'm 6'1", 54yrs having owned ZZR1100, Blackbird, GSXr1100, VFR800, FJ1200 to mention but a few. I bought this BMW with 23kkm on the odo. I've managed to find very good you tube directions to do complete service on her. May I add that I'm not a mechanically minded rider but servicing this bike is a labour of love, quite therapeutic might I add. ito riding...She is heavy regardless! I do not believe this bike commutes well but she is an open road intercontinental joy. I've found many scary stories on the net about the ABS II and yes, I believe that its costly to repair. BMW however do warn that complying with regular servicing with circuit bleeding is a prerequisite. I have to say that this bike is one that you could virtually do most of the work on yourself...the only part that has a dark cloud hang over it is the seal in the clutch. I dread that day as its a major job. On idle, expect to hear that dry clutch sound like a 'thousand tambourines' but its apparently normal. Engine performance: Loads of usable torque makes for a very rewarding ride. Perfectly ratio'd gearing simply makes for great touring. She's not going to scare you performance-wise but these days I'm beyond that. I'm not quite sure what the Bavarian designers were thinking though with the tanksize. Fuel range is below par.... I get about 15-17km/litre which should give me over 300kkm per fillup but the fuelgauge is not linear and things get a little scary as she drops toward 1/4 full. I've subsequently learnt that on a long tour you need to plan re-fuels well but this is a very poor and obvious weakness by designers. The price of spare parts is reasonable but the actual cost of BMW agent servicing is simply shocking...learn to look after as much as possible yourself, its completely do-able and you'll have years of a high quality machine serve you well. Show less

This is the most comfortable seat on a bike that I've ever owned...and I owned a 1987 Suzuki Cavalcade 1400 LE. Highway miles just flow under the tires with ease and it handles the back roads with precision. At 65 bhp., you will need to downshift a couple of gears to crank up rpm. during passing. But the six speed tranny makes for easy riding up and down hills. Show less

I am 53 and finally was able to own the bike I always wanted. I was visiting dealers for about 1 year sitting on the bikes and leaving the stores depressed because I was not confident on a bike tip toeing. One night it dawned on me that when added my bags and gears the bike would sag a bit and it may actually lower it, so that was the key to my problem, with inseam 29/30 I was able to find a stock low seat right away on the craigslist and it kind solved the problem. Took a 6 day tour from Central CA to Portland Or, and was amazed by the comfort and performance. The seat is not perfect but every 2-3hrs a stop made the trip confortable enough. I had a foam pad underneath my behind and it made a world of a difference. I ride it for short rides 2-4hrs and it is a fun bike, because it has plenty of clearance for cornering despite, that I scraped my boot on the pavement a few times, I am not a hard rider but enjoy the twisties. I have owned a hondas 360-750's, hd sportster and I currently own an 05 MV F4-1000 witch is the performance bike but, mile per mile, the bmw R 1150 Rockster I think surpasses the fun factor. Show less

This is the second review I've posted for this bike. First one was July 2007, called Worth the Wait! I've owned this bike for 3 1/2 years and have put around 8,000 miles on it. I know that's not much, and I wish I could ride more, but I have a family and a demanding job. Like the title says, I'm STILL LOVIN' IT! How can you not enjoy riding such a superb machine as this? It's a beautiful machine, too. It's red and I keep it immaculate, so it gets a lot of looks. I'm in the middle of replacing the battery - wow, talk about open heart surgery! You damn near gotta take the whole bike apart to get to the battery. I hope the replacement battery lasts five years like the original lasted. And I pray I get it all put back together the right way! ;) I can't say enough good things about this bike. I feel lucky to own it. Will write again in a couple more years. Show less

I've had my used 2003 R1150R for over a year now and ridden it all over the roads of VA, WV, and MD and also roundtrip to Fl and have enjoyed all 12,000 miles I've put on it. Handles the twisty's fabulously and with a Sargent seat and a an Alaska sheepskin butt pad burning 2hrs of highway before a break is not a problem. Been 100% reliable so far, not a single issue, just required normal maintenance. Buy it - you'll like it! Show less

I purchased my '04 RT in January of '07 with 34,173 miles. As of this writing, I have put 10,000 miles on the bike in 10 months. Riding includes to and from work, to a 5,000 mile trip out west (Nevada) and back. This bike does everything I ask of it - from the power delivery, to the comfort, to the cornering capabilities, to the ease of maintenance. I enjoy this bike, and certainly don't mind riding to work in the rain. The weather protection is decent, and the Metzler tires that it's equipped with really grip the road well, even when wet. And speaking of wet, the heated hand grips are worth their weight in gold. The storage capacity is good, and I keep the necessary gear loaded, just in case Mother Nature decides to add a challenge to the ride. I don't regret purchasing a bike with 34,000+ miles. Show less

I have had my GS for about 4 months now and I love it. I love dual sport bikes because of the type of riding I do. I started with the KLR then bought a V-STROM because of my size I needed more power. After some modification on both the KLR and the Suzuki it just wasn't enough for me so I bought my GS. I cruise at 90 with out even knowing it. It's perfect for me. Show less

Hard to improve on this machine. The only thing I would change is the saddle height. I travel 40 miles a day round trip to work on this machine 95 percent of the time, the other 5 percent I feel like I'm missing something. Show less