anybody need a nice 2000 BMW R1100RT

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Nice bike! Don't be too hasty. The Norton is a great bike and in Interstate form can do some miles in relative comfort, but I can't imagine covering the miles on one of the Nortons in a day that I can on my oilhead.

Also, after I bought the oilhead, my wife refuses to ride more than a few miles on anything else. Make sure the significant other realizes that her comfort will suffer! :shock:
 
my Beemer for sale

Ron - appreciate your comments about not being too hasty. My better half hated riding on my (former) 96 Softail. Said the vibrations made her itchy all over (and not the right kind of "itchy all over" either.

She preferred riding on the Beemer, but I bought a 2007 Softail last fall, and she says she likes it (itch factor is gone, I guess). Actually, she only gets on the back once a year, for a brief ride on country roads, so she is not my main criteria about which bikes to buy/keep.

And speaking of itch, I have 3 bikes in my little garage, and an itch for a Ducati 1098 and/or a 67 Bonnie I know of sitting in a garage in the neighborhood. Got to make room. If i regret selling the Beemer in the future, i'll buy another one.

Boz - the Beemer has 30K miles right on the nose. I bought it at 22,500, in late 2005.
 
an itch for a Ducati 1098 and/or a 67 Bonnie I know of sitting in a garage

Now there are two similar vehicles! :roll:

One one hand the most technically complex 160HP twin ever built and on the other a stone simple 40HP (maybe) air cooled dinosaur. :shock:

I couldn't handle the riding position of the Ducati Superbike at my age. (Although a Monster S4RS would be VERY nice). My 900 SS bevel has a seat time limit of one hour or my back is screaming.

The Bonnie will no doubt hold its value better. If you are like me, I would be too tempted to test my limits (much lower than the bikes limits!) with the 1098 and it would probably be scrap in a year or two. (Or I would be!)
 
I would also consider keeping the beemer, since it serves the touring bike/utility vehicle slot in your stable. I have a 2004 Honda VFR with hardbags, and whenever I get a new vintage bike to play with I think about selling the Honda (ostensibly,for my wife's sake, to justify getting the new vintage bike, but in reality, for my sake, to free up room to get even another vintage bike). But I usually take 3 or 4 "day-plus" trips up and down the California coast each year, and none of the bikes I have could come close to touching the VFR as a sport tourer....plus, with the hardbags, is acts as my "truck". The RT is a great mileage eater....

Ron: Absolutely agree on the 900SS being a one hour bike...but that sure is a great hour, while it lasts......
 
I just put a set of helibars on my 97 900SS Ducati - transformed the bike into one even this old man can ride for hours and still stand upright when I get off the bike. Highly recommended. Wish I'd done it a decade ago!
 
BrianK,
I have thought of a set of Heli-bars for the rubber band Ducky, but with the looonngg stretch over the fuel tank and the shape of the fairing on the 900 bevel it's not an option.

Did you encounter any interference with the fairing on your '97?

When I think my SP riding position is uncomfortable, I just take a ride on the bevelhead. Suddenly the SP feels like tourer!

Norton content:

I had a similar issue with the first incarnation of my 850 cafe racer. Fastback bodywork with a Production Racer fairing and Tomaselli clip-ons put my rear too high and my wrists too low. I'm doing the second incarnation with full Production Racer seat and tank which lowers the seating position considerably. Of course while it's on the lift I'm swapping out the Dunstall double disc for a Brembo unit that works (and a matching lightweight rear disc). I'm going to try the gold valve cartridge emulator fork conversion with a Hyde brace, but haven't decided on rear shocks. I don't like the looks of Progressives, but can't bring myself to spend the bucks for IKON. Hagon may get the nod, but my race-minded buddies just rate them as "OK for a street shock".

The fastback bodywork won't go to waste as the other '73 MkV (basket case) up in the mezzanine will probably appear as a rarely seen (if ever) last model fastback. The NOC claims the last one was built in early '73 and this basket case was built in 11/72, so theoretically it's possible.
 
Hi Ron. Well, I had to position the heli-bars a little bit more angled backward than I would have ideally liked to do, in order to provide lock-to-lock clearance for the fairing (I have a CR, with a half fairing BTW).

I'm told some people carve up their fairings (mildly - a couple semicircles or the like) in order to provide a bit more space for the helibars, but I don't reckon myself competent enough with the requisite tool for that route.

I would echo those who are advising not to sell the oil head. I went the other way - just bought an 84 airhead RT today. Gotta get my Norton projects done before it shows up; I'm sure it's gonna need some wrenching.

Getting there. Now if I could just find a nice Laverda Jota 180....
 
Brian: I have a 1982 Jota 180, one of the last 180s made, that same year they started producing the 120s (I also had a 1982 120 which I sold two years ago), which do not have the same character. Production of Jotas ended at the end of 1982. There was a pretty clean 180 1982 on Ebay that just sold for $14,500 if you can believe it. You should check with Wolfgang Haerter in Canada, he knows where the Jotas are hidden in North America....
 
Thanks Spub. Actually, I located one with less than 900 miles on it on CycleTrader - but they wanted $18,500 for it. Now, figure the desirability and scarcity, and it's probably worth that, but that's a bit dear.

Anyway, I have a new (to me) Beemer to deal with (with all the maintenance that comes with a new/old bike, plus probably valve seat and transmission circlip installation, just for starters!) and of course, the Norton is getting better, but is still not there, so I should just deal with what I have. Still - it's nice to dream!
 
I wonder if my CR had helibars? The switchgear just barely cleared the fairing, and that was with the clipons rotated back a bit.

I sold the CR (wasn't riding it due to the uncomfortable ergos) and bought a Hypermotard. It has a nice comfy upright riding position, but still has a torture rack seat. Some things never change!

To the OP, I recommend keeping the beemer. A bike like that is nice to have around.

Sorry about the non-Norton content...

Debby
 
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