Hi All,
New to this site and found it by chance, looks good.
Question, I'm also thinking of buying an 1100S and would like to know what they are like to live with. I'd be using it mostly weekends but with one long trip per year. Are they comfy, what's the riding position like and is it tough on the wrists over distance. Any foibles, reliability (subjective I know).
I'm well used to Beemers but am now looking at something lighter in my middle age!!
All advice welcome
$100 Question??
Moderators: Gromit, Paul, slparry
Welcome!
To be honest, you are asking the wrong bunch of peeps here.
Reason being is that we all (well, most of us) have a 1100S and love them like our first born!
There is a comparison test in the current Ride magazine with 4 bikes, one of which is the 1100S. It comes third! I've not ridden the other bikes so I can't comment on them. All the bikes though must be great fun so does it really matter which one you end up with? Nah, not really.
For me I want something slightly different. I always wanted a BMW twin, that and the fact that I'm a lazy soab so shaft drive is ideal! Every time I finish a ride, I just want to put more fuel in it and go off again!
Go ahead and make the same mistake as the rest of us and post here afterwards about it!
To be honest, you are asking the wrong bunch of peeps here.
Reason being is that we all (well, most of us) have a 1100S and love them like our first born!
There is a comparison test in the current Ride magazine with 4 bikes, one of which is the 1100S. It comes third! I've not ridden the other bikes so I can't comment on them. All the bikes though must be great fun so does it really matter which one you end up with? Nah, not really.
For me I want something slightly different. I always wanted a BMW twin, that and the fact that I'm a lazy soab so shaft drive is ideal! Every time I finish a ride, I just want to put more fuel in it and go off again!
Go ahead and make the same mistake as the rest of us and post here afterwards about it!
If you want character buy the BMW, if you want a bike devoid of character buy a VFR. If you have been spoilt by turbine delivery of the K series bikes you will probably not like the vibes of the boxer.
1100S - Don't buy one with less than 10k on the clock - they are comfy for some shapes of riders, others complain - comfort bars above the top clamp help with dodgy wrists but it depends what sort of cruising speed you do as to whether they are needed - shaft drive is not the long term safe bet that lots of people recon.
1100S - Don't buy one with less than 10k on the clock - they are comfy for some shapes of riders, others complain - comfort bars above the top clamp help with dodgy wrists but it depends what sort of cruising speed you do as to whether they are needed - shaft drive is not the long term safe bet that lots of people recon.
Lloyd
It's not how fast you ride, it's how you ride fast.
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.
It's not how fast you ride, it's how you ride fast.
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.
Thanks for the tips, my local dealer has a nice 2002 one, 8k mls, hugger, full luggage inc tank bag, centre stand and heated grips which I reckon he'd part with for £4750. On the other hand there's a tasty one currently on the auction site with full monty and no reserve in Yorkshire
Decisions decisions!
Decisions decisions!
Doesn't sound like a bad deal if there's a warranty with it.
This site has been running for a good few years now and that in itself is a statement about how many people love this bike.
Personally I haven't seen anything i'd rather have for the same fun and the same price so I'll probably stay with my S till it falls apart.
This site has been running for a good few years now and that in itself is a statement about how many people love this bike.
Personally I haven't seen anything i'd rather have for the same fun and the same price so I'll probably stay with my S till it falls apart.
so I'll probably stay with my S till it falls apart.
could be sooner than you think
nice pics again Harry btw.
Graffiti, based on my experience of the S, a warranty is quite a useful thing to have from a dealer as the major things that go wrong are expensive...
I had various bearings and seals replaced under warranty on a 6k mile bike and am about to attempt major surgery on the entire transmission at 34k. Whilst I think my experience is rare - I am not alone...
I think I have had an unreasonable amount of bad luck coupled with the fact my bike gets used mainly for pootling around in traffic or for two up trips + luggage; its probably not the typical S owner use (if such a thing exists).
Running costs on my S seem to have been very high as I perhaps misguidedly have had it serviced by BMW every time. I believe the bike can be cheap to run if you tackle all the minor jobs yourself.
That said, still love the bike.
Ade.
2000 R1100S Sport
1980 Vespa P125X
1980 Vespa P125X
Thanks for the honest feedback guys, you've got me seriously worried now!!
The prospect of spending nearly £5K on a bike and then looking for seal leaks and the other problems you mention is looking decidedly less attractive by the minute (reminiscent of my old ducati, never again!).
As regards any warranty I suspect the Honda dealer (yes, previous owner traded it in for a VFR apparently) will only be 3 months max.
Given that I'd probably put 60 miles on it in that time, it isn't of any real benefit to me by the sound of it.....
The prospect of spending nearly £5K on a bike and then looking for seal leaks and the other problems you mention is looking decidedly less attractive by the minute (reminiscent of my old ducati, never again!).
As regards any warranty I suspect the Honda dealer (yes, previous owner traded it in for a VFR apparently) will only be 3 months max.
Given that I'd probably put 60 miles on it in that time, it isn't of any real benefit to me by the sound of it.....
sorry to frighten you - the problems I mentioned should be simple to diagnose.
If you put the bike on its centre stand (if it has one) and there is play in the swingarm at either the joint where the engine attaches (rare) or at the joint where the wheel hub attaches to the swingarm (more common), get the dealer to fix it. The latter could just require adjustment which is dead easy (even by my standards).
If there is oil mist on the joint between the clutch housing and engine casing on the RHS then the seal has gone which is not terminal in itsself but could lead to a slipping clutch. This will show up after a long ride (ie. within the 3 month warranty period).
as you may have noticed, my terminology is not great...
if neither problem is apparent the bike is probably fine in this respect and at 8k any major gremlins should have already been sorted.
like I say, my experience is not typical and the bike has provided me with 28k of pretty much trouble free riding in all weathers until recent transmission problems. After the warranty work (spotted early on) and aside from service items and tyres, I have had to replace a battery, a headlamp bulb, a fork seal and a corroded power socket cable which I think is probably reasonable for a 6 year old bike which gets used through winter.
BMW offer a 1 year warranty on their 2nd hand bikes if that helps.
Ade
If you put the bike on its centre stand (if it has one) and there is play in the swingarm at either the joint where the engine attaches (rare) or at the joint where the wheel hub attaches to the swingarm (more common), get the dealer to fix it. The latter could just require adjustment which is dead easy (even by my standards).
If there is oil mist on the joint between the clutch housing and engine casing on the RHS then the seal has gone which is not terminal in itsself but could lead to a slipping clutch. This will show up after a long ride (ie. within the 3 month warranty period).
as you may have noticed, my terminology is not great...
if neither problem is apparent the bike is probably fine in this respect and at 8k any major gremlins should have already been sorted.
like I say, my experience is not typical and the bike has provided me with 28k of pretty much trouble free riding in all weathers until recent transmission problems. After the warranty work (spotted early on) and aside from service items and tyres, I have had to replace a battery, a headlamp bulb, a fork seal and a corroded power socket cable which I think is probably reasonable for a 6 year old bike which gets used through winter.
BMW offer a 1 year warranty on their 2nd hand bikes if that helps.
Ade
2000 R1100S Sport
1980 Vespa P125X
1980 Vespa P125X
graffiti wrote:As regards any warranty I suspect the H*nda dealer (yes, previous owner traded it in for a VFR apparently) will only be 3 months max.
Given that I'd probably put 60 miles on it in that time, it isn't of any real benefit to me by the sound of it.....
Don't buy from a dealer unless you are going to rack up a few miles in short order - no point.
Lloyd
It's not how fast you ride, it's how you ride fast.
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.
It's not how fast you ride, it's how you ride fast.
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.
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