Traded In Two, Bought One New

[dhgeyer]

In my seemingly never ending search for the perfect motorcycle, I have reconfigured. Today I traded in my 2006 Kawasaki Concours and my 1996 BMW R850R for a brand new BMW R1200R. BMW has a promotion going. Buy the bike, and they'll throw in the hardbags, which are luggage like, easily removable, quite large, and of course lockable. They would have added another $1,000.00 to the cost of the bike. In addition, BMW knocked $800.00 off the top. I decided it was time for a change.

I used part of the $800.00 to put a big windshield on it. It doesn't really lack anything else I want. It has ABS, and all sorts of electronic farkles built in. It is fed by closed loop FI with a catalytic converter for emission control, which will help decrease all this global warming we're (not) having. The engine is counterbalanced. The suspension is the excellent telelever front, and paralever single sided swingarm/driveshaft rear.
It has a six speed transmission, over a hundred ponies, and will do a tested 125 mph, which it will never see, or even close to it while I own it.

I test rode one last Summer, and I must say it has the smoothest engine and throttle response of any bike I ever rode. And it's white. I always wanted a white BMW boxer ever since a good friend from my high school days had one.

Anyway, this should keep me happy for at least 3 years. I'll have to keep it at least until the warranty runs out or my wife will kill me.

We're having the second snowstorm in 3 days here, so there's no possibility of riding for a while. The dealer is coming by tomorrow with a box truck to deliver the new bike and pick up my trade-ins.

So, now I'm down to two, much to the joy of my wife. I kept the GZ250, of course. I'm having way too much fun with that to part with it any time soon, and so is my daughter.

In the Spring, after some get acquainted rides and the initial service, I plan to do a coast-to-coast on the new Beemer. I recently was given a Blackberry, which I have equipped with a text editor and an FTP client. I also got a few micro SD cards and an adapter, so I can take pictures with my D80 (I'll have to leave the D300 home), edit/resize them in the camera, and get them onto the Blackberry. This means that I can do a live blog with pictures as I travel, without the need for a computer. It'll be a fun trip and project. I can also keep up with this forum with the Blackberry, as it has a decent web browser.

[mrlmd1]

Nice going - you should be happy for a little while. Don't forget to get some pics up here so we can all drool.
I went out and got another one too, nothing as fancy or as exotic as that but just for fun. A 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 250 in perfect almost new shape with only 4000 miles to add to my S50, just to try a different type of bike and hone up my skills. I'll get pics up soon, can't wait to see yours. It's hard to pass up a new bike when the price is right.

[Water Warrior 2]

Just Googled for a pic. Nice looking ride. One of my coffee buds has an older model and just loves it. He thinks nothing of just topping up the tank and disappearing for a week or two. Post some pics soonest. Gotta see it in white.

[dhgeyer]

I was just about to say I should have taken some pics at the dealership, but then I realized that the dealer had one up on their site. Not a great picture, but it will have to do until I can take some. You have to picture it with hardbags and a tall windshield, though. They have to order them, so I get the bike naked to start out with. I'll have them in plenty of time for the real riding season, though. I'll take some better pictures ASAP.



mrlmd1,
You're going to love that Ninja, I guarantee it! Wish I'd never parted with ours. There's just so much fun loaded into that thing! Congratulations.

[burkbuilds]

Wow, really nice! I'm sure you will enjoy this bike. One of my good friends rode a BMW for years and he had nothing but praise for it!

[Water Warrior 2]

Spring must be just around the corner. New bikes, new destinations, new experiences.

[BusyWeb]

Congrats...
I also look forward for a beemer; f800 GS, for the little dirt ventures.
But, its too exprnsive, so I'm going to wait for years for the good used one... ha ha ha
Anyway, waiting for the riding report with your new bike...

[alanmcorcoran]

dh,

I was thinking about that one too, for touring rides. Stay in touch and let us know how it compares for long rides.

[dhgeyer]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

dh,

I was thinking about that one too, for touring rides. Stay in touch and let us know how it compares for long rides.

Alan,

Oh, I'll definitely keep you all posted on my progress getting to know my white horseless stallion, and as the rides get longer I'll let you know how it's working out. I may want to replace the saddle, but on this type of bike that's a simple drop in, no mod required. Other than that, people actually do iron butt rallies on this model. But I'll let you know how it works out for me.

If I actually make to California this Spring, maybe you could take it for a spin and see what you think yourself.

Dave

[alanmcorcoran]

Yeah, too bad you are on the opposite coast. A cross country run has been on my mind for a few years.

I'm in Chicago this week and I've picked up a lot of work. I may take the bike out here in the spring to stretch my range. I've already done 350+ in a day - I think this is a 2000 mile each way. Maybe take four or five days to do it. Have any of the rest of you ridden from Chicago to CA or Chicago to Florida? How many days did you plan on?

I think I can probably manage okay on the Strat, but the Beemer seemed to have a much greater cruising range (Bigger gas tank and better mileage). Of course, my back and neck probably don't want to go more than a couple of hours or so without a rest.