BMW R1150RT (2001 - 2005) Review

Year: 2004

Annual servicing cost: £250

I recommend to more than one of my friends

Year: 2002

Annual servicing cost: £300

This is my 3rd R1100 series bike, which must say something! I have use all 3 on a 400 miles per week commute over the last 15 years and while the others were good the RT is by far the most comfortable with its adjustable screen and very effective fairing, and the remarkable paralever front suspension. I'm also a fan of the linked ABS servo system in all weathers.

Version: used police bike

Year: 2005

Annual servicing cost: £150

bike has earned it's cost

Year: 2002

Annual servicing cost: £250

I bought this second hand and find it a joy to ride. It is comfortable and I recommend as a touring or commuter bike for longer distances. It is not sporty and I also have a 1996 VFR750 for an alternative.

Version: Single plug

Year: 2002

Still uses a qt of oil every 2k miles. Burned exhaust valve at 23k. Fully integrated brakes with servo assist the most dangerous thing I've ever experienced. Battery barely lasts a year, even with a battery tender. Radio on a motorcycle is a ridiculous thing (I took it out and use the cavity for storage). I do all my own work using Chinese parts, when available...otherwise I couldn't afford to own it. Love the adjustable wind screen (otherwise I would have rated it a one). I'm 74 years old and will likely have to quit riding in the near future. Otherwise it'd be gone.

Year: 2004

Annual servicing cost: £1,500

Sporty, comfortable, and fun to ride. Comfortable eating up the miles on the autobahn or the curvy roads of the alps.

Year: 2004

Good tourer let down by servo-braking issues

Year: 2004

Annual servicing cost: £350

Not bad at all. Good suspension, great handling, excellent wind protection, reliable touring machine. Gas mileage acceptable, some surging, kinda heavy, acceleration .... What acceleration? Well, it is okay. I like my bike.

Year: 2004

70k miles and runs great. Gearbox is klunky and if you leave it on side stand for a while it will smoke for a minute when you start it. Also you absolutely need to fit a battery tender as battery will drain quickly. Great bike tho

Year: 2002

Annual servicing cost: £350

Great comfort. Decent handling for a sports tourer. Very reliable. Has aged well.

Buying experience: From a dealer: €4500 in 2015

Year: 2001

Annual servicing cost: £450

overall awesome bike

Year: 2004

Best motorcycle I've ever owned. 75k on mine. Uses zero oil, plenty of power, amazing handling, comfortable enough to knock out 800 mile days, over and over.

The 1150 changed in 2003 from 1 spark plug per cylinder (nicknamed single spark), to 2 (err, the twin spark). When this later model was brought out it sorted quite a few issues with earlier machines such as: Cured the surging (a feeling of the bike accelerating and decelerating at steady throttle settings). Improved rear brake feeling (the rear brake was too powerful and caused the odd problem with slow speed manouvers when it was too easy to lock the rear wheel (and bring the front brake into play a little too early). Improved the horn (the later models used twin horns as opposed to a single unit). A different alternator belt and pulley was used to give the alternator an easier life. This is a superb bike but not without its faults. Comfort for me is top notch, econony is 50mpg plus (most of the time). Handling is brilliant. Its shortcomings...look out for possible gearbox alignment problems if the bike has had any history with this, don't touch it. Hall Effect Sensors (ignition trigger) wiring on early bikes had been know to have insulation breakdown problems, but never heard of it in later bikes. Servo brakes could go belly up. Some bikes have had this removed - this is not a bad thing and don't let it put you off.

Bought April 2008 with 41000 miles and a full service history,and have had nothing but trouble with the thing. The electric screen, heated grips and comfort are very good as is the handling for such a big bike. However it has been the most unreliable bike I have ever had. Its had a new battery (failed due to an electrical short), starter motor, gearbox seal, rear hub seal, drinks loads of oil and now has had complete brake failure when travelling at speed. Its going to cost £1600 to repair the brakes as a brake modulator has failed. I should of stayed with what I know and stayed away from this German rubbish. Avoid if you don't want major servicing service and repair bills.

not an 1150 and apart from a bit more power and a different front light I can't see much difference. Used to have a firestorm and really liked the noise and power but then I got married and it had to go as it wasn't really practical even though i'd fitted a Givi top box. So went to look at big tourers incl Pans, FJR's but they didn't fit through my narrow gate, so got an R reg R1100RT, which just goes through when mirrors a removed. The first biggest difference was how big it was when filtering and the comfort of the bar position. So First mod was a bigger screen made by Sedcam, much better wind deflection all the way up to 110 mph. Pillion comfort is great she said and the other luggage is a big help, I transferred my Give from the firestorm to the BM no problems. The Engine does have a lot of low down torque which is where all the power is but doesn't like it near the redline. Once chased a VFR 800 from 50 (post Gatso) and I simply ran out of revs and he slowly pulled away once i hit 4th. Overall though a great bike for going places on, great on petrol usually average 45-50 mpg knocking around on a run I get around 70. The only thing to have gone wrong was an actuation arm which SNAPPED CLEAN IN HALF at the back of the engine which is simply pulled by the cable from the clutch god knows how this happened. Got a second hand one from Motorworks for 40 quid. Would sometimes love the speed of the FJR though

Bought the bike to tour Europe next year. Me and the Mrs have done loads of miles on it with no aches and pains, a very comfy bike. Good weather protection with the adjustable screen and of course the heated grips are a mortal saver when it's cold. The engine will just keep spinng whatever you want to do in whatever gear you might find yourself in. The ABS took some getting used to but after a few 'situations' they become something to rely on. Once we got used to the bike the fun factor really takes hold, smooth ride through bends and straights. Cars really do move out of your way!. Really looking forward to next summer when we can get amongst it in France, Spain, Germany etc. Not as quick as my previous Jap' bikes but then again I'm not as quick as I once was either. Definetly a good buy. Strengths: Bags of grunt, even with 2 up, build quality is good, fuel compsumption is good street cred' is great! Weaknesses: At 90mph+ and solo bike becomes a little unstable with all panniers on, faith in gryoscopic's will keep you calm though!

Bought used in 2005 (2 years old). Needed a bike that could take me and Mrs to far off places in comfort without costing a fortune in fuel. Looked at the Honda but they had problems on the new Pan and the old one seemed a bit dated compared with this, not to mention servicing and fuel costs. I am very happy with the bike thus far, having covered 16k miles over the year. It is comfortable, has excellent weather protection (which is bad on hot days! Where's the breeze?). Brilliant heated grips! BMW luggage is easy to use and secure, with enough room for essentials on a long trip. The bike reacts well to a relaxed style of riding, perfect for holidays, but can also really cut it with the faster boys when required. The engine is not up to this really though, getting a little rough if you rev it. I'd expect that of a boxer twin though. Tank range is very good, 225 miles. Around 48-50 mpg. Servicing is easy once you get the bodywork off (15 min job). Strengths: The engine has lots of torque and pulls well thoughout the range. Handling is very, very good. More so for the size of the bike! With practise you can really chuck it about. The brakes are amazing, a little sharp at times but grab the front lever and it stops! No matter what the weather! Weaknesses: Fuel injection! Runs too weak in closed loop cycle, causes surging. Careful setup and fix it or after market injection controller (twin spark bikes are ok). Engine could occasionally do with more power at the top of the range. Liked back brake is a bad idea, (U turns!) front is good though.

Have had this bike for a year and 10,000 miles. For the first 7,000 miles it did not run very smoothly . It requires a mechanic to know what he is doing to set it up correctly (this was more of a let down by the dealer). In the last few months the bike has had to have the following items replaced because of the quality. Centre stand-poor quality paint work, one of the panniers -as it let in rain water when the bike is parked on its centre stand in the rain, both horns have given up working.The paint work on the front fork bridge has been very poorly applied and litteraly falls off in your cloth when you polish it. The left hand panel trim has been replaced twice as the fixings are so poor.The rev counter had condensation in it as well as the Rider Information Display unit.(Petrol gauge,clock and engine temp gauge). The Fuel gauge gives false readings.The brake discs are also showing signs of "pitting". Strengths: A comfy seat and corners well for a tourer. Weaknesses: When the two year warranty ends and in particular the poor fuel consumption of 42 MPG.