My 1989 K75 has 220.000km. Has been well serviced over the years and in return she has been a faithfull companionship over thwe last 20 years. However I'm getting older, (in September I'll be 52), my two boys are getting heavier and I am thinking the possibility of adding  a new bike to the stable. Last month I bought a 2008 BMW G650X Country for the heavy city traffic here in Athens. Less weight, relatively low seat for that category, comfortable for the horrible roads that we have over here, ABS and last but not least spoke wheels, (I love them)! I already did 1.000km and I am more then happy with the little bike. However for touring on the highway I am cosnidering a K1100RS 1993 92.000km or a TRIUMPH SPRINT GT 2010 57.000km. I do tend to keep my bikes for a long time, sometime for decades, (and in the case of the K75 for life). So my thoughts over the two models are as follows:

K1100RS
+ I will keep the services of my local BMW dealer that helps me with the K75 for the last 20 years.
+ Pleanty of spares, some even common with the K75
+ Excellent online help from various Forums
- She is 30 years old bike - technology

SPRINT GT 2010
+ She is a triple
+ She is younger and still beautiful.
+ She is a relatively low tech - old school bike compared to BMW K1200S (that's a good thing for me)
+ Not many around and doesn't give the look of nouveau riche rider that the later BMW bikes do at least here in Athens...
- God knows about spares in the future.

I used to ride a sprint 900 a few years back and althought she was a heavy bike, she was a sweet ride with a beautiful sound. I sold her because she was so similar to the K75. I must say, the road handling was better than that of the old BMW but the rest was so "familiar"...

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Well... from this viewpoint, the brick is easier to maintain than the Triumph and as I do all my own maintenance, the K100 would win hands-down.

You ask that on a K bike forum "highlight this to get the answer PICK the K BIKE DUMMY"

...I guess you are right Rick!

The thing is, I always considered the Sprint a long cousin of the K75. It's amazing how familiar the sound (and the weight) is... I am afraid to say I don't particulary like the new-ish K1200S, k1300S, (not to mention that IMHO the panniers look ridiculous) and they are still relatively expensive. So if I was to move to the 21st century, my choices would be limited. I like the K1200RS but the weight, for me at least, is terrifying. The K1100RS has an elegant, classic design, the weight is still ok but she is almost a 30 years old bike. If I was to add her to the stable, next to the K75, I would find myself stuck to my university era, (early 90's)...Am I getting too old or they don't make beautiful bikes anymore?

My current steed is a K1200GT last of the bricks and I can't wait to get back on the K1100LT I am building. The GT is a good bike but it just doesn't fit me.

Stavro,

if you can do with a chain instead of the universal joint shaft, I would suggest you'd take the Sprint GT.

there's some good news:
Regina have introduced the maintenance-free motorcycle chain

Sounds like the famous BMW/ZF auto transmission that was sealed for life, no need to change the oil for the life of the unit. They were right when the oil was shagged so was the trans at about 80K.
Oh yes and don't forget the lubed for life spline on the K100. That worked well didn't it.

That chain is probably designed to last a "lifetime" which sounds great except that BMW now want us to believe that the lifetime of a bike is 50,000km.

Which is terrific because then you can go to your dealer and buy another.

Cheers

Yeah, a chain that will make the price of a Paralever drive shaft look like a smokin' deal.

I suspect the unstated details are that the chain will have a service life as long as a standard chain, you just won't "need" to clean and lube it while it is on your bike.  Then you can replace it for 500-600+ bucks at the dealer.  It's a BMW part after all, isn't it?

I keep thinking back to Chris Harris' comments on the car guys taking over Motorad in 2004 because the bikes weren't generating enough profit.  Going forward the focus would be on bells and whistles, the bikes were only designed to last as long as the warranty, then the buyer was supposed to trade for a new model.  Basically, the same business plan as the 4 wheel division.

I love my K bikes and they may be old school but they are also eaeir to maintain then they are given credit for. I found K1100RS much too heavy, thats compared to the K100RS, RT and LT and K1100LT that I have. My lightest bike and definitely more nimble is my 83 K100RS. Much of it got upgraded in 84 and later production runs but most of the parts are backwards compatible so its ok.

I would still struggle with a K1100RS.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:I love my K bikes and they may be old school but they are also eaeir to maintain then they are given credit for. I found K1100RS much too heavy, thats compared to the K100RS, RT and LT and K1100LT that I have. My lightest bike and definitely more nimble is my 83 K100RS. Much of it got upgraded in 84 and later production runs but most of the parts are backwards compatible so its ok.

I would still struggle with a K1100RS.

I find this puzzling.  I have a 16V K100RS with a K1100RS fairing on it and find it to be much easier to handle than my K75RT and a bit easier than the 8V K100RS I briefly owned. 

I suspect that because of the different wheels on the 16V K100RS and K1100RS the center of gravity and seat height(on my bike) are a bit lower.  I know for a fact it is easier to flat foot my RS than my RT. Also, the mass of the fairing on the RT is significantly higher than the RS.

I also find the reliability and relative simplicity of the brick design comforting when several thousand miles from home and late at night in the middle of nowhere.  I am not sure I would feel quite as confident riding a K1600GT with 100,000 miles in the same situation.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:I found K1100RS much too heavy, thats compared to the . . . K1100LT that I have.

According to the specifications table in BMW's K1100 Riders Handbook, the K1100RS has a wet weight 22kg lighter than the K1100LT. If the K1100RS was setup with stock rims, maybe its 18" rear wheel's shifting weight forward toward its 17" front wheel was making a difference in balance that muscle memory just couldn't adapt to rapidly enough without more experience.

Laitch wrote:

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:I found K1100RS much too heavy, thats compared to the . . . K1100LT that I have.

According to the specifications table in BMW's K1100 Riders Handbook, the K1100RS has a wet weight 22kg lighter than the K1100LT. If the K1100RS was setup with stock rims, maybe its 18" rear wheel's shifting weight forward toward its 17" front wheel was making a difference in balance that muscle memory just couldn't adapt to rapidly enough without more experience.

Yes but hands on riding experience in both, the narrow RS bars and rising position made it very tricky for me and makes it very hard to manouvre in tight spaces.

I have the radio and all associated speakers, ariel, electrics, top box module off K1100LT and that accounts for a big part of the weight difference. I went straight from one tot he other and back again. I also had the RS wheels on my K1100LT at the time and not the K1100LT wheels.