FJR - BMW Sport Touring Shootout
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big ears
Well-known member
Why would you need to check the oil level so much. Does yours burn oil or leak?
bes
Well-known member
NOT SO FAST TO DISS THE BEEMER; there are some things that may be superior to the FJR. I have few miles on my 08 FJR, but about 20k on an 02 RT. The beemer suspension is top notch. It absolutely saved my fat *** from overriding my skill level on more than one occasion(yes I'm a slow learner). There was absolutely no front end dive under the hardest of braking, and the wind protection (quiet pocket of air) was easier to find on the RT. Personally I got tired of driving a tractor motor, and then we have the rear end issues.......
As far as the dealer network goes, Mamma Yamma may be more prevalent, but as to the the quality of service, Beemer wins hands down. The 2 BMW shops I have experience with, here in Vegas and Sierra BMW in Sparks, service was perfect. Compared to the overfilling the oil (2 for 2), stripping, then breaking a fairing tab, ...... They may be pricey, and seem snooty to some, but a shabby product they are not. Just my experience, limited as it may be.........Barry
cctxfjr
Well-known member
had an 06 FJR and a 02 R1150 (6 speed) at the same time liked the beemer better and sold the FJR when they fix the buzzy motor and uneven throttle will buy another FJR. Power wise the FJR beat the beemer hands down but in a lot of other areas the beemer was a better bike for me. Mine has been trouble free and is of top quality construction and materials. A lot of little things all add up to a good bike
I had a 1995 BMW K1100RS, loved the bike except repairs etc, gunny. Different then yours though...
3. I disagree. My RS felt and braked heavy. I could tell I was on the brakes and the bike was hard to slow down. The FeeJ has excellent brakes for its class.
4. I felt the FeeJ liked to stand up period in corners. I quickly got used to that, and deal with it, and now I feel it's excellent in corners.
6. My oil sight glass was buried into the fairing and I needed to get on my knees with a flash light, major PITA.
There were many things I liked about the Beemer that the FeeJ lacks; however, I also believe the FeeJ is a better all around bike. NO regrets, probably will never go back to BMW.
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cctxfjr
Well-known member
my 02 R1150 oil head with 80,000 burns a quart every 6,000 miles which is considered very good as all oil heads use some oil no leaks though
I never noticed any drop in the oil level but it is nice to check, just cuz we can. If the bike stands up in the corner too much your compression damping may be set too tight/slow and you could be using too much front brake after you are entering the turn. Use the gears, ride the pace, and stay off the brakes. You can almost ride her with no hands in the turns and she wont stand up. I dont have any BMW experience though.
Yeah, well I used to date a gal who - - [SIZE=8pt](Sorry. I'll start my own thread.)[/SIZE]
Chaz Fisher
Member
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Um, would this be a bad time to mention the way the sight glass blew out of my R1100RS this spring, resulting in WAY more wrenching than I care to think about? :dribble:
Tell me how the riding position compares between the two. I've got barbacks on the RS, if that matters.
jwhite518
Well-known member
Hard to really compare. My RS didn't have barbacks but the Feejer does. Also the Feejer has a completely custom seat, the RS had custom foam in the stock shape. All that said, the FJR is more upright. I kind of liked the slightly forward position of the RS. It made it very comfortable to ride aggressively in the turns. However the upright position of the FJR is more comfortable on the highway. So - no clear winner. Ask me again after turning in a few endurance rides.
Knifemaker
Not me
Actualy for me the BMW could be the best bike in the world, but I will never own one. Not for the cost or performance... but because I went into the ONLY BMW dealer in St. Louis awhile back and the folks working there treated me like a second class citizen. The word "snooty" and "condisending" do not even cover it.
So **** them and BMW. I'm really happy with my trouble free FJR.
KM
So **** them and BMW. I'm really happy with my trouble free FJR.
KM
WBill
Well-known member
I wasn't able to tell if the sight glass thing was facetious or serious, but I'll hazard a comment anyway.
I was a Beemer forum correspondent while I owned one, and they had were numerous accounts of oil sight glasses blowing out while I was on the list. I have yet to learn of a similar Feej problem. The FJR glass does have level marks, BTW, but I guess everyone here knows that, huh? WBill
I was a Beemer forum correspondent while I owned one, and they had were numerous accounts of oil sight glasses blowing out while I was on the list. I have yet to learn of a similar Feej problem. The FJR glass does have level marks, BTW, but I guess everyone here knows that, huh? WBill
jwhite518
Well-known member
Hudson
Well-known member
Funny, I went into my local BMW dealer, ready willing and able to pay for an RT1200. Dealer was nice, answered questions, but never returned my calls. Waiting for the return call, I wandered into a Yamaha dealer...and the result was the shiny black 08 in my garage (I've barely put 320 miles on it, gotta git riding!).
Not sure why they were not motivated, but happy with my choice!
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Lake Powell
Well-known member
My last sport tourer was a BMW K1200RS an 02' it was a pretty good bike but not to the level of my FJR. It had power brakes that I never got used to, and I really didn't like the paralever front end, too much mass to follow the small bumps. It had a sixth gear, while many think that is superior to the FJR, think again. My FJR is an all around bike, lots of weekend trips but a majority of commutting to work, slab riding-blah. The BMW in sixth gear never has the punch you need to squirt in and out of traffic, fifth gear is too high. The FJR is just at the bottom of the curve and is ready to go and I can cut and run through traffic at will.
But KM says it the best, as the dealer here in Salt Lake is the worst, they couldn't suck more if they tried. I bought my BMW there and went back when I was looking for a new one. It was their actions and ****** attitude that led me to the FJR. Their overpriced sevice was a joke and you think they were doing me a grand favor for even looking at my bike.
So to the dealer here in SLC and to BMW for allowing such ****** performance, ya **** them.
But KM says it the best, as the dealer here in Salt Lake is the worst, they couldn't suck more if they tried. I bought my BMW there and went back when I was looking for a new one. It was their actions and ****** attitude that led me to the FJR. Their overpriced sevice was a joke and you think they were doing me a grand favor for even looking at my bike.
So to the dealer here in SLC and to BMW for allowing such ****** performance, ya **** them.
beacher
Well-known member
I got the same treatment from the local BMW that Knifemaker got; climbed all over the K1200S (I think, can't remember!), was there for about an hour, and walked out kind of pissed! OTOH. . . I got the exact same treatment from the Yamaha dealer, so I figured that it just must be me! Granted, the BMW was really too tall for me, but then so is the FJR, although I'm getting used to it, but the guys at BMW lost a cash sale, and I saved about $5,000! It seems to me that it really is a stupid thing for sales people to judge by appearance. . .
Granted, the BMW was really too tall for me, but then so is the FJR, although I'm getting used to it, but the guys at BMW lost a cash sale, and I saved about $5,000! It seems to me that it really is a stupid thing for sales people to judge by appearance. . .
Dingbat
Member
Here's my two cents comparing my prior 04 R1150RT with my new 08 FJR, this is what I wrote in the new member introduction section a few weeks ago -
"... as far as comparing the RT and FJR, I have been so busy since purchase that I honestly have not had time to ride the FJR since brining it home. Back in 03 when I bought the RT, I was looking at the ST, FJR and RT. The Yamaha PDP program really put me off and I did not want to put a deposit down on the bike sight and test-ride unseen. I eventually went with the RT because at the time, there was a super promotion by BMW financial which let me ride off the dealer lot with 0 down, 4.9% interest at 48 months, no interest or payments for 90 days and BMW financial made the first 5 payments, for a total of 8 months of no payments!. Plus there were no other additional PDI fees and the dealer discounted the bike an additional $500. Before that I was riding a 98 Honda Valkyrie Tourer, excellent tourer, engine smooth as glass, but not as much fun in the mountains and twisty roads as it was a big bike. The RT I rode to Yellowstone, Glacier Nat. Park, up the west coast to Vancouver B.C. The handling was beyond reproach due to the telelever and paralever suspension, no front end dive, extremely stable and decptionally "flickable" for a bulbous bike - this was the bike that made me a much better rider overall, leaning at angles I was never comfortable with on any other bike prior, and I've owned a few. Build quality was exceptional, fuel mileage excellent, high load capacity/GVWR, wind/element protection fantastic, and servicing fairly simple on an air cooled engine with threaded locknut adjusters for the valves and two exposed throttle bodies for syncing once the tupperware was off. What I did not care for were the short valve adjustment intervals (6000 miles) requiring the tupperware to be removed everytime, especially around the exhaust headers that were enshrounded by "shark fins" that directed airflow, annual servicing of the abs braking system that was a bit of a PITA as the bike used electric servo motors as part of th system (the 1st time servicing was precarious, but after that, it was just a little time consuming and required a special BMW funnel that attached to the brake pump/servo unit under the tank to pour the brake fluid in as it was being emptied - (built my own funnel thingy as the price for the BMW funnel was outrageous for a piece of plastic), the lack of power of the engine as the revs climbed (always was left in the dust by other ST and FJR riders), the clutch action in first gear was tricky to get the bike rolling from a stop as you had to balance finessing it with enough throttle input but not so much that a prematurely burned out clutch (dry clutch plates like on an automobile) would be the result from slipping the clutch lever with too much gas. But the biggest reason I sold it was because of an inordinate amount of reports on the BMW RT board about final drive failures in which the splines would get chewed up and self-destruct, a very labor intensive and expensive thing to fix as the whole rear of the bike had to be disassembled and displaced to access the automobile style transmission.
I do miss the RT as the handling and ride was excellent, but I don't miss the servicing and maintenance and lack of dealer support around the country. One of the biggest considerations in getting the FJR was the ease of maintenance in accesing the oil filter, air filter and throttle bodies and drive shaft splines as well as the crazy extended 26600 mile valve adjustment intervals. I do all my own servicing and did not want another bike that had miles of tupperware enclosing all the mechanicals/internals, considered the ST1300, but too much plastic to have to remove, as evidenced by my friend who has one and does his own servicing. The fact that the FJR has a monster motor is icing on the cake!"
Here's a picture of the RT I used to own for comparison, this was up in NorCal in the Redwoods
Old Blue Scoot
That said, I just rode yesterday on the FJR up the back/loose side of Palomar Mtn here in San Diego county. I am still getting used to the FJR compared to the RT on this stretch of road but I am of the opinion that I could ride at a smoother and faster pace on the RT vs. the FJR, most likely due to the telelever and paralever suspension of the RT and modulating the throttle smoothly combined with engine braking from the flat opposed twin motor. A different tool for the same job that I'll eventually get used to as the lack of (by comparison) engine braking on an inline-4 and the fact that the throttle on the FJR delivers a heck of alot more speed that can get you in over your head alot quicker than the RT.
"... as far as comparing the RT and FJR, I have been so busy since purchase that I honestly have not had time to ride the FJR since brining it home. Back in 03 when I bought the RT, I was looking at the ST, FJR and RT. The Yamaha PDP program really put me off and I did not want to put a deposit down on the bike sight and test-ride unseen. I eventually went with the RT because at the time, there was a super promotion by BMW financial which let me ride off the dealer lot with 0 down, 4.9% interest at 48 months, no interest or payments for 90 days and BMW financial made the first 5 payments, for a total of 8 months of no payments!. Plus there were no other additional PDI fees and the dealer discounted the bike an additional $500. Before that I was riding a 98 Honda Valkyrie Tourer, excellent tourer, engine smooth as glass, but not as much fun in the mountains and twisty roads as it was a big bike. The RT I rode to Yellowstone, Glacier Nat. Park, up the west coast to Vancouver B.C. The handling was beyond reproach due to the telelever and paralever suspension, no front end dive, extremely stable and decptionally "flickable" for a bulbous bike - this was the bike that made me a much better rider overall, leaning at angles I was never comfortable with on any other bike prior, and I've owned a few. Build quality was exceptional, fuel mileage excellent, high load capacity/GVWR, wind/element protection fantastic, and servicing fairly simple on an air cooled engine with threaded locknut adjusters for the valves and two exposed throttle bodies for syncing once the tupperware was off. What I did not care for were the short valve adjustment intervals (6000 miles) requiring the tupperware to be removed everytime, especially around the exhaust headers that were enshrounded by "shark fins" that directed airflow, annual servicing of the abs braking system that was a bit of a PITA as the bike used electric servo motors as part of th system (the 1st time servicing was precarious, but after that, it was just a little time consuming and required a special BMW funnel that attached to the brake pump/servo unit under the tank to pour the brake fluid in as it was being emptied - (built my own funnel thingy as the price for the BMW funnel was outrageous for a piece of plastic), the lack of power of the engine as the revs climbed (always was left in the dust by other ST and FJR riders), the clutch action in first gear was tricky to get the bike rolling from a stop as you had to balance finessing it with enough throttle input but not so much that a prematurely burned out clutch (dry clutch plates like on an automobile) would be the result from slipping the clutch lever with too much gas. But the biggest reason I sold it was because of an inordinate amount of reports on the BMW RT board about final drive failures in which the splines would get chewed up and self-destruct, a very labor intensive and expensive thing to fix as the whole rear of the bike had to be disassembled and displaced to access the automobile style transmission.
I do miss the RT as the handling and ride was excellent, but I don't miss the servicing and maintenance and lack of dealer support around the country. One of the biggest considerations in getting the FJR was the ease of maintenance in accesing the oil filter, air filter and throttle bodies and drive shaft splines as well as the crazy extended 26600 mile valve adjustment intervals. I do all my own servicing and did not want another bike that had miles of tupperware enclosing all the mechanicals/internals, considered the ST1300, but too much plastic to have to remove, as evidenced by my friend who has one and does his own servicing. The fact that the FJR has a monster motor is icing on the cake!"
Here's a picture of the RT I used to own for comparison, this was up in NorCal in the Redwoods
Old Blue Scoot
That said, I just rode yesterday on the FJR up the back/loose side of Palomar Mtn here in San Diego county. I am still getting used to the FJR compared to the RT on this stretch of road but I am of the opinion that I could ride at a smoother and faster pace on the RT vs. the FJR, most likely due to the telelever and paralever suspension of the RT and modulating the throttle smoothly combined with engine braking from the flat opposed twin motor. A different tool for the same job that I'll eventually get used to as the lack of (by comparison) engine braking on an inline-4 and the fact that the throttle on the FJR delivers a heck of alot more speed that can get you in over your head alot quicker than the RT.
beemerdons
Certifiable Old Fart
Dingbat: Very nice comparison report. I am in wholehearted agreement with your comments on the paralever and telelever allowing for a quicker ride on the RT over the FJR covering the same route, this is my personal experience also.
You are right on regarding the ease of manipulating the RT throttle versus the FJR throttle, which is a bear to smoothly use.
Case in point is this Sunday's ride of AZ FJR Forum up Devil's Highway 666 in Eastern Arizona; our favorite racer boy road.
We Zonies ride this route all of the time; and in the stretch from Morenci to Nutrioso I can always cover those twisties faster on my RT than on my FJR. Even with the ferocious FJR horsepower, the BMW's suspension and handling let's me roll faster.
I will be taking the FJR on Sunday, because those mooks SkooterG and FJRobert will be riding with me. There is nothing I hate more than exiting out of the curves on my RT and seeing those maggots getting ready to pounce me in the straights!
I feel fortunate that I am able to own both "Ingrid" my 2005 BMW R1150RT and "Miss Lucy Liu" my 2003 Yamaha FJR 1300.
I am also lucky to be living in central Arizona with three great BMW dealers surrounding me. Iron Horse in Tucson, Victory in Chandler and BMW of Scottsdale are nice people to work with and treat the customer right. I have heard about St. Louis!!
Having owned Type 259 Oilheads since October of 1995 with my 1996 BMW R1100GS, I can do the 6K service really quickly.
Miss Lucy and Ingrid are both great machines and I'll never get rid of either of them. Do want the updated 2010 FJR though!
You are right on regarding the ease of manipulating the RT throttle versus the FJR throttle, which is a bear to smoothly use.
Case in point is this Sunday's ride of AZ FJR Forum up Devil's Highway 666 in Eastern Arizona; our favorite racer boy road.
We Zonies ride this route all of the time; and in the stretch from Morenci to Nutrioso I can always cover those twisties faster on my RT than on my FJR. Even with the ferocious FJR horsepower, the BMW's suspension and handling let's me roll faster.
I will be taking the FJR on Sunday, because those mooks SkooterG and FJRobert will be riding with me. There is nothing I hate more than exiting out of the curves on my RT and seeing those maggots getting ready to pounce me in the straights!
I feel fortunate that I am able to own both "Ingrid" my 2005 BMW R1150RT and "Miss Lucy Liu" my 2003 Yamaha FJR 1300.
I am also lucky to be living in central Arizona with three great BMW dealers surrounding me. Iron Horse in Tucson, Victory in Chandler and BMW of Scottsdale are nice people to work with and treat the customer right. I have heard about St. Louis!!
Having owned Type 259 Oilheads since October of 1995 with my 1996 BMW R1100GS, I can do the 6K service really quickly.
Miss Lucy and Ingrid are both great machines and I'll never get rid of either of them. Do want the updated 2010 FJR though!
bikesniffer
Well-known member
Good for you, anytime someone in sales acts like royalty and really make an *** out of themselves I'm walking and let them know in no uncertain terms. If more people would learn or care to speak up it would slowly but surely make a difference IMHO
Alfred
