bmw bikes

[KasbeKZ]

i'm just wondering what some of you guys think of bmw's. someone just started arguing with me that bmw's are the best and fastest bikes on the market, and i'm saying "i've never seen bmw at the top of any comparison". what do you all know about bmw's? are they very high up in the sport world? a bike to be much respected?

[Porkchop]

Actually. BMW has a proud and long tradition of making motorcycles.  Just google BMW motorcycle history and see.  I've never heard of them being the fastest but being the best is subjective and arguable.  BMW GS series is a gold standard in adventure touring and their R and K series make great sport tourers.  BMW likes to put shafts on their bikes which makes them almost maintaince free but expensive to repair/replace.  Heck, the whole bike os expensive.  If I had all the money in the world I would have at least one or two BMW motorcycles in my stable.

Bottom line is good bikes but way too expensive for me.

-Porkchop

[ohgood]

The are motorcycles. Some folks don't like them because they're expensive

[trumpetguy]

I wouldn't say they are the fastest, but they are extremely well-made.  They last a long time, and they provide GREAT feedback to the rider.  BMW owners are a pretty rabid group, and for good reason.

[s0crates82]

You get what you pay for, and BMW bikes are expensive.  'nuff said.

[The Buddha]

They are innovative but not neccesarily well made.
Some of them had rims that would bend very easily - mid 90's K bikes if I recall, and BMW claimed it was for safety.
They weren't that easy to maintain and had some funky BS that ran counter to most common sense.
Innovative yes they were/are.
Also of late they are trying to get into the "performance motorcycle" area.
Cool.
Buddha.

[KasbeKZ]

ok so they're pretty well made, yet expensive to maintain, and they haven't really made a large impression on the super sport community? that's pretty much what i thought. i knew their cruisers were nice, but i was just surprised to hear this guy claim that they were fast.

[grayghost]

i've had 3 bmw's , R60/2, R60/3, and a R75/3- all were good bikes, but these earlier variants were low HP, pretty slow-tho once you got them up to speed would cruise all day no problem, and all three were drum brake equiped, and were waaaay too slow stopping. The R90 was the first BMW "muscle" bike (although the R69S was ok performance), the newer bikes are altogether different from the bikes i had, including the new 4cyl chain final drive S1000RR-
if you get a chance the August 2009 Cycle World has a comparison test between the BMW K1300GT and the Kawa Concours 14- the Kawa list at$13,499 and the beemer at$22,245- so the guys saying the bmw's are expensive ain't just'a  woofing

[JStrube]

I've seen the new S1000 RR up close & personal.  198 HP is nothing to sneeze at.  They haven't won any races with it yet, but I'm sure they will, I think they posted a 7th place. 

The K1300GT is a very powerful sport touring bike.  Thing is, they love to cruise at high speed, 80-90 MPH cruise is the norm for them.  A buddy has a R-1150RT, I'm looking at the K1300GT.  Not cheap, but lots of options & they are supposed to last for a long time.

[The Buddha]

I like em R bikes.
Dont know/like the K's much.
Cool.
Buddha.