Voted most helpful review
Reviewed on December 1, 1999
After 18 years on my Virago 750 it was time for a change. I picked up a used '94 R1100RSL in mint condition in early Oct. '99. The 94k kilometres didn't concern me at all since the bike had obviously been pampered and the previous owner turned over all service records. It was a bit of an...
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After 18 years on my Virago 750 it was time for a change. I picked up a used '94 R1100RSL in mint condition in early Oct. '99. The 94k kilometres didn't concern me at all since the bike had obviously been pampered and the previous owner turned over all service records. It was a bit of an adjustment getting used to the riding position after my long stretch in a cruiser saddle, but I made the transition none the worse for wear. I've used threshold braking techniques for years, so the ABS braking system wasn't a major feature in my books. However, I am certainly impressed with the ability of those big front rotors to haul me down from Mach 1 to naught in less time than it takes to irritate a feminist. Compared to my vintage Yamaha, the handling and acceleration is superb, but that's not really a fair comparison. I wish I could say I was as impressed with the transmission as I was with the rest of the machine. Seriously, the last buggy I operated that clunked like that had tracks and a blade on it and was built in 1957. I understand that Bavaria's newest six speed is a big improvement. It was bound to happen - even Caterpillar eventually designed a smoother shifting gearbox. My grumbling about the gearbox is just that: grumbling. It hasn't caused me any problems and I dont expect that it will. I am quite prepared to overlook this one imperfection and concentrate instead on all the attributes that make this bike one hell of a sweet machine.
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