BMW reviews

I've owned my k75 over 10 years. Ridden it trans-continental a couple times. It is an extremely comfortable bike for long distance, all day rides. Very smooth. Power is all any sane person could want. Only issue has been the fuel pump went out, stranding me. But what do you expect from a fuel pump that is 25 years old? Other than that, it has been a great bike. Show less

Great bike have had 2 BmW c650gt 2016 and 2019 Love this bike Quick accelerations Great for getting around town as well as long distance trips Great gas mileage Extremely comfortable for driver and passenger Show less

BMW motorcycles are generally quality reliable machines but the BMW dealerships I have tried to deal with all suck badly. Less than 1 year ago I purchased a 2022 BMW K1600gtl. I have enjoyed it and have put 18,000 hwy. miles on it. Still in near perfect condition. I have learned that it is a bit heavy for me at nearly 800 lbs. so I have requested a trade in for a r1250rt model. 300lbs. lighter. My k1600 is less than 1 year old and for tradein BMW has offered me $12,000 trade value at BMW of SAn Juan texas. And Alamo BMW of San Antonio offered me $15,000. Original cost was $33,000. Basically what they are saying is that their motorcycles are not even worth 50% of the original price less than 1 year old. Less than 50% in less than 1 year. DO NOT BUY A BMW ACCORDING TO BMW THEY ARE WORTH LESS THAN 50% ORIGINAL VALUE LESS THAN 1 YEAR OLD. BAD BAD DEAL. PIECE OF JUNK. NOT EVEN WORTH HALF THEIR COST AFTER JUST 9 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP. Show less

These bikes are crazy good. I've owned 4 RT's in a row and decided to try a GSA last spring. The GSA suspension is a bit taller than the normal GS, which is a bit taller than the RT's that I'm used to. I have a 30" inseam. I got the low suspension Triple Black version. I use a Sargent seat on high setting. The bike is actually about ½" lower than my 2017 RT was. No drops so far on some several high-risk adventures and no trouble with the lower ground clearance except that I have to put my toes on the inside pegs in hard turns too keep boots from scraping pavement. I live in the Chicago area. Good motorcycle roads are hundreds of miles away. My bike has to be a good tourer first. The GSA definitely qualifies. I made a solo trip to Colorado last season; I-80 to Ft. Collins, then Top o the Rockies rally camping for a few days and a slower ride home. The bike was flawless. If you're used to a full touring bike, the stock windscreen won't make you happy on the interstates without ear plugs. I got a V-Stream Deluxe touring screen and Aeroflow Aerowings on mine. I can do 100 mile rides without plugs but keep a pair in my pocket for longer stints. With this setup, I'm able to easily hear music through my helmet speakers, run with visor halfway up, no bugs hitting my helmet or face and wind noise OK for under 100 mile rides. I've changed seat and screen for all my BMW bikes since my first '99 RT. I added bar-baks on this bike. The reach is just slightly too far. I like to sit up straight on the interstate. It's easier on the shoulders and extra height allows me to stand on pegs while riding. You will not have any complaint about the power, torque or handling of this bike. It's not a lightweight but for what it is, it's well designed and easy to ride. The weight is in a good place and it really can do a lot. I spend most of my time at 2500 to 4500 RPM, but I flog it, the red line is 9000...anything above 6000 is just scary fast...in a good way. It pulls forever. I've had it in the woods a few times and went through half a dozen water crossings with it. I ran the last RT through some unpaved stuff. This bike does it better even with near street tires on it. A negative is the fuel economy at speed. It gets MPG in the mid to high 30s at 78mph with cruise on...and it uses premium. That's the worst MPG I've ever had on a bike. If you stay off interstates, MPG rises to high 40s, even if you ride it like a lunatic. I think it's just not aerodynamically good and may be geared a bit lower than an RT. It's so smooth you don't notice the extra revs, but make sure that credit card is working well before you go cross country with this one. Storage in the aluminum side cases is spectacular. I really like them, however I also think their square-flatness is part of the MPG issue. I can put tools and luggage and camping gear on this bike and go anywhere at any speed. Triple Black is a bit hard to keep clean. I've used ceramic and other special brews to coat the surfaces. They look great when clean but there are a lot of matte surfaces that just can't be made to repel dirt well. Get some good wheel brushes for the flat-black spoked wheel rims. Mine came with Bridgestone 80/20 tires...noisiest tread I've ever had on any bike...and my first bike was a Honda Trail 90 with knobbies. I put a set of Continental Trail Attack 3's (90/10) on it and ALL that noise went away. They also stick like glue on asphalt. I dinged "Comfort" one star only because of higher wind noise at speed. People using their bikes as actual Adventure bikes won't mind that. The leg room on this bike is phenomenal. If you're long of leg, this is your bike....but then don't get a low-suspension like mine. I rode a standard GS on 10,000 Alpine hairpin turns this year with Beach's moto tours. It was fantastic. The differences aren't great. The big tank of the Adventure is the largest difference and it's not much of a problem. Gives a little more wind protection riding in colder weather and you get extra range...which is handy with the thirsty nature of the bike at speed. Show less

The r1200r is a great bike for commuting in California. I was commuting 50 miles each way to work in the bay area when I bought mine. The features that really make it shine are the handling and mid-range performance. Riding through rows of effectively parked cars for 30 miles each day will give you an appreciation for handling and performance. When the vehicle coming to a stop in the #2 lane abruptly changes to the #1 lane with no signal, you find yourself doing all kinds of emergency maneuvers to avoid a collision. Sometimes it is heavy breaking, sometime immediate change of direction to shoot for the open spot. The BMW R1200R has handling on par with a dirt bike at slow speeds and a sport bike at high speeds. This makes the bike a clear choice for those riding in both ranges regularly. I found with little practice after buying the R1200R I was able to turn it in a figure 8 within the 2 wide X 2 Length parking spots I could turn my dual sports in. Mid-range power is definitely another strong contender for the R1200R. When someone is merging onto the highway and they don't see you, it boils down to two options if getting out of that lane is not possible. The first is slow down, and we have already covered the great braking this bike has, The other is speed up. Often this will happen while you are happily cruising along at the speed limit in gear 6. You might be around 3K RPM and you need to speed up. In this mid-range performance area your engine needs a lot of torque to overcome all the inertia in order to accelerate. The BMW boxer is a great engine for smoothly accelerating with authority through its entire rev range. All told this is a great all around bike especially for those who commute. Other features of this bike one might enjoy is the great aftermarket. Whereas the bike is based on its GS cousin, the aftermarket is available for it. I was able to find crash guards, skid plates, and hand guards for reasonable prices. Show less

The best all-around bike I've owned. I've had a HD Road King, Indian Vintage and Scout to name a few, and this is the easiest to live daily. Parts are not cheap and patience is required to DYI repairs and maintenance. Show less

I purchased this motorcycle off ebay during the middle of the pandemic - kind of a "drunk purchase" that I then had to go pick-up in Florida. Well, it was a really good price! After having the bike for about 2 years now, along with 2 other bikes, I must say this is by far my favorite. This is a sleek, beautiful, take-your-breath-away, kind of bike that must be ridden to be fully understood. A Cafe-Racer remade in today's technology with yesterday's style. How did someone say it to me - "That has to be the sexiest motorcycle I have ever seen!" Its appearance belies the engine size since it is slender, but long. A refined, smooth, time-tested, 1160cc boxter engine that puts out 110 horses if needed. The long frame and moldings allow this bike to cut through the air without concern for cross-winds or truck drafts. Steady and sure, I can always count on this bike holding course regardless of wind, road or speed. Yes, it has a rather aggressive riding position that limits the weak and wimpy to only minutes before either hand or arm start to fail. However, I found that some push-ups and grip exercises can get you quickly adjusted for more ride time. Having said that, I would not recommend this bike for "getting around town", but rather for "getting out of town". This is the ride you take to Miami, Los Angeles, or Chicago for the weekend...to be seen and envied. I have to admit it...I think my "drunk purchase" has been the "best purchase of my life". Show less

This is a terrific bike. Extremely easy to ride -- BMW bikes are smooth, purr, and have none of the herky jerky harshness when shifting gears through a quick acceleration. Though the bike is on the lower end of power, I find the F800R totally capable of high speeds and enough acceleration to make it a very fun ride. I may hypothetically have taken it to 100mph on a few freeways easily and routinely rode this on I-90 at 75 mph quite comfortably. The bike is sporty, responsive in a smooth way (not in a raw forceful thrust, but in a good German engineering kind of way), and it looks great. This bike is ideal for anyone who loves riding but doesn't want to rip their heads off with an overpowered bike or doesn't want a giant noise machine. The F800R has a very German/European sound. It's not a loud, window-shaking rumble that rattles your eardrums. Instead it's the soft purr of a finely tuned motor. Perfectly reliable-with regular maintenance I have had zero issues in six years and thousands of miles. This bike is a real value, in my mind, under priced for what it delivers. Show less

Wonderful motorcycle! After riding my 01 K1200RS for 20 years my bones were becoming a little weary! Found an 02 with about same mileage, I bought it from the original owner with all maintenance records and he lived nearby. This bike is so much easier to ride and is deceivingly quick! Yeah, the gear box is a little clunky but that gives it some character! I did raise the front of the seat about 1/4”. This is a must, no more sliding into the tank! A piece is aluminum stock and some new bolts from hardware store, problem solved! Yes the interlocking brakes are a bit touchy, but it didn’t take long getting used to them. The wife says it’s more comfortable too! I can ride this motorcycle all day from twistes to the highway, as compared to the K bike. Lots of storage too. My only complaint is the gearing between 5th and 6th is pretty extreme. A taller 5th gear would of been nice. I’m just nit picking now! Look at it like this 5 years prior to purchasing the RT. I put maybe 1K on the RS it just wasn’t comfortable anymore. Had the RT less than a year and put 3K on it already ! Remember raising the seat is a must! Good wind protection too!👍 Show less

After being a BMW customer for 40 years and having purchased and owned several BMW automobiles and various motorcycles including 600 GS and 800 GS, 1200 LT, and 1600 GTL. I have come to the conclusion that I would never ever purchase another BMW product. BY way of background and not being a person who writes negative reviews, I feel it's necessary to post my treatment by Motorrad this last spring. The motorcycle in question is a 1600 GTL, last July I received a factory recall to have the fuel pump replaced, I advised the BMW dealer that I previously paid to have one installed, they inspected it and said it looked fine. BMW motorrad insisted it be replaced again which was performed as a factory recall in July 2021. The motorcycle sat in my garage for 6 months and was not driven. After starting the bike, I noticed a faulty fuel issue - I took it back to the BMW shop, they tested and advised it needed another fuel pump. THe price for pump and labor was $1,000. They advised me that motorrad would not pay. I called motorad at their 800 number, which by the way is a complete waste of time because nobody answers and you just get the runaround. After numerous calls and being on the phone for hours I eventually got through. THey advised me they were going to check with the deal to verify my complaint and would reach out to me by no later than March 24th. That did not happen, typical of BMW and again after numerous calls they got back to me 4 weeks later. They advised me that the higher ups in the organization would not reimburse me for the second fuel pump hence my posting. I think it's important for everyone that reads this to know that the mileage on the motorcycle from the installation of the recall fuel pump to the one I had to pay for was 17 MILES. Needless to say, they can shove their BMW where the sun doesn't shine. Show less