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I've been trying to figure out which (if any) BMW would work for me. I am a female, about 5'5". I can handle weight up into the 400 lb range. Over that gets to be a bit much to comfortably lift off the sidestand.
I liked the 1150 R, but my dealer said they are hard to get. All he (or anyone else up here) has is the 1200's. I went window shopping yesterday.
And they all seem absolutely huge.
When I threw a leg over, I found that I could barely get my toes on the ground. Not real comforting when you are trying to muscle all that weight upright.
It made me re-think the whole 1150 thing.
I hear BMW is replacing the F650 with an 800 cc sportbike. But it's too leaned forward for my back. I am trying to find a more upright seating position on a bike that's low enough for me to get my feet on the ground, and easy enough to move around.
I ran across the R850R online, and really liked the seating position and look. But they were only available from 1996 to 1997 in the states. (although Germany has them new... )
Does anyone out here havean R850R? How are they to ride? Can you get parts and accessories easily? Are they heavy bikes? Would you recommend them to someone like me size-wise? Are they hard to find now?
Does BMW make anything that's not a cross-breed, that is low enough, more upright, not so old that I have to tinker, has decent horsepower, and yet is friendly to use?
Figures I'd fall in love with yet another German (Mr Reddemon is German.... )

You might want to look at the R1200C.

It's more of a cruiser, but has a lower seat height than even the F650. With the weight down low, it should be a fairly easy bike to manage.

I have a friend who has one of the big 1200's that thing is a monster..... Heavy, Tall..... I'm fairly apeish *read that as a knuckledragger, but its just too dang big for me.


I wanna get my grimy lil paws on a t100.

Hiya Reddemon.

The R850R is a GREAT bike. (I own the predecessor bike 1991 R80 )

Anyway, you'd have to sit on the bike to see if it fits you. If you like the bike, there are always aftermarket seats which will help you get more of your feet down.

I think even an 850r is a bit heavier than 400 lbs, but you should be able to handle it. You just have to get used to it.

It's only available for a year or so because Americans aren't interested in "smaller" boxer bikes like the 850R because they don't make as much HP as their bigger brothers. It is an extremely practical and long-lasting bike, however. (How many bikers you know ride for 'practical' purposes, though?)

You'll really have to do some searching for an 850r.

One thing I'd like to stress is that for ANY bike, you can change the ergonomics. You can get aftermarket seats that are lower and thinner, and you can also buy Barbacks or longer handle bars to give you a more upright riding position.

FINALLY. If this is to be your first bike, you might want to consider getting a smaller used bike (Like a ninja 250 or 500) to learn on before you buy a pricey BMW. If you already have biking experience, some other bikes that you might consider are the Ducati Monster, the suzuki sv650 and the Kawasaki Ninja 650r.

Good luck and have fun!

One last thing - Once you are experienced w/ riding, it should be no problem to ride a bigger bike. Check out his link - http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/

Hey thanks for the info everyone. And thanks for the input on the R850r TechTMW. I appreciate the first hand report.
I currently am getting back into riding on a Honda CB250 Nighthawk. (I did some riding many moons ago on an ancient BMW R50 that an old boyfriend had.)
I am planning on riding my current bike until about a year from now and then stepping up to a larger bike. I'm riding every day, commuting to work, riding around the neighborhood, etc. Hoping to start doing longer, day trip pleasure rides soon. (and I am LOVING not only the riding, but the gas mileage!!! )
I've always loved BMW's. I was thinking of the older bikes initially (like the R90), from the '60's or 70's. But my local guy said you have to tinker with them all the time. And every older one I sat on was very tall! I have neither the apptitude nor time to tinker. So I hoped that a new version would work well.
And I hope to get something large enough that Mr Reddemon would like to ride it with me (he's been circling around my bike, sitting on it, eyeballing it, ever since I got it... ) I think he'll start riding again if we have a decent size bike. But I can't get so big that I can't move it around.
That's too bad they aren't offering it in the USA right now. I'd love to go throw a leg over one. I found a couple on ebay, but I am hesitant on buying any bike sight unseen like that.
Would you buy off of ebay and have it shipped? Is there a site for blue book values on bikes somewhere? Or is there a better way to find bikes like this?
Thanks!