Essential buying details

Okay let’s talk older brother here and look at the major differences when it comes to wonga.

The R1100RT first came out in late 1995 and cost a whopping £10,450. The core of the bike was the then (recently) new 1085cc air-cooled ‘oil-head’ boxer twin engine, first seen in the quirky-looking R1100RS of 1993.

The RT was actually three kilos lighter than the RS and it was also incredibly good at what it did – touring – but also incredibly ugly, well at least from the front-on view. It looked a little like some strange fish that lives in the depths of the ocean. This didn’t seem to put people off as 60,000 were sold before the 1150RT was launched with a big stab at making the thing look nicer.

As well as the looks, weather protection was improved over the older bike when the 1150RT came out, it had a wider rear-rim than the 1100 and five bhp more. The EVO brakes were a big improvement on the 1100’s too.

The whole braking system’s improvement basically meant 15-20% more braking force over the 1100RT and all from 50% less of a squeeze of the lever. On either bike, don’t be put off by high mileages, only by missing service stamps. Machines are out there with as few as 20,000 miles or as many as 120,000.

These bikes get well-used but are always well looked after – but as our one proved on test, you can find them with things needing doing to them. Another thing to look out for when buying is the spec: if you’re lucky, you’ll find one with heated-everything, radio/cassette and top-box, full BMW history and still for the same price as one with just the standard fitment. So, shop around. The 1100s can start for as little as £1600, but it could be better to pay more and get something that doesn’t threaten to let you down – BMW parts can be pricey. We’d say start things off at £2500 and you’ve got something you can immediately hit the road with. For the 1150, just add more wonga: sub-£2k gets a rough ’un and £3000 a nice ’un.