The right Formula!
Replacing the R1100 GS was never going to be easy – but BMW hit the bullseye with the 1150 GS.
The 1130cc motor (up from 1085cc) had a six-speed box (up from five) pumping out 85bhp. Every one of those was needed to shift the weight; you were looking at around 250-255 kilos in wet configuration.
Everything was big about the 1150GS, but the July 1999 launch price was just £8140. The later 2001-2004 Adventure cost just £8195 and you could specify the ‘Overland Package’, which (for £300) added 30-litre fuel tank, shorter first cog, off-road biased tyres and a different finish to the engine. Other extras you could buy included heated grips and an aluminium top-box and pannier set, which gave a cavernous 105 litres of carrying capacity.
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Around 76,000 1150 GS/ Adventures were sold between 1999 and 2004 worldwide, when the bike was replaced by the R1200 GS. The 1150 Adventure lasted until 2006 when the 1200 version of the Adventure was released. The biggest PR success came when actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman took their Adventures around the world on a 19,000-mile ride, which was immortalised in the popular show ‘Long Way Round’.
Today, low mileage 1150 GSs go for daft money: how does more than £11,000 for a bike with fewer than 1000 miles sound? Even a bike with 20-30k on the clocks can be seen for up to £7000! Thankfully, there are so many out there, that some slot into a £3000-£4000 bracket. Check the servicing and nab any BMW accessories that it comes with if you can…
These Laverdas are an emotional mix… Firstly, they’re based on some pretty old-tech, engine wise: the motors of the 650-750cc twins were effectively based on the old 500 Montjuic parallel twin of the 1970s, but updated, water-cooled and fitted with a WeberMarelli fuel injection system.
The early 1990s saw the likes of the 650 Sport range, with rectangular headlight and some dull colour schemes, then from 1997 the 750 range with a twin-spot headlamp look. Power was around 80bhp at the back wheel from the 747cc motor, but delivery was peaky.
Initially, the bike was half-faired, but this soon changed from 1998 and the Formula model was basically a piped and chipped version of the S, and the bike was discontinued after 2002. It could be a dog’s dinner and things often went wrong, but where the 750S and its family score is chassis parts. This came with names such as Paioli suspension, Brembo brakes, Marchesini wheels, Termignoni exhausts and the like.
This is where we get all misty eyed. It’s an Italian motorcycle and with that in mind we can often ignore some of its foibles and issues.
Some of these include the fact that you need to check the electrical connectors when any fault occurs – while the elephant in the room is crankshaft issues, so ask if any remedial work has been done on the motor.
You can find a dog for around a grand, but good ones (upgraded motors/cranks) can go for as much as £3000-5000. We should probably be warning you off such a machine, but – having ridden one with loud pipes – there is so much to love about this bike.