RIDE THE VERDICT
THERE’S AN AWFUL lot to like here. Enough power and handling to keep you grinning, enough braking to keep you safe, enough comfort and carrying capacity to keep you happy on your holidays. It really is a superb solo sports tourer. For two-up distance work, though, you’ll maybe want to give it a miss unless your pillion is particularly small and stoic…
Despite the complexity, running costs aren’t that high – they’re even pretty good on tyres, which is a surprise (talk to Hayabusa owners if you want to know what it feels like to have a close personal relationship with your tyre fitter.) The more recent the bike is, the more we’d recommend going for something with a decent service history, ideally with a main dealer. It’ll help if you do have potential warranty issues down the line. And as with any modern BMW, it’s important to check that all the bells and whistles actually chime and toot the way they should — it can be very costly to put right multiple electronic woes.
Your biggest problem, though, might be finding one to buy. Despite its long model history and relatively good sales record, there aren’t usually that many available at any given moment — owners tend to hang on to them, especially as there’s no direct replacement to trade up to. At time of writing, there were just 14 for sale via MCN, and to put that figure into context, there were over 100 S1000RRS and 350 R1200GSS…
USEFUL CONTACTS www.mcnbikesforsale.com www.k-bikes.com www.motorworks.co.uk www.nippynormans.com