1997 BMW R-Series

WB10416A1VZC60050

Clear

THIS IS A GREAT RUNNING AND DRIVING BMW. READ EVERY WORD THAT I HAVE WRITTEN BELOW (maybe long winded…but) - IT IS ALL IMPORTANT!!!! - I've been driving motorcycles (started as a dirt bike racer at 10 years old in the 1970's) for five decades. I know every marque (and their sordid or checkered pasts) and model that's been made since 1962 because I've driven just about every one. (First street bike was a 1964 Honda 175!) I've driven this bike almost every day for the last 8 months because I'm a university professor in the southeastern US and needed the best possible mileage between two schools an entire state apart from each other but did NOT need sore anything when I arrived for a day at work. GREAT seating position on this bike for spending a lot of time in the saddle. (I'm 5'10" and this bike is a perfect fit on the highway. NO cramping and balanced lean angle.) If you go the speed limits you can get near 50MPG out of this bike. But you will VERY quickly find that going the speed limit is THEE greatest challenge on ANY BMW motorcycle. Many people will tell you that a BMW is just as smooth at 105 mph as it is at 45 (I hear…) and I will (with my girlfriend proof-reading this listing) vouch openly for the "sewing machine" perfection of this motorcycle. I'm only selling this one to get a bigger one. "Usual riding" gets a regularly repeatable 43 to 45 MPG. IT HAS BRAND NEW Michelin Threes that make this bike highway and handling perfection! The rubber and the install of those alone run $500. On April 30th those were installed and the bike was given a complete 40K service (another $350) received new brake pads on the front and rear ($130) and was completely checked and cleared by Capital BMW of Raleigh NC. (Total work and parts near $1100.) There ARE cosmetic things to note (for goodness sake! It's a 16 year old bike that people come up to me REGULARLY and assume is new!) but the color is winning and the styling (from my standpoint and a whole lot of other BMW 'heads') was better for the R series up until 2003 than it is today! See the pictures, write me questions. Previous owner was a Bay Area (Florida) Motorcycle Policeman and he TOO tended this bike (my family calls her "Heidi Clutch"…sexy and German…) meticulously. Never been in an accident other than "tip overs" in garages while parked (again, see the pictures, minor). One by the "peace officer" and covered with matching paint. Latest by me and very recently. Fairing damage is due to my own ignorance about 8 days ago when I was watching a d*&% stray cat in my back yard while moving the bike and dropped it on my 1981 Mercedes! You don't want to know how much that 4 seconds of inattention is going to cost me and I don't want to relay it again (my sons have teased me over it relentlessly already.) Title is free and clear in my files right now. NOTE WELL THE SET OF PARAMETERS SURROUNDING THIS SALE!!!! This auction will close on Saturday evening, the 8th of June. I will be available to collect the balance from you and allow the winning bidder to pickup ONLY on one of the following days in June --- 10th, 14th 24th or after the 27th of June. The bike is located in Bordentown, NJ 08505. I work WAY out of my hometown. IF YOU CAN'T PICK-UP ON ONE OF THOSE DAYS, DO NOT BID!!! IF YOU WANT TO SHIP THIS BIKE, ARRANGE SHIPPING FOR THOSE DAYS ONLY!!! IF YOU SHIP, I will want the total price paid via only Paypal before midnight on Monday, June 10th along with a phone call regarding the arrangements for shipping with your shipping schedule and carrier information on Monday the 10th. IF YOU PICKUP (again, on one of the days listed above…) I will insist on $1000 in the first 24 hours after close and the balance inside of the following 48 hours (yes, all things paid for inside of 72 hours following the close of auction!) FAR TOO MANY KIDS are bidding on great bikes listed on Ebay, listed with low reserves like this one, and then getting 'stuck' when a bid they thought "couldn't possibly win" actually does! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE FUNDS - IN CASH - TODAY - to pay for your bid, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT BIDDING! If you live within 100 miles of an exit off of I95 on the east coast, SOUTH of New York City and NORTH of the North Carolina/South Carolina border, I can deliver this bike by driving it to you BUT that too will require ALL money paid before I leave PLUS 1$/mile fee AND you have to drive me to the nearest bus/train or plane station when I arrive. I can pickup at EWR or PHL if you want to fly in and drive "Heidi" home yourself. Tolls and $20 in fuel will be required for that option. I can meet you at either airport WITH the bike and you can drive yourself from there as well, $20 train ticket will satisfy me for the 'goodbye ride'. Bring your own 'brain bucket' or get one of my Nolan 103s (large) thrown in for $100. Handles excellently in the rain or the dry. Again, best motorcycle tires made today are almost "just out of the wrapper." Custom, aftermarket saddle. (Great seat that's more comfortable for both driver and passenger than the stock.) Aftermarket windscreen (better tint and coverage than the original.) Aftermarket rear shock (MUCH better dial-able ride to make her handle exactly the same with 'one up', 'two up' or loaded all over with travel stuff.) The Garmin GPS in the pictures (and the mount) are NOT included in this sale but I'll leave them on the bike if you pay for it... (GPS unit needs a new $8 touch screen and I love this unit) IF you want to add $300 to the final price. Without the GPS, that's almost $1000 worth of extras. The winning bidder will love this ride, no question. REMEMBER, ALL OF THE ABOVE OPTIONS REQUIRE that you pay the total auction price, fees for transport (if any) and arrange the schedule for exchange of title and bike BEFORE 72 hours elapse after the end of this auction. Deposit of $1000 inside the first 24 hours remains a constant as well, so if you can arrive on the 10th, you can save us both some fees, bring cash and drive a great bike home in less than a week. Good bidding, the winner won't need me to wish them luck, they'll be winning it. JD On Jun-06-13 at 08:54:31 PDT, seller added the following information: TWO "standard" R-series bits that I have become so accustomed to with this era of BMW that I didn't even remember them till my ride last night to PA and back... EVERY service manager all over the country will verify the following... A) The gas gauge is prone to not working "on occasion". Lately, it seems more "non" than "working" BUT the tripmeter gets reset at every fill (again, habit) so it's a part of what I do. It's never been a problem for me, it's ALWAYS happened since I've owned it and the part (again, according to the latest service manager in Raleigh) "depending on what's needed, could run anywhere from $200 to $500, for the parts" --- just to make the gauge work? I'll reset the tripmeter (OR in the case of this really cool GPS by Garmin - it will find the nearest station FOR me if I input the right data and clear the mileage on THAT trip meter when I fill. It has never been a problem for me.) OH! And if it's cold outside? The gauge always works well. Go figure. B) This bike has ABS. It works. It's a great bit of technology for a biker. Some guys have never driven bikes without it! When I was coming up in the bike world, NO bike had it! There's NO technological substitute for good driver's skills in my book but... to each his own. TYPICAL of this era of BMW there's some sort of a "throw" in the ABS mechanics that must 'disengage' after start-up. You typically HEAR it disengage as you get over 5 mph. SOMETIMES it doesn't and the ABS lights blink until you stop the bike and restart. It's not worth the price of fixing and the last service manager said that there's no guarantee that him giving it his best shot he can overcome this issue with this era of BMW. I either restart or (on short trips) let them blink. The Raleigh manager told me "alot of guys just flip the ABS switch on the dash and disengage the ABS altogether" - your choice. Just thought I should spell it all out. On Jun-06-13 at 09:00:55 PDT, seller added the following information: ALSO!!!! TWO MORE "EXTRAS" you can see in the pictures but I forgot to mention. There are aftermarket bar/grip ends AND hand/bar end 'shields' mounted. Those two would run you over $100 bucks to buy new. They come with the bike here. I like the shields keeping my gloved hands even warmer in the winter AND the bugs and road chips NOT nicking my knuckles in the summer. Easy to remove if you like but they are yours with the winning bid. Enjoy!!!! On Jun-06-13 at 11:06:40 PDT, seller added the following information: yep, two MORE thoughts... A) I just mentioned (above) that I drove this to PA and back yesterday. I'm still driving this bike when the weather's nice. Figure on another 2-400 miles on it by week's end. B) IF YOU WANT to take delivery in JULY I do NOT have a problem with that BUT you will still have to pay for it in the first 72 hours and give me your plans/schedule for doing so before the end of Monday, 10 June. Thanks. NOW I hope that's everything. There's a ton of interest in this bike and it deserves it. Keep bidding, set your alarm clocks/watches. There's almost 100 people watching this already! Hundreds of views. Winner will be pleased with the ride in every way. JD