I bought a bike.
But not just any bike. This is a 2002 BMW R1150RT-P. It used to be a law-enforcement bike.
The Good:
-It's a police bike, so it has all kinds of goodies like switches that aren't used anymore(there's one switch on the left handlebar for the siren that's not wired to anything anymore. So I need to think of something creative to do with that), extra lights, a high-output 60A alternator vs the civvie 50A, and city bags that overall make the bike a whole 8" narrower.
-Since this is an air/oil-cooled engine, the oil cooler, which needs the air passing over it to keep it cool on the civvie, has an thermostatically controlled fan to keep it cool when the bike is stationary. Apparently it works wonders too, since people fit them to their bikes and in traffic where it usually climbs up and tops out the oil temp gauge, the fan keeps it dead in the middle.
-The PO (previous owner, that is) said he thought the clutch was "soft," but in the 30' I rode it to move it out of the street, the clutch feels exactly the same as my dads '97 R110RT. Maybe a little smoother since this is a hydraulic clutch and his is a cable.
-There's also the inadvertent benefit of the chances someone doing something stupid/illegal around you are so slim they're almost non-existent.
The Bad:
-It's been dropped once or twice, the right valve cover is all scuffed up and the crash bars have some places where the chrome plating has been ground off and the steel underneath has rusted superficially. The fairing at the bottom has been cracked a bit, again probably from being dropped.
-The corners of the mirrors have had their paint swapped off, but if you look at the mirrors on my dad's it becomes evident that's simply their life.
-The bags are a little faded and don't quite close right, but they're otherwise in decent condition, which is a good thing because they cost a small fortune to replace.
-It has two batteries. Normally that's a good thing, but unfortunately mine are pretty sad. After much stalling trying to get it up our driveway, the batteries began having a difficult time turning the engine over. So that means I have to actually buy two batteries.
The Nitty-Gritty:
-Well, it's the venerable BMW boxer-twin. In one form or another this engine's been around since WWI, and they're notoriously hard to break and incredibly easy to work on.
-It's got a 1130cc fuel-injected boxer engine making 95HP/74PFT and puts that through a single-plate dry clutch into a 6-speed overdrive transmission.
-A brochure I found says it's supposed to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-ish miles per gallon at 65MPH, but during a road trip my dad managed in the mid to high 70s with his, which has an engine only 45cc smaller. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to take advantage of that kind of mileage for another six months or so until I can get my full endorsement. So I'll have to settle with the mid-40s.
A few final pictures:
I did take off the 49ers plate frame, otherwise people might think I'm a sports fan.
If they win this Sunday I might hock it up on eBay/CL and see if I can make a buck off of it.
Worse still, it looks like they actually tried to glue the bulb in when they couldn't get the bail back on. Well, I guess I know how effective that was. At least I have the bail.
