RE: Any R1100RS owners

["Benda, Peter" <PBenda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Chris:

When I lived back in Canada, I used to own a new 1995 R1100RS--in a nice
blue. I just bought a 1999 Sprint ST here in Australia, and I had gone
through a buying process that may not be dissimilar to yours. I'll work
through some of my logic/requirements:

(1) I had enough money to buy pretty much anything reasonable and high-end
(say the Ducati ST4 topped the list price-wise at $27000 Australian).

(2) I hate driving cars. I hate being stuck in traffic. I hate not finding
parking. Hence, my only transport consists of two wheeled vehicles. I needed
a versatile bike--commuter, sports tourer, and sports bike.

(3) I am rather tall -- 6'6". This narrows the pool considerably.

(4) I liked the sexy R1100S, but none of the reviews were good. Hence, in
the BMW arena, I thought of going back to the R1100RS (or to a GS). The RS
is a great bike, looks good, has ABS, etc. I did have some problems with the
ABS unit (replaced under warranty a coupla times).

I hadn't considered Triumphs until I walked into a local dealer. I had test
ridden the 1992 Triumphs and found them okay, but not all that great, so I
was a bit prejudiced.

Now, here in Australia, a BMW bike only gets a one year warranty (vs. 3
years in Canada). This concerned me, especially for the amount of money I am
outlaying.

So, I read over all the Triumph and BMW reviews, then I test rode the
Triumph. Heck, it was great. The BMW is fine, but the Triumph is great. Fits
great. Looks good, Good warranty. Great brakes. Fantabulous acceleration
(great for getting past all those wacky car drivers here) The transmission
is much better than on the BMW. The reviews of the Triumph were great--it
performs better in every respect, including mileage per tank and braking. It
also corners better. Readers of Ride magazine in the UK rated the Triumph
very favourably against the BMWs (BMWs did well, but the ST was the top
European bike in a recent 'user' survey).

All in all, I think I am happier with the Triumph, but I would consider
buying an R1150GS as a sort of long-distance, touring bike. The ST is a
great bike two-up, but I don't have the hard bags yet so I can't comment on
that. 

I hope that helps a bit . . . of course, you may be able to get a longer
warranty where you live--the RS is a contender, but note that you should
replace the windscreen with an aftermarket one if you have any abnormal
height, like myself.

Cheers,

Peter


**********************************************
Peter J. Benda
Cognitive Engineering Specialist
New Media Division
Pacific Access Pty Ltd
24 Camberwell Road
Hawthorn, Victoria 3122
Australia

office: 9281 3963
e-mail: PBenda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
mobile: 0413 085 126
fax: +61 3 9281 3910
**********************************************



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