New Ride

[Rob]

Friday morning I flew from Charlotte to Grand Rapids, MI. I went to the BMW dealer there and bought a 2016 S1000XR. It's just like new with only 7,000 miles on it, and was a great deal. So I pulled the trigger sight unseen, and flew up to pay the balance and see what I had bought. I am not disappointed.

I was done at the dealer by 2 PM, so I headed south for NC. I did about 150 miles that afternoon before stopping in Fort Wayne, IN. The next morning it was 36 degrees when I started riding before sunup, but I had brought my Gerbing hardware with me, so I was OK. I rode across Ohio on US highways 33 and 35, and crossed the Ohio River on 35 at Point Pleasant, WV. I rode on into Charleston, then home on the WV Turnpike (I-77). All told, 550 miles Saturday, and I got home before 6 PM.

Impressions? This motor is amazing! And the rest of the bike is pretty cool too. I don't have all the features down pat, but that's what winter's for.

[Rob]

? ?

[Rob]

Not sure what I'm doing, but here are some pics.

[802Mike]

Nice find Rob !!

[955i]

I like your style, Rob. Hell, just go for it, sight unseen. THEN, ride it home in winter weather. Nice job. I am sure you'll enjoy this thing. (Remember when a Kawasaki KZ-1000 was considered a huge bike?)

[aviator]

Congrats Rob and welcome to the XR club. Elites only. Wish you many miles of smiles.

[Flyboy]

Congrats and enjoy Rob!

[Loggiebone]

Nice bike Robster. Curious why you decided on an X-RAY??

[Loggiebone]

Just taking a shower a little more often would spruce you up too...and a lot less expensive. LOl!

But...that's a great bike even tho I've forever sworn off BMW 4/s.

[Rob]

So now you're only into Ducati fours?

[Loggiebone]

[Pete_Tallahassee]

Bold move Rob! Congratulations. That's a great motor.

[Rob]

I agree, Pete!

[Martin_D]

Looks like a great ride , congrats cousin Robert !

[Capnrip]

Hey Congrats Rob! I know you'll enjoy it. I love that 1000 motor. If I remember right I went to CSS down at Barber with the guy that owns that dealership.

[Rob]

I didn't meet him, but the owner's name is Blaine something. Is that the guy?

[Capnrip]

Don't remember. Was a decent sized guy, bald if I remember correctly. Said his daughter was handling sales? Had a buddy down with him, we all got along well, rode in the same group. They wanted me to have dinner with them but I was trying to make some miles north before I collapsed.

[bertbrumfield]

Is that the low seat option???

[Rob]

Do I look like a low seat option sort of guy to you? Big no.

[McFly]

Nice choice for an upgrade Rob and congrats! Did it come with luggage? Anything interesting or fun happen worth mentioning on your trip back home?

You still have your GS or is the XR the only bike in the garage?

[Rob]

Nope, no luggage. But I learned from Mani at the non-invitational that my SW-Motech City tankbag, which was bought for my K12 R Sport (remember Schwarz?), and which also fits my 2009 GS, also fits the XR. So I pre-bought the mounting ring and took it and the tankbag with me to Michigan. Like a charm. I'll probably get the BMW panniers, and I'm thinking about the top bag, so that Beth will have a backrest. However I'm not big on top bags, so if Pirate has a back rest to fit, I'd rather go that route.
Nothing exciting going home. I did discover that NE Indiana is a big Amish area. I passed several horse and carriage rigs that afternoon after picking up the bike. Then the next day, when I stopped for lunch in Charleston, WV, I asked the waitress how much the tolls were on the WV Turnpike at the 3 toll stops. She told me $1.50, so I carefully wrapped a dollar bill around two quarters ahead of time, so I could breeze through the toll stops. Wrong! The toll al each stop was $4.00. So the first stop took all 3 of my $1.50 packages. Luckily I had 2 $5 bills in my wallet, so I was able to breeze through the last two stops pretty easily..I did 550 miles that day, so I wasn't really sightseeing too much.
I still have both my GSes, an R1200GS and an R1150GS. I'm planning to sell the 2001 R1150GS, but maybe not until spring. The garage is getting a little crowded.

[Rob]

One big complaint about BMW Motorcycles of Grand Rapids. I gave them a $500 deposit with my Mastercard. They asked me how I planned to pay the balance. I told them I could bring cash, or I could get a bank check. They said they preferred the bank check, so that's what I brought. Then when I got there, they said they would hold the title to the bike until the check cleared, then mail me the title. Isn't that the reason one gets a bank check, so that the deal is done at one sitting? So I rode the bike home with no tag on it. Twelve days later I still hadn't received the title, so I called them up. It seems the bookkeeper had gone on vacation the previous week, and nobody was checking to see when the bank check cleared, so the title didn't go out. The sales guy, who had absolutely no authority to do much of anything, was very apologetic. I asked him to overnight me the title, and he said he would. Then he calls me back an hour later and asked could it be 2-day delivery? Yeah, fine. Two day would have arrived Friday. Well I didn't get it Friday, and I didn't get it again on Saturday. It had better show up tomorrow. I'm not able to put a NC tag on it until I get that title. I suppose the rationale at the dealership was that I'll never buy another bike from them, so no point incurring any additional expenses. Well, all I can say is, that's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[955i]

That is standard operating procedure for some auto dealers. This is the first one I have heard of for motorcycles. The used car titles are a nightmare if the dealers screw around.

[cabnfvr]

BMW of Huntsville was easy to deal with when we bought our S. I had them hold with 500 on a credit card and we drug a U-Haul down the next day. I don't recall how soon we had the title but it was only days. Hope they get you straightened out soon .It's frustrating at best to wait on incompetence.