BMW Mark-up

[barbarosa]

Originally Posted by MR.S7

Well that might be the best thing happened b4 u decide it;

i recently fixed a gs650f an old 2000 model, it was a simply gasoline filter.. you dont wanna spend more than 150 on a gas filter do you?.

youre young enjoy a Kawa, let the Bmers for the oldies who have theyr retirement for those pricey spares. I dont know if they say hi but most of them are over 45´s i can tell you that 4 sure.

ahem, and what ? over 45 is old? .... I will wave as me and my other oldie buddies fly past you in the twisties... come to think of it, I have NEVER been passed in the canyons by anything other then an old guy or two on Augusta's or Ducaties... never by a rider on a japanese make hmmm wonder why that is?

[MR.S7]

Originally Posted by barbarosa

ahem, and what ? over 45 is old? .... I will wave as me and my other oldie buddies fly past you in the twisties... come to think of it, I have NEVER been passed in the canyons by anything other then an old guy or two on Augusta's or Ducaties... never by a rider on a japanese make hmmm wonder why that is?

Because oldies have experience!.

sorry no offense im just saying the truth and the statistics are pretty clear bmrs market are for passed the 50´s one big reason is because they can afford it , im not talking about speed (motogp would resume it all the winner is certainly not a bmer over 50) im talking about the price and the market who pays for those bikes and spares.

by the way hard to imagine old fellas in a Ducati or Augusta, not impossible of course just hard.

[fretbuzz]

Originally Posted by MR.S7

Because oldies have experience!.

sorry no offense im just saying the truth and the statistics are pretty clear bmrs market are for passed the 50´s one big reason is because they can afford it , im not talking about speed (motogp would resume it all the winner is certainly not a bmer over 50) im talking about the price and the market who pays for those bikes and spares.

by the way hard to imagine old fellas in a Ducati or Augusta, not impossible of course just hard.

[dinoSnake]

Originally Posted by MR.S7

by the way hard to imagine old fellas in a Ducati or Augusta, not impossible of course just hard.

Actually, I've heard quite a number of Ducati riders are not "youngsters" - the 1098 and Limited Edition stuff aren't cheap by any stretch

[MR.S7]

Originally Posted by dinoSnake

Actually, I've heard quite a number of Ducati riders are not "youngsters" - the 1098 and Limited Edition stuff aren't cheap by any stretch

ye again is all about money, who can pay for a nice Duacti or Agusta must have the income for it, wont surprise is an over 50, but most of that ppl that has the money for those bikes prefer a Dual purpose like BMW duals bikes, NOt Sport or supersport bikes, of course there are exceptions hopefully ill be one!.

.. so you might see me on the twisties in some years "fly passing you in the twisties" but Certainly Not in a Dual Bmw

[dinoSnake]

Originally Posted by MR.S7

.. so you might see me on the twisties in some years "fly passing you in the twisties" but Certainly Not in a Dual Bmw

Better watch it - I've been told that a well-ridden GS can kick a lot of other's rider's butts! Don't discount it.

[bross]

Originally Posted by MR.S7

ye again is all about money, who can pay for a nice Duacti or Agusta must have the income for it, wont surprise is an over 50, but most of that ppl that has the money for those bikes prefer a Dual purpose like BMW duals bikes, NOt Sport or supersport bikes, of course there are exceptions hopefully ill be one!.

.. so you might see me on the twisties in some years "fly passing you in the twisties" but Certainly Not in a Dual Bmw

Originally Posted by dinoSnake

Better watch it - I've been told that a well-ridden GS can kick a lot of other's rider's butts! Don't discount it.

Read on grasshopper...
quoted from Motorcycle.com
It Ain't The Tool: Revisited

It started with an observation, like most great inventions. Motorcycle.com columnist and philosopher Fred Rau, in an editorial from 2005 made the point that what a rider rides is less important than how well he rides. It's something every sentient rider knows the first time he or she is passed by somebody on an older, slower, smaller, less-specialized or otherwise less-capable machine.

"Remember when I carved you a toy airplane out of a block of wood with this knife?" he asked.

"Sure, Grandpa."

"Well, if I sold you this knife," he said, "do you think you could carve your own toy airplane with it?"

"No, Grandpa. I don't know how."

"Exactly; it took me years to learn, and lots of practice. It ain't the tool, boy. It's the man operating it. Just like with your toy."

Fast-forward another forty years later. I am riding up one of my favorite canyon roads, following my good friend Walt Fulton. We are just out for a little Sunday morning putt, but even when he's just dawdling along, Walt is a challenge for me to keep up with. Some of you older guys might recognize the name, but for those who don't, Walt is a former factory team racer for two different major motorcycle manufacturers, a four-time Daytona winner and the guy who wore the helmet camera that filmed all those famous on-track racing scenes in the movie "On Any Sunday." Even now, over 30 years later, Walt doesn't own a car, rides every day, and works as both a motorcycle riding instructor and a motorcycle accident reconstruction expert. I have never met, and probably never will meet, anyone with a greater understanding of the dynamics of motorcycling, or the skills to utilize that knowledge so effectively.

Anyway, there we were tooling up the mountain, when we came up behind two young men on what appeared to be very new and expensive hyper-bikes. One was definitely a Hayabusa, and I think the other was a CBR of some kind, though it'd been repainted and all the badging was removed, so I couldn't be sure. Both bikes sported aftermarket exhausts, and from their sound, probably had their engines tricked out, too. The riders both sported very expensive racing leathers, color-matched to their machines, complete with titanium kneepucks and those stylish new "humps" on their backs, to reduce air turbulence from the helmet when you are "tucked in." In all, they looked like very serious riders.

It just so happened that on this particular day, rather than riding one of his newer, faster bikes, Walt was "exercising" a 15-year-old BMW Boxer of his that had, as I recall, about 250,000 miles under its wheels. The Boxer was bone stock, and by Walt's own admission was, "overdue for a whole new suspension," because it was "handling pretty badly."

Despite all that, after following the two superbikes through a couple of more curves, when they swung wide through a long, right-hand sweeper, Walt simply downshifted the old Beemer and zipped past them both in a heartbeat - on the inside. He never changed his position on the seat, or did anything trendy like sticking a knee out. He just leaned over, nailed the throttle, and smoothly and quickly knifed through the turn. I don't think either of the guys he passed even hit the apex of their turns before Walt was out the other end, straightening up and accelerating away.

[MR.S7]

ye oldies have experience i already said that.

[dinoSnake]

Yep.

Remember that old saying:

"Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill everytime"

[barbarosa]

yup, watch out for us old bald ones, we have all the testosterone and twice the experience

[4string]

I have a K1200LT and I wave at everyone, including scooters. While some think only snobs drive BMWs (there are some), most of us are just ordinary people that like bikes that are a little different. I sold my Kawi to buy my BMW and while I miss talking to people on this board daily, the other boards have some great people too.

[elr658]

Miss Aprilia sold a Champion's Edition R1 to buy her Tuono Factory R. Her second. She's not arrogant in the slightest. She just likes expensive bikes. I however, do not worship at the altar of bling.

[A2rider]

Bross, thanks for the story.

Went for a few group rides with a bunch of sportbikes. They would roll their eyes and make comments about how the "cruiser" was going to slow them down. I always rode in the back, and would arrive only a minute or two after they did at the appointed destination.

I learned to avoid group rides, but went on one after my wreck. These were older guys, still on sportbikes, but I'm glad I went. They went on their merry way, but stopped to let us catch up, and fell in behind us. When we finally met at the appt. spot, I expected a comment about my turtle pace.

Instead, I got the greatest compliment of my life. Apparently, the 3 years I spent on the cruiser trying to keep up with the sportbikes had paid off. I was now riding my KZ650, by no means a modern sportbike. The older gentleman (60) told me I had good lines!

I about fell over. How could I have good lines? I'd just got this bike, and all I have ridden was a cruiser. I guess the myriad of times I had ridden the twisties by myself, trying to improve my apex by almost sitting on the tank to compensate for the stretched caster, had paid off!

I still think you could put Rossi on a Honda Rebel and he'd win races!

[bross]

Originally Posted by A2rider

Bross, thanks for the story.

Went for a few group rides with a bunch of sportbikes. They would roll their eyes and make comments about how the "cruiser" was going to slow them down. I always rode in the back, and would arrive only a minute or two after they did at the appointed destination.

I learned to avoid group rides, but went on one after my wreck. These were older guys, still on sportbikes, but I'm glad I went. They went on their merry way, but stopped to let us catch up, and fell in behind us. When we finally met at the appt. spot, I expected a comment about my turtle pace.

Instead, I got the greatest compliment of my life. Apparently, the 3 years I spent on the cruiser trying to keep up with the sportbikes had paid off. I was now riding my KZ650, by no means a modern sportbike. The older gentleman (60) told me I had good lines!

I about fell over. How could I have good lines? I'd just got this bike, and all I have ridden was a cruiser. I guess the myriad of times I had ridden the twisties by myself, trying to improve my apex by almost sitting on the tank to compensate for the stretched caster, had paid off!

I still think you could put Rossi on a Honda Rebel and he'd win races!

Great story Tina. We've had that happen a few times. See a group of sport bikes pull in and expect a bunch of young guys, they're all done up in full leathers with blinged out bikes (meant for riding BTW), only to see a bunch of grey haired old geezers once they pull their helmets off.

Funniest time was on our way to Red Lodge. We were probably half way there so a good day and a half ride away from home. We had stopped for gas and a stretch when 3 sport bikes pulled up, same as above, guys in full leathers. The bikes looked well ridden but as they pulled their helmets off, here it was 3 grey haired guys in their late 50s and 60s from Calgary, just 3 hours from our home. They walked over and started admiring Jodie's Ninja 650R, then one of them spotted her AirHawk cushion. All three started a bidding war until they were up to twice what she paid for it! She wouldn't sell it cause the stock seat on the Ninja sucks. but they left with the website where they could buy it.