Going to look at a 2005 R1200RT. What do I need to know?

[guest2360]

ECUs and the ABS system is very reliable and again this is not the electro servo unit part and that's the less than reliable bit as the newest one out there is over 10 years old.

[UKDucatiman]

That is an 1150RT.  Totally different system.

Yes, just showing its been going on for a while and with different BMW models. Scary how the US fella goes about his work, especially when ripping into the wiring 

[dave y]

I did the ABSectomy on the 2005 w/sidecar that I bought last fall.  The servo died right after I bought the bike.
In the US the best price I found on a replacement module was about $2,400. Found a vendor in Germany selling them for about $1,300. 


Couple of points.
When the servo died, I flushed and bled the brakes on the off chance that the system was either low on fluid or blocked orifices. No luck.
People who say that it takes a dealer to change/bleed servo brakes have likely never tried it. Following the manual, it's a little tedious but not at all difficult and very straight forward.  Does require a $35 special funnel (which I have if anyone wants to buy). 


It's not really necessary to buy relays if one separates out the circuit board and plug from the Servo module. I made a cover for it and speedo, and brake lights work as designed.


To eliminate the brake failure light, one needs to either remove the dash bulbs or in units with surface mount leds, black them out.


Re-plumbing the brake lines is pretty straight forward. Just use the existing junction block for the front brakes, and plumbing in a direct line from the rear master cylinder to rear caliper. 


I was unconcerned about losing the ABS since with the sidecar attached, even when the servo/ABS was working, the ABS mapping doesn't match the actual loading/balance.


Completely agree with other posters that, knowing the potential for the whizzy brakes to fail, I would not recommend buying the bike with that system.  Too many other great bikes out there. 


Dave


38 Hondas
1 Ducati
1 BMW
1 Muskin El Gato

[Liverpool Brick]

Don't want to seem pedantic boys as I'm a newbie but isn't this called "thread creep"? Its all very interesting but sod all to do with buying a 2007 RT
Andy

[guest2360]

Agreed, but you did ask about a 2005 before deciding to look for a 2007.  Have you found one.

[Liverpool Brick]

Hi RTman,
No, not found one yet or at least not at the right price. There's a 2007 in Belfast at a dealer but they're asking silly money (another dealer has a 2011 with less miles for £500 more!) Unfortunately Northern Ireland is a small market and I'd have no trouble getting one on the mainland.
So, still looking but its only a matter of time before one comes up.
Cheers,
Andy

[Liverpool Brick]

Hi RTman and other contributors,
I took your advice and bought a 2011 RT SE, 15k miles. Ok, I paid more than I originally intended but as I aim to head to S.Spain on it I figured its worth the investment. I traded my VFR800 and quite honestly was glad to see the back of it - it didn't suit my style of riding. So I expect I'll pop up on here from time to time and thanks for the sound advice so far.
Cheers,
Andy

[Tango]

Good Shout matey, was that the one for sale in Northern Ireland? took a look that on the net, nice looking example, think it might well of been advertised for that kind of  price over here, so hope all goes well with it.


Might be worth contacting BMW warranty services if it has full service history if you fancy a bit of extra piece of mind. according to info on this thread it might be possible
https://1200rt.com/index.php?topic=1077.msg6187#msg6187


enjoy your new bike


Marty

[Liverpool Brick]

Hi Tango,


Yes, bought it here in sunny NI. I believe it has a full service history and I'll check it for recalls with BMW. Hopefully taking delivery next Friday and hopefully the sun will still be shining but as this is Norn Iron I'll not hold my breath!
Andy

[step2534]

Andy, they aren't run in properly till they've done 15000.

Enjoy, it was a good decision

[Liverpool Brick]

Thanks Step

[UKDucatiman]

Hi RTman and other contributors,
I took your advice and bought a 2011 RT SE, 15k miles. Ok, I paid more than I originally intended but as I aim to head to S.Spain on it I figured its worth the investment. I traded my VFR800 and quite honestly was glad to see the back of it - it didn't suit my style of riding. So I expect I'll pop up on here from time to time and thanks for the sound advice so far.
Cheers,
Andy

Well done, glad you found a good example : )

[guest2360]

Good choice.  Suggestion from Tango is a good one.  You can get  it with emergency breakdown cover which covers the whole of Europe so its not too expensive.