NGC
Hi, guys, thanks for your positive comments! At the start of my ride today, I stopped in to grab a coffee and kick tires with the sales guy at Cleveland BMW (motorcycles,) before poaching on Zoom Zoom's riding territory in Burton, Ohio! And damn, I keep getting drawn to the 3-4 R9T's they have on the showroom floor. Can't think of BMW's specific model designations, but here's what's there:
- The scrambler. Apparently the baffles are easily removed when the occasion warrants it.
- the one that carries the same color scheme as the 1980's R80 GS/PD, orange seat and all.
- the original R9T in a lovely two tone paint scheme dominated by a dark green/blue
- the base model (Pure?)
Then I question if any of those would be better than the R1200R waterhead, with multiplate wet clutch. I've been through a bunch of Beemers over the past 30 years, and always felt their weak link was the single plate dry clutch sandwiched between the engine and tranny. Not saying that they don't hold up, but that a failed rear main seal, or in the case of a failed slave clutch cylinder on a K1200RS, required a lot of work to replace a relatively inexpensive component.
Love my Guzzi 1200 Sport, but she's getting a bit top heavy for me to push in and out of the garage. If she has to go, I'll always remember the 67,000 enjoyable miles this bike gave me. Aside from the dashboard replacement, this bike simply ran and ran (and still runs beautifully!) Can't forget to mention the wonderful group of Guzzi riders I've met both locally at our breakfast at Mike's in Kent, and the forum members on WG.
Bob