With that experience on bikes I'm sure the BMW will be great for you. Good luck!
FD
FD
new owner (almost)
I have been reading this forum for only 2 days now after a visit to a BMW dealership where they have an 03 LT with an asking price of 7500. I currently ride a 09 Kawasaki Versys. 650cc sporty strange looking bike. Actually, I don't really ride it because I have no idea why I bought the damn thing. It is very much the wrong bike for me. I have only put 600 miles on it in the 2 years that I have owned it and yes, I bought it new. My previous rides were (in reverse order) a Honda Rune (sexy straight line cruiser) BMW 1100RT, GL1800, Honda Valkyrie, and a HD. The Versys was an impulse thing. I wanted a bike, had none at the time, and was feeling particularly stupid that day. Nice enuf bike for the right rider, (my 20's are long behind me) but I like to ride far, and long and realized as I was riding away from the dealership that this bike would not suit me at all.
The bike I am getting has 31000 miles on it, I could not find a scratch on it. Took it for a ride and damn...very comfortable. Top heavy, yes, but so was the Goldwing and I put a lot of miles on that one. It did not have as much power as I thought it would, but again, I am not in my 20's anymore so that does not matter much.
I have read about the problems ppl here have had and I am not worried. I have read about lots of problems with other bikes I have owned on their respective forums and those problems did not go along with my experience. Well except for the Harley. You wanna talk about problems...damn, that bike had loads of em. But, to be fair, I did all my own wrenching on it. Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 upgrades. The problems could well have been because of the guy doing all the work. All that work to get more power, then when done, there comes a point where you realize that you still have one of the slowest bikes on the road. The "herd" mentality was not enuf to make me keep it or to ever want another. Anyway, I have the tools, and like to think I know how to use them reasonably well. (The harley was some time ago and I like to think that I can and do improve on stuff) If and when a problem arises I am not scared to give it a go if the dealer's price seems unreasonable.
I did not do much in evaluating the LT, but before I complete the purchase I will check it out further. I am taking a friend with me who used to own an LT and does work on his bikes. So, hopefully by this time tomorrow, I will have a smile on my face and a long distance tourer in the garage.
The bike I am getting has 31000 miles on it, I could not find a scratch on it. Took it for a ride and damn...very comfortable. Top heavy, yes, but so was the Goldwing and I put a lot of miles on that one. It did not have as much power as I thought it would, but again, I am not in my 20's anymore so that does not matter much.
I have read about the problems ppl here have had and I am not worried. I have read about lots of problems with other bikes I have owned on their respective forums and those problems did not go along with my experience. Well except for the Harley. You wanna talk about problems...damn, that bike had loads of em. But, to be fair, I did all my own wrenching on it. Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 upgrades. The problems could well have been because of the guy doing all the work. All that work to get more power, then when done, there comes a point where you realize that you still have one of the slowest bikes on the road. The "herd" mentality was not enuf to make me keep it or to ever want another. Anyway, I have the tools, and like to think I know how to use them reasonably well. (The harley was some time ago and I like to think that I can and do improve on stuff) If and when a problem arises I am not scared to give it a go if the dealer's price seems unreasonable.
I did not do much in evaluating the LT, but before I complete the purchase I will check it out further. I am taking a friend with me who used to own an LT and does work on his bikes. So, hopefully by this time tomorrow, I will have a smile on my face and a long distance tourer in the garage.
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The LT is a great sport touring bike that, like all bikes, has its pluses and minuses. Nonetheless, it is a great bike. Before you pull the trigger on the LT, look on ebay and craigs list to see what the "market dictates" for a used LT.
The key with buying any bike is knowing who owned the bike beforehand and what maintenance was done on it during this time. Although you cannot be guaranteed a maintenance free bike (I just put in a new clutch in on my 05 LT w/ 16,000 miles -- I did the work with the help of some great local LT owners and my cost (w/o labor) was about $700 in parts ), how the bike was treated and maintained goes a long way in the next owner.
If you are looking at the used LT market, consider an 05 model year or newer as BMW made a few nice upgrades to the LT -- from an electric center stand (everyone is awe of this when I use it), engine mods, rake mods and a few more that others can chime in on.
Look forward to seeing you on the forum.
Glenn
The key with buying any bike is knowing who owned the bike beforehand and what maintenance was done on it during this time. Although you cannot be guaranteed a maintenance free bike (I just put in a new clutch in on my 05 LT w/ 16,000 miles -- I did the work with the help of some great local LT owners and my cost (w/o labor) was about $700 in parts ), how the bike was treated and maintained goes a long way in the next owner.
If you are looking at the used LT market, consider an 05 model year or newer as BMW made a few nice upgrades to the LT -- from an electric center stand (everyone is awe of this when I use it), engine mods, rake mods and a few more that others can chime in on.
Look forward to seeing you on the forum.
Glenn
My previous LT was an 03. I now have an 05 and there is a HUGE difference in handling. I loved my 03 and put 60K on it in 4 years but the 05 is much better........ 
Another vote for a '05 or newer. Everyone who has ridden both pre and post 2005 says the handling and power are two of the big differences. Good luck in your search.
Bruce
Bruce
Welcome aboard Mark, let us know your decision. I am surprised that you say it doesn't have as much power as you thought it would have RPMs are your friend, rev it high and you will see loads of power.
RPMs are your friend, rev it high and you will see loads of power. 
Hi Mark and welcome to the forum. I too, did the Harley thing in my previous motorcycle life and did not want to go back there when I was shopping for bikes a few years ago, prior to buying my first LT. I believe you will not be disappointed with the '03, but if you could find an '05 or later model in your price range, you will have the best configuration. I know I like the '05 and later version best. The changes made that year were all good. I have bought 2 LT's ('00 and '05) from the same BMW dealer due to having confidence that they were well maintained bikes and I was willing to pay a little more for that. However, I'm not sure it was worth it. Since you have been on this forum for a while, you are aware of potential problems of the LT, but I would encourage you to not expect your LT would have many if any of them. My experience tells me that the LT is well built, and designed to run a lot of miles with minimal problems.
Ride on,
Tips
Ride on,
Tips
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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