Hi GrahamFork stantions are not that long on the R850 and a decent pothole at good speed will compress them enough to do the sort of damge you describe. A decent set of progressive springs and some good quality, and slightly higer rated fork oil will do wonders for it.The R850 is a good bike all round and despite excessive mass at least has a decent boxer engine and advanced Telelever suspension. The width of the engine is a bit of an issue in town traffic but out on the open road the sophisticated suspension at both ends allow most bumps to be absorbed without the usual BMW ducking and diving. The 1100R has a major benefit of more torque, but the 850R is cheaper. It's a significant advance over the previous R100’s, but I think more attention should have been given to weight saving (sort of what BMW is up to now really), though it doesn’t show up too much once under way, thanks to the modern chassis.About 2,000 R850s, including some that came to NZ, manufactured between October 1994 - August 1996 were involved in one major recall. A sheet metal plate mounted to the front of the frame below the instrument cluster caused the wiring harness to be stretched too tight as the handlebar was turned fully to one side. Also, the wiring harness was attached to another harness with a cable tie that was placed too far forward, limiting the amount of free movement of the handlebar. The harness wires could have been damaged, broken, or pulled out of the ignition switch. If the harness wires were damaged, but not broken or disconnected, the electrical system could be affected while riding. Intermittent conditions such as hesitation, misfiring, or "cutting out" could occur. Make sure the one you’re thinking of buying has the cable tie further back so that the ignition switch wiring harness has sufficient freedom of movement. If the wiring harness is found to be damaged, the ignition switch (with harness) should be replaced by a dealer.Couple of folk I know with R850s were having a lot of trouble getting it into neutral, which of course means it wouldn’t start. I've heard that this is common for this bike. Just give the shift lever a light upward tap. With just a little practice you can get it almost every time. There really isn't a detent for neutral as on other bikes. Release the clutch lever slowly because the light does not necessarily indicate neutral. As far as I know the R850R will start in gear if you pull the clutch lever (as will most motorcycles). The other two things about the R850R (and probably most R bike) transmissions are:1) When stopped, to get into 1st from neutral, start with the clutch lever out (engaged). Gently depress the shifter until you meet resistance, then smoothly pull the clutch and depress the shift lever almost at the same time. There will be a slight clunk as the trans drops into 1st. The R bikes have a dry clutch, and it stops spinning so quickly that unless you use this method it can be hard to get into 1st gear. Wet clutch bikes always have some pressure from the oil, and are easier to get into 1st, but also have a pretty potent clunk when dropping into 1st.2) Down shifting to 2nd and 1st as you come up to a stop will result in a loud clunk in both gears. This is a problem with the transmission design and other bikes do not have this problem. R bike owners seem to cope by downshifting at lower speeds. In other words, downshift below 15kmh, just before you put your foot down. Although this is a pretty irritating "feature", apparently it doesn't harm the transmission.Also, if it’s got a steering damper it’ll no doubt leak at around 25,000kms. Look for a drop of oil on the damper, or a little puddle on the floor below it. The damper is below the Telelever lower support. This damper is not rebuildable and a new one is not cheap. It’ll still handle fine if not replaced but, if you’re going to replace get an aftermarket rebuildable damper.Whatever, if you like the bike, it's in good nick and you are happy with what you pay for it you'll love it. Enjoy!!CheersGarry
CheersGrahamPost count: 17Post count: 17Post count: 2134Post count: 17
