When I decided to move up from my "scooter", I had been considering and Honda Deauville, or Yamaha Diversion 900, both shaft drive, with a good reputation for reliability.
After selling my Siverwing, I looked at both, but was not really satisfied. A friend suggested getting an older BMW, since newer ones were outside my budget. I tried a 1984 K100RT, nice but a bit too old! Also it was too wide to fit down the side of my house. After looking around a bit, I discovered the RS, with fairing but not as wide as the other BMWs.
Checked out various web sites and discovered a couple of bikes on e-bay. This 1998 R1100RS with 21,000 on the clock seemed to fit the bill.
On the journey home, I found the riding position increasingly uncomfortable. I had not taken a long enough test ride. When I viewed a similar bike in a BMW showroom, the dealer said I would probably not like it at first being so different to a Japanese bike, but would grow to like it it. So I thought - wait and see.
It came with the usual BMW panniers and topbox, but I found my laptop in a well padded bag, would not fit in the topbox. I had kept my Givi Maxi box and found a fitting kit on e-bay. I had checked up a few sites and found that others had problems with this kit. Having removed the BMW rear rack, I added the Givi mounting plate and found the 2 tubular spacers were too long, and the join to the BMW side rack was under stress. I decided to halve one of the spacers. This also meant buying 2 new bolts of the correct length, since the original BMW bolts were too short and the Givi bolts too long. The result meant the top plate was horizontal the the join to to the side rack was not under stress. I now ride with the Givi box all the time, only adding the panniers when needed.
I didn't have my usual trip to Cardiff for a couple of weeks, so I didn't get much chance to try it out. After 1000 miles, in 3 weeks I was still feeling uncomfortable, with my weight on my hands, So I looked around to see if there was any alternative. The R1100RT is very comfortable to sit on, but I still have the problem of getting it down the side of the house. I discovered that the wing mirrors on the RS are the same width as on the RT. I had been folding in the right hand mirror to go down the passage way, so I tried it with the mirror extended. I had to hack off large parts of the hedge, and wiggle between the gate posts, so its possible, but not easy and would definitely mean lots of scratches.
Another dealer suggested handle bar extenders. I found them at Motor Works. A bit pricey, but cheaper than changing the bike, and they might save my back. The next day a package with two small but heavy metal bars arrived. Easily fitted that evening, although I had to reroute the brake hose. I later found I had to loosen the clutch cable as well. Although the extenders are only 5cm, the difference is amazing. I feel as though I am sitting much more upright.
I shortly hope to add photos of these modifications.