3 comments about Bmw K100 (2-valve) '83 to '92 & K75 '85 to '96 Service and Repair Mainual.

1. CLAIM CODE XQXS-Z97GNW-PLWB ORDER #002-0520751-7569066/0001-0001



2. Like every other BMW manual I've seen, this one falls short. There isn't a single one out there that tells you how to take apart the control grips! I wish the manual writers would spend less time talking about repairs that no sane person would attempt (right, I'm gonna disassemble the drive shaft) and more time talking about simple repairs. This manual does describe the disassembly and reassembly of the front fairing (which is a real Chinese puzzle!). On the whole, though, I was not impressed.
   It's also written for the Brits, which means that most of the terminology is British. Remember what George Bernard Shaw said!



3. Don't bother to buy a BMW manual. Here's all you need to know:
   1. Fill the fluids regularly
   2. Keep the tires inflated
   3. The clunk on shifting is normal; BMWs use a dry clutch
   4. The buzzing at 4800 rpm is normal. My friend reminds me
   that you can buy one part to fix this: it's called a 2001
   K1200RS!

No comments about Bmw 500 and 600Cc Twins 1955 1969.

No comments about BMW Motorcycles Workshop Manual R50 R50S R60 R69S.

3 comments about BMW Motorcycles: The Evolution of Excellence.

1. That and many other historical events mentioned by the author make this book interesting. I like the format, the pictures and the style.Unfortunately the book is not up to speed when it comes to the latest ( not even 06 models ) products of the BMW motorcycle line.
   However, it makes a beautiful gift.



2. This book waxes enthusiastically about how wonderful BMW's quality was/is. I bought this book expecting a focus on BMW's specific innovations and their development. Instead, it just gushed about the company being the epitome of quality on every other page with virtually no reference to innovations, designs, standards, etc. Although I agree that BMW's quality was once very good, I don't feel that they've continued to maintain high standards. Now, it's easier for them to charge a premium simply to maintain the "illusion of quality."



3. Other than that, it reads like a BMW brochure; the pictures are really cool, however. The text gushes enthusiastic about how great BMW is. It's a good read about a historical overview of the company. A good coffee table book for motorcycle lovers.

5 comments about Bmw Motorcycle: Illustrated Buyer's Guide.

1. This book documents the production of all BMW motorcycles from the very beginning up until 1997. It has high quality pictures of most BMW models as well as rating the various models as to desirability of ownership from a collector's point of view.

   The author is obviously an expert in this area and offers insightful comments. There are quite a few sidebars that detail his riding experiences on various older models

   This book is a "must have" for any serious BMW motorcycle enthusiast or owner.




2. This is a great book and well written. However, it is more of a history book on the BMW motorcycles than it is a buyer's guide. There is very little information on pricing and the author is very generous to the BMW legacy without being especially helpful to prospective buyers. I put it down having learned alot about the BMW line but probably more confused about which BMW to buy than when I picked it up. If you want to learn about the bikes it is great, if you are a newcomer and you want basic buying info, I am not sure that this is the best book.



3. This is a very complete and detailed book. I think that the authors give us a very good review of the BMW bikes. They write not only about technical specification, but history as well. They have good pictures, photos and technical data. What I miss is that they forgot to write about some types ( R-3, R-61 ) and they do not give the technical data of all types of BMW bikes. The advantage of this book - can be read as an interesting story - is also the disadvantage of it. What I would try, if I were the author, is that show the types one by one, not forgetting the stories, but more sistematically show us the BMW bikes, one or two page for each, including photos, pictures, data. Otherwise the best book I know about BMW bikes.



4. The book detailed the models, chronologically, showing how one cycle evolved into the the next model. It would detail the new models improvements. Numerous photo also aided in the descriptions of the improvements made year to year, model to model. Easy reading and a MUST read for all you BMW lovers.



5. This is an excellent book for the BMW motorcycle enthusiast. It tells the whole story since the beginning until around 1994. It presents it chronologically as technical achivements so one can see how one model was improved upon to become the next. And it has a lot of excellent photos. There are a few gaps (like, what made the R60/6 to become the R60/7) but I guess that that is unavoidable. The authors are very knowledgeable but left out a lot of interesting information BY DESIGN. They don't give us their opinion about what is right or wrong with each machine, and I would like to know the opinion of experts! For example, I have learned somewhere else that the old R60 models from the 1970s are forgiving for not-too-expert riders, a bit involved in maintenance (like adjusting valves every month), but easy and cheap to repair whereas de K models are more difficult to ride, very easy to maintain, but difficult and expensive to repair. This is the kind of information I would have expected in this book. I would also like to see more technical specifications. I still think that this is a great book but I pray the authors: expand the book in its next edition and make it the dream of every BMW motorcycle enthusiast.

3 comments about Haynes BMW Twins Motorcycles Owners Workshop Manual/1970-1996.

1. Good basic guidance to repair and maintenance of a wide variety of R bikes. Even includes obscure R65-specific material.



2. Buy the Clymer manual instead: it is far more comprehensive and much better illustrated. The modest extra cost is well worth paying!



3. I purchased this book for my husband. He believes this is a great book for anyone that owns a BMW Twin Motorcycle to add to your collection for any work you might want to do on your own bike.

2 comments about BMW Racing Motorcycles: The Mastery of Speed.

1. No manufacturer has a longer racing record than BMW, with factory involvement not just in motorcycles of many sizes and classes but also in the arcane (some say the most exciting) sidecar race category. BMW started winning German national championships in 1924 and took the sidecar world championship for 20 consecutive years--1954-1974. Their bikes also did brilliantly in the Isle of Man in the hands of greats such as Walter Zeller, Georg Meier and the Helmut Dahne, holder of the Nurburging motorcycle lap record (7'49.71")on an RC-30. BMW is still racing, in 2008.
   
   This excellent book starts with the company crashing to earth in 1919 after WWI, forbidden to continue making aero engines and denied its technological roots by the Treaty of Versailles. It proceeds through Europe's great road and off-road races to the era of the `kompressor' (supercharger), to the Munich factory's devastation by Allied bombing in WWII, shown in photos.
   
   Allen and Gardiner have created what is probably the most complete, definitive collection of data and photographs of BMW's racing endeavors, and done it with style and wit. Beautifully produced, in `horizontal' format, the book includes many great historical photos of the men and machines that have made the marque among the most respected in all of motorcycle racing. There is, however, only one diagram--a frontal drawing of the original R.32, BMW's epochal boxer twin of 1923--where the technically inclined reader thirsts for more.
   
   The Butler & Smith era in the U.S. is described in detail, including Udo Gietl's frame achievements that delivered Superbike success, extends to the off-road (e.g. Paris-Dakar) wins, even '07 Pike's Peak, with Gary Trachey on a `Megamoto,' and to the emerging era of the current HP2. Noted (without photo) is the 1997-1999 achievement of Dave Morris, three-time Singles winner in the Isle of Man on BMWs. No mention--a pity!--is made nor photo shown of BMW's rumored MotoGP bikes, seen in magazines in 2006 with Luca Cadalora in the saddle, nor of the evolutionary camshaft and valve work on the four-valve boxer oilhead engine (like its predecessors, notoriously wide and restrictive of lean angle, irrelevant in their brilliantly successful racing sidecars).
   
   This book arrives at a time when BMW is finally, after too long a hiatus, returning to serious national racing in the U.S. with its new HP2, already racing in MotoST and world endurance events in the hands of Brian Parriott and Nate Kern. Soon we will see its even newer World Superbike sibling, the transverse-four S 1000RR, reportedly due in the SBK series in 2009.
   
   For about 25 years, since Reg Pridmore won the U.S. Superbike Championship in 1976, BMW produced a series of increasingly detuned and boring `air-head' bikes that disappointed hard-core race and sport-bike enthusiasts. The shaft-drive K bikes were little better, despite half-hearted attempts via the bloated K-1 and too-late/too-heavy current K offerings. The book, dealing only with racing, tactfully avoids mentioning these machines. Only with the oil-head R1100S in 2000, a machine that evolved into the HP2, did BMW inch back slowly to its racing roots. Can they keep up the commitment, financially, technically, and by attracting great riders? Time will tell.



2. This definitely belongs in every BMW fan's book collection. Even if you are not a big racing fan you will enjoy the historical facts and the great pictures.

2 comments about Bmw Motorcycles in World War II: R12/R75 (Schiffer Military History).

1. The book contains hundreds of photograhps of mainly the BMW R12 and some of the R75. All photographs are taken in Worldwar II and represent valuable historic information on how these bikes were used in combat. It also reveals the strategies being used by motorcycle companies and shows some of the human suffering of this era. Furthermore it contains valuable technical information, drawings and exploded views of the BMW R75. Highly recommended to anyone interested in this part of the history or for those who are involved in BMW R12 or R75 restoration.



2. I need this book urgentl

1 comments about BMW Boxer Twins (Haynes Great Bike).

1. Being on the boxers for many years, this books still tells me many things and stories that I did not know. With arond 140 pages, it covers all BMW boxers, up to R1200 engines. it tells you the strength and weakness of each model. What was new and updated on new bikes when they came to the market. It can be a good reference book before to you put your hands on BMW boxers. I personally love it.(Koutai Liao, 11/4/2007)

3 comments about Clymer Bmw R850, R1100, R1150 and R1200c 1993-2005 (Clymer Motorcycle Repair) (Clymer Motorcycle Repair).

1. Just as I expected. Full of anything you want to know and then some more.



2. Unless you are going to let the dealer turn every screw on your bike, you need this. The BMW manual is hopelessly vague on so many items that there really isn't any substitute. I've found a few minor things wrong but overall it is extremely useful. The only thing I don't care for is that they've crammed so many models into the manual and there is no index, so it can take a while to find what you are looking for.



3. A must for any BMW owner. A bit too involved not easily organized. Would prefer chapters on individual maintance procedures instead of jumping through chapters to find information. Would also perfer a book on individual models instead of covering so many different bikes. Still it is a book that one should have to seriously maintain their bike.