BMW LT, 2005, Hannigan kit, Phoenix, AZ

[inthomas]

Newbie assistance here would be appreciated.

Local RideNow BMW dealer in Chandler (Phoenix), AZ, has a used 2005 LT with a Hannigan kit. Scoot runs very smooth, not a rattle nor an engine burp.

BUT, and it's a huge "but", bike has 110K+ miles.

Here's the notes: $15K. It's that gold-ish/beige. Plastic-work fine, no scuffs nor dents. Some rubber grommets and seals (like the glove box seal) are shot (typical problem here in the desert), but nothing severe. Sounds & runs fine. Tried it up to 70mph on city streets here (that's a bit slow for city streets here in Phoenix but I was being a bit cautious). Not a miss nor a burble. Brakes worked great. All the clocks and dials worked.

Mechanics seem to be just fine.

Here the rub: Dealer is willing to sell me a 2 year extended warranty for about $1,300 (but he immediately started discounting that number). The warranty covers the BMW parts, of course, not the Hannigan parts. The warranty's almost a a deal-clincher, except that's its with RPMOne, part of Interstate National Dealer Services.

According to pretty much every forum I perused, it is almost impossible to find a WORSE warranty company in the US.

Now, a BMW with 110K miles AND a legitimate useful reliable extended service contract, even if just on the BMW parts, would make the bike an okay deal. The price is certainly right and I expect the dealer is still soft at $15K.

But I am a turbine guy, not a reciprocating engine guy. I cannot wrench my own bike. So I am in a bit of a quandary here. I've got a lot of experience with GW's and a GW at 110K miles mechanically is a caution, but not a deal-breaker. I expect the BMW is similar.

With the Hannigan kit, the rear end problems are gone too. But as with a GW at this mileage, I'd like some sort of moving parts protection.

There are the other issues also.

If I put any sort of mileage on it at all, it is going to be pretty much unsellable after 3 or 4 years except to a very small buyer audience. And there is one small other issue. The Arizona license plate looks like it was run through a shredder. Now in Arizona you take the plate from bike to bike, so the last owner could have simply had the plate for any number of previous bikes, one of which he had an accident with. Or, the original LT was back-ended and broken up and the owner just triked it rather than rebuild it. Or it might mean nothing.

Dazed and confused......

Any comments would be appreciated.

Nick

[haawg]

I have a 2000 LT with the Hannigan kit. There is not much to the Hannigan kit. There are a few grease fittings, but you don't need to worry about them until 50,000 mikes. The BMW engine is solid. One of the big issues with the LT was the Final Drive, with the trike kit, there is no final drive. I don't know much about the extended warranty issue. BMW's are expensive to have worked on.

[Gorilla]

Nick, Your call, but haawg said a whole bunch with BMW's are expensive to work on. If you get the price down enough it might be worth it. You are right though in that when your done it will have little value left.

[Goldendragon]

Are you buying it to ride or re-sell? How much is the re-sell valve a factor in your decision to buy? If you are going to upgrade within 5 years, move on and find a different bike. If not, buy it, ride it like you stole it and have the time of your life. I have several friends that have 200-300K on their LT's, some of them are triked. $15,000 is not bad but if that is their asking price, you should be able to get them down alittle.