I had seemingly endless issues with BMW's so only ever got as far as R1100's before I switched brands and won't really comment except to say their marketing department does a much better job than their engineers IMHO.
The load issue isn't one from the engineers, it's from BMW's lawyers. Read the sticker inside a BMW pannier, it says you can't sue them if it falls off with more than 10KG inside. They actually fall off through poor design, but the 10KG sticker is a great get out as no one will ever run that big a box at 10 KG. I've run Yamahas and Triumphs, totally ignored the weight limits, put sidecars on bikes that have doubled the weight (including a BMW) and to date had zero hassle.
I'd be anti-BMW as far as complexity goes, but the weight limit is about what you can ride and pick up, not what the handbook says.
I notice the airhead comes up time and time again. Go look at ones that are actually for sale. Like most twenty year old bikes they use poor electrical components and have years and years worth of previous owners bodges. Like all BMW's the prices are too high. For the early 1980's they were the superior machine, but today I'd say a Triumph Scrambler is better quality, better priced for the same performance and comes without twenty years of baggage.
Andy
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