The R1200R - Unappreciated by both BMW Riders and BMW Motorrad?

[TexasT]

After wanting a BMW bike for months, and drooling over various models etc, I finally decided on my slightly broke in (151k miles) '07 R1200R. This bike has truly redefined and revolutionized my beliefs on motorcycling. I am not a veteran rider, nor have I been on any long trips, but this bike has really taught me to be a better rider in the short two weeks we've been on the road together!

I love it! Absolutely gives me more confidence and pleasure than any other ride I have been on. So much so, that I have planned out my first road trip, a 5k miler that I can not wait to get going on! Again, this is just the opinion of a newbie to bikes and BMW Motorrad, but I'm not planning on riding anything else!

T

[sdpc2]

in three years......

[TexasT]

Just goes to show the excellent durability and outstanding performance of these machines! And I am not saying any other BMW isn't as good, or this one is better than any other R, K, F, etc. I was immediately put into contact with the first owner of the bike by some great folks on the site here, and got his personal view of the machine and a very good overview of the maintenance done.

He traded the bike in on a 2010 R1200R, to keep burnin' up roads on the great Roadster! This bike came with immaculate records, the previous owner was extremely good not only about the maintenance, but also the record keeping. This machine has certainly been there and done that, and I have had 0 problems or worries with it in these 2 weeks and 600+ miles. I love the Roadster, and when this one is ready to join me in retirement, I too will purchase another!

Goes to prove the durability in craftsmanship, the excellence in the people that ride and love them, and the dependability that one expects from the great history of BMW Motorrad!

Here's a Prost to the Roadster and all BMW machines!

T

[bmwrebel]

I got a 2008 R1200R last year and I love it. Light, fast, responsive. and elagent. The only complaints, the seat, it was designed by the son of a sadistic gestapo interagator. When work picks up, I am getting a Bill Myers with a passanger seat part that a lady can sit on all day. The horn was the first thing I replaced, the OEM frauline fart just does not make it, Duel Steibes mounted on the windshield bracket, now thats a blast. Put a windshield of your choice and you are ready for cross country. It came with the small BMW windshield, another joke. I have a ZTechnik it is good, but I will get the taller one, I am 6.0 feet tall. I have a Givi box on the back and throw over bags for now, Givi hard bags when work picks up. With my kid brother on the back going to a party, the bike did not even feel him. It goes like a bat out of hell. The ease of working on it is great, easer then my K75S, no belly pan. It gets complimented where ever I go. I still love the K75S, but the R1200R is my bike now. The tank is plenty big enough. The full dressers do not interest me and the GS is to tall and heavy. The R R reminds me of how much fun my first BMW was back in 1975 when I was blasting around on a 1972 R75/5. Long live the roadsters.

[blueviewlaguna]

I got my new 2010 R1200R 5 days ago (331 miles now) - I just can't stop riding it!, what a terrific bike, long live the BMW boxer roadsters....

[180683]

Just goes to show the excellent durability and outstanding performance of these machines! ...
Here's a Prost to the Roadster and all BMW machines!

There is a gentleman posting on ADVrider who has over 400,000 miles on an 1100 GS. They can go the distance if you take care of them.

Great buy on that R bike, TexasT !

Joe

[ka5ysy]

If you can't visually distinguish between a GS and a Roadster, I'd suggest your eyeglass prescription might be out of date.. If you mean difficult to distinguish the useability of the two - I'd agree.

Perhaps the confusion that occurs is a result of a lot of us adding the GS handguards and some windscreens a lot taller than normal. I have had people ask me how I like the "GS" all the time, and the visual clue they are looking at is the handguards first and the cylinder protection (SW-MOTECH), so the confusion probably has a good basis.

We RR drivers have a "RT-Lite": Same luggage, less weight, more satisfying

[deilenberger]

Funny incident yesterday..

It was a stellar day for a ride in NJ, so I went for a pre-Easter-dinner ride...

During the ride, as I was stopped at a stop-sign at an intersection, I spotted a BMW Z8 (think BMW's idea to compete with Ferrari - and quite rare) go past, top down.

I pulled out and kept behind him - a respectful distance - but keeping up since even the rear view of a Z8 is enough to get me minorly excited.



He pulled up to a traffic light, and pulled into the right lane to turn right, I was going straight - so pulled up next to him in the left lane. Middle aged chap, appeared well able to afford the Z8 (and trophy-female in seat next to him..), we ended up having a nice chat. I was interested in his Z8, and he wanted to know all about the R12R - as he put it "Gotta get one.. I'm not doing Harley.. It's good on the back roads?"

So - one more order for BMW for the bike that sells itself.

[Trickster]

Don,
When I first scrolled down, I thought it was a Miata, then noticed the emblems.
Then while scrutinizing the pic, the backend looks kinda Cobra-like, and the front-end kinda Ferrari-esque.

Maybe you coulda swapped the rides for a bit, and if you had only 1 helmet, the trophy would be with you. LMAO

Awesome looking ride worth how much?

[mistercindy]

I love the R12R. I've been a naked bike guy my entire life. I enjoyed my R1150R. The only reason I have the R12GS is that I test rode the first used one that was for sale at my local dealership (October of 2005), and fell in love with the powerplant. Had the R12R been for sale at the time I would have bought it. Instead, I bought that R12GS and have been very happy with it. But if I had to part with my R12GS I'd look hard at the R12R as a replacement.

I also have a friend who totaled a K1200RS (earlier model) and replaced it with an R12R. He swears its the best all-round bike he's ever owned.

I can only think of a couple of concerns with the R12R:

• I do quite a bit of 400 mile days, and I like decent protection. My 12GS's Aeroflow completely transformed the bike, so I admit to drinking the Aeroflow Kool-Aid. But if you look at the Aeroflow site of bikes for which they make shields, the R1200R is noticeable absent (LINK). Its odd, because the R12R has been out for several years, and Aeroflow has a history of making a shield for the roadster (R850R, R1100R, R1150R, etc...). I'd be far more certain of the R12R being my next bike if I knew I could depend on an Aeroflow in front of me.
• I don't know personally about the R12R, but the headlight on the R1150R was awful. It was a serious weakness, IMHO, on an otherwise superb machine. The R12GS's stock lighting is dramatically better. I understand having the round headlight for that retro look. But does that have to mean that the headlight's effectiveness must be on a par with 40 year old bikes? Why won't BMW put a modern double bulb housing in it? And if it can't be done then, in the great BMW tradition of form following function, perhaps the perfectly round configuration needs to go.

Otherwise, I love the look (particularly the black with the white pinstriping), and I know from personal experience that the powerplant is superb.

The only complaints, the seat, it was designed by the son of a sadistic gestapo interagator.

The unridable saddle is a proud BMW tradition.

[rdsmith3]

I love the R12R. I've been a naked bike guy my entire life. I enjoyed my R1150R. ...
[*]I don't know personally about the R12R, but the headlight on the R1150R was awful. It was a serious weakness, IMHO, on an otherwise superb machine. The R12GS's stock lighting is dramatically better. I understand having the round headlight for that retro look. But does that have to mean that the headlight's effectiveness must be on a par with 40 year old bikes? Why won't BMW put a modern double bulb housing in it? And if it can't be done then, in the great BMW tradition of form following function, perhaps the perfectly round configuration needs to go.[/LIST]
Otherwise, I love the look (particularly the black with the white pinstriping), and I know from personal experience that the powerplant is superb.

I've spent a lot of time improving the lighting on my R1150R. I added relays and a better H4 bulb for the main headlight (Philips Xtreme Power). I have fork-mounted Motolights with yellow bulbs for conspicuity and cornering lighting. I have Hella Optilux driving lights wired into the high beam circuit for the deer-infested back roads of NJ.

[deilenberger]

I can only think of a couple of concerns with the R12R:

• I do quite a bit of 400 mile days, and I like decent protection. My 12GS's Aeroflow completely transformed the bike, so I admit to drinking the Aeroflow Kool-Aid. But if you look at the Aeroflow site of bikes for which they make shields, the R1200R is noticeable absent

He may have decided not to compete in an already crowded field.. there are about 10 different shields/fairings made for the R12R now, including ones from Parabellum, Hannigan, Cee-Bailey, Wunderlich, etc. No dearth of choices.

• (LINK). Its odd, because the R12R has been out for several years, and Aeroflow has a history of making a shield for the roadster (R850R, R1100R, R1150R, etc...). I'd be far more certain of the R12R being my next bike if I knew I could depend on an Aeroflow in front of me.
• I don't know personally about the R12R, but the headlight on the R1150R was awful. It was a serious weakness, IMHO, on an otherwise superb machine. The R12GS's stock lighting is dramatically better. I understand having the round headlight for that retro look. But does that have to mean that the headlight's effectiveness must be on a par with 40 year old bikes? Why won't BMW put a modern double bulb housing in it? And if it can't be done then, in the great BMW tradition of form following function, perhaps the perfectly round configuration needs to go.

BMW did put a modern dual-bulb headlight on it - there are dual H11 bulbs in the round reflector - one above the other. Each has it's own reflector (miracles of computer engineering..) and both are used on high-beam. There are also some good choices for aftermarket lighting available..

Otherwise, I love the look (particularly the black with the white pinstriping), and I know from personal experience that the powerplant is superb.

The unridable saddle is a proud BMW tradition.

Black with White is the fastest too..

[mistercindy]

He may have decided not to compete in an already crowded field.. there are about 10 different shields/fairings made for the R12R now, including ones from Parabellum, Hannigan, Cee-Bailey, Wunderlich, etc. No dearth of choices.

True for the 12GS shield, too. All of those manufacturers (not sure about Hannigan, though, which is a very unusual product) and many more make screens, shields and half-fairings for the 12GS. Actually, I can't think of a motorcycle with more overall farkle competition than the GS and the GSA.

I called Aeroflow and they said an R12R screen is in the works, but that they are waiting on somebody willing to let them use an R1200R as a mule. That's a big deal because whoever volunteers is making quite a commitment. I remember a wonderful thread in ADVrider written by the guy who let his R12GS be used as the Aeroflow mule. Aeroflow really puts bike and shield through the wringer. They spends lots of time and money on research and development. Its why their products work so well. Hopefully somebody volunteers an R1200R!

[deilenberger]

True for the 12GS shield, too. All of those manufacturers (not sure about Hannigan, though, which is a very unusual product) and many more make screens, shields and half-fairings for the 12GS. Actually, I can't think of a motorcycle with more overall farkle competition than the GS and the GSA.

The difference is - market. The GS/GSA is BMW's biggest selling bike. You go where the market is.

I called Aeroflow and they said an R12R screen is in the works, but that they are waiting on somebody willing to let them use an R1200R as a mule. That's a big deal because whoever volunteers is making quite a commitment. I remember a wonderful thread in ADVrider written by the guy who let his R12GS be used as the Aeroflow mule. Aeroflow really puts bike and shield through the wringer. They spends lots of time and money on research and development. Its why their products work so well. Hopefully somebody volunteers an R1200R!

I can't imagine loaning them my bike. Seems WAY too altruistic. They are in business to make money. Expenses are a normal business item. There are places that RENT R1200R's in California.. so renting one might be the way for them to get their test mule.

FWIW - other shield manufacturers use a different model. CalSci looks for knowledgeable people who are willing to install/ride-with/report back on test design shields for the model bike they're working on. They look for several people since different people will have different results depending on their height on the bike. I know because I was one of the testers for their R1200R shield.

Just curious - did Aeroflow say what mount they were going to use for their shield?

[mistercindy]

The difference is - market. The GS/GSA is BMW's biggest selling bike. You go where the market is.

I actually expected them to say that was the reason there was no shield for the R12R. But the answer about the lack of mule was immediate. But I'm sure the market plays a role. So few people bought the R12ST that it'd make no sense to develop a shield for it.

I can't imagine loaning them my bike. Seems WAY too altruistic. They are in business to make money. Expenses are a normal business item. There are places that RENT R1200R's in California.. so renting one might be the way for them to get their test mule.

I wouldn't do it either, unless part of the mule experience is that the owner plays an active part, and he's not without his bike a lot. If that were the case then it might be a cool learning experience.

FWIW - other shield manufacturers use a different model. CalSci looks for knowledgeable people who are willing to install/ride-with/report back on test design shields for the model bike they're working on. They look for several people since different people will have different results depending on their height on the bike. I know because I was one of the testers for their R1200R shield.

I don't know exactly how they use the mule. I recall from that old ADVrider thread regarding the R12GS mule, that the owner had his bike a lot, took notes and pictures, reported back, and Aeroflow had it a lot, too. But I don't remember the details. I may do a search and re-read it. I remember that it had quite an impact on me, as it was a big reason I took the plunge and bought an Aeroflow.

It does seem odd that Aeroflow couldn't buy and depreciate a no-frills stock R12R, use it to develop their product, then sell it as a low mileage used bike with over two years of factory warranty left. I really don't know enough about them to know how or why they operate the way they do.

Just curious - did Aeroflow say what mount they were going to use for their shield?

No, the conversation never got that detailed.