Finally Did It

[danboxer]

Traded in the old but basically perfect 96 R1100R:

From R1100R

For a 04 K1200RS with less than 4000 miles. Almost bought a new R1200RT but I had to give the a K bike a try. So far the K is AWESOME! Can't wait for Spring!

From New Bike

Would have loved to keep the old R but just don't have the room for two bikes. I was pretty bummed about giving her up after 16 years of ownership - but much of the sadness went away as soon as I got on the throttle of the K.....

From New Bike

[AKBEEMER]

Congrats, danbox..... hey wait a minute!

[danboxer]

Good catch - now what to do about my name.... Don't think DanInLine4 is gonna work....

[AKBEEMER]

You're asking me? The guy who uses AKBeemer and now lives in Montana. I plan to live with it.

[MOTOR31]

How about dankbike for a new moniker?

Congrats on the K, Yep you'll miss the boxer a bit but the K will do just fine for ya. I did the transition from airhead to k to oilhead. To be honest I liked the first 2 far more. I also had the K far longer than any of the others, go figure.

[danboxer]

Thanks for the suggestion but I'm thinking I'll stick with what I got as I still have a car with a boxer engine as well.

I still think there's another boxer in my future however but I'm going to give this bike a chance for a season or two.

And - thanks for your service.

[mcmxcivrs]

I vote for keeping your current ID.

If you have to chnge then I would too. Mine would become MMVIIIGT/MMIXGS.

[froggy]

Always liked the look of the older K with the Shark Gill venting.As for your name just ad "shorts"at the end

[wavery]

Congrats. I'll be interested to hear your impressions as you ride it more. I've thought about going to an R and I'm curious about the difference in ride and feel. If only I could have two!

[easy]

Cool!!! A good friend of mine has an almost identical bike and loves it.

E

[danboxer]

Thanks for all the well wishes, compliments, and name suggestions. You guys have a great board here.

As far as differences go - so far this bike is instantly better in two areas that always bugged me about the 96 1100R. The new K shifts much easily and there is no surge anywhere in the RPM range - so I'm much happier right out of the gate. On the other hand - when I test drove a 2011 R1200RT I did not have those issues either - so I don't think it's a K vs R thing, it's more of a newer vs older thing.

Other comparisons will have to wait as the first 100 miles I've put on it here in the Northeast have been tainted by some pretty chilly temperatures and the usual winter road hazards.

[GREGFEELER]

Thanks for all the well wishes, compliments, and name suggestions. You guys have a great board here.

As far as differences go - so far this bike is instantly better in two areas that always bugged me about the 96 1100R. The new K shifts much easily and there is no surge anywhere in the RPM range - so I'm much happier right out of the gate. On the other hand - when I test drove a 2011 R1200RT I did not have those issues either - so I don't think it's a K vs R thing, it's more of a newer vs older thing.

Other comparisons will have to wait as the first 100 miles I've put on it here in the Northeast have been tainted by some pretty chilly temperatures and the usual winter road hazards.

Having put about 50,000 miles on a K1200RS I think you'll like this bike a lot. A couple of personal suggestions that have worked for me. First, this bike is heavy in the front end, so I run 40lbs in the front tire rather than the book spec of 36.5lbs. For me that keeps the front end more solid and gives excellent tire wear. At 38lbs or less my front tires got eaten up and grooved very badly. I run the stock 42lbs in the rear. Also, I needed to learn to use the throttle much more to set this bike up in corners than with an airhead or K75, and I would think an oilhead might be similar. Once I figured out that the K12RS likes to be steered with the throttle, I fell in love with it and can't imagine ever getting rid if this bike. YMMV.

[danboxer]

Thanks Greg.

I'll keep those pressures in mind. One thing I've noticed so far but can't confirm yet due to the somewhat sloppy roads I've been traveling is that the bike seems to wandering in turns. I suspect however this is because the previous owner did most of his riding on highways and not in the twisties (much of the outer portions of the tire look brand new).
I also suspect the current tires are original and well past their prime.

I think I'll treat my self to new rubber sooner rather than later. I had Michelin Pilot Road 2 Dual Compound tires on the R and loved em. Any recommendations?

[GREGFEELER]

Thanks Greg.

I'll keep those pressures in mind. One thing I've noticed so far but can't confirm yet due to the somewhat sloppy roads I've been traveling is that the bike seems to wandering in turns. I suspect however this is because the previous owner did most of his riding on highways and not in the twisties (much of the outer portions of the tire look brand new).
I also suspect the current tires are original and well past their prime.

I think I'll treat my self to new rubber sooner rather than later. I had Michelin Pilot Road 2 Dual Compound tires on the R and loved em. Any recommendations?

Wandering in the turns is *not* something your bike should do. I would suspect tires and/or tire pressure first. I've not run the PR2's or 3's but did go through two sets of the original Pilot Roads before trying Metzeler Z6s. Compared to the original PR's, the Z6s transformed my K12RS in a great way. The Interact Z6s were even better, and now the Z8s are a bit nicer still.

Based on my experience I would go with a set of Z8s first because I know they work so very well for me on this bike. The K12RS/GT is over 600lbs and in my experience a given series of tire on one bike doesn't always work the same as on another. Then, after 9,000 or so miles, if I were you, I would try the PR3s. You'll know this bike by then, and how it handles with the Z8s, so will be able to fairly evaluate the PR3s. Naturally , you could reverse the order of tires, but I'm suggesting the Z8s first because *I* like them so much. So much for objectivity.

[danboxer]

Thanks again Greg - I appreciate the info - I'll definitely give the Z8's a look.