Put in a stupid offer and they said yes....

I bought one of these last summer (that seems so long ago..) and I really like it.
 
I used to see a ton of them in Italy. The 1150 anyway. Def a nice looking bike but a GS fitted me better as I felt the R a little cramped.
 
Wore out my old 2005 RT and replaced it with a 1200R Classic last year.

It was fun for short rides around the Peak, but I found major short-comings in it for anything longer. Took it to Spain; it was a disaster.
I eventually managed to sell it at a huge loss, and bought another RT; an expensive lesson learnt!

With unlimited funds, I would have another; it was fun in small doses. Look great too :thumb2
 
It's sort of caught in the middle of so many things....it's not a SuperMotard, nor a superbike.
It's not a tourer or even a commuter
It's not a poseur or a tarty farkler, nor an objet d'art that could be parked in your living room as a very cool thing to fondle like some bikes are (to some)
It's not an offroader or a 'fun' bike
It has no luggage capacity nor pillion appeal

No, bikes do not 'have' to be 'for' anything, but it helps when they have at least some purpose or role to fulfill :nenau


If you are in the really nice position of being able to enjoy it for what it is, that's great, and more power to your elbow :clap but otherwise, I honestly don't get what it's for.

Sorry, Fanum - you are missing the point a bit, and obviously haven't ridden the r1200r, and appear to have completely forgotten the fact that all motorcycles are unnecessary - we ride em because we love to ride em - simple!

No, it's not a supermotard -
But it goes like one - will lift the front in third - seriously frit me up the first time I gave mine a big handful.
It's not a super bike - but has 110 BHP, and will out drag many "superbikes" to a ton with consummate ease ( I did it so many times it was embarrassing) but it hasn't got the maintenance burden of a super bike.
It's not a tourer - no, but would you want the weight of the r1200rt to lug around? Besides, panniers are available
It's not a commuter - sorry, wrong again, it's a great commuter - narrower bars and 17" front, very low CoG - really quick and precise turn in - great for the commute - I loved mine.
It's not a poseur??? Sorry mate, you lost me there, I think it's a very nice clean looking bike - in fussy and uncomplicated No oil painting, no gorgeous nine-t, but I liked its simplicity - my new gs looks like a tart in comparison.
No, it's not an offroader - but how many people do take an RT off-road, or a GS for that matter? For serious off-roading, you don't buy a 1200 - and before I get lots of complaints - I've raced off road, and have ridden my 1150 off road too.
It's not a fun bike - boy, you really haven't had a go on one, have you?
Unlike the previous R's the R1200r has the more powerful engine of the RT, but with a lot less weight, 17" wheels off an rt - it's not fun - it's huge fun - in the first two gears, you have to work to keep the front end down, then throught third and fourth, you are playing a frantic game of catchup with the gears, and the top end is a very satisfying 145mph plus ( on private roads ).
Dare I say it on this forum - it handles better than the LC gs. The r1200r is a fabulous tool for scratching around the countryside.
It has no luggage capacity? - only the same panniers as the RT, and a 25 litre top box! There was a downside though - with the panniers loaded up, you could get the front up in 4th!
No pillion appeal - does it sound like I care - I don't do the pillion thing.

All in, the r1200r is an absolutely storming bike, better handling than the r1200s or GS, better acceleration than all but the r1200s, a nice relaxed top gear (1000rpm less in top gear at 70 than the gs). It has a longer tank range than my 13 GSLC, and I regularly got 48 to 50mpg ragging it senseless.

With the R1200R, BMW designed it to be a naked bike from the very start. It wasn't a de-frocked RT or RS that it was previously.
It was designed from the ground up, and in doing so, BMW created something very special and in a class of its own in many ways.
In comparison, the competition either felt inadequate and plastic, or simply didn't ride right.
The only downside for me was the lack of wind protection. Some will cope with the small screen, but I couldn't bear to fit a carbuncle of an aftermarket screen onto such a clean smooth design of bike - it would make me hate the bike if I did.

The R1100GS was scoffed at by many when it was originally released - who on earth would want to ride such a rediculous machine?
With a beak? How silly! Why try and sell an everyday bike with such a high saddle - how daft of BMW. And a 19" front tyre - this will surely be a niche bike, and won't sell.
We all know how wrong the pundits were.

Before you make the same mistake and relegate the R1200R into the "dull naked bike, it's not a GS So it must be crap" division, I dare you to take one out for a test ride, and not come back grinning. BMW created a bit of a nutters tool - but the nutters haven't realised it exists yet!

The r1200r is one seriously underrated bike, it's got serious handling, serious performance, serious brakes, and ( apart from the wind blast) was seriously comfortable - and has a sensible seat height.

It will be interesting to see if BMW put the LC motor in it, with the dynamic suspension - if they do, it'll be even better.
Fix the wind blast with a half fairing or screen that looks nice, and they might even get me off the GS and back onto an R.

Mike.
 
The only downside for me was the lack of wind protection. Some will cope with the small screen, but I couldn't bear to fit a carbuncle of an aftermarket screen onto such a clean smooth design of bike - it would make me hate the bike if I did.

BMW do a touring screen for it. Ridiculously dear from a dealer but they come up on eblag now and again for around £100 ish. Make sure it comes with the bigger mounting though rather than just a chunk of perspex (or whatever they're made from). Bigger but but not mahoosive. :thumb2
 
It is a nice looking bike, but unless you are able to buy it and run it just as a fun, weekend, fairweather toy (and hats off to you if you are, fucking enjoy it! :bow) then the question remains.

It's sort of caught in the middle of so many things....it's not a SuperMotard, nor a superbike.
It's not a tourer or even a commuter
It's not a poseur or a tarty farkler, nor an objet d'art that could be parked in your living room as a very cool thing to fondle like some bikes are (to some)
It's not an offroader or a 'fun' bike
It has no luggage capacity nor pillion appeal

No, bikes do not 'have' to be 'for' anything, but it helps when they have at least some purpose or role to fulfill :nenau

I've had a couple of R1150Rs as loaners, and for that purpose, they were great......the perfect choice for a BMW dealer in fact, as they are/were from the same family as the GSA I'd taken in for service or work on, they were sparky and fun enough to enjoy for a day or two, but the dealer could rest easy, confident that the RxxxxR wouldn't ever be abused, forded, taken up country let alone toured on etc etc.

If you are in the really nice position of being able to enjoy it for what it is, that's great, and more power to your elbow :clap but otherwise, I honestly don't get what it's for.

Based on the above, it looks like just the sort of bike I should go for. A very sensible road bike for a Grumpy Old Man :thumb

Adequate performance for real roads as I don't need the RTW look or the Power Ranger knee down look on today's roads. Enjoying the ride and getting home in one piece is top priority. And could still enjoy a track session too.
 
I bought an R1200r last year as I wanted something a bit more practical than the 990 super duke I had at the time. Mine came with BM panniers and rack, same as the RT, big screen and a comfort seat. It tours as well as anything I've ever owned, is lighter and easier to handle than the RT and I can get my feet flat on the deck which I cant on a GS. It'll do 220 miles before the fuel light comes on, so range is never a problem. Plenty of choice in tires as it has standard sport bike size wheels and handles like a good un. It might look a bit dull to some but as a do it all road bike it's hard to beat and very under rated. I loved my KTM but sold it a couple of months after buying the R12 as I hardly ever used it.
 
just to put my 2penn'th in the mix:

I had one of it's predecessors, the R1150R , a fellow rider termed it the 'thinking man's GS'. Many a gravel track it did take with aplomb. Barcelona and return in complete comfort. When i sold it, he also said i'd regret it - and he was right once again. My F800R is a great tool, but i saw a post a couple of days ago with a 1200R in a R90S paint scheme, and now it's got me thinking again.
 
Haven't seen an issue for a couple of years but the German Motorrad magazine used to have a "King of the Mountains" shootout every year and the GS used to ........ come 2nd or 3rd. Consistent winner was? Yes, R1200R!

Just found it!

Only thing that puts me off is weather protection on long rides.
 
I've had a r1200r and a r1200r classic loan bike on separate occasions and was very impressed but at 5'10" I found them a little cramped after an hour or so
 
What a stunningly excellent bike. Put a big screen and some panniers on and you have everything you could ever want in a bike.

I have an r100r in that configuration and if they made them new I'd buy another. The r1200r is as close as you can get to that !

Enjoy your bike.

Phil
 
Gone down the same route myself. Collecting it on Monday then a 100 mile trip home. This will be my fourth bike from Lincolnshire Motorcycles and they've all been in great condition. Here's hoping :D

R1200R-1.jpg
 
having ridden loaners of the 1150R and the 1200R, i can say they are miles apart. the 1150 is a bulbous and pointless dullard, whereas the 1200 is quick, light, nimble, and very enjoyable to ride.

...and i have only tried the old single cam, the TC must be even better :)
 


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