I had an R1200R LC which I used for a two up trip to Switzerland and Italy last summer....I bought it with hardly any miles on the clock, kitted it out with Givi luggage because I prefer it to the BMW offerings and we set off. At the end of the trip I only had one realistic complaint and that was, for two up riding I found it a little cramped....on the other hand, the ride, handling, performance, brakes, all of it were as much as I could have asked for, I thought it a brilliant bike... In particular, I rated the cruise control and the operation of the Sat Nav very highly.......before I bought it I thought the cruise control would be a pointless gimick, having used it though....it's brilliant.
I sold that (perfect) bike to Bones, simply because my use of a modern bike is very sporadic and I wasn't sure how the LC motor would react to being left idle for long periods....so I bought another hexhead GS....found it just as uncomfortable as the previous GS and moved that one on in favour of a 2,000m from new DOHC Hexhead R1200R, which for my use seems to be the best compromise (kitted out with Givi luggage again). I like this one so much I use it far more than I anticipated, it's vastly more comfortable (for me) than the GS and a real pleasure to ride....I find myself inventing reasons to take it out, and I haven't done that for a while. The 1200R is a seriously underrated bike in this country....aparrently it was a much better seller on the continent....as long as your mate finds a decent well looked after bike, he can't really go wrong.