computer_freak
Registered user
At 8Kg heavier and 2.5 litres less fuel capacity its not that much of a benefit (which is far out weighed by the Urban's terrible suspension)
Servicing at a main dealer is around the same cost and I cant see any issues with being Euro 5+
No idea why you think a replacement drive shaft is required every 12K miles ?
Service cost of the R 12 G/S over the lifetime of the bike is about double that of the Urban G/S. You need to service the driveshaft every 12k miles, replace the driveshaft it every 24k miles and service the forks every 18k miles. The rest of the service on both bikes is the same.
Luckily BMW uses cheaper driveshafts on the R12 G/S than the ones on the Urban G/S and R1200GS. Or perhaps that is the reason they don't last as long. Maybe replacing the driveshaft for one from an R1200GS can extend the service interval to 48k miles, something that has to be tested.
Problem with Euro5+ is the extra sensors that could fail. Plus, in the future if your cat degrades you will have a check-engine-light on the dashboard, which currently isn't an MOT failure but could become one on the future. On the Urban G/S you don't have these issues. So it would be nice if these could be coded out to prevent future problems.
The post-cat sensor (I believe) is placed with the wire routed around the swingarm. Looks like that could become problematic.
Last point on the R12 G/S is that the right switchgear is prone to water intrusion, but there is a recall for all R12 and R1300GS bikes so that is a free fix if that becomes a problem.
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