The new BMW R 1200 R. The new BMW R 1200 R Classic.

[crazyhorse]

i dig the wire wheels but i think the tail section is screwed up on all of them. the naked R bikes have always had a grey piece with the little logo back there (as far as i can remember, maybe i have a bad memory). i really like that piece. too bad it's gone.

wes

[AncientMariner]

I studied the press release Thursday evening and at 2:15 am Friday morning. Then I took my insurance settlement to my local BMW dealer and bought a Black 2010 R1200 R with a lowered suspension. I love this bike even better than I loved my late Beautiful Blue Roadster. Loooking forward to reinstalling my salvaged and reconditioned farkles. BMW Classic Black roadster: BMW CBR.

Bruce

[xprof]

Good eye, Mark_1: Those bridge pictures and the "city by the bay" were for sure taken in Lisbon, Portugal. Another clue would be the cobblestones seen in many of the closeups.

[tinytrains]

i dig the wire wheels but i think the tail section is screwed up on all of them. the naked R bikes have always had a grey piece with the little log back there (as far as i can remember, maybe i have a bad memory). i really like that piece. too bad it's gone.
wes

The grab rail on the rear does not look as clean, but is solves the problem of not having anything for the passenger to hang onto (except the worthless strap on the seat) unless you have a rack. I imagine that is why it was added. I noticed in some of the photos the seat strap is gone. It is a legal requirement that if a bike has a rear seat, it must have a strap or handle.

Scott

[marsdog]

Love the new instrument cluster, the old one always looked like a slapped-on afterthought to me. I also love the new ovoid mirrors, the round ones are not very functional. I know it's the trend recently for cars and bikes, but I'm not a fan of the dark grey painted wheels. That to me just looks like they are covered with brake dust, just makes me want to scrub them down! My '02 1150 with 50K is still going strong, but in my mind I'm seeing the red 2011 parked in my garage already (although I wish it were the Blue)!

[Mollygrubber]

I like the new look, and I think the wheels are HOT. It looks like there was some attention paid to wind management coming off the headlight and gauge cluster, and that piece of plastic in the tank scallops that blasted air up to your neck seems to be gone, or at least redesigned - hard to tell from the pictures so far. Smoother air seems pretty definite. I might just try a test drive... just don't tell my wife .

All in all, it looks great!

[Rolando33]

The Classic has the spokes running down the center of the rim. Does this mean it needs tubes? If so, that would be a deal killer for me, as much as I like the looks of the bike.

[Acpantera]

Yep, tubed tires. how silly is that?

[AllanCook]

I studied the press release Thursday evening and at 2:15 am Friday morning. Then I took my insurance settlement to my local BMW dealer and bought a Black 2010 R1200 R with a lowered suspension. I love this bike even better than I loved my late Beautiful Blue Roadster. Loooking forward to reinstalling my salvaged and reconditioned farkles. BMW Classic Black roadster: BMW CBR.

Bruce

Way to go, Bruce!

[gezerbike]

I studied the press release Thursday evening and at 2:15 am Friday morning. Then I took my insurance settlement to my local BMW dealer and bought a Black 2010 R1200 R with a lowered suspension. I love this bike even better than I loved my late Beautiful Blue Roadster. Loooking forward to reinstalling my salvaged and reconditioned farkles. BMW Classic Black roadster: BMW CBR.

Bruce

Nice move. About the only thing I like about the new ones is the instrument cluster. I don't like the black motor or the dark wheels. And I don't understand the white stripe on the " Classic ". I've never seen a vintage BMW with one...they made a R 100 R Roadster " Classic " back in the early 90's that had the chrome trim, but not the stripe. And then the spoked wheelss. I love spoked wheels and think all bikes should have them. I have a set of beautiul Akront wheels on my 98 GS and they are gorgeous. But they are tubeless. Putting tubed tires on a stereet bike in this day and age is silly. I looked back at that Special Edition bike posted on here and it too had those wheels. The only reason I can think of is that they are cheaper. I've never lusted for a new GS over my 98...I love it that much, and it looks like I won't have too worry about lusting for a new 1200 R whenever they make it here. I like mine a whole lot more.

[websterize]

"These new Boxer models … are to be launched on the market in spring 2011." — Hendrik von Kuenheim, general director BMW Motorrad at EICMA 2010

[NLdent]

I'm in Canada and just ordered one for March. Placed a $1000.00 downpayment.

[Boxer-Lust]

"Old" vs new R1200R is a wash for me.
Like I said I'm disappointed that they did not come out with a 2nd version with a half-fairing and lower handlebar or clip-ons.That would have been nice and would have caused me to trade in my 09
Otherwise the differences are not that great;
The new camhead has more torque up to 4000rpm but from then on its a wash...
The hexhead has easier to adjust valves...
Blacked out engine looks great new but turns grey later...
The new instruments are symmetric but the faces could have looked better...
What I like is the beefier 41mm fork vs 35 mm even if the surface will show stonechips.
I wonder if there is a difference in handling The R1200GS and R1200S already had the 41 mm fork from the getgo and the RT still has the 35mm fork.
The wirewheels I would have liked to retrofit to mine,but not with tubed tires
How cheap/stupid is that
The colors I'm also not too excited about.I like a solid black better than the metallic black and matt grey or white are also not too exciting.
Candy apple red which was called mystic red years ago might look nice though...
Oh well still a nice bike but to open my wallet they would have had to try harder...R1200R/S or a really nice looking classic version with daytona orange or smokeblack paintjob,S fairing,classic looking valve covers,a nice seat/tailsection,maybe 2 into 2 exhaust,spoked rims with tubeless tires,nicer faces/needles for tach/speedo and maybe a engine brought up another 10 or so horses...

[PhilSB]

I seem to remember an old roadster (R1100R probably) having spoked wheels but the ends of the spokes exited towards the outside of the rim and not inside the tyre. This meant they could have tubeless tyres, I wonder whether this new version will allow that? Just a thought.
Another thought is, why would anyone want spoked wheels? I quite like the look of them but are there any pros and cons? I suppose cleaning would be more difficult. Are there any reliability problems?
Offering options just makes it more difficult to choose!! I have difficulty making decisions at the best of times, as a friend once said would never hang myself as I wouldn't be able to make up my mind

Phil

[deilenberger]

Wire wheels are 90% bling and 10% functionality. They are a bit stronger then a cast wheel, and can absorb a thump that might distort a cast wheel. Other then that - no big advantage. They are usually heavier (not good), and are a PITA to keep clean. I'm really surprised that it appears BMW isn't using their tubeless design wire rim (like on the GS..) since they hold the patent on that design. Might be they're buying the rims from some manufacturer who doesn't make the GS style rim.

The bike that had the spoke rims was the anniversary edition of the R1100R.. a friend has one for sale. Black with white pinstripes..

[Boxer-Lust]

Actually the whire wheels with tubeless tires were an option for all R850/1100R bikes.
Besides the classic good looks for a traditional bike like the R series Roadster BMW they have another big advantage.Especially on our detoriating and potholed riddled roads in the US of A you can ride more carefree.No worries to bend a rim and putting out $1000 or so for a easy to bend cast wheel
The slight weight difference as in affecting the handling is only of theoretical nature.
Rode both a cast wheel and wire wheel R1200GS and could detect no difference in handling.
But I wouldn't opt for one of the "cheap" new wire wheels with tubed tires...
Just too much of a pain when getting a flat on the road
You always have to take tubes and irons with you if you want to be able to fix it right...
But otherwise I would say wire wheels are if you ride a GS 100% functionality and on a Roadster 90% functionality and 10% bling on our bad roads today...

[fpavko]

Did a close-up of the front wheel on the Classic used for photo shoot and the tire mounted on it is a tubless radial.

Frank
Celina, OH
2009 Honda Silver Wing

[websterize]

Did a close-up of the front wheel on the Classic used for photo shoot and the tire mounted on it is a tubless radial.

An interesting discrepancy — nice catch. I guess they used old tires for the shoot?



From the Motorrad release:

Whereas the basic version of the new BMW R 1200 R has cast light alloy wheels of a sporty style, the R 1200 R Classic has embarked on other, much more classical roads. In the traditional roadster manner, it features high quality wire spoke wheels in conjunction with light alloy flat collar rims, cast aluminium hubs, and tubed tyres.

[deilenberger]

Bill,

I think it's a case of no company making a tube tire in those sizes..

I have heard of tubeless rims with center spokes like are shown - sealed by a rather elaborate seal under the inside screw/mount for the end of the spoke.. but never thought they were a particularly good idea.

Perhaps BMW just hadn't made their tubeless GS style rim in a size they could use for the Classic photo model, and the actual released bikes will have tubeless rims on them. The R1100R Anniversary model did have tubeless spoked chrome rims.

[Boxer-Lust]

They are tubeless tires with tubes in them...
Unfortunately those rims are not suitable for tubeless tires...
BMW took looks over practicality...or price...