Yeah, the battery is under the seat, though access to it is from the side. The positive terminal on the battery is buried and you need to pull the battery out to get to it, but it's not too hard. BMW installed a positive "jump" terminal right on the outside near the negative post on the battery, that's where I tapped into for the SAE tail I installed for heated gear, tire pump, etc.
It's one 25T screw to remove the panel, tool included in the kit stored in the pan of the pillion seat.
Take about 30 seconds to get to it for things like jump starting fellow riders on the side of the road.
Also, having liquid cooling sure was good in this event, I let it sit and idle for about 15 minutes to charge up his bike, fan kicked in and temp hovered at 210ºF.
From my point of view, BMW has finally given RR lovers a choice in suspension, for years I've complained that we're stuck with needing to upgrade asap the suspension with no factory choices. The previous ESA wasn't an upgrade in performance, just in convenience. Now, for me at least, I paid about $1600 up front and have suspension that feels as good as Ohlins, with the convenience of ESA. That's still cheaper than Ohlins plus I get all the other goodies, for "free", if you look at it from a "suspension" upgrade option point of view. Remember, with the "touring package", you get a center stand ($350) and tail rack/grid ($400), both things that were a must have for me anyways, plus cruise control so in the end all the goodies cost about $800 more than the basic model I would have need to buy things for.
Besides more profit, I also think BMW is pushing the Dynamic in all the demo bikes because it alleviates fork dive for those concerned about losing the tele lever. Of course they want people to test ride the bike that obviously feels better on the road and unless folks are planning to upgrade/change the suspension it's a no brainer to get the Dynamic from the start.
You don't have to use the traction control, quick shift, etc if you don't want. Granted I haven't priced out a replacement shock yet, I'm sure it will be pricey, but at least the forks can be serviced.
Anyone can custom order their R too if you're not in a hurry and just get the options you want.
I'd say reviewers have left out the obvious of the exhaust and para lever swapped because it doesn't matter except that it different.
I would have preferred the exhaust to be a little lower so there was't a small cutout on the pannier, but it is what it is. I'd imagine that's a design thing to make the bike more attractive to a wider audience.
The wet clutch, with the larger flywheel on the RR is nice to use, engine braking isn't so abrupt, acceleration is predictable and fun too.
The amount of force needed to pull in the clutch lever is also greatly improved compared to my 07' R, maybe part design, maybe partly due to the age and miles on my 07'.
Here's my invoice, which I got a decent discount from. Premium bike, premium cost, and to me worth every penny I borrowed to buy it.
I could have lived without the extra $1000 for keyless ride, shift assist and headlight pro, but over the lifetime of this bike those little things and the enjoyment I get from them makes it all OK.
Cost and value is certainly quite subjective though, this is my main daily transportation on top of my getting "lost" bike, so to me in the big picture of car cost the R1200R is very economical.
[/quote]
. I've just ordered a Sport with lots of whistles and bells. To be honest I can't really justify the expense, but what the hell someones got to get the nations economy moving (that's my excuse anyway).
