Right off the bat I can say that the stock seat, even with a sheepskin cover, is good for 200 miles. No more. Das Fuehrer lives! - in my arse..
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Edit // Observations; the Good:
First, this was my first "long" distance ride on the Beemer. I've been looking forward to the opportunity to put her on the road for more than a day ride, and when it became apparent that I wasn't going to be able to haul my vintage Brit bikes to this year's rally due to the high cost of diesel fuel, my only other option was to ride. I could have loaded my Road King, but I know the roads in the mountains of northern Georgia, and I knew that the R12 would be a much better ride.
Packing: Pack light. Having ridden a Harley E-Glide across the country on more than one occasion, I know that it's relatively easy to pack a month's worth of gear, including lots of camping gear, on one. Not so with the R12. The saddlebags, while functional, aren't as big as they appear; being' double thickness' takes up a fair amount of usable space. I used my Cee Bailey's bag liners to pack my extra clothes, my personal items (soap, toothpaste, etc), a towel, sandals, rainsuit, jacket, and a few other 'necessities'. My R12 has BMW's optional top box rack, but I don't own the box. My plan was to strap all my camping gear over the back seat, using the top box rack and the tops of the side bags. I'd previously purchased a pack of "Bungee Buddies", which I thought I'd be able to install on the bags or on the side of the bike. Not so.. That's when I found just how "thick" the double-walled side bags are. I also found it difficult to locate bungee connection points with the side bags installed. I ended up using a couple 'soft loop' tie-downs, which I wrapped around the grab rail that's part of the rack, to use as securing points. I know there's gotta be a better way. I just don't want to have to buy a BMW top box. I don't like the way they look, and I prefer having the ability to tie down my camping gear as it lays down across the back seat (ala my previous R1200GS). More engineering required.
Wind protection: After trying Ztechnik's V-Stream windscreen without success, I purchased BMW's "tall" windscreen. It didn't do a lot to eliminate turbulence either, so I opted to buy Cee Bailey's 20" screen and bolt it to the BMW tall screen mount. It works great. I knew this was going to be a hot trip (it was 102 degrees on the return ride yesterday), so I wore my open face, 3/4 helmet (with ear plugs). I experienced just enough wind in my face to let me know that I was riding a bike, without being totally exposed to the elements, without any of the helmet buffeting that I'd experienced with any of the previous screens I've tried on the R12R. If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I'd have gone with the Cee Bailey 20" screen on BMW's 'tall mount' from day one.
Ergos: At the ripe old age of 59, I've been ridden hard and put up wet through most of my adult life, so I have more than the normal amount of aches and pains. Six knee operations, a broken neck, five broken ribs, Mr. Arthur Rightus coming to visit keeps me from riding sport bikes (probably a good thing). As such, I installed a pair of Suburban Machinery lower foot pegs, and a pair of Verholen's bar backs. If it hadn't been for the pain in my butt (figuratively and literally), the entire 1100 mile trip would have been perfect. The bar backs put the grips at just the right location for my 34" arms. The lower pegs keep my knees from being bent to the point of discomfort, and frankly, as hard as I pushed the bike in the twisties, I can honestly say that I only scraped the pegs on one or two occasions. Too bad BMW doesn't see this and offer something similar for their entire line-up through their accessories catalog. At least the aftermarket has it figured out.
Kaoko's throttle lock: I wouldn't make a long distance trip on a bike w/o a throttle lock. Being able to set it and "shake it out" while riding is a blessing for us old guys.
Power: Those of us who ride Oilhead BMWs know that they're not the fastest bikes on the planet, but the 100+ hp gives a guy who desires to hang onto his drivers license and still maintain reasonable insurance rates as much power as one really "needs". On the trip to Hiawassee I stayed off the interstates, preferring to make a day-ride of it, riding the two-lane roads of western NC, then turning south through SC into north Georgia. The bike makes enough power that even when loaded down, I could easily pass the Floridian flat-landers who routinely slow to a crawl through every turn. No 150 hp K-bike power needed here.
Brakes: I know there are those who prefer their brakes straight-up, but on more than one occasion I've learned that BMW's ABS brakes can save one's posterior from becoming a hood ornament. Panic braking with Beemer's 2nd generation ABS brakes makes experiencing such events so uneventful that it doesn't even raise my blood pressure or anxiety levels. I'm a fan.. 'nuff said.
The bad: The seat from hell: I just know the Germans are paying us back for bombing Dresden during 'the big one'. No humane person on the face of the planet could possibly build a seat that's more uncomfortable than BMW's engineers build. I had pretty much the same complaint on my '05 GS, but not quite as bad, and I didn't buy a '04 R1150RT because of the seat - each time I stopped the bike my 'jewels' got crushed. I've heard the same from others, including one fella in Greensboro who picked up a new '07 K1200GT and promptly rode it from NC to Maine and back. He told me his next purchase was going to be a new seat. I picked up a R12R seat last week in the Buy/Sell section, and my plan is to carry it to Jacksonville and talk to the fine folks at Sargents seats about fixing this so I can ride w/o pain. The seat is fine for a 180-mile day ride, but for the long haul, it's ridiculous. I have an Airhawk, but I don't like to use it because of the extra seat height it creates. You know that I wished I'd taken it with me after the first 200 miles.
The really bad: This may just be me, or it may just be my bike, but I found the driveline lash, or driveline "slack" to be very discerning while pushing the bike hard through the corners. I'm not talking about entering a corner and maintaining a constant speed throughout until the exit, I’m talking about running hard through multiple switchbacks, where I transitioned from decelerating to accelerating, and even shifting mid-corner in order to set up for the next corner. If you've ridden the Dragon at Deals Gap, try running the switchbacks on Hwy 180, or Hwy 75/17 between Hiawassee and Helen in north Georgia. These roads are perfect roads for running hard, and they're set up so you can transition from a right to a left to a right to a left as fast as you feel comfortable, many of those corners with elevation changes mid-corner. Very fun, and very exhilarating roads to ride. However the more I rode the bike hard through the corners, the more I noticed the momentary 'pause' in the rear driveline whenever I'd accelerate or decelerate in a corner. That 'pause' put me in a situation where I didn't feel 'in control' 100% of the time. One the trip home yesterday, I noticed that even when accelerating and decelerating at normal speeds there's a momentary pause, or when cruising along at 60, then letting off on the throttle, then rolling it back on again, that the 'pause' was present. I know the bike's shaft drive gives a different ride than a chain or belt, but I don’t remember my GS doing this to the degree that the R-bike does. I'm about due for a 6,000 mile check-up, and I plan to address this with the service manager at the Beemer dealer in Raleigh. To be perfectly honest, I feel a lot more comfortable riding my '03 T100 Bonneville hard through those corners than I do the R12. Not good..
Summary: All in all, a great trip, and a good chance to put the R12 through just about any kind of riding situation that I'd put it through. I'm not an off-roader, so I didn't ride it in the dirt, but I ran it hard (fully loaded) for more than 2 hours at 80+, I ran it through the twisties as hard as this old man will ever run a bike through the twisties, I ran it in 100+ degree temps for 5 hours, and she never overheated. With the exception of what I described above, the bike performed flawlessly. I suspect that for 90% of those who'd buy a R1200R, it'd be as nearly perfect bike as one could buy. But for a guy or gal who wants to stick it into the corners hard on a semi-regular basis, perhaps not. I hope that a fuel injection remap, or a driveline inspection will find something that can be fixed. If not.. We'll see. I bought the bike for those long weekend trips to the mountains, and I have to be comfortable riding it there.
Needless to say, these are little more than my personal observations. What doesn't work for me may very well work for others. What doesn't work for them may work for me.
Y'all ride safe out there.
