BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

A few days of surfing this site ( with the occasional post ) has confirmed for me my desire to enter back into BMW motorcycle community. Owned previously an 850r ( loved it ) an 1150 r too big, too tall, sold it right away. As was mentioned in a previous post....the R1200r low seat option, plus lowered suspension seems to be the best solution for a short ( 5'4" 54 year old motorcycle junkie.) Please, if anyone can post a photo of a lowered suspension, low seat option that would be great. I have never seen one at a dealer or on the road, but i have seen several stock 1200r's. I know it 's only a matter of an inch plus the low seat, but it does change the look and stance of the bike. Most of the bikes I have owned in the past have been lowered one to two inches and they always look differently than the stock option. Once again thanks in advance for your help.

It's very hard to tell the difference. If you go to my website (http://www.eilenberger.net) and look at the R1200R section, you'll see my bike - low seat, lowered suspension. Then a low Sargent seat, and currently a low BMW "comfort" seat (which seems the same height as the Sargent, or close enough not to make any difference.)

I have a 27" inseam on a tall day - and have no problem with the bike. I sometimes can almost get both heels down at a stop..

Thanks for the reply and photo. My preferred color choice for my r1200r is black. Now I only have to decide between the black or black with white stripe. I don't know why but I am leaning towards black with white stripe.

Like Don says, I'd be hard pressed to tell the low suspension version from the normal suspension version.

Here are a few pictures, though. This is a low-seat, low-suspension R12R. I'm 5'8" (on a good day) with a 29" or 30" inseam, and I can almost flat foot it.

dodi wrote:My preferred color choice for my r1200r is black. Now I only have to decide between the black or black with white stripe. I don't know why but I am leaning towards black with white stripe.

Shows excellent taste IMHO - aside from the black with white being the fastest color..

Just an aside - I've had my bike parked in a line of 'classic' R bikes, ranging from pre-war to the /5 series. All black with white stripes. It really shows the continuity of design. What actually surprised me when I saw it - the stripes on the R12R are really the same as the original boxer R32 - one wide, one narrow.





BTW - looks like the original BMW was a "low-seat" model.. Guess Germans were shorter then..

Thanks again for the photos guys. I noticed the center stand on the low frame, low seat model and want to know if it has been modified. Generally speaking BMW doesn't offer a center stand on their lowest seat heights. I had a Suzuki Vstrom 650 lowered and when I bought the center stand for the bike I had it cut down an inch and then re-welded. It worked perfectly , if anything it was easier to place on and off the stand.

Here is a pic of my low suspension,low seat R with a factory centerstand:

Is it more difficult to get up on the center stand? Or I guess in at least Don's case did it become more difficult to get it up after you got the shorter shocks?

Mark

celticus wrote:Is it more difficult to get up on the center stand? Or I guess in at least Don's case did it become more difficult to get it up after you got the shorter shocks?

Mark

My previous bike was an '07 R1200R with the standard suspension. The lowered bike is just as easy to get on the centerstand because the stand is shorter and therefore sized appropriately.

celticus wrote:Is it more difficult to get up on the center stand? Or I guess in at least Don's case did it become more difficult to get it up after you got the shorter shocks?

Mark

Hasn't been an issue (and I've been known to have back problems on occasion..) The trick with the R12R is let your weight do the work.. that's what the tang (a good substantial one) is on the centerstand for. Put left foot on tang, grab the frame rail under/behind the seat. and simultaneously transfer all your weight on the tang as you pull up with the frame. Boink! It's on the centerstand, no fuss, no muss. Easiest BMW yet.. This is a case where a few extra pounds comes in handy.

Dauntless wrote:My previous bike was an '07 R1200R with the standard suspension. The lowered bike is just as easy to get on the centerstand because the stand is shorter and therefore sized appropriately.

I thought this was the case also - but when I tried to track down the different centerstand, I had no luck. Perhaps the sources I was using were out of date. I believe the photo of a factory lowered one in this thread has the same stand I do based on how far off the ground the rear wheel is (about 3" on mine when it's on the centerstand.)