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

I have not shared with anyone except my wife about how excited I am, but I'm crawling out of my skin. My R12R arrives here this Wednesday and I can't wait. This will be the first time I have bought a bike without riding it and I must confess that I'm anxious way more than I thought I would be. I really hope I love this bike. Now, I have ridden my friends 2009 R12GS, and I really liked the character of the engine. In the past I've ridden multiple Japanese inline 4's, and a couple of Harleys. I can appreciate all makes, but I'm really looking forward to this boxer.

Has anyone else bought a R12R "un-ridden"? Am I going to love this bike?

Welcome!

Since you have an appreciation for all kinds of motorcycles, I think you will be very happy with the Roadster. I have been riding for 35 years, and when I went for the demo ride I decided this is the bike I want. I only buy an new one every 20 years, so I wanted to get it right!

Even though it is a big twin, ride it more like your Japanese 4 cylinders than the Harley. The motor likes to spin and pulls best above 4 grand. It does not like being lugged.

Happy New Year and enjoy,

Welcome. I'm a newbe here also. As an r1200r owner, this is a great place to hang out. I don't think you'll be disappointed with this ride. I went to the local dealer looking to buy an r1200r in 2008. For me, it was hard to financially digest a brand new ride. I saw this 07 sitting outside with the preowned rides. Loaded with all the extras, less than a year old, under 8000 miles & still under factory warranty. The salesman started it up and after a little buyer/seller negotiations, I said "I'll take it". I went from an '97 r1100r to an '04 r1150rt to my '07 r1200r. This is, by far the best BMW I've ever owned. BMW worked all the kinks out of the r1100's and r1150's and came up with a fine machine.
Congradulations, Keep us informed on the new ride.

Welcome from another FNG! Congrats on your purchase of a fine piece of naked German engineering. I have already found here that 'your' setup of the R will be personal - windscreen, tires, seat, luggage, etc. so enjoy the search feature. Most of the old timers have already discussed in depth many of the things you may be wondering about.

Another R1200R FNG here. I have never bought a new motorcycle. My R1200R came to me three years old with less than 250 miles on it. The only difference from new was the warranty was gone. I took a very short demo ride on a new 2009 and then two weeks later bought my bike site unseen. I picked it up and rode it 900 miles home (home was only 350 miles away ). It is a great bike. BMW riders, as a group, are a helpful bunch. I am member of this forum and a K1200LT forum. There is a ton of good info here. Enjoy your new ride. BTW, what color did you get? My 07 is Granit Grey.

Sean

Seangd,

I rode a R1200RT before I bought my R1200R. I told the dealer I didn't need a demo ride on the R1200R because I knew it would be much lighter and easier to handle compared to the RT just from sitting on the bike.

I finally relented and took a short test ride. It confirmed my choice even more than ever.

I don't think you will need a test ride. You will love this bike in the first 100 meters.

Bill

Awesome! Thanks for all of the input guys. Now I'm looking at 2 days and a wake-up to get my Biarritz Blue R12R. It has the panniers, sport windshield, computer, heated grips, and centerstand. Now that I'll have my "starter-kit" (the bike itself) I'm already looking at what I'm going to add. In no particular order:

bigger windshield (any recommendations? I'm 6')
new seat (though I'm going to see how the OEM works out)
throttle-lock (anyone have a recommendation?)
handgaurds maybe

There are a few 2010's that come with the comfort seat stock. That is a good one. Most come with the standard seat, and if you don't like it, most don't, there are lots of discussions here about seats for you to read.

What color and year are you getting?

Welcome seangd! I'm approaching 3,500 miles on a bike set up exactly as you are getting. I test rode an R about 18 months before buying mine, but it was only a ten minute test ride. Was not sure I would like it after the brief ride, but after having numerous problems with my Triumph SprintST, I purchased mine new in October. It is a great bike!

I'm 5'11" with a 31" inseam and have the Cee Bailey 20" screen. With Don's "block", the Cee Bailey works perfect. I rarely use it because I have the sport shield and that works for me. I would use the Cee Bailey for real long trips.

I have the Airhawk and it works very well. Enjoy the new bike!

The sport shield works quite well and I'm 6 foot and a bit.
Maybe some form of crash protection and a Oil Cooler guard to start with.
I've done 2500Kms in 6 day's and a better seat would have been nicer.

Keep us posted on how you are enjoying it.

1 KAO.CCF500 Kaoko Throttle Lock Cruise Control (BMW K1300S, K1300R, K1200S, K1200R, R1200S, R1200R) $110.00
1 BB.S1.SBK Barkbusters Storm S1 handguards with universal single-sided mount for 7/8" handlebars $99.99

Go here: http://twistedthrottle.com

All super easy to install !!!

seangd wrote:I have not shared with anyone except my wife about how excited I am, but I'm crawling out of my skin. My R12R arrives here this Wednesday and I can't wait. This will be the first time I have bought a bike without riding it and I must confess that I'm anxious way more than I thought I would be. I really hope I love this bike. Now, I have ridden my friends 2009 R12GS, and I really liked the character of the engine. In the past I've ridden multiple Japanese inline 4's, and a couple of Harleys. I can appreciate all makes, but I'm really looking forward to this boxer.

Has anyone else bought a R12R "un-ridden"? Am I going to love this bike?

I bought my 12R sight unseen (except for a couple of pics) with no previous test ride.

You will not be sorry,so now you can get some sleep

I know how you feel. Waiting for delivery, every day is like the night before Christmas. Since I had to replace my first R12 before it was a year old, I've been through this twice. It doesn't get any easier.

Bruce

I owned a 12GS and had a long test ride on a 12RT. Did not ride the 12R prior to driving away from the dealer (I got a mint condition '07 a coupla weeks ago). It rode...better than I was expecting. It can certainly corner and accelerate as hard as I am willing to go!

I'm 5'11" and put a high seat on it. Coming off a GS, the shorter seat-peg distance was daunting, and the high seat makes it easier on me. I can't imagine riding it any lower. I can still fully unweight the bike while standing, flat-footed. On the GS, I could just barely flat-foot and had to one-foot to be comfortable at stops. BTW -- the low seat that came with my 12R is for sale if anyone is interested.

I have the sport screen and, after a couple hundred miles over the holidays (including about 100 on the freeways), I now have no inclination to get a bigger screen. The sport screen shelters my torso, and smooth clean air starts right at about my collar bones. No buffeting, and wind noise is manageable with earplugs and my new Shoei Qwest. I don't regularly do long freeway miles anyway.

As for luggage, I'm a backpack-and-bungee-cord kinda guy, so have no plans to get cases other than a small (size 1200) Pelican case bolted to the rear rack.

Great bike. Just what I've been wanting.