BMW R1200R (2006 - 2014) Review

This bike will do pretty much anything very well. I have been riding since the seventies and have owned a few Beemers - plus about 20 other bikes and I gelled immediately with it. Two up with gear is no problem and still fun at high or low speeds and almost any road quality. Can cruise a highway or be scrapped hard on back roads. Easy & fun to ride - corners like it's on tracks. Can sit on it for hours with practically no fatigue. Doing a track day soon to fine tune suspension.

Favourite aspect of the bike is the power delivery. Pulls like an old big block Guzzi from low but really hits it's' straps from 5,000 on. Grin factor 10. Love the note from the Akropvics and the electronics are good in that it'll automatically adjust for upgrades/mods/poor fuel quality when stuck etc - no need to remap anything.

So far so good

I service all my bikes and that's one of the reasons I bought this. Need a decent tool kit but the engineering is brilliant and easy after Ducatis. An hour to do valves - Thank you very much.

Michelin pilots run great on these. I highly recommend upgrading to Wilbers shocks and Akropvic slip ons. The ESA suspension is meant to be great if you get one with that option but I'm kind of old school and enjoy working through the setup.

Throw it though the Twisties with work ld abandon. Stick on the boxes and (a suitably high wind shield) and tour to your hearts content

Third and fourth gear and let the fun commence. Very impressive grunt from 3.5 thousand. But at low speeds not as good as I was expecting.

Bought with 52000 miles now on 55 thousand. Nothing to comment.

Oil and fluids are easy enough to do. Any issues with the shaft or rear hub, ouch! The engine is like a tractor at tick over and pretty much unburstable. But do keep a close watch on the oil level some like a drop (500 mls per thousand miles)

Second hand has all the goodies.

Very easy to ride. Super low center of gravity makes low speed handling a piece of cake. The machine is completely unflustered on the highway. It's not tuned like a sport bike. However, the telelever suspension makes it relatively easy to send the shocks in to be custom tuned if you really want to dial the bike in.

The 2013 and 2014 models have the "cam head" dual overhead cam version of the 1200. I would strongly recommend you buy one of these. The engine breathes better and spins up just a little higher. It is the last air cooled engine made by BMW- so in a way it is a perfected technology. Straightforward to work on. Spins up without fuss. Plenty of torque. Smooth at speed with no vibes (quite unlike the F800 series). This is the last of the legendary BMW boxers- and everyone should own one at some point in their life.

The overall construction is very good. If I'm going to be perfectly honest, it is not up to Honda detailing. There are a few rough edges. However, you are buying this bike for the engine and drive train, and that is very well engineered. Reliability wise, the bike has been excellent.

I do my own service. This bike is very easy to work on and you should have no issues keeping on top of it yourself.

This is a bare bones bike, but what you get is decent quality. The factory bags and top box are quality, but heavy. Finding a screen that doesn't create some turbulence can be an issue. I have a California Scientific screen to fit the factory bracket. It's a good compromise. However, if the weather is nice, Go Naked!

Electronic suspension excellent. Brakes superb.

Very flexible and fast enough for all your needs.

Apart from above fuel tank and gauge problem, no problems at all.

£60. Self serviced. Easy.

Good clear dials, heated grips, excellent BMW luggage.

Not paid for service yet so have guessed

No longer interested in power or speed , will cruise at 80 + all day

My first shaft drive , absolutely love it , no cack covered bike

Factory fit heated grips are amazing

comfortable. Had the S1000R previously and for daily use, commuting, longer distances or touring I do not think there is a better bike currently. Brakes are excellent, but takes a bit longer to grip like the S1000R. Still works well and does not fade through mountain passes. By the way-it loves mountain passes and the higher revving. Seat is comfortable, but BMW should manufacture so that it can be raised a bit. A must have for the bike is the Gearshift Assist Pro for up and down shift. It is fantastic and pops nicely.

Love the hp and torque. For me it is gruntier and faster 0-140 than my previous S1000R. Smooth fueling and the modes (custom, rain, road, dynamic) are great. Sometimes uses rain when there is a heavy down pour and feel much "safer." Mostly I ride in Dynamic and secondly in Road mode.

no issues with build quality after just over 31 000 kilometres. No issues with reliability and is backed by excellent service from BMW in South Africa.

normal costs according to me for servicing. When one gets to the higher kilometres then opening of the shaft for service and possibly the front shocks then it could be more expensive.

Dynamic suspension settings works well with one up or with pillion. I prefer all the road modes, LED lighting and the Gearshift Assist Pro. The shifter up and down really transforms the bike totally. I ride on Pilot Road 4 and will "upgrade" to Pilot Road 5 when these are finished. Good grip, mileage and wet weather control. I recommend removing the center stand, side frames for panniers as well as the top box extension at the back. The "dash" have been upgraded for 2019 with a full 6.5 inc screen, but the older dash on my 2016 model reads a bit difficult for me. I imported and fitted a Fuel Exhaust and it sounds fantastic.

Brakes are very strong

An utterly brilliant bike that does absolutely everything

Very quick and feels like it would go to the moon and back without any issues

Top notch brakes as mentioned before. Brake lever seems to have lots of travel before initial bite but you soon adapt and the stopping power is superb. The wife has only been out twice but she said comfort was just average, I mainly ride solo so I can live with that or you could always get a comfort seat. Rider comfort is the best I have ever had no problem 4 hours riding with minimal brakes.

Lots of instant grunt from zero revs more so than my S1000RR low down. It has enough power for road riding, however it does not have that insane speed especially that top end rush but a usable rev range right up to the limiter try hitting that on a 200 bhp bike and you are doing warp speed in the blink of an eye! It will still accelerate to 60mph faster than most things on the road and can certainly give a sports bike a bloody nose on the roads in the right hands.

So far so good. Nothing to report in 5 months and 2.5k miles

Too early to say about servicing, however fuel consumption is excellent at 48-51 mpg on a new engine with reasonable spirited riding. Check your BMW dealer does the first run in service correctly, check what there are going to do I read up on the internet about this and it happened to me. Two dealers near me did different things, one was £50 more expensive and (from memory) didn't include the shaft drive oil! Obviously I went to the cheaper dealer as they changed the shaft drive oil.

Everything bar keyless ignition, standard tyres (Z8) can't fault them so far

Overall soft suspension if you're used to a sport bike. It reminds me of when I first started riding .. Just a simple standard bike. Seat is ok but for all day need a Airhawk etc. il'll easy go over 200 miles on tank of fuel.. I average 47 mpg . The BMW luggage is first rate ... Easy on & off. you can go to the local store or as I have done ride it all day!!! It's light ,handles great, doesn't feel heavy like the BMW 1200 RT.

Lots of low end torque... You don't have to rev it out... Has 110hp !!! Valve ck with allen wrench , 10 mm open end & feeler gage's. Very quiet muffler. Gearbox is R model normal ... long throw , clunky but positive and also easy to change oil.

Maintenance like air filer & valve check easy to do...

I do my own maintenance.. No telling how much I really save.

Bike is very light , short sport windshield keeps wind off your chest but kinda noisy ...the touring windshield is a little taller but noisier !!! It's a standard so what do you expect!!! Heated grips & luggage rack standard !! The panniers are big & kinda make it hard to get off the bike . Has ABS & ASC standard along with dual trip meters , tire pressure monitors TPS are nice . Computer tells (estimates) how many miles to go on fuel & has air temperature read out .

ticked all the options boxes made a brilliant bike, but at a price

Great on all roads and on highways up to 110 kmh. Ditch the stock seat. Excellent city machine.

Needs a controller to smoothen out the power delivery. Runs lean.

Broken bearings in the final drive were promptly changed, twice, at no cost in 2014 along with brake flange plate, from aluminium to steel.

1500 cdn for 15000 km

Excellent brakes.

Fabulous ride quality even two up. Great brakes and the ESA fork really inspires confidence on turn in. Very easy to tip the bike into bends and it holds the line when cracking open coming out.

Very smooth very refined, still has character but it's lost some of the crackle and pop of the old boxers. Can't fault the fueling from low speed and it does deliver torque by the bucket load.

Previous BMWs have tended to look a bit scabby after 3 years of wet riding. So buying a new one on PCP.

Very expensive once you add the ESA and a few options on.

Hmm pay for the Sport and the ESA fork is over £700 more. Still the Gear shift assist Pro is fantastic and standard on the Sport. The higher screen on the test bike seemed to just add to the wind noise, It's better without one.