BMW R 1200 R Reviews on Cycle Insider
4.0
After 4 weeks and 1,200 miles, here are my thoughts about the new R1200R. First of all, as a motor vehicle, it is incomparable. It is very powerful, has superb brakes (I have the linked ABS), and you barely need to even think about turning and your turn is flawlessly executed; all these traits no doubt benefi…
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Reliability
5.0
Quality
5.0
Performance
5.0
Comfort
5.0
After 4 weeks and 1,200 miles, here are my thoughts about the new R1200R. First of all, as a motor vehicle, it is incomparable. It is very powerful, has superb brakes (I have the linked ABS), and you barely need to even think about turning and your turn is flawlessly executed; all these traits no doubt benefit from its light weight and sophisticated suspension. Light as it is, it always feels firmly planted at freeway speeds. I’m 5 ft. 8 in. and wear a 30 in. inseam, and I can just flatfoot the bike; again, its light weight aids in pushing it around with the engine off. For the life of me, I don’t see the utility of the sport windshield, but that can be replaced. The steel-belted radials are a nice touch. If that were all, I’d give it five stars, but some instrument panel behavior is so annoying I need to knock off a star, even though the large gear indicator is fantastic. In no particular order: – You can’t renew the self-canceling turn signals. That is, you can’t press a turn signal button, wait a little, and then press it again to keep it from canceling in the event you’ve signaled very far from your exit. You must wait for the signal to cancel and then press the button again. – The ambient temperature readout (I have the computer) displays to the nearest 9/10 degree F, e.g., 86.0, 86.9, 87.8. No doubt the computer is doing a gross conversion from Celsius. C’mon, BMW, rounding techniques are easy. – The (optional) gas gauge and (standard) reserve light are virtually useless. I drove 238 miles on one tank, and arrived home with two bars on the gauge showing. A short time later I started the bike, and no bars showed and the reserve light was on. It’s as though the gas-quantity electronics recalibrated when I restarted the engine. I then added 4.5 gallons to a tank that takes, depending on what you read, 4.6 to 4.8 gallons. The reserve light should come on with about .75 gallons remaining. Do the math: I was very lucky on a bike that gets about 50 mpg. So, I have two readouts designed to keep me from running out of gas (there’s a third, DTE, but the owner’s book says not to rely on it), and they’re not to be trusted.
