Anyone ridden an R1200S?

Just been thinking about what I might replace the falco with when it comes around to it... Im really not certain to be honest... Id rather have a twin or V configuration. Im really not a big fan of IL4 screamers (as you probably know).

The bikes I have looked at are:

R1200S
RSV (put some riser clip ons on and it might be pretty comfy?)
Sprint ST 1050 (but my best mate has one so might look a bit... you know)
RC8 - but they are expensive and apparently the fuelling at bottom end sucks which isnt much use on the road imo.

I think the R1200S is a strong contender and it generally gets good reviews but im wondering what people who have rode them think? I guess if you have ridden any Boxer engine then that will give you an idea.

cheers

I rode the old R1100rs. It was a heavy brute and the clutch was heavy too, but the engine was nice and the weight was low down too. I'd have one for commuting.

Not much help to you as the 1200 is much newer but i'd say the boxer engine is very nice IMO.

Never ridden one so I'm not much use here but...

I reckon an R1200S would be an awesome bike, I love the look of them! Would be plenty powerful too. There's a forum thread on the net somewhere where an owner fits new pistons, heads etc and got something like 130bhp, I can't remember properly at the mo. Sound lovely with a good pipe too!

From what I've read about them the suspension might take a bit of getting used to, being a Telelever system and cos the engines air-cooled it might get hot in traffic. The main downside I reckon would be cost of parts, what with it being a BMW...

I've ridden an R1200R (naked version of the S) in Sweden while on holiday and I wouldn't recommend it. The clutch is heavy as hell and takes forever before it bites and the gearbox feels like it came off a tractor; it was making horrific crunching noises every time I changed gear as well as forcing me to stamp on it to get it to move. The suspension is divine though - does a fantastic job of separating braking and steering so you can keep braking deep into a corner without upsetting the bike. ABS wasn't intrusive and I wasn't aware of it until I deliberately tried to provoke it with an emergency stop. I found the ergonomics pretty uncomfortable but I generally prefer sport touring positions rather than the upright nature of nakeds so that's a personal preference (and doesn't really tell you anything about the R1200S).

As much as I wanted to love the bike, I could not see myself putting up with that dreadful clutch and gearbox all the time. It drove me mental over the few days I had on the bike and it just felt agricultural. I got used to the bizarre button layout BMW favour after a while but that wasn't pleasant either.

Here ya go...shiny engine parts ahoy!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r...-underway.html

Probably an urban myth or something but I've heard that if you keep the bike on the sidestand, because of boxer configuration the oil drains from the r/h cylinder and and collects in the l/h one and when you start the engine you hear lots of noises for a few second before the oil gets back to the r/h head...

Might need to rock the bike side to side or crank the engine on the starter only to redistribute the oil before it gets started properly. Or fit a rockerlube maybe...

Sorry for all the excitement and weird info! I was interested in these bikes a while ago but would cost too much for me at this point

Hmph. Shame about the gear box... Not worried about the clutch, my falco clutch is very heavy, infact after riding the falco for a while I pulled the SV clutch in and thought it was broke, it was so light!!!

Gearbox would be a bitch though, how old was it? could it just have needed running in?

Get an rsv purely because they look the sex

or an rc8 for the same reason.

I want one! Might need to save for a bit. They look the business in the flesh, and sound great.

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

Hmph. Shame about the gear box... Not worried about the clutch, my falco clutch is very heavy, infact after riding the falco for a while I pulled the SV clutch in and thought it was broke, it was so light!!!

Gearbox would be a bitch though, how old was it? could it just have needed running in?

2 years old. BMW gearboxes are just poor in general, it seems (except the new generation of bikes).

Rc8 ftw !!!