BMW R1200R (2011)
August 2015 - December 2016
Collection August 2015
Since replacing his Triumph Tiger 800 with a BMW R1200 GS in December 2013, Nick has been on a one bike strategy. The GS was replaced by a BMW K1600 GT SE in January 2015 and by summer 2015, had already covered most of the 8000 miles that the 2 year PCP agreement allowed…with a return to daily commuting into London, and the big K being less than an ideal city bike, without the mileage challenge, Nick decided to once again rely on two bikes…
The engine in the GS was one of its many highlights and so I decided that I’d look for a similarly equipped bike for my daily commuter. The obvious choice was another GS, their popularity though meaning prices remain high and certainly more than the c£6000 I wanted to spend to acquire a post 2010 model. The alternative option was a R1200 R, the more road focused roadster with the same engine and suspension and similar Dynamic (Electronic Suspension, tyre pressure monitoring and traction control mainly) and Comfort (LED indicators, chrome exhaust, heated grips and luggage rack) packs. Prices were still higher than £6k, albeit more in reach with dealer bikes available for around £7k upwards.
I mentioned my search to independent BMW workshop Motoscot’s owner Steve Grover when the K was in for a puncture repair and he told me about one of his customer’s 2011 metallic white bike with all of the packs and apparently in great condition. Steve has looked after the bike since the customer bought it. A meeting was arranged and the bike lived up to Steve’s description albeit with slightly more miles than I’d have liked at 14,000. However, the boxer engine is nothing if not capable of high miles. The bike was similar to the K in being an ex BMW bike, purchased by the current owner from SBW Motorrad in Hertford. A deal was done at £6,300.
I didn’t ride the bike when viewing it and so collection day was the first opportunity to do so. It was like meeting up with a long lost friend, the engine being exactly as I remember from my GS, smooth after tickover and with such easily accessible low down torque, a real gem. And being a roadster, lower and more manoeuvrable. All it needed to begin its life of commuting was a top box; as ever, BMW’s parts and accessories store (bmw-motorrad-store.co.uk) had all the necessary parts and at prices much lower than UK dealers. Everything I have ordered from them in the past has been delivered within a few days, a highly recommended outfit. The small top box for the R fitted straight onto the existing rack so no other parts required.
6 months on... how has Nick got on with his R1200 R?
Following collection of the bike and fitting of the BMW top box in August the miles have been piling onto the big engined R. The first challenge was fitting the lock to the top box; BMW supply a codeable lock barrel that will work with the existing ignition key. In theory a great idea meaning only one key. In practice, great care is required when fitting the barrel to the top box, get it wrong and the top box is locked shut with no easy way of opening it. Not even a remotely viable DIY job. Entrusting it to Steve at Motoscot turned into an even better decision when despite all the correct precautions, the lock snapped shut and wouldn't open! It took Steve over an hour to drill the top box apart and recover the lock barrel and then re-rivet the top box together. Definitely not a DIY job! In fairness, you would have no idea that the top box has been apart, such is Steve's skill.
The other work done shortly after collection was an interim oil change and two new Michelin Pilot Road 4 tyres, again all done by Steve. Having looked after the bike from virtually new, Steve knows it well and I was pleased to hear that the most recent service had been a big one so only an oil change at this point. And since then, pretty much nothing to report. A regular diet of c250 miles a week have rolled under the R's wheels and it hasn't missed a beat. A large service is looming as the bike heads towards 20,500 miles and apart from a rear puncture (the excellent tyre pressure monitoring system alerting me to the rapidly deflating rear tyre shortly after I joined the M1 one evening on the way home...) and a larger BMW touring screen to replace the tiny "sports" fly screen the bike came with (a big difference in wind protection and general comfort, especially for the 14 miles of M1 I do each way to and from work) there has been no other expenditure.
I love so much about the bike; its huge low down grunt, smooth and deceptively powerful engine, the character, the ride and all round comfort, the easy of manoeuvrability, the build quality and how good it looks after a wash, the glorious noise it makes, the retro looks, the ergonomics and switchgear, the 50 mpg average...in fact just about everything. Two things I'd change, the top box looks great but isn't very big and the fuel gauge is rubbish. Not long after I got it, with 240 miles already done to the tank, and with the range showing c40 miles still left, it ran out of fuel! To be fair, if I'd thought about it, I should have realised that 240+ miles on an 18 litre fill is over 60 mpg and not likely, especially given how it's ridden. The tank is clearly bigger than the 18 litres BMW claim (I have managed to squeeze in over 20) but even so, 240 miles is going well... Otherwise, the R is pure perfection. I absolutely love it. And for £6,300 a total bargain.
2011 BMW R1200R Replacement and final report
Regular Passport Tours readers will know that I have flipped between a one bike and a two bike strategy. The latest in this line of indecision was to run BMW’s 2011 R1200R and 2015 S1000XR. In theory, the R is for commuting and doing some 250 miles a week getting to and from work and the S for high days and holidays, as well as for my work as an IAM National Observer and deliverer of blood for SERV. In reality, I like the R so much better that it covers all these requirements whilst the S sits in the garage.
The big engined roadster has continued to run faultlessly, now some 16 months and 12,000 miles into my tenure. All the attributes identified in my previous report are true, it is without doubt, one of the best bikes I have both owned and ridden.
Nothing lasts forever though and despite running as well as ever, I couldn’t help but think that having the (wrong) nearly new bike with all its latest technology and design yet going everywhere on the older bike made any sense. So, a call to Martyn at Chandlers, the supplier of both my K1600 and S1000 XR, resulted in a great deal to part exchange the R1200R and S1000XR for a new R1200GS Adventure Triple Black and a return to a single bike strategy, for the time being at least!
December 2016
Since replacing his Triumph Tiger 800 with a BMW R1200 GS in December 2013, Nick has been on a one bike strategy. The GS was replaced by a BMW K1600 GT SE in January 2015 and by summer 2015, had already covered most of the 8000 miles that the 2 year PCP agreement allowed…with a return to daily commuting into London, and the big K being less than an ideal city bike, without the mileage challenge, Nick decided to once again rely on two bikes…
The engine in the GS was one of its many highlights and so I decided that I’d look for a similarly equipped bike for my daily commuter. The obvious choice was another GS, their popularity though meaning prices remain high and certainly more than the c£6000 I wanted to spend to acquire a post 2010 model. The alternative option was a R1200 R, the more road focused roadster with the same engine and suspension and similar Dynamic (Electronic Suspension, tyre pressure monitoring and traction control mainly) and Comfort (LED indicators, chrome exhaust, heated grips and luggage rack) packs. Prices were still higher than £6k, albeit more in reach with dealer bikes available for around £7k upwards.
I mentioned my search to independent BMW workshop Motoscot’s owner Steve Grover when the K was in for a puncture repair and he told me about one of his customer’s 2011 metallic white bike with all of the packs and apparently in great condition. Steve has looked after the bike since the customer bought it. A meeting was arranged and the bike lived up to Steve’s description albeit with slightly more miles than I’d have liked at 14,000. However, the boxer engine is nothing if not capable of high miles. The bike was similar to the K in being an ex BMW bike, purchased by the current owner from SBW Motorrad in Hertford. A deal was done at £6,300.
I didn’t ride the bike when viewing it and so collection day was the first opportunity to do so. It was like meeting up with a long lost friend, the engine being exactly as I remember from my GS, smooth after tickover and with such easily accessible low down torque, a real gem. And being a roadster, lower and more manoeuvrable. All it needed to begin its life of commuting was a top box; as ever, BMW’s parts and accessories store (bmw-motorrad-store.co.uk) had all the necessary parts and at prices much lower than UK dealers. Everything I have ordered from them in the past has been delivered within a few days, a highly recommended outfit. The small top box for the R fitted straight onto the existing rack so no other parts required.
6 months on... how has Nick got on with his R1200 R?
Following collection of the bike and fitting of the BMW top box in August the miles have been piling onto the big engined R. The first challenge was fitting the lock to the top box; BMW supply a codeable lock barrel that will work with the existing ignition key. In theory a great idea meaning only one key. In practice, great care is required when fitting the barrel to the top box, get it wrong and the top box is locked shut with no easy way of opening it. Not even a remotely viable DIY job. Entrusting it to Steve at Motoscot turned into an even better decision when despite all the correct precautions, the lock snapped shut and wouldn't open! It took Steve over an hour to drill the top box apart and recover the lock barrel and then re-rivet the top box together. Definitely not a DIY job! In fairness, you would have no idea that the top box has been apart, such is Steve's skill.
The other work done shortly after collection was an interim oil change and two new Michelin Pilot Road 4 tyres, again all done by Steve. Having looked after the bike from virtually new, Steve knows it well and I was pleased to hear that the most recent service had been a big one so only an oil change at this point. And since then, pretty much nothing to report. A regular diet of c250 miles a week have rolled under the R's wheels and it hasn't missed a beat. A large service is looming as the bike heads towards 20,500 miles and apart from a rear puncture (the excellent tyre pressure monitoring system alerting me to the rapidly deflating rear tyre shortly after I joined the M1 one evening on the way home...) and a larger BMW touring screen to replace the tiny "sports" fly screen the bike came with (a big difference in wind protection and general comfort, especially for the 14 miles of M1 I do each way to and from work) there has been no other expenditure.
I love so much about the bike; its huge low down grunt, smooth and deceptively powerful engine, the character, the ride and all round comfort, the easy of manoeuvrability, the build quality and how good it looks after a wash, the glorious noise it makes, the retro looks, the ergonomics and switchgear, the 50 mpg average...in fact just about everything. Two things I'd change, the top box looks great but isn't very big and the fuel gauge is rubbish. Not long after I got it, with 240 miles already done to the tank, and with the range showing c40 miles still left, it ran out of fuel! To be fair, if I'd thought about it, I should have realised that 240+ miles on an 18 litre fill is over 60 mpg and not likely, especially given how it's ridden. The tank is clearly bigger than the 18 litres BMW claim (I have managed to squeeze in over 20) but even so, 240 miles is going well... Otherwise, the R is pure perfection. I absolutely love it. And for £6,300 a total bargain.
2011 BMW R1200R Replacement and final report
Regular Passport Tours readers will know that I have flipped between a one bike and a two bike strategy. The latest in this line of indecision was to run BMW’s 2011 R1200R and 2015 S1000XR. In theory, the R is for commuting and doing some 250 miles a week getting to and from work and the S for high days and holidays, as well as for my work as an IAM National Observer and deliverer of blood for SERV. In reality, I like the R so much better that it covers all these requirements whilst the S sits in the garage.
The big engined roadster has continued to run faultlessly, now some 16 months and 12,000 miles into my tenure. All the attributes identified in my previous report are true, it is without doubt, one of the best bikes I have both owned and ridden.
Nothing lasts forever though and despite running as well as ever, I couldn’t help but think that having the (wrong) nearly new bike with all its latest technology and design yet going everywhere on the older bike made any sense. So, a call to Martyn at Chandlers, the supplier of both my K1600 and S1000 XR, resulted in a great deal to part exchange the R1200R and S1000XR for a new R1200GS Adventure Triple Black and a return to a single bike strategy, for the time being at least!
December 2016
