A while back I mentioned I had traded in my 2006 VFR for the BMW. It is a 2007 BMW K1200 R Sport. It had 1200 miles on it when I purchase it. It seems the previous owner never rode it due to getting scared on it. So far, I have put around 4k miles on the bike.
It came with heated grips, ABS, BMW bags. To date I have replaced the rear Diablo tire with a Pirelli Angel. I took it in the mountains and actually wore the old tire to the metal belts. Seem the rough roads and high HP will do that.
Through EBay I purchased a nice, used, Remus exhaust, throttle lock, laminar lip wind screen and added an electrical outlet up front for my ram mounted IPhone and GPS.
The new exhausts a little loud with out the baffle in it. I may place the sound damper back in. I have been experimenting with some different parts and looking for a seat as well as a top box. BMW is very pricey on their accessories. I will keep looking.
To date, I haven't hammered the Ike too much. It nis very powerful. It puts out 100 hp a 6k rpm. Not many bikes do this. It has big time torque and I often start out in 3rd gear with it. I ran it against my buddies Hayabusa and it was competitive to a point. Similar bikes dyno out in the 140 tp 150 range. I ran it to redline once to see what it do and, it is a beast. From 8500 to 10500 you better hold on. The fun shuts down at 11500.
On the open road it likes to run. The long chassis, over 62 inches, makes for a stable riding platform. Power is ample. By my GPS, I hit 150 on the interstate the other day.The speedometer is a little optimistic. On tight twisty roads, it is a little bit of a handful. I rode it to Deals Gap, and it probably wouldn't be my choice to set a record there. On wide sweepers,where you can use the power, it is great. My old VFR handled better though. Just lacked the power.
Oil changes are a breeze with the dry sump. Just turn a site hose over and you can chain oil in minutes. Pretty cool.
The negatives:
Many of these K bikes have had cam shaft chain tensioner issues. Seems BMW and Honda can't get this right. Looking around the Internet, I see where many manufacturer have the same issue. On a cold start, you can hear the cam chain rattling, for a couple seconds. There is a replacement tensioner available I may swap to in the next couple months.
Fueling is poor in the lower gears when off throttle. A Power Commander seems to somewhat fix this but I haven't tackled that yet. On throttle, at speed , all is well. Riding in town a slow speed can be a chore.
I think the bikes, high lift cams, and big duration cause this. The new 1300 has 40 degrees less duration on the cams than my bike!
There has been some reporting of the rear end shaft drive assembly failing. They may eat bearings, mine seems fine so far. Also some clutch and tranny's have failed as well. Will wait and see.
Overall, I have been pleased with my bike. Maybe the VFR 1200 will be in my future when the price comes down some what.
It came with heated grips, ABS, BMW bags. To date I have replaced the rear Diablo tire with a Pirelli Angel. I took it in the mountains and actually wore the old tire to the metal belts. Seem the rough roads and high HP will do that.
Through EBay I purchased a nice, used, Remus exhaust, throttle lock, laminar lip wind screen and added an electrical outlet up front for my ram mounted IPhone and GPS.
The new exhausts a little loud with out the baffle in it. I may place the sound damper back in. I have been experimenting with some different parts and looking for a seat as well as a top box. BMW is very pricey on their accessories. I will keep looking.
To date, I haven't hammered the Ike too much. It nis very powerful. It puts out 100 hp a 6k rpm. Not many bikes do this. It has big time torque and I often start out in 3rd gear with it. I ran it against my buddies Hayabusa and it was competitive to a point. Similar bikes dyno out in the 140 tp 150 range. I ran it to redline once to see what it do and, it is a beast. From 8500 to 10500 you better hold on. The fun shuts down at 11500.
On the open road it likes to run. The long chassis, over 62 inches, makes for a stable riding platform. Power is ample. By my GPS, I hit 150 on the interstate the other day.The speedometer is a little optimistic. On tight twisty roads, it is a little bit of a handful. I rode it to Deals Gap, and it probably wouldn't be my choice to set a record there. On wide sweepers,where you can use the power, it is great. My old VFR handled better though. Just lacked the power.
Oil changes are a breeze with the dry sump. Just turn a site hose over and you can chain oil in minutes. Pretty cool.
The negatives:
Many of these K bikes have had cam shaft chain tensioner issues. Seems BMW and Honda can't get this right. Looking around the Internet, I see where many manufacturer have the same issue. On a cold start, you can hear the cam chain rattling, for a couple seconds. There is a replacement tensioner available I may swap to in the next couple months.
Fueling is poor in the lower gears when off throttle. A Power Commander seems to somewhat fix this but I haven't tackled that yet. On throttle, at speed , all is well. Riding in town a slow speed can be a chore.
I think the bikes, high lift cams, and big duration cause this. The new 1300 has 40 degrees less duration on the cams than my bike!
There has been some reporting of the rear end shaft drive assembly failing. They may eat bearings, mine seems fine so far. Also some clutch and tranny's have failed as well. Will wait and see.
Overall, I have been pleased with my bike. Maybe the VFR 1200 will be in my future when the price comes down some what.