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Hi all, I'm considering purchasing an R1200s to replace my Husqvarna 701 supermoto as my daily transport. I've decided that I'm sick of the complete lack of wind protection and passing power of my supermoto despite its fun factor and agility, and like the look of the 1200. Mainly because of it's weather protection, torque and maintenance free shaft drive.

My question is how do these bikes perform as a daily? Does anyone on here use one as their only transport? What sort of milage would I get out of a tank full? Are they ok in town? How are the ergos? etc. I will hopefully be test riding one in the near future. Thanks.

Covered 70,000 on mine so have a good idea. Did a tour of Spain and France, 3000 in 12 days with no issues on ergos apart from vibration through bars.
Generally about 56 to the gallon, refill at around 160 miles with 6 litres left in the tank. OK in town as long as the throttle bodies are balanced, valves are adjusted and cables set correctly, its a big twin so has a bit of character. Looked for something new a few times but never found anything I thought could do everything as well in one package, trackdays, touring and everyday stuff.

SpikyPit wrote:......... and maintenance free shaft drive.

Mostly maintenance free I would say. Cleaner and less hassle than a chain, but don't think you can ignore maintenance altogether based on what you have read in the original brochure and magazine reports.

Humbug wrote:Covered 70,000 on mine so have a good idea. Did a tour of Spain and France, 3000 in 12 days with no issues on ergos apart from vibration through bars.
Generally about 56 to the gallon, refill at around 160 miles with 6 litres left in the tank. OK in town as long as the throttle bodies are balanced, valves are adjusted and cables set correctly, its a big twin so has a bit of character. Looked for something new a few times but never found anything I thought could do everything as well in one package, trackdays, touring and everyday stuff.

Oh wow that sounds like it'd be perfect then. I'm sure the vibes couldn't be worse than a 690cc single haha. That fuel economy is pretty spectacular. I used to get 25mpg on my last KTM and only about 100 miles to reserve so the BMW will be a welcome improvement. Thanks for the info

Herb wrote:

SpikyPit wrote:......... and maintenance free shaft drive.

Mostly maintenance free I would say. Cleaner and less hassle than a chain, but don't think you can ignore maintenance altogether based on what you have read in the original brochure and magazine reports.

Yeah it's the hassle of adjusting and cleaning a chain I won't miss. And yes I'm sure they're like any bike in that regard. Only as reliable as your maintenance. Would there be any points I'd need to keep an eye on between services? Do they burn much oil? My husky has burned almost a litre in 1000 miles which is worrying for a brand new bike

Hello,

The motorcycle for sale on the forum from nicholsonj2252 has the Corbin seat on it which I also have. They tend to shape to you over time and then become very comfortable over distances. I personally wouldn't go back to a stock seat but it will take time to mould to your derrière.

Also there is a pair of Heli-Bars which raises the bars a bit and I find these make it absolutely fine for distance riding as well as commuting. I don't think they are currently fitted but will be worth having to give you the option and they cost stupid money if you were to try and buy them later on.

All in all this is a great example of the R1200S.... And you will love the quick shift!

You would have to go a long way to find a better one.....

Best regards,

David

[quote="Herb"][quote="SpikyPit"]......... and maintenance free shaft drive.

The rear drive fluid is supposed to be good for a "lifetime" Thus the lack of a drain plug. It has to be done!

Saw this one today. that's a serious bike for the money. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172277433757

Mitch1100 wrote:

Herb wrote:

SpikyPit wrote:......... and maintenance free shaft drive.

The rear drive fluid is supposed to be good for a "lifetime" Thus the lack of a drain plug. It has to be done!

It has to be done?

roadburner wrote:Saw this one today. that's a serious bike for the money. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172277433757

Yeah I saw that one. Quite high mileage though isn't it? And I'm looking for one with an aftermarket exhaust ideally. I like noise

David_S_Walker wrote:Hello,

The motorcycle for sale on the forum from nicholsonj2252 has the Corbin seat on it which I also have. They tend to shape to you over time and then become very comfortable over distances. I personally wouldn't go back to a stock seat but it will take time to mould to your derrière.

Also there is a pair of Heli-Bars which raises the bars a bit and I find these make it absolutely fine for distance riding as well as commuting. I don't think they are currently fitted but will be worth having to give you the option and they cost stupid money if you were to try and buy them later on.

All in all this is a great example of the R1200S.... And you will love the quick shift!

You would have to go a long way to find a better one.....

Best regards,

David

Cheers David I'll have a look

SpikyPit wrote:

Mitch1100 wrote:

Herb wrote: It has to be done?

Mitch hasn't completely thought his statement through but he's correct. It does have to be done. The final drive was supposed to be 'lifetime' but Bmw have since made it a service item and reduced the amount of oil to be used from 200ml to 180ml. It 'does' have a drain plug but doesn't have a filler hole. One has to use the hole on the inside face of the final drive that is used for the ABS sensor. It's a little awkward and I use a 100ml srynge with a flexible pipe attached (I'll show the link) I (and some others here) replace the oil every year. That's if I do 3-4 thousand miles, sometimes I only manage 2ish so I'll wait until the following year. That's probably a little more often than necessary but to do it necessitates the dropping of the FD to drain the old oil and therefor expose the shaft drive splines which means one can also grease them at the same time which is another recommended thing to do on a regular basis. Keeping the FD regularly oiled and greases is a really good idea.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

[quote="f90x"][quote="SpikyPit"][quote="Mitch1100"][quote="Herb"][quote="SpikyPit"]......... and maintenance free shaft drive.
My 12s is 2006 model with no drain plug at the bottom. Paralever arm has to be disconnected and pivoted so oil level plug is at 6 o'clock to drain. Later models had a drain plug I think...sorry and no you don't have to change oil if you don't want to nicholsonj2252 has perfect bike available!

I see so it's probably wise to maintain the final drive every year. Still better than having to regrease a chain every time it rains though. Is it this false 'lifetime' notion that's caused what seems like a lot of final drive failures? Or have I been misinformed there? I've owned two lc8 KTMs, one 950 and one 990, and despite my second one being 4 years newer it still got all the same problems I had with the older one. Surely a BMW won't be as bad as that haha

Mitch1100 wrote:

f90x wrote:

SpikyPit wrote:

I might be missing something here Mitch.

BMW now state a 6000 mile service interval for the final drive oil, so if you want to maintain to BMW guidelines you should change the oil.