It seems like yesterday that I was bringing my K1600GT in for it's 6,000 mile service; in fact, it was exactly 3 months ago. BMW is great about providing a loaner bike, even if you're only going to be there an hour. BMW of Riverside California is an outstanding dealership and today was no different. I asked if I could take an R1200GS as a loaner while my K16 was in for it's 12K service. One trip out to the sales floor and Owen, the sales manager, had me riding out on a 10 day old R1200GS. He asked if I could please put 100 miles or more on it. He currently has that bike in as a demo and until it gets 15K on it, he can't sell it. He got 8 of these in last week and sold them all. Game on, I'm happy to help. In fact, if you need this kind of help in the future, I'll be happy to stop by and ride whatever you have. There's not a bad ride in the store. I digress.
The R1200GS is a dual sport bike. It's able to go between dirt and pavement. It's the kind of bike that you can use when you're camping off road and want to roll right up to your tent; followed by a day of punishing off road excitement. You can also go do some serious long distance riding, provided you added some amenities. You can equip this bike with various size panniers and top boxes. It is a very light and well balanced machine. The bike is known as a "water boxer," for it's characteristic placement of the cylinders and the fact that it's water cooled.
Aside from the very formidable stance at the curb, one of the first things I noted was the sound of the engine. It sounds very European. I can easily imagine myself on the back of one, chasing Arnold Schwarzenegger down the slopes in True Lies; Uzi slung over my shoulder, studs in the tires…you get the picture.
Being a K1600GT rider, there were some very obvious differences; the first being wind protection. 64 degrees on the back of this is colder than 64 degrees on the back of the K16. The wind screen offers some wind protection; but, nothing in comparison to what the K16 provides. That said, I wasn't uncomfortable at all. The wind hits the wind screen and goes right over my head. Wind noise is fairly loud, as is the sound of the engine…again, in comparison to the K16. I was happy to see that the bike had a cruise control. There is also some click through instrumentation; but, many of the amenities of the K16 are not on this bike; nor should they be. The suspension is very comfortable. I rode standing up and bounced on the pegs to feel how much shock absorption there is. I was impressed.
I think that if I were to buy one, the first thing I would do is change out the seat with a Rick Meyer saddle. Actually, the first thing I would do is install a crash bar frame. I'm sure that if the bike goes over, those jugs are toast. I'm really surprised the bike doesn't come with them. After that, I think I'd add in the GPS and if I could get bluetooth XM satellite and weather, I would do that. Of course, big panniers are a necessity. I don't know if the bike comes with them or not.
There was nothing unimpressive about this bike. It has plenty of acceleration and stopping power. It's light and nimble. I think that if I were doing a very long distance trip - 2,000 miles or more, I'd want to do it over a longer period of time than say on the K16; but, the R12GS has the K16 beat when the pavement ends. I think this means that I will need to have both.
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