2008 BMW K1200r

Insanity in the form of a gentleman's ride. The torquest, fastest inline-4 machine I have ever ridden and owned...

The legendary BMW that is still unknown to many... 

This bike was one that always got attention wherever I went. The unique flame paint job just added to how crazy it was. I mean, flames do make vehicles faster than they already are, and this was no exception. +25 hp just for that paint job alone. But in all seriousness, this bike was no joke.  A simple twist of the wrist and that shaft drive motor would send you into orbit.  If one was to hit any ramps on acceleration, I swear it would send you to the moon. It did weigh a few pounds, but once it began to move, you would not know the difference between a dirt bike and that heavy machine.

This ain't no grandpa retirement bike!

So to start off the ownership with this bike, I had to fly out to Yuma, Arizona and ride this bad boy home to Northern California. I barely got any sleep the night prior, and had to embark on a 16 hour ride from a 125° F desert environment, to the humid 60° F mountain climate.  I did decide on a pitstop out with family in Southern California at the halfway mark to sleep a little. That was a wise choice indeed. Most of the trip was strictly freeway riding, but I did take some detours in the backcountry of Ventura and Oxnard to really see how this BMW would handle.  Having a shaft drive transmission with cruise control was incredible. Not only that, but I also had the K-Series Suspension change on the fly. I popped the bike in 'Comfort' on the freeway and enjoyed a recliner-like feeling traveling at 85 mph on Interstate 5.  For a 'naked' style bike, I have never experienced this cruising and comfort before on any bike. It almost felt like cheating to be honest.

Performance and Modifications:

-Shortened Laser Exhaust
-Aftermarket 'Ghost Flame' Paint job
-Sargent Seat + Smuggler Seat Combo
-Snake Skin tank Pads
-Throttlemesier Cruise Control
-R&G Frame Sliders
-Aftermarket Quick Release Gas Cap
-Michelin Pilot Power Tires
-Dyna Jet Quick Shifter
-Power Commander 5
-Aftermarket Maps for ECU
-R&G Swingarm Slider
-Aftermarket Race Pegs
-Garmin Quick Charge Holder
-Aftermarket Axle Lights
-Aftermarket Mirrors
-K1300r Belly pan
-SW Moto Kickstand

Issues/Problems encountered while owning this bike:

-Stalls. When the motor gets nice and hot (and particularly in cold weather) I would get frequent stalls coasting at stop signs.  I have a full tank of gas, completely charged battery, a PC5 that is programmed for the proper fueling ratio, and yet, still got these random stalls when neutral was engaged. Never figured it out, but it seemed to happen mostly in the winter, and the weather was cold. Was always random too, not predictable at all.. But there's always some flaws with bikes it seems...

-Oil Changes. Not a fan of BMW oil changes. You have to pump the oil out of the motor. It's not difficult if you have the right tools and time, but definitely more involved versus a simple filter/drain bolt change on most bikes these days...

-Lights/Electronics. Not sure if it was my bike in particular, but I could never keep lights going in this thing. They burned up quite frequently and was annoying to consistently strip the bike down to slap another bulb in twice a month... Fuses tended to burn up once a month, but those were easy to get to. Not sure if I was plagued with a 08 difference, but the battery was insane to remove! There was a slight piece of fairing that covered my battery; so I had to strip the bike down quite a bit to simply change the battery... But I think all the custom work affected that...

-Basic Maintenance. Unless you have all the right tools, you'll be out purchasing all kinds of oddball tools that are dedicated to only fit this bike (or maybe some of the other K-series bikes).  I loved riding this bike a lot, but doing basic maintenance in comparison to others was definitely a chore. Working 40+ hours a week and going to school made this bike almost unbearable to do basic maintenance on. It did not help the nearest BMW shop was 45+ minutes away too, so long term wise, this bike was incredibly costly to keep, as I did not have the time nor tools to work on it when needed.

-Speed. Don't get me wrong, this bike was a blast to ride. No one had one, no one knew what it was, and no one could keep up on a straight away. Some bikes have horsepower but no torque; some bikes have torque but not much horsepower. This bike had both. Literally, a flip of the wrist would send you going 100+ mph. With every motorcyclist, moving up the ladder to try a faster bike is always appealing and desired. However, once you reach the top, the smaller, lighter bikes suddenly become a bit more entertaining and desired. The K12r was just this step for me. Flying to the moon with just a hiccup, or a simple twist of the wrist was a bit overwhelming at times. Suddenly, every time I pulled up to a stop light, it was an instant race to the next stop. Stopping on this thing was the least fun. Always speeding, always moving quickly, and having that motor whisper, "Pssh that's all you can handle? Let's go faster!" It was the speed hooligan that wanted me to fly.  Most modern bikes now have insane globs of power, but being on something that was 10 years before these bike and had the same numbers, was insane to think about. If BMW kept going, I could easily see this surpassing the Superduke 1290, the S1000r or the Tuono 1100RR. It held the title of the King of Naked bikes for a while, and was dethroned, but understanding why it held this title, really opened my eyes to how much power these Hyper Nakeds are able to hold.