BMW K1200R Owner Review
Introducing a passionate story of "Zack" who rides K1200R, from Webike Community's "My Beloved Moto" campaign.
He shared his review of the K1200R including the advantage and the disadvantage, which he understands well because he is the owner.
Brief self-introduction
I'm an elderly man with 40 years of motorcycle experience.
It used to be my main commuter motorcycle, but now it's my main touring motorcycle. I was riding a Japanese motorcycle only until the end of 2019 but I thought, "The motorcycle I'm getting is a grown-up BMW," so I bought a new one. I've only been riding for 6 months.
Mileage at the time of purchase, 10,400km; currently 12,000km.
Satisfaction
This is not an ordinary motorcycle. The corners are as smooth as if you were riding on rails. The front suspension is of another dimension. You can't go back to telescoping. The rear tele-lever does not let you feel the behavior of the shaft. And yet, 120kw (163ps) of power output, and gauges engraved up to 280km/h. The performance is almost the same as the Blackbird. If you open the throttle a little wider, it turns into a warp machine the next moment.
At the time of its release, there were only a little over 200 units registered in Japan. The national average is 4 units per prefecture. This is rare. It's like a driving UMA, a German tsuchinoko or a Bavarian chupacabra. If you see one of these unpopular silver ones, you may be in for a treat.
Dissatisfaction
It's a rare motorcycle so there are very few custom parts available. Plus, BMW, stock parts are expensive anyway! The handlebar grips are 10,000 yen without labor on one side! Customization isn't easy to do either, because if it's not done well, it will self-diagnose the error. Even running out of lights and blinkers will give me an error, so much so that I had to resist converting to LEDs. What I managed to get around to is converting the steering wheel mirror to a cowling mirror.
Also, the equipment weight is 250kg, which is a bit heavy. If the front motorcycle doesn't weigh 270kg equipped, it's a setback.
Also, it's an expensive carrier to buy when you don't have one. When I looked for a pannier, I found it was over 20,000 yen. No matter how kind the lady is, I can't just casually say, "I want one. If you can't say it, make it. If I made it myself, it would be 1/10 of the cost, or 2,000 yen. I was able to make do with my allowance. What do you think of this?
Summary
1) For riders who don't like to be the same as others.
2) For riders who want to ride a mega-sport-like motorcycle at least once.
3) For riders who want to ride long distances with ease.
4) For riders who want to get a sober look in the style of Akio Otsuka.
5) For riders who want to scream like Stroheim.
It is not easy to carry in its normal form, but if you add pannier cases, you can carry camping gear. And even with this much cargo, the motorcycle is very stable.
Thank you, Zack, for a narrative that shows so much love for the K1200R!
