Need opinions on Bmw R1200clc

[66impala]

Ive gotten past the motorcycling is only going to be a short lived fad stage. I really enjoy going out and riding 200mile plus days or doing bike vacations now. I do like my first choice of a bike, my 2004 harley 883 custom (unmodified, stock mufflers). I know what type of rider I am at this point and Im looking to buy my next bike that fits my style of riding and personality.

Ive picked the 2003-2004 Bmw r1200clc, I will be buying used to fit into my budget. I like the touring style bikes and this one has some of the harley front end styling I like but alot more of the technology the Bmw offers.

Just like some others opinions on Bmw's or maybe even this bike in perticular.

[Cindy]

Ive picked the 2003-2004 Bmw r1200clc, I will be buying used to fit into my budget. I like the touring style bikes and this one has some of the harley front end styling I like but alot more of the technology the Bmw offers.

Just like some others opinions on Bmw's or maybe even this bike in perticular.

I've got the R1200C Montana which is basically the same bike without the fairings. I don't see a spot on that bike that resembles a Harley or maybe I just have no imagination.

I've ridden the C from se Alabama to Devil's Tower, Wyoming. The bike performed beautifully. No complaints here after almost 50,000 on the odometer. Okay, maybe one complaint, I hate cleaning those damn wheels!

Nice bike, what color did you get? Have you checked out the Chromeheads forum yet? You will get a lot more feedback from them.

http://www.chromeheads.org/index.htm

Good luck with the new bike...post some pics!

[Logan]

I've got the R1200C Montana which is basically the same bike without the fairings. I don't see a spot on that bike that resembles a Harley or maybe I just have no imagination.

Agreed.

That's a strong point for me. Virtually all the other cruisers metric or Harley look so much alike.




BMW took it's own course. Of course, it hasn't sold well. That's another story.

Maybe if you squint really really hard you can kinda sorta imagine that the handlebar fairing looks like the batwing.

But then, manyt handlebar fairngs look a lot alike.

As about un-harleyish as you can go

[66impala]

I agree, I meant only the front cowl and the headlights. The rest of the bike is unique in its self. The dealer has one on consignment with 3400 miles, its a 2003 and thier asking 9900.00 for it. Not many colors to those from to begin with and the one they have is a pearl silver, which I do like.

[RockyMtnRoadRash]

I've been eyeballing that spaceship for a while. A lot of the reviews are pretty ho-hum though, so I'd make sure you ride one before buying (BMW does test rides, so no problem.)

[MarcS]

Ho-hum? How is a review ho-hum? Could you be any more vague?

[sanglant]

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roa...004/index.html

[Smitty]

The bike you have in mind is definately BMW's stab into the Cruiser world. If they sell I really do not know though have a hunch they are not big sellers. Still a lot of other BMW bikes are the same. Some do sell & some simply do not sell.

To get to a BMW dealer I woud have to travel nearly a day, in my truck, with some of the worst traffic in this Province of B.C. Cdn. So dealer & I discusse the different models, obviously he has a PC so we can correspond back & forward, saving me a lot of time & fuel, to finally land on the one model I want plus my cheque. So finally it arrives which means $110.00 for a bus to someplace close to the dealer. All the paperwork & cost of a hotel room so I will be fresh to start back to my home.

So almost home only the BMW has a faw in it, but really that is rare. Still imagine the cost of getting the bike hauled back to the dealer if a simply Geyhound Bus fair cost me $110.00. My error for that is a return ticket, or so my understand & possibibly my error. Anyway it will be costly. Bike is corrected but you can be assured that $110.00 or whatever was needed to get back to my home & back to the dealer again.

Finally the bike is correct so again another bus fair to pick it up along with cost of a hotel room to rest over in. Then home & all is well. Along comes the time for the time for the first check-up & again another nightmare of a trip to the BMW shop, again a night over in a hotel.

Sort of tells you why BMW is not the hot selling bike in this area while HD & Jpn Cruisers are the big sells ONLY this is prize riding terrain for sportbikes due to this being in the Cdn Rockie Mtns with all the twisty up & down two lane, along with some four lane, roads. Only most buyers seem to have the HD or Cruiser bug since most are sort of new to m/cing & a sportbike is simply to frightening for most to handle SO I can see their point as riding a sportbike requires someone with some yrs of experience.

[guitardad]

I'll start by exposing my prejudices - we're a two-Beemer family. I like the oilhead engine. It's easy to maintain, low-tech enough to be reliable, but with modern fuel injection and 4-valve heads to make good power. They've got alternators twice the size of most other bikes, so you can add farkle to your heart's content. They're torquey and easy to ride.

The R1200C series was a little departure for BMW, and there are a few parts of the cruiser idiom they just didn't get. For example, the boxer engine prevents the long stretched-out forward control foot position. It's more like the Harley Sportsters, with fairly neutral ergos. But the seat position is low, so if you're inseam challenged it's a nice choice. In the end, the engine just didn't lend itself to where the cruiser market seems to be going -1800-2000cc monster engines. Two jugs that size sticking out the sides ends up with a bike you can't lean without dragging engine!

If you're looking to buy used, the Chormeheads site Cindy gave you is a good start. Also look at the marketplace at http://www.ibmwr.org , and the BMW MOA site at http://www.bmwmoa.org . One great thing you get with BMWs is an enormous support group, in the form of the local and national clubs. I bought my first Beemer because of the people, and I thnk that's why a lot of us stick with them.

[MsPotatoPotatoHead]

I was very impressed by the R1200C Montauk I test rode last year. The only thing that kept me from buying one was the lack of torque. It makes plenty of HP, just not a lot of torque. You can tell from the bike I have now that I like torque!!! (I think I just set a new record for "most times the word 'torque' used in 10 seconds"!) But I loved everything else about the bike.