considering the R1200R as a replacement

[818Guy]

What do you like about it? How does it "compare" to the FJR?

 

[FJRMGM]

saw one in person last night at our weekly bike meet. A nice lady was riding it and had only had it about three months. So far she really likes it.

It was a nice looking bike. But, if you don't have a BMW dealership withing 100 miles of you I wouldn't get one.

 

[818Guy]

That's one of the few good things about living in Los Angeles, I have three dealerships within 50 miles.

 

[74mach]

Ironically, I bought an FJR as a replacement for a 2006 R1200RT. Reason? Reliability. In two years I've had two major mechanical failures - the final drive (naturally), and a head bolt that pulled out of the crankcase. I'm one of the owners that didn't have an EWS (security system) failure. Warranty coverage was denied on the head bolt because the scheduled maintenance was not performed by a "certified BMW technician". There have been so many final drive failures that they don't seem to question that anymore. The bikes are very nice to ride, in my opinion, but they are an abysmally poor choice in terms of value. Maybe your luck will be better. For the price, it should be.

 

[818Guy]

In two years I've had two major mechanical failures - the final drive (naturally), and a head bolt that pulled out of the crankcase.

"Naturally"? Do you know if that was also an issue with the R1200R?

Thanks for the info.

 

[74mach]

The final drive for the R1200R seems to be the same one used on the other R1200 series bikes. The part numbers match. Since the R1200R has not been produced in the quantity of the GS or RT models, the chances of seeing such a problem are lessened. The bikes will typically be much newer too.

Here's some information you might want to check out:

https://www.bmwra.org/otl/finaldrive/

https://www.bmwfinaldrive.com/fd_failure_list.php

https://www.bmwst.com

If I were to buy another BMW, I would definitely purchase the extended warranty and let the dealer accomplish the required maintenance. None of this is cheap, but that's why they say BMW stands for "bring more wallet"!

It really hurts to get rid of mine, but it's not the machine I remember from the '70s and '80s. Durability and reliability have been compromised in order to achieve performance of a more Japanese nature. Best of luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[818Guy]

Thanks for the links. :clapping:

 

[mikerider]

check this out before you commit

https://bmwfinaldrive.com/index.html

and the growing failure list:

https://bmwfinaldrive.com/fd_failure_list.php

I wanted a K1200S but can't get it out of my mind so I skipped it all together...

(and extended warranty won't help when I'm on a long trip and in the middle of nowhere...)

 

[RAVENRIDER]

BMW - like Harley - is a brand that I want to like but the reliability and expense issues get in the way.

FWIW, I read an ariticle recently in BIKE (I think) titled Proper Bikes (I think) that said the R1200R was a better bike for the money than the more touted R1200GS. Kind of apples and oranges, but they brought up some good points in terms of more horsepower, more accessories for the street, etc assuming one is going to spend 99% of the time on the street and not traversing river beds.

And yes (I think) early Alzheimer's is setting in! Yikes!