FJR or K1200 GT ???

[Ari Rankum]

I recently purchased a Warrior and am now totally back into riding again...wanted to get something a bit more practical without compromising performance and enjoyment.  I am considering both the FJR and the new BMW K1200 GT, neither of which I have ridden.  Looking for everyone's input and guidance on this, I understand the price difference....just not sure which way to go...
Rode the K1200 S and it is incredible....not sure if the FJR has the same feel... B)

I test rode the K12GT and the ST1300 before buying the FJR. The K12GT put a big smile on my face for its zoot, compared to the ST1300. The FJR is a whole 'nother level of zoot over the K12GT, though. In addition to out performing the K12GT, the FJR is also much more comfortable (less reach to the bars and less pressure on the wrists), and its luggage capacity is much greater. The difference in capacity occurs because, while the left side bag on the K12GT looks like a full-size bag, it's got a huge cut out in the back to make room for the exhaust pipe. If you factor in the $4K savings, there remains no logical reason to buy the beemer, unless what you're really after is the logo.

 

[afterburn]

I recently purchased a Warrior and am now totally back into riding again...wanted to get something a bit more practical without compromising performance and enjoyment.  I am considering both the FJR and the new BMW K1200 GT, neither of which I have ridden.  Looking for everyone's input and guidance on this, I understand the price difference....just not sure which way to go...
Rode the K1200 S and it is incredible....not sure if the FJR has the same feel... B)

I test rode the K12GT and the ST1300 before buying the FJR. The K12GT put a big smile on my face for its zoot, compared to the ST1300. The FJR is a whole 'nother level of zoot over the K12GT, though. In addition to out performing the K12GT, the FJR is also much more comfortable (less reach to the bars and less pressure on the wrists), and its luggage capacity is much greater. The difference in capacity occurs because, while the left side bag on the K12GT looks like a full-size bag, it's got a huge cut out in the back to make room for the exhaust pipe. If you factor in the $4K savings, there remains no logical reason to buy the beemer, unless what you're really after is the logo.

The 2006 K12GT is likely to outperform the FJR. There is no comparison between the 'old' GT and the new GT. Totally different bike.

 

[Ari Rankum]

The 2006 K12GT is likely to outperform the FJR. There is no comparison between the 'old' GT and the new GT. Totally different bike.

Oh, I missed that. The local BMW dealer still has the specs up for the model I rode, with 130 horses. Google found the '06 with 155 horsies. I haven't ridden that one. I still have a comparison for you, though. Compared to the FJR, that '06 K12GT is butt ugly, even with the 10 more horsies.

 

[afterburn]

Oh yeah, it sure is. I like the lines of the S, but that GT is one of the ugliest bikes I have seen in a while.

 

[zzkenoman]

Oh yeah, it sure is. I like the lines of the S, but that GT is one of the ugliest bikes I have seen in a while.

+1, saw one at the local watering hole

 

[afterburn]

Oh yeah, it sure is. I like the lines of the S, but that GT is one of the ugliest bikes I have seen in a while.

+1, saw one at the local watering hole

Di you push it in?

 

[markjenn]

Oh yeah, it sure is. I like the lines of the S, but that GT is one of the ugliest bikes I have seen in a while.

+1, saw one at the local watering hole

It wasn't a 2006 - they haven't shipped yet.

- Mark

 

[odot]

Enough of all that...I am wondering if we are going to see pics of the fjr owners wives.....

 

[Fallen Jim Rides again]

Enough of all that...I am wondering if we are going to see pics of the fjr owners wives.....

I can't believe you said that.

But,

what the heck.

Here is a pic of my wife.

 

[drhines]

I have owned 6 BMW's in the past 6 years and 2 FJR's with an 06 on order. I currently have a BMW R1200GS. I like the specs of the new K1200GT and always said if BMW put the K engine in a RT bike I would own one. However, not having seen the GT yet I doubt if it is going to be as comfortable as the RT or the FJR. BMW makes great bikes as far as power and handling but if you can't wrench the bike yourself the BMW will eat your lunch. BMW's are maintenace hogs in comparsion to the FJR. What I love about the FJR is that I just change oil and filter and ride. Maintenance intervals on the BMW are too time consuming. I have put 25k on my R12GS since last July, and with 6k valve adjustment intervals it is a pain in the ***.

I do think the new GT will be a great bike, but not $18k vs $12k. That's 50% higher for a comparable bike. BMW's are not bullet proof either. The LT's have always had a final drive problem as well as the GS's and BMW still does not address the problem.

Doug Hines

Benton, AR

 

[markjenn]

I have owned 6 BMW's in the past 6 years and 2 FJR's with an 06 on order. I currently have a BMW R1200GS.  I like the specs of the new K1200GT and always said if BMW put the K engine in a RT bike I would own one. However, not having seen the GT yet I doubt if it is going to be as comfortable as the RT or the FJR. BMW makes great bikes as far as power and handling but if you can't wrench the bike yourself the BMW will eat your lunch. BMW's are maintenace hogs in comparsion to the FJR. What I love about the FJR is that I just change oil and filter and ride.  Maintenance intervals on the BMW are too time consuming. I have put 25k on my R12GS since last July, and with 6k valve adjustment intervals it is a pain in the ***.
I do think the new GT will be a great bike, but not $18k vs $12k. That's 50% higher for a comparable bike. BMW's are not bullet proof either. The LT's have always had a final drive problem as well as the GS's and BMW still does not address the problem.

Doug Hines

Benton, AR

I agree with the jist of your post but not the details.

1. We'll have to wait for a road test, but the GT spec looks like it should easily match the comfort of the FJR or RT. In areas of seating, weather protection, ergso, BMW has stated that they wanted to match or exceed the RT's level of comfort.

2. The basic maintenance interval on the BMWs is 6K vs. 4K on the FJR.

3. The GT will use the K1200S's engine which is shim-under-bucket valves, just llike the FJR, not the screw/locknut system of the R bikes. The adjustment interval is set by a computer monitoring system and few bikes have been ridden long enough to establish a hard pattern, but the adjustment intervals appears to be on par with Japanese bikes like the FJR.

4. Yes, the R bikes valve adjustment interval is 6K, but it is so easy to do, I'd rate it a wash vs. the FJR - I can do a valve adjustment on a R bike in 20 minutes or so vs. the several hours to all-day job the FJR is depending on whether it needs shims. And there is no running off to the dealer to get shims, which often have to be ordered.

5. The incidence of final-drive issues in the new R bikes appears dramatically lower.

6. The comparable MSRP pricing, as has been discussed, is $13.5K vs. $18.8K, a 39% bump rather than a 50% bump.

I agree though that the FJR is significantly cheaper, both initially and in ongoing maintenance. Just not to the degree your specifics would indicate.

- Mark

 

[Fencer]

GT vs FJR side by side

Is this Good enough?

https://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusia...le2=23644&go=Go

 

[Bugnatr]

Ever tried finding a beemer dealer when away from home? Usually far and few to be had when you need them. BMW- Big Money Wasted :lol:

 

[Fencer]

I'll be able to give a biased report hopefully very shortly. I was looking at the GT (and for a very short while the ST1300) but opted for the FJR. My wingman, try as he might could not convince me to go for the GT (Slightly a dealer issue but, basically a money issue, Not lack of it but a lack of willing to spend that much more on a more or less identical item and to have a BMW logo stuck on it. Let the fall-out begin Ford vs Chevy bla, bla, bla)

He, however, has a GT firmly in is sights. So every ride we do will be a side by side comparison. We both hope to have our new steeds in the barn by the end of April, but ya can't ride it till they release em. We will be oogling both in Atlanta this Sat for the bike show.

I've already told him I'll TRY not to leave him TOO far behind. But, He is used to that as his 1150 RT could not run with my little 750 Katana :bleh:

 

[BrunDog]

Interesting. Note that the bore's are the same, the FJR is stroked 7mm more to make up the displacement. The FJR compression ratio is only 10.8 and the GT is 13:1.

Perhaps we should put the GT head on the FJR block?

Seriously, though. I wonder if anyone might consider a little head shave or piston change to get that ratio up a little and make a little more power.

-BD

 

[drhines]

I have owned 6 BMW's in the past 6 years and 2 FJR's with an 06 on order. I currently have a BMW R1200GS.  I like the specs of the new K1200GT and always said if BMW put the K engine in a RT bike I would own one. However, not having seen the GT yet I doubt if it is going to be as comfortable as the RT or the FJR. BMW makes great bikes as far as power and handling but if you can't wrench the bike yourself the BMW will eat your lunch. BMW's are maintenace hogs in comparsion to the FJR. What I love about the FJR is that I just change oil and filter and ride.  Maintenance intervals on the BMW are too time consuming. I have put 25k on my R12GS since last July, and with 6k valve adjustment intervals it is a pain in the ***.
I do think the new GT will be a great bike, but not $18k vs $12k. That's 50% higher for a comparable bike. BMW's are not bullet proof either. The LT's have always had a final drive problem as well as the GS's and BMW still does not address the problem.

Doug Hines

Benton, AR

I agree with the jist of your post but not the details.

1. We'll have to wait for a road test, but the GT spec looks like it should easily match the comfort of the FJR or RT. In areas of seating, weather protection, ergso, BMW has stated that they wanted to match or exceed the RT's level of comfort.

2. The basic maintenance interval on the BMWs is 6K vs. 4K on the FJR.

3. The GT will use the K1200S's engine which is shim-under-bucket valves, just llike the FJR, not the screw/locknut system of the R bikes. The adjustment interval is set by a computer monitoring system and few bikes have been ridden long enough to establish a hard pattern, but the adjustment intervals appears to be on par with Japanese bikes like the FJR.

4. Yes, the R bikes valve adjustment interval is 6K, but it is so easy to do, I'd rate it a wash vs. the FJR - I can do a valve adjustment on a R bike in 20 minutes or so vs. the several hours to all-day job the FJR is depending on whether it needs shims. And there is no running off to the dealer to get shims, which often have to be ordered.

5. The incidence of final-drive issues in the new R bikes appears dramatically lower.

6. The comparable MSRP pricing, as has been discussed, is $13.5K vs. $18.8K, a 39% bump rather than a 50% bump.

I agree though that the FJR is significantly cheaper, both initially and in ongoing maintenance. Just not to the degree your specifics would indicate.

- Mark

I still say in the real world that the GT will cost 50% more than the FJR. You quoted MSRP prices for your 39% increase in price. I called 3 BMW dealers and the cheapest quote I got was $18k. My 2006 FJR1300A will be $11,800 out the door and that is 50% increase in price over the FJR. Maybe after the GT has been out a while BMW dealers may come off the price some and bring them closer together.

I agree with you the valve adjustment of the R bikes are very simple compared to my K bikes and the FJR. They have to be simple to take touring trips because I will run up 6k usually in a week to 10 days while touring. I just do my valve adjustment in the hotel or campground parking lot. However, I'm not as speedy as you doing them in 20 minutes but can usually always get it done in less than an hour, depending on how many cold beers I drink. That sure beats having to look up the scarce BMW dealers around the country and have them to do it. I just think it's riduculous to have to adjust valves every 6k miles on a touring bike. One good thing about the K bikes though is that they call for valve adjustments every 12k miles. I have had 4 K-engine BMW bikes with one putting 72k miles on it in 11 months. I only have to check the valves because I have never had one to be out of limits, although it does happen on some.

I will agree that the new R bikes do not have as many as the old bikes with rear drive failures, however, it is still too many and BMW still can't get it right. I have 3 friends that have lost rear drives in the R12GS. And on the LT's, from the poll we did on the K1200LT site, about 4% of all LT's lose their final drive. I've lost 2. I think this is unacceptable and I'll guarantee, if BMW's cars lost this many they would adress the problem which they will not do for the motorcycles. I was on the Board of Directors for the K1200LT group and we gave BMW NA a big yellow "Chicken **** Award" at our annual meeting for not addressing the problem and they still have not done it.

All this said, I still love BMW bikes so much that I am willing to take a chance on final drive failures and put up with the 6k valve adj intervals on my GS. Out of 17 new bikes in the last 6 years, if I could only have one bike, it would be the GS because it does so many things well. It will even out corner my FJR's. However, what I love about the FJR is it's sure brute torque and HP and low maintenance.

Doug Hines

Benton, AR

 

[hippo]

I'm also pondering a FJR and a GT. If you look at MSRPs, a base GT might be able to come in at about US$19,000. I don't think you're going to find many of those. With the heated stuff and electronic suspension, you're going to be looking at US$21-22,000. BMW doesn't bring in many stripped bikes.

As far as maintenance, you're trapped with the BMW. Even simple things like a brake fluid change is basically dealer only -- just ask for a quote on that! I can basically do everything with the FJR myself at home.

The big thing that worries me about the FJR is the heat issue. I hold my '05 ST1300 after 6 months because I couldn't stand the heat on that bike. Is the FJR similar? Has anyone ridden both and can give a comparison? TIA

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

The big thing that worries me about the FJR is the heat issue. I hold my '05 ST1300 after 6 months because I couldn't stand the heat on that bike. Is the FJR similar? Has anyone ridden both and can give a comparison? TIA

Nobody has experience with the '06 FJR that has had HUGE modifcations to handle the heat issue, which doesn't bother me anyway.

 

[scubatech]

Mark, I always enjoy your logical and unbiased post's