K12RS leaves much to be desired
Written: May 06 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Reliability: |
 |
|
| Comfort: |
|
|
| Handling And Control: |
|
|
| Quality and Craftsmanship: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Beautiful styling (with the exception of the bags, mirrors and rear fender)
Cons: Poor ergonomics, terrible wind noise and protection, power is soft, never impressive
The Bottom Line: The K12RS will disappoint an experienced sport-tour rider. It may please a previous sport-bike rider in terms of comfort. But Honestly, consider other bikes at lower cost before buying.
|
|
|
| rain4rest's Full Review: 2000 BMW K 1200 RS |
My riding experience started at age 7 with a Honda 50, 3 speed, clutchless. Well, 36 years later with 57 motorcycles owned over the years, one of my latest in the garage is the K12RS. In a nutshell, the K12RS does a little bit of everything you would want a sport-tourer to do, but unfortunately the K12RS does not do anything really well. The bike will be highly praised by people who have ridden worst bikes. Obviously, it also goes the other way. For those of us who have raced and ridden 100's of bikes over the years, some on the racetrack at speeds in excess of 215 mph, experience is the key ingredient in determining flaws.
Let us start with the powerplant, BMW builds its engines with longevity in mind, making the 1191cc inline four reliable but not very powerful. Most will think 130 hp is alot of horses, yes it may be, however do not expect this bike to impress you with top speed or the ability to get to its top speed of 150 something in record time. It will get you there slowly, make sure you have lots of empty road ahead of you. It would be advantageous for BMW to enter the race circuit, as they do with the WILLIAMS BMW Formula I race cars, perhaps the race experience would trickle down onto it's road bikes giving them a bit more engineering competitiveness.
The driveshaft,yes typically they are smooth, but do not expect better than a good quality chain drive. In my opinion the 6 gears, has you busy shifting constantly due to lack of torque.
Ergonomics, for a sport tourer the K12RS may rank with the most uncomfortable of sport tourers. Just go to GOOGLE and type in "hand numbing K1200RS", see what you get. Lots of people complaining about hand numbing, claiming barbacks will correct the problem. Well perhaps BMW should address this well known issue. Some owners are busy with peg-lowering. The seat is hard and the molded front sides lack sufficient padding, BMW has tried to correct this with the 2003 model. It is usually replaced by owners keeping the vehicle longer than expected. The wind screen offers 0 protection, it adjusts to 2 positions bad and worst, in fact removing it altogether, creates an even airflow with less noise, therefore it is also usually replaced for a taller one such as one from Aeroflow windscreens. Riding in rain will have you pulling over for shelter, unless you like riding completely soaked. I have ridden hundreds of miles on other sport tourers, and only the top of my helmet will get wet.
The lines of the bike are well designed, however the mirrors and lateral luggage bags on the 2001 seem to have been an afterthought. The 2002's and up slightly revised the mirrors. The optional saddlebags are not equal in storage capacity. The one on the right side will barely hold 1 full face helmet, while the left having an indentation for the exhaust will hold even less, perhaps a rainsuit and owners manual, and not even an open face helmet. They are also ugly in appearance. GIVI can offer beautiful alternatives, and perhaps BMW ought to sub out the bags to GIVI on future models.
Passenger Comfort - The average rider owning a sport tourer will set out with a passenger from time to time. Complaints range from poor positioning of grab rails for passenger, hard seat and high elevation puts the passenger 6 to 8" over the rider, giving the passenger no shelter from wind protection whatsoever. Another complaint is the passenger pegs are so high, the angle of the legs makes long rides uncomfortable. Of course, BMW offers a peg lowering kit.
Vibrations are a major issue with the K1200RS, BMW is aware and has made some modifications over the years. However at certain speeds it becomes very apparent in the grips, seat and pegs, then subsides at other speeds.
The signal controls on the bars are poorly designed in my opinion. It is not difficult while having your thumbs wrapped around the grips to slightly bump the right or left signal control activating it without being aware. This is dangerous.
Weight - This bike is way too heavy for nimble riding. At over 600 lbs., backing it in and out of the garage is like trying to push a small car. Once is starts to move, it lightens up however as all bikes do.
Gas mileage and tank capacity - Go ahead get some specs on this issue online. In comparison to sport tourers with a range of 350 to 400 miles. This sport tourer is the worst. Poor, poor would not be exaggerating! 135 miles on a tank. I have averaged 26 mpg driving aggressively, and 32 for regular riding. Almost compares with a Lincoln Town Car with a 5.0 V-8 . It's big brother K1200LT with a 5-speed transmission gets 35 to 45 mpg with a much longer range per tank.
The special edition paint scheme Mandarin/checkerboard attracts attention and appeal. The BMW emblem reflects a prestigious label. But in the end, it simply does not live up to its name. Being my 57th motorcycle, it is a overall disappointment.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 18,100.00
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
rain4rest
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.