BIKE magazine K12S test (June 2005 issue)

[IRISH]

If you haven't bought this magazine, I urge you to do so now.

To give you just a brief taster of what they put the bike through....

1) Ridden from John O'Groats to Lands End, a distance of almost 850 miles in just under 12 hours at an average speed of 70mph and with a fuel consumption of 39mpg. The tester's verdict was that as a long distance high speed sports tourer the K1200S has no equal!!

2) Trackday at Donnington Park. Once again a very positive verdict, with fuel consumption dropping to 25mpg approx.

3) A day at Bruntingthorp Proving Ground. Ridden flat out, consumption is 21mpg approx.

So, three days, 3,000 miles and 350 litres of fuel, quite a test.

Unfortunately after all the very positive comments (except for the clunky gearbox and false neutrals) the bike broke!! Or more precisely, the gearbox stuck in second gear. The box has been shipped back to the factory for examination.

In a way, I'm glad, as perhaps BMW will now do something to solve what is quite clearly a very real gearbox problem.

[spalding12]

here's the link to the Bike Magazine article
so you don't have to buy it

Bike Magazine Article1
Bike Magazine Article2
Bike Magazine Article3
Bike Magazine Article4
Bike Magazine Article5
Bike Magazine Article6
Bike Magazine Article7
Bike Magazine Article8
Bike Magazine Article9



greg

[kralties]

Would you be able to post the other pages,as only the one page comes up.thanks

[SHIVA]

Greg, Thanks for posting links to all pages of the article...

[spalding12]

i can't take credit for that !
LOL

thanks

greg

[k12pfc]

I gotta agree about the gearbox on the K1200s, it is bloody awful, i am embarrassed to change gear in towns, it is that bad, i really hope mine breaks, they have to do something about it. I have just ridden my mates Kawasaki zx something or other, what a joy, so smooth on gearchanging.

[Solaris]

I thaught that also, but I can tell you that after 5200 km it became much smoother! I no longer complain about the gearbox in the three first gears.

Besides... my Valentina never had a problem downshifting... only upshifting and only in the first 3 gears. As I said... it became much smoother anyway.

[Barracuda]

Any ideas why they wouldn't have taken the bags off for the track sessions or the high speed testing?
I could understand if they where doing it for shi#$ and giggles, but didn't really look that way.

[WLF HWND]

Hi - I have been looking at the site for a while ever since being interested in the K1200S. Currently, I have a Triumph Sprint ST, my first bike. I love the torque and low end drive of this bike and eventually aim to get the K1200S. Bikes I am interested in are: FJR1300, CBR1100XX, new Sprint ST. That's it - larger bikes, stability, power on tap but more impportantly, roll-on power. Love the looks, the features and the warranty of the BMW. I am a new rider but pride myself upon approaching this new world very carefully - I have training, the very best protective gear and always analyse what I could do better. I have a 3 year old daughter to keep my feet where they ought to be!!

Anyway - the BIKE review was superb and I was struck by the fact that the K1200S matched the new Gixxer Thou up to 100 mph AND outbraked it!! No doubt aided by the long wheelbase but it just shows how huge the real world performance of this bike is.

I sat on a K1200S on a recent trip to England and apart from "feeling" very light, it seemed like it would be very comfy for me at 6 ft 1 in. I would only add that I would like a slightly more dynamic-looking dashboard and a fuel economy gauge feature.

Questions: do BMWs have different starter buttons??
Is there a possibility that the servo assisted brakes will lose power if there is a fault with any of the bike's systems??