Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes BMW R1200C?

Anyone ever see or ride one of these things? I was looking at bikes at a BMW dealer today and the R1200C made me stop dead in my tracks. Any idear why BMW stopped making them?

When I was shopping for my bike in '02 I sat on a used 1200C. Very nice, but at the time it was $16k new ($12k for the used one). I wouldn't be against adding one to the stable, after the Rocket III, Rocket II and Scrambler.

They quit making it because hardly no one bought it. I have seen nice used ones for $8,000, a lot of neat bike for the money.

Captain Kirk rode one.

I almost bought one just the other day. Charlie (the owner) has a R1200C that is in absolutely pristine condition with only 1400 miles on it (no, I didn't forget any zeros). I asked him "why so little miles since 2001?" He said, "I fell ill right after I bought it and couldn't ride."

Anyway, check out Charlie's R1200C here.

-BT

My guess, Kevin, is that "The Beemer Set" on the whole are not exactly "The Cruiser Set", and ultimately after the novelty of a BMW cruiser wore off and the few customers who found them "different enough"(read: NOT a Harley) and who would appreciate BMW reputation for making a very reliable machine, eventually found all the customers it would get.

In essence: A "niche motorcycle" that no longer found enough people to scratch their itch.(sorry...couldn't resist)

BTW...You have no idea how many times I've heard riders of BMWs denigrate that machine. Most of them called it an abomination before the God of Valhalla(read: anything Teutonic in nature)

I think the real problem was that it had a proper seat height. Bummer people like that hypoxic rush they get clambering up into the rarefied air in the typical bummer seat.

It's a dynamite bike. Test drove a used one and loved it. BMW just didn't sell that many and it was a little pricy. I would have bought it but I already own a nice cruiser. If I bought a beemer it would be a 2000 BMW R1100RT touring bike.

Thanks for the replies guys.
Seems like the one BT listed might be a good alternative to a big twin. Very unique bike.

I had a R1200C in 2000 and 2001 for about 6,000 miles. It is very much like the America and Speedmasters, all weigh just at 500 lbs and have the same HP give or take a few, the 12C had more torque, 70 lbs/ft and was a bit quicker, the 12C also handled a bit better probably because of the shorter front end rake. The BMW also came with spoke wheels with the same size tires as the Triumphs, but wore tubeless tires thanks to the BMW spoke wheels that have the spokes coming out of the rims outside of the tires (pretty slick design). The BMW required premium fuel and was FI and got around 50 mpg. The 12C did use a bit of oil..about a quart every 1000 miles but that is pretty typical of BMW and goes away around 8-10k miles once broken in.
All that said, the BMW just did not speak to me like a Triumph did. Of course I grew up on Triumphs starting in the 50's and had to come home, so to speak.

I like the bike but $10,000 for a used bike?!?! BMW are very good machines though.

Great bike, stylish lines. A friend of mine put 160K on his before trading it in on a "new" used one with only 24K on it....

They're gorgeous bikes, but my buddy who has one has had some nasty problems with the tranny... but otherwise, yeah, they're absolutely great bikes.

--Jaeger