I am an old new guy

Topics related to the ownership, maintenance, equipping, operation, and riding of the R1200R.

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maccraith
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I am an old new guy

Post by maccraith »

I have been hanging out in the R1150R forum for a number of years. But someone just made me a very good offer on an '07 R1200R in excellent condition. I am very tempted to upgrade, but I thought I would ask for advice and feedback from R1200R owners. What should I look for that wouldn't be immediately obvious? What kinds of things go wrong? What kinds of things did BMW muck up? What am I likely to have to repair or replace soon?

The bike has 41000 miles on it and does not have the optional computer, stability control or tire pressure sensors. It has been very well maintained and garaged. Tires, brakes and fluids are all in good shape. All factory prescribed maintenance has been done. But I hear things said in circles about the "fuel strip" (whatever that is) and the ABS unit. Any heads-up warnings, any "be sure and look at this" advice, any "be certain this has been done" suggestions would be really appreciated.
'03 R1150R
Riding year around in central Mexico.
Don't believe anything you hear; find out!
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peels
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by peels »

not a 1200 owner...so not much advice....

the fuel strip issue makes it so your gas gauge is not accurate, or doesnt work at all. BUT...as an 1150 rider, you wouldn't care! LOL you just use the trip, and the light. easy peasy.

1200's dont have the light to warn you though. so youd have to trust your trip, and your mpg. :)
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winkeldc
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by winkeldc »

Ask the owner if the fuel strip has ever been replaced. I have an 08 and BMW replaced under a TSB or something similar a few years ago and I received a letter saying that there was a 10 year warranty on the fuel strip because of the known issues. If the strip was replaced you may still have some time on any failure, or at least have received an upgraded unit that isn't so prone to failure as the original.

On the ABS, the brushes in the motor are known to freeze, rendering the module inoperative. There is a place out west, Module Masters that charges around $250 or so to rebuild the stock unit and upgrading the brushes to avoid this problem. They warranty the upgrade for 5 years. Its not a hard job to pull and refit, but you need the GS911 or may have to pay the dealer to bleed the abs module upon reinstallation. I bought the GS911 as part of the cost of repairing the abs on mine as even with that and the rebuild, it was far cheaper than replacing the OEM or having the dealer do the work to pull, send out to Module Masters (my local dealer actually does that instead of replacing the unit), and refitting. Now I have the GS911 which is handy. You may want to ask if that already happened. An 07 with 41k might have already experienced the failure.

Other than that and some wear items, I am not aware of any other major issues. One thing to check is the gas tank filler for signs of rust. You can search ABDECKRING for some posts regarding this. My bike sees a lot of wet weather so I had that issue. Painting the tank filler area and installing the gasket has slowed/stopped that problem for me. Also there were two big recalls that you could ask about, brake lines and rear wheel flange that I think affected the 07s. Maybe someone else would have better information. BMW upgraded both the stock configurations to a steel version.

It's a great bike and I have no intention of letting mine go. I bought mine new in the spring of 08 and still enjoy it to no end.
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towerworker
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by towerworker »

It's my understanding that BMW really didn't upgrade the cooling system much from the 1150 to the 1200 so be sure the antifreeze service has been done.
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maccraith
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by maccraith »

Great stuff! Thank you, guys. Especially you, Towerworker. Your reminder about the antifreeze service is right on. Every time I have done it on my 1150, I gained 11 horsepower.
'03 R1150R
Riding year around in central Mexico.
Don't believe anything you hear; find out!
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peels
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by peels »

towerworker wrote:It's my understanding that BMW really didn't upgrade the cooling system much from the 1150 to the 1200 so be sure the antifreeze service has been done.
good call.
2002 R1150R. Helmets save more lives than loud pipes.
deilenberger
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by deilenberger »

Have a dealer run the VIN# - and make sure all the recalls are done. There were several for brake lines, and one for the rear-brake disk carrier - it was aluminum - that cracked - it was replaced with a steel one. As mentioned - fuel strips and make sure the ABS light goes out (if it has ABS) after going about 20' on it. Other than those things - super bike. My first one, a 2007, has more than 110,000 miles on it now (it's with the 2nd owner) and my "new" (2012) one has about 34,000 miles on it (32,000 of those are mine.)
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hjsbmw
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by hjsbmw »

What everyone else said, plus, because I had that problem, give it a good look over for leaks also under the engine along where the engine and transmission components connect. I needed some engine seals replaced and had the ABS pump fail. Those were the only problems I had in 8 years.
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maccraith
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by maccraith »

Continuing thanks for all the great replies. Can someone tell me what a "fuel strip" is?
'03 R1150R
Riding year around in central Mexico.
Don't believe anything you hear; find out!
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mogu83
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by mogu83 »

Fuel strip is a device inside the fuel tank that tells the fuel gauge how much fuel is in the tank. Basically that's all you have to know, unless your fuel gauge doesn't work.
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dbrick
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by dbrick »

And no one's addressed the underlying issue: whether an R12 an appropriate upgrade from an Oilhead. The answer is "yes." I rode an R1100RSL for twelve years, and loved it...but the Hexhead R12 is a much finer piece of machinery.
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priors: R50, R50, R69, R69S, R65, FJ1200, K75S, R1100RSL
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jkhomes
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Re: I am an old new guy

Post by jkhomes »

I have an 08 R1200R that I bought with 14,000 miles and now it has 44,000 miles. It has been trouble free. After I test rode a couple water boxers at my dealer, I got back on my bike and could see no reason to upgrade. The saddle is a torture device, so you might want to see if the seat has been upgraded, or budget for that.
John K
2008 R1200R
2013 HP4
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