BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Congratulations, Bruce!

Bruce,

I have the 20 inch shield; I don't get any turbulence as some have noted. I ride with the shield 90% of the time from winters mornings in the 20s to summer days in the 90s. When temperatures get above 95 degrees, I just ride without a shield. Most of my riding is 2 lane rural and multi lane city, but I also do a fair amount of interstate riding and enjoy the 20" Cee Bailey for that as well. I am leaving for a business trip in two weeks where I'll be heading down I-95 to Jacksonville Florida and feel confident that I will have no turbulence issues even at 70-85 mph.

If you can wait a few weeks, I can let you try mine out to see if it's right for you. As you know, I'm just a little taller than you and have a tall seat (thanks again for the seat swap DrD).

Mike

outnabout wrote:Bruce,

I have the 20 inch shield; I don't get any turbulence as some have noted. I ride with the shield 90% of the time from winters mornings in the 20s to summer days in the 90s. When temperatures get above 95 degrees, I just ride without a shield. Most of my riding is 2 lane rural and multi lane city, but I also do a fair amount of interstate riding and enjoy the 20" Cee Bailey for that as well. I am leaving for a business trip in two weeks where I'll be heading down I-95 to Jacksonville Florida and feel confident that I will have no turbulence issues even at 70-85 mph.

If you can wait a few weeks, I can let you try mine out to see if it's right for you. As you know, I'm just a little taller than you and have a tall seat (thanks again for the seat swap DrD).

Mike

Mike, being a "little taller" doesn't mean much without an inseam measurement. Height and inseam (plus seat height) are what determine where someones head ends up in relation to the screen.

Fer' an example - I have an old old friend - 6' tall (I'm 5'7 on a tall day) - we both have 27" inseams. You can imagine the difference in "trunk" length and where that puts our heads if we're both seated.

We prolly need a chart of some sorts.. mebbe Excel..

Best,

I have a 32" inseam and I've met Bruce and I believe he mentioned he has a 30" inseam. I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy a 20" Cee Bailey screen, just giving my personal opinion on how the screen works for me. I guess that I'm lucky as I bought my 12R used and it just so happened to come with the 20" Cee Bailey. I believe that alot of the comfort on the 12R depends on what you're used to; I came from a KLR650 that I rode extensively on highways and was able to tolerate severe buffeting. As such, the 12R is like butter with the Cee Bailey compared to the KLR.

outnabout wrote:I have a 32" inseam and I've met Bruce and I believe he mentioned he has a 30" inseam. I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy a 20" Cee Bailey screen, just giving my personal opinion on how the screen works for me. I guess that I'm lucky as I bought my 12R used and it just so happened to come with the 20" Cee Bailey. I believe that alot of the comfort on the 12R depends on what you're used to; I came from a KLR650 that I rode extensively on highways and was able to tolerate severe buffeting. As such, the 12R is like butter with the Cee Bailey compared to the KLR.

No convincing needed.. Given your inseam, and the tall seat, you're probably 3" higher head on the bike than Bruce.. meaning you're getting about what I get with the 16" screen. The turbulence is primarily a factor of head-height to screen top it seems.. Given Bruce's height/inseam, if I was asked to guess - the 18" might work well for him.

Don & Mike -

Well, I'll have to say this is the first time I've had my inseam measurement discussed in such detail on the internet!

Thank you both for all the information.

Mike, thanks very much for your offer to let me try the 20" shield when you get back from your trip.

Don, I've been gathering all kinds of useful info from your posts here, your web page, and your articles in the BMWMOA magazine.

I put 100 miles on the new bike this weekend, in between the rain and the 95 degree temps. Gotta get it broken in so I can really try it out.

Don,

I'm one of the guys experiencing buffeting with the 20" C-B; 6'2", 32" inseam, regular seat. I think that you're right with respect to top of screen - helmet position. Also the angle/rake of the windshield. If I slouch & put the top of the screen level with the nose of my helmet, all is peace and quiet, so it seems that another 2" will do the trick. Question: do you have any insight on the 22" Parabellum? I'm thinking about getting the Parabellum and would like to save the $$ if it's not going to solve the problem. The buffeting is the last thing between me and blacktop nirvana.

Doug

snag wrote:Don,

I'm one of the guys experiencing buffeting with the 20" C-B; 6'2", 32" inseam, regular seat. I think that you're right with respect to top of screen - helmet position. Also the angle/rake of the windshield. If I slouch & put the top of the screen level with the nose of my helmet, all is peace and quiet, so it seems that another 2" will do the trick. Question: do you have any insight on the 22" Parabellum? I'm thinking about getting the Parabellum and would like to save the $$ if it's not going to solve the problem. The buffeting is the last thing between me and blacktop nirvana.

Doug

Doug, no experience. Something you might try - if you have an old faceshield around.. use binder clips to fasten it to the top of your 20" C-B so it comes up to 22".. go for a ride and see if it's any better. Supposedly the Parabellum is "smoother" - so it's not a 100% test, but at least it will tell you if things change much, and if you can see over it vs through it (I can't stand looking through a screen..)

Best,

Thanks Don, I've been thinking about grafting on 2" for a test. Might be a week or two before I get the chance, but will report once I do.

Doug

Another 'lurker' hoping to take advantage of the collective wisdom of the group.

I'm 55 and I've been riding for only a couple of years after deciding that if women and airplanes haven't killed me yet I could find the courage to try motorcycles. Now, I fear I'm approaching addiction.

Due to my physical size (5'10", 175#, 29-30" inseam), I traded my Ninja250 in on a BMW F800ST. It's a lovely bike with every 'toy' BMW offers and I like almost everything about it - except:
1. It seems like it has too much weight up high, in spite of being marketed as a low COG design. I know it's relatively light weight bike, but I wish more of that weight was lower. I have sat on a 600+ pound H-D (gag) that seemed much more manageable.
2. The bike hasn't let me down, but it just hasn't been the type of ownership experience I hoped to get from buying what is arguably the highest quality of motorcycle available. The dealers don't seem to be very passionate about the model and it has had a long list of issues that plague the model (plugs, clutch pulley, EWS, battery failure, ABS, engine cut outs, oil leaks...on and on)

So, I've told my dealer that I'll be down this weekend to put a deposit on a 2009 R1200R (Black, ABS, TPS, all the other toys).

I'm hoping this is a 'real' BMW, but it's going to cost me to make the leap.
- Am I being unrealistic in my expectations?
- Am I too harsh on the F800ST? Is the R1200R suffering from the same growing pains?
- Will the R1200R have noticeabley lower COG?

Honestly, if the R1200R is still so new that it has as many issues, I'd be smarter to keep the money and wait, but I'm really feeling that the F800ST isn't going to be a wise choice to keep after the warranty plays out...

Any wisdom imparted will be appreciated. Thanks in advance
roman

romanr wrote:I'm hoping this is a 'real' BMW, but it's going to cost me to make the leap.
- Am I being unrealistic in my expectations?
- Am I too harsh on the F800ST? Is the R1200R suffering from the same growing pains?
- Will the R1200R have noticeabley lower COG?

Honestly, if the R1200R is still so new that it has as many issues, I'd be smarter to keep the money and wait, but I'm really feeling that the F800ST isn't going to be a wise choice to keep after the warranty plays out...

Any wisdom imparted will be appreciated. Thanks in advance
roman

- Hopefully you've taken an extended R1200R test ride. That usually will not only settle if you like it, it will make it hard to leave the dealership without one.

- I haven't ridden the F800ST - so I can't compare riding them. The majority of the people active in this group (all R1200R owners) have experienced no real problems with their bikes, except wearing out tires rather regularly. There is a recall on brake lines, and a service campaign on EWS - but other than that, not much "common" that is an issue with the R12R. The R12R is based on mechanicals that have been out for 3-4 years, so many of the teething problems were avoided.

- As far as the COG - take a test ride and see how it works for you. If your local dealer doesn't have a demo, find one who does. BMW pushes their dealers to offer test rides (they know it sells bikes..) so take advantage of it.

HTH,

I did 2000 miles on a rented F800ST in the Alps, thinking I wanted to get one when I got home. For me, the ergonomics didn't cut it, and a German friend sung the praises of the boxer design.

So I ended up with a R12R and, yes, yes, yes, the COG is noticeably lower and makes a huge difference. While I found the F800ST light and nicely flickable, in comparison to the R12R, I always felt I had to fight it a bit in the twisties. The R is like it's on rails and even at low, parking lot speeds, feels more sure-footed to me.

Bill,
Thank you for the help. Pity you can't get part of the commission. Anything else you care to add, I'm 'all ears'.

Regards
roman

Well, roman, I can sing the praises of the R12R for a long time, but, really, just test ride it (wallet in hand) and then ride it home to make up your own song. Then come back here and sing it with us!

One of the biggest differences for me, and one of the buying decisions points, was the broad band of power out of the larger engine. The 800 can go, alright, but I felt like I had to be winding it out to get any serious juice out of it for passing. OTOH, the big twin just goes when I need it to. That's a major concern, since I ride in heavy San Francisco traffic all day long. The difference between "twist and go" and "downshift, twist, wait a little while, and go" can mean a great deal to the integrity of my body.

Plus, in general, I prefer riding a machine that's not buzzing all the time to function in its optimum power band. Truth be told, I'd rather be riding a motorcycle powered by an electric motor: maximum torque and zero rpm and much quieter. But that's another topic!