New member, new BMW owner..

[r1200rclassic]

Hi all, wanted to introduce myself and my new bike before I barraged you with questions and opinions.. I have been using this forum as a lurker for a few weeks now while doing my "due diligence" on which bike to buy, and I sincerely appreciate the info you've all provided.

A bit on my... I am in my early 40's, used to ride a lot of BMW, and later some motocross as well as street bikes into my very early 20's, then went cold turkey for 20+ years.. now, having taken a safety course and gotten my endorsement, I treated myself to my first new bike ever.. I hope I didn't over do it, but from all I saw, this bike made the most sense for me, hope you all agree.

as my username suggests, I picked up a 2012 R1200R Classic with ESA II, Safety Package (ASC, ABS II), Heated Grips, On Board Computer, and Windshield Sport

there were only two that I saw in the system (here in the USA) when I contacted my local dealer with these specific options as I wanted the ESA II, and I had to order mine in from a dealer in California even though I'm in Oregon.

I also ordered a rear fender and BMW cylinder head protectors for it from my local dealer.

As I type this, I'm being told the bike is going to arrive on or after the 5th.

These photo's were taken by my salesman and sent to me so I can have something to look at while I wait!

[NakedRider]

Sweet looking ride. Welcome to the forum.

[xprof]

Eye candy! You're going to love it.

[tiPirate]

That's a looker!

[AncientMariner]

Saaweet! Welcome aboard.

Bruce

[Woland]

Welcome, bike sure looks good Almost as good as my black with pinstripe.

[nylife]

Congrats, she is pretty

[r1200rclassic]

thanks for the warm welcome gentleman.... any first time BMW boxer owner advise you all want to throw my way, feel free..

My plan is to drive it easy for the first 600 miles, then get the oil changed to a fully synthetic (not sure which way to go with that yet)..


In the meantime, I'm thoroughly examining all recent posts on both the 1150 and 1200 forums for any useful info.

[Snapping Twig]

Congratulations!

It is a sharp looking ride.

I investigated the use of syn oil in my R1200R (2012) and the dealer told me to wait for 3K and the factory says wait for 6K.

In any event, my dealer races these and told me not to baby it, run it up every now and again during break-in and whatever else I did, I shouldn't drone on with it, constantly vary the RPM's.

Mine suffered the lean condition which is an unfortunate side effect of environmental regulations. What this means is the low speed, low gear use resulted in a choppy ON/OFF surging under 3K in 1st or 2nd. No smooth roll on or roll off of power. Some are worse than others, some don't suffer this at all, but no worries because there's a 100%, super easy solution.

Booster plug. Google it or search here for this device.

I ordered one and it arrived in short order. I had my heart in my throat when I installed it, but at the end of the day it was easy and no fuss. Really is a plug and play thing.

It worked perfectly and now I am able to go about my business at low speed smoothly.

Ceebailey makes a nice replacement windscreen if you should need one and Wonderlich offers mirror extenders that not only move the mirrors out for better rear visibility, but any vibration is also removed giving the mirrors excellent clarity.

Consider the OEM paniers, you can put your helmet in either side and they are lockable.

Cheers.

[deilenberger]

Seems I heard somewhere that the new bikes are now arriving with synthetic oil in them from the get-go.. so I think that old interwebz tale (that they won't "break in") can be put to bed, at least according to BMW.

[Lost Rider]

Now that's how to start off in here Sam!
With photos!
Now that seems like a good salesman you have there.

Welcome to the forum and to Roadster heaven!


I would try to say something about how my black with pinstripes is..... but this Classic black with white stripe is too good looking of a bike...

Congrats and happy riding.


-Finn

[dcameron]

Congratulations! You're gonna really like the bike. I've had my '11 for a year and 6,500 miles. Just put on a new set of tires.
My $.02 worth: I put a mudsling on and it is definitely worth it as it keeps all the crud off the shock and backside of the engine. Booster plug made a big difference in smoothing out the throttle especially in 1st & 2nd. Rick Mayer seat in leather and a 15" VStream windshield.
As to oil: I used about a 1/2 quart the first 600 miles. After 600 mile oil change with dino still using some oil and started topping of with Castrol partial synthetic. At that point I was using oil at about 1 qt. per 1500 miles. Not burning just being pushed past the rings, per my trusted mechanic. At 6000 service put in dino again. No oil usage in last 500 miles. Seems to me the synthetic is too slick for engine until it breaks in. Had same issue with my '03 1150 which used some oil, only dino, about 1 qt. per 3000 miles, until about 15,000 miles when it stopped. Personally, I don't see a real benefit to using synthetic if changing oil every 6000.
I've got a 330ci BMW that manufacturer only recommends synthetic and I change that every 7500 miles. Don't like the notion of going 12,000 between oil changes. Anyway, oil changes are the least expensive item used to maintain an engine. Well, that and a good quality gasoline.
Enjoy your bike.

[Bigg-Brother]

Great bike! And you will like it even more after a year or so. I keep reading about other Bimmer bikes (originally I went to buy RT) and try to think of reasons to replace it with "better" model but not a chance - this is an Ultimate Riding Machine from BMW.
Welcome to the supportive forum and keep us posted on your ride!

[r1200rclassic]

again guys, thanks for the welcomes and especially for that critical first time advise that you all gleaned thru experience... I get it tomorrow I'm being told by the shipper, and the keys and manual just came to today via Fedex... I have to admit, my dealer, or at least the sales man Kevin Foster (BMW Long Beach) was awesome in how he handled this long distance and kept up with it, however there's no substitute for good information from actual owners with nothing to sell but wise experience.

I think I'll hold off on the Synth maybe and do it at 1200, after a 2nd run of dyno, however I do want to transition as soon as possible to a fully synthetic.. Is there a "universally accepted" favorite Oil and viscosity (I live in moderate climate, Portand OR)?? I also own a BMW X5 and they seem to like Castrol in their cars, but I figured maybe there's a BMW oil or maybe 3rd party German brand that some might favor? Also, viscosity.. 10-50 or the new generation 10-60?

Lastly, any advise on a fuel additive for long sits in the garage? A stabilizer of sorts? I take 1 month trips for work and will have it sit in the garage for up to that long unused..

[Bigg-Brother]

I don't think 1 or 2 months without running your engine will hurt it... I don't even put one in for winter but I ride it almost all year around...
Maybe you should take it on your business trips!

[r1200rclassic]

I don't think 1 or 2 months without running your engine will hurt it... I don't even put one in for winter but I ride it almost all year around...
Maybe you should take it on your business trips!

Wouldn't that be fun, seeing how I'm a cargo pilot that would go over like a lead balloon!

[Lost Rider]

again guys, thanks for the welcomes and especially for that critical first time advise that you all gleaned thru experience... I get it tomorrow I'm being told by the shipper, and the keys and manual just came to today via Fedex... I have to admit, my dealer, or at least the sales man Kevin Foster (BMW Long Beach) was awesome in how he handled this long distance and kept up with it, however there's no substitute for good information from actual owners with nothing to sell but wise experience.

I think I'll hold off on the Synth maybe and do it at 1200, after a 2nd run of dyno, however I do want to transition as soon as possible to a fully synthetic.. Is there a "universally accepted" favorite Oil and viscosity (I live in moderate climate, Portand OR)?? I also own a BMW X5 and they seem to like Castrol in their cars, but I figured maybe there's a BMW oil or maybe 3rd party German brand that some might favor? Also, viscosity.. 10-50 or the new generation 10-60?

Lastly, any advise on a fuel additive for long sits in the garage? A stabilizer of sorts? I take 1 month trips for work and will have it sit in the garage for up to that long unused..

I've had good experience with Long beach, nice to hear they're taking good care of you.... a classy shop.

Oil... watch out people get pretty passionate about it...

I've used BMW oil exclusively, synthetic since 12,000 and now over 75,000. Doesn't hurt to throw the local dealer a bone now and then to keep a good relationship when doing you're own maintenance IMO. Better to know the parts guy by name when you need help than try to save a buck or two with something else, but that's just me I'm sure there's other good brands out there.

For fuel additive I use Startron enzyme treatment for when I store the 12R for months at a time when I'm working, and in every tank on my other fuel injected bike that's more sensitive to problems caused by ethanol, the Rally racers swear by it and you can't overdose with it.

http://mystarbrite.com/startron/

[Texas42]

Great looking bike, "ride it like you stole it"

[daveyator]

Congrats and welcome. I don't even know what oil is in my bike....whatever the dealer put in at the last service. Don't worry about it and just go ride the crap out of it.

[Mark_1]

Congrats!

Mine is a 2009 (purchased new 10/2010). Great bike and gets better every ride!

I had the dealer switch to synthetic at the 600 service. Unfortunately, engine has used oil at excessive rate since then. Took to dealer several time to have oil usage checked out. No real problem - rings will not seat with the Synthetic. Will be taking bike in for 12k service this week and going back to the standard oil. Dealer advised exercising the full range of performance during the engine break in period - advice which I have been very happy following.

Enjoy!