Excerpt From BMW ON Article

[Boxer]

This is part of an article Vince Winkel wrote for the Owners News in the January issue.

Not that Vince is an authority on this subject, but his opinion of the bike while riding it through Pennsylvania does have some merit. After riding it for a short period myself a few weeks ago, I thought this may be the case.



I am still resting by my opinion that this Roadster is a very nice, expensive, lightweight bike for those day rides around the twisties.

[AllanCook]

Having put a little more than 1,000 miles on mine here in windy Central Texas, I can confirm Vince's experience: The bike does get pushed around a good deal in the wind, and it doesn't really take that much to turn a nice ride into an exhausting struggle to keep it between the lines.

I'd be very interested in hearing the methods y'all use to counteract wind. I've been trying to keep her leaned into the wind and a light hold on the grips, but it's still an awful lot of work. I've read about people sticking a knee into the windy side. What's been your experience?

[Skippy]

Keeping a lose grip is all I know that helps but the thing is that I rode the R1200R in some pretty windy conditions the last week and I thought to myself: I can't believe how stable this bike is in this conditions(compared to the R1100S). I was thinking that the steering damper was responsable for that and the lack of bodywork so I'm surprised to see that other people considder it to be quit a handfull in windy conditions. Will keep my guard up if it's storming though based on these reports but heavy sidewinds are always a pain on most bikes. I still think that I would rather be on a R then on a GS(higher so more leverage) or RT with all that bodywork but I might be wrong.

[Ric]

Any bike gets pushed aroun in 50 mph winds....even cars !

[danstl]

I have had similar experiences with mine. The R12R is very light, particularly in the front end. The R1150R is much more stable. I suspect this is why they put the steering damper on this model.

[AllanCook]

I wouldn't ride in 50 mph winds unless I absolutely had to. I'm talking 20 mph. I agree that the 1150 wasn't so easily pushed around, and that the front end is much lighter on the 1200. I suspect that's why there's a steering damper. But I also think this is a design problem: One can't just strip off a ton of weight and add a ton of horsepower and torque without sacrificing some measure of stability. I like the way the 1200 handles, but it does not feel as "planted" on the road as the 1150. Of course, YMMV.

[ka5ysy]

I have 1000 miles on my bike now, and have been riding in some pretty good gusts due to weather around south Louisiana lately.

Initially, the bike was delivered without windscreen per stock setup. I did notice that the high crosswinds would effect the bike, and especially when passing flat front 18wheelers at speed. A lot of this seemed to be unintentional steering inputs from my arms being buffeted. (coincedentally, I observed this same situation with the Buell Ulysses with the original Dunlops. Relaxing the grip on the bars damped the oscillations.)

On the 600 mile checkup, my dealer installed the sportscreen, which made a difference in crosswinds. It seems to desensitize the steering due to the wind pressure on the bars. Only problem is that the sportscreen, for me, puts the buffet rignt on the bottom to middle of my helmet and creates a nice rumble in the lid.

I just installed the "tall" screen, which is wider, and it has moved the buffeting to the top of the helmet. Since the screen is wider, it has really improved the crosswind stability, again probably due to the wind pressure center.

Jury is still out on the tall screen, but it appears if it were abou 2 inches taller, the buffeting would be above the helmet completely. Laminar Lip attached to the screen will probably cure the problem.

One nice feature of both the windscreens is that you can remove them by removing two screws on the bracket ends and rotating the forward part of the bracket out of the clip at the front edge. You do not have to remove the plastic screens from the brackets. Nice touch BMW !

I LOVE THIS BIKE


Motorcycle Consumer News will have a R1200R report next issue !

[AllanCook]

Are you using the BMW touring screen or Cee Bailey's? I'm probably going to get one for touring this summer. I've seen both mounted, and the Cee Bailey's, which fits on the BMW touring shield supports, looks as though it would be a little slicker in the wind.

http://www.ceebaileys.com/bmw/1200r07ws.html

[danstl]

I initially had the taller BMW screen and felt it was useless. Went to the Cee Baileys...not the tallest one, and it helps a bit. Since this bike is ridden mostly in hot weather, I don't want anything much taller than this to keep the airflow around the body, but off my chest at higher speeds.

[BCC]

It's a natural tendency to tighten up when riding in uncomfortable conditions. It is also normal to try to "correct" the effect of each gust of wind.

Force yourself to keep a light grip, make sure your elbows aren't locked and your shoulders are relaxed. Don't try to micro manage your lane position in a blow 'cause you'll over correct.

Check your suspension settings.

This isn't a light bike. It is a good handling bike. Better than previous iterations. Rider input results in course change faster than older generation bikes. This is good.

After a bit, new owners should easily adapt.

I had a similar problem when I first went to a 12GS from a K12RS a couple of bikes ago. After a month or so, the GS "fixed" itself.

[ka5ysy]

I initially had the taller BMW screen and felt it was useless. Went to the Cee Baileys...not the tallest one, and it helps a bit. Since this bike is ridden mostly in hot weather, I don't want anything much taller than this to keep the airflow around the body, but off my chest at higher speeds.

I am trying the "tall" screen right now. It is better than the sport shield, but the turbulence is still on top of my helmet

Which height did you go with, the 18" shield?


Doug :

[danstl]

I went with the 18" screen.

....and while I appreciate the other suggestions for "new" riders, I doubt I fit that category. I'm in my 60's and have been riding since I was a kid. I've owned a dozen or so BMW's over the last several years and twice as many as other bikes. This bike is light in the front end and it is twitchy and made worse so in any significant wind. I like it and enjoy riding it in the mountains, but it is not a good bike for me for riding in windy conditions. Thanks for the comments though.

[ka5ysy]

I went with the 18" screen.

....and while I appreciate the other suggestions for "new" riders, I doubt I fit that category. I'm in my 60's and have been riding since I was a kid. I've owned a dozen or so BMW's over the last several years and twice as many as other bikes. This bike is light in the front end and it is twitchy and made worse so in any significant wind. I like it and enjoy riding it in the mountains, but it is not a good bike for me for riding in windy conditions. Thanks for the comments though.

Hmmm... Have you tried a ride without the screen on? I wonder if it is doing the inputs to make it feel twitchy?

Doug

[AllanCook]

I don't think the windscreen is the issue. I rode an R1150R with the fly screen, and I'm riding a R1200R with the equivalent sport screen. The 1150 was notable for the sensation of being "planted" on the road in any wind condition. The 1200 is markedly more skittish in the wind.

The weight difference between the 1150 and the 1200, is, by my rough calculations, about 35 pounds overall. I think the twitchiness stems not so much from the overall weight as from the distribution of the weight: The front end on the 1200 is much lighter than on the 1150, it seems to me. This, combined with dramatically increased horsepower and torque, makes the bike, in my experience, a good deal less stable overall than the 1150. The front end simply wants to lift off the road (this observation is confirmed by reports in this forum of wheelies -- sometimes unexpected -- which were difficult, if not impossible, on the 1150). I think the steering damper is an attempt to correct this issue and to restore some measure of stability to a bike that is not as stable as its predecessor.

None of which is to say it's a bad bike, or that I'm unhappy in any way with my R1200R. It's a fantastic bike, and I can't imagine riding anything else. It's just a much different ride, and one apparently aimed at a younger, more sport-bike-oriented market segment.

[yjleesvrr]

BMW has obviously biased the R1200R toward the sporty end of the spectrum. It seems it is now more of a weekend tourer and a true "roadster" whereas the R1150R was more of an all-rounder. As such, four compelling alternatives are the Yamaha FZ1, Aprilia Tuono R, and BMW's own K1200R and K1200R Sport. All of these are faster than the R1200R. The only reasons I'd pick the R1200R are the Telelever/Paralever suspension, shaft drive, and the unique qualities of the boxer engine.

The FZ1 is by far the bargain speedster of the group. The Tuono offers v-twin character and a sport-focused experience. The K bikes offer brutal power, unique suspension, and shaft drive.

IMO, the R1200R offers a wee-bit less of a reason to buy it than the R1150R did even if the former is a sizeable improvement over the latter.

[Ric]

Just some observations that eliminate other bikes for me....

The Tuono weighs a hefty 490 lbs dry ! And available service is where ?

The K1200R wheelbase is over 62 inches !!! Thats no sporty ride. It's heavier than the R1200R as well.

FZ1 is a great bike but I'm not going back to another inline four. And if price is a consideration might as well go to the FZ6.

The SV1000 is a great bike as well.

[Grrl]

From the initial sound of it, the R12R doesn't sound like it'd be that much different than my naked SV in the wind... I'm a naked-bike fanatic, so I'll deal with wind over a fully-faired bike. Smartest choice? Depends who you are and what you like LOL I'm just weird like that, I guess.

Can't wait for some good weather to get a test ride!