Is the BMW K 1200 RS a good bike?
With 130 eager horses residing beneath its aerodynamic bodywork, the K 1200 RS has more raw power than any BMW ever. But power, torque, and lightening-quick speed aside, it’s one comfy ride. Thanks to the reassuring presence of BMW’s Telelever front and Paralever rear suspension.
When did the BMW K1200RS come out?
BMW sold the RS between 1996 and 2004, when it was replacedby the far better K1200 S, which used a conventional transverse engine layout and Duolever front end. We’d always recommend the later bike, but if you come across a well-priced RS, and don’t mind a big beastie, it still makes a solid heavyweight tourer with a load of grunt.
How does it feel to ride a BMW K1200RS?
Tossing my small duffel in one of the saddlebags, I shrug into the Aerostich, pull on my Arai, and finally head down the driveway. After spending so much time in recent months either bent to the severe crouch of my GSX-R1000, or else sitting upright on the GS, the midway position of the KRS seems oddly strange.
Where is the white line on a BMW K1200R?
I hug the white line near the shoulder through the long sweeping right-hander-the one where cars are always drifting across the centerline. And then a few quick miles and suddenly there’s Panorama appearing on the left, a small, obscure ribbon of black emerging out of the woods.
With 130 eager horses residing beneath its aerodynamic bodywork, the K 1200 RS has more raw power than any BMW ever. But power, torque, and lightening-quick speed aside, it’s one comfy ride. Thanks to the reassuring presence of BMW’s Telelever front and Paralever rear suspension.
BMW sold the RS between 1996 and 2004, when it was replacedby the far better K1200 S, which used a conventional transverse engine layout and Duolever front end. We’d always recommend the later bike, but if you come across a well-priced RS, and don’t mind a big beastie, it still makes a solid heavyweight tourer with a load of grunt.
Tossing my small duffel in one of the saddlebags, I shrug into the Aerostich, pull on my Arai, and finally head down the driveway. After spending so much time in recent months either bent to the severe crouch of my GSX-R1000, or else sitting upright on the GS, the midway position of the KRS seems oddly strange.
I hug the white line near the shoulder through the long sweeping right-hander-the one where cars are always drifting across the centerline. And then a few quick miles and suddenly there’s Panorama appearing on the left, a small, obscure ribbon of black emerging out of the woods.