BMW R1200CL 1200 Review

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BMW R1200CL 1200
4.1 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4.1 out of 5

From 4 ratings and 6 reviews

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John Thorn's Review of BMW R1200CL 1200

26th Jun 2009

Overall Rating

4 stars
  • Value for money
    3.5 stars
  • Length of ownership
    4 years
  • Reliability
    5 stars
  • Year Manufactured
    2004
  • Build quality
    4 stars
Good Points

Comfort. Handling. Brakes. Unique looks (people either love it or hate it). Quality. High Engine Torque gives very relaxed cruising. Luggage.


Bad Points

No centre stand. Cost of BMW servicing
Some people think its ugly.
Harley Davidson owners cannot keep up and hate you for it!


General Comments

I have owned my BMW R1200CL 1200 for four years, during which time I have covered 17000 miles( summer weekends mostly).
Plush suspension and generous sized seats make it a great two-up mile muncher. It is, by far, the most comfortable bike I have ever owned. My wife agrees.
Although marketed as a cruiser, the built in luggage arrangements hold enough to do serious touring.
Low speed handling is a little bit ponderous, but once on the move handling is excellent. I have ridden some other big cruisers and found nothing that comes close in terms of ground clearance and ability to handle fast bends with total confidence (and nothing scraping on the ground). The brakes are terrific.
Two-up with luggage, the fuel tank range is just over 160 miles, before the low fuel warning light comes on which, although not huge, is adequate. So far nothing has gone wrong.
The lack of a centre stand makes checking the oil level a two person job, because the bike needs to be upright whilst looking into the small circular window on the side of the engine. Checking the rear tyre pressure is also a pain as the valve has to be accessed from the nearside of the bike (it leans to the nearside when on the prop stand) and the pannier is in the way. It is neccessary to get down on your knees to get at the valve.
Although the general quality of the components is very good there are a few areas where chrome has been applied over alloy and now after four years a small amount of pitting has occured. The standard CL (not the LE version) does not have so much chrome and should be immune to this.
Although fairly low in horse power, the engine has a lot of torque. 70mph is only 3000 RPM in top gear, which makes for very relaxed riding. I do not understand why BMW fitted a six speed gearbox. It does not need it - five would have been plenty.
This is a big bike with a big fairing, which means it collects millions of dead flies on any decent length journey.
Only buy one if you do not mind cleaning!

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