BMW R1200CL 1200 Reviews

John Thorn's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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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!

leejay2507's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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Had my BMW R1200CL 1 year now been around france with the wife found it very comfy and easy to ride. comfartable ride with one or two up. Head turner. good lights in the dark. surprisingly good on back roads.
Just got to be careful when doing tight turns or going slow in traffic. heavy at slow speed, pain charging the battery, top speed relatively slow.
still a joy to ride.

lonelywolf's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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The best BMW bike I've owned yet, and I have had a few!

QRS2's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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I absolutely love this bike despite bad reviews I have read. My review is somewhat narrow since the only bike I have ever owned is a BMW R1200CL....but for my purposes this bike has served me well. I have not had any problems with the battery(It gets hooked to a BMW trickle charger when not riding), or any mechanical functions on the bike, BMW service and warranty is excellent. Once you learn to ride this bike and know and feel its capabilites...there is no substitute (just my opinon though). ...

SQUIRRELS's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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This is the R 1200C Avantguarde, which is a stunning looker. The ride quality and engineering are absolutely outstanding. It is typical of German build quality and attention to detail. ABS, puncture repair kit and immobiliser as standard, with "cigarette lighter" outlet for easy battery charging. Only complaint was the tail light cluster kept fracturing under stress, but to BMW's credit they have replaced it every time without hesitation. They have also redesigned the fitting to hopefully resolv ...

F R Campbell's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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My BMW R1200CL 1200 motorbike is the German equivalent of a Goldwing.

I have only had this bike for 4 months, and the battery has gone flat 3 times. BMW have been very helpful.

It has nice a sitting position for long distance riding, and is very stable, and surprisingly nimble on back roads.