• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

2004 k1200 GT

zigzag

Member
Looking at a 2004 K 1200 GT at a local dealer seems to be in good shape. The only K bike I have owned was a K75, was wanting to hear of any pros/cons on the 1200 GT. Thanks for any info.
 
I regret selling mine...

It is a GREAT sport touring machine.
I have since returned to both a K75s and a K100RS.

You should NOT hesitate to buy such a BMW!

Peter
 
Looking at a 2004 K 1200 GT at a local dealer seems to be in good shape. The only K bike I have owned was a K75, was wanting to hear of any pros/cons on the 1200 GT. Thanks for any info.

I-BMW is a good place to ask that question. http://www.i-bmw.com/index.php?
The I-BMW forum was started for owners of the K1200RS and latter the K1200GT.
BTW, the K1200RS/GT is a great bike.
 
So I own one - moving from an 85 K100 and an 2003 1150GS

Impressions on the change -

My 2004 KGT is a far more modern bike;

Brakes - the brakes stop like the hand of God reaches out to arrest your speed. You cannot lock them up and I love the semi linked modulation - I let the bike worry about how much rear wheel pressure to apply.

Heat control - no longer the issue it was with my 85K. I ride cool even in high ambient temps.

Cold weather riding - the heated grips and the heated seat are amazing. Period.

Electric windshield - I like to be able to adjust this as I'm riding.

Cruise control - :bow:bow:bow

Handling - this is a bike made for covering a lot of miles in a day* and handles sweepers flawlessly. Tight technical stuff just requires a bit more focus than on a smaller bike (it is heavy), but even on the demanding Tail of the Dragon, I have been able to keep pace with a local riding a 650 Ninja.

Buy it and ride it - the howl when you get on it at 65 and run to 100 alone is worth the price of admission. *Atlanta to Chicago in a day - to put this into perspective...much of the trip at speeds well over 80 MPH. (Usual disclaimers)
 
2003 k1200gt

I purchased my bike new in '03. I has 40,000 miles of moderate use. Most up north so work and weather took a big chunk out of road time. I now live a FL and use it almost every day. I've only had one problem with the bike and that is the ABS pump. It was replaced twice under warranty. About 2 years ago it went out again. The dealer in Barrington IL demanded BMW replace the pump, at no cost to me, because he had all the service records and the pump should not have failed. BMW caved and sent a new pump. It was defective. They sent a second pump. This is a $2500 item. Otherwise the bike has been a dream to own. I highly recommend this bike.
 
My 2004 K12GT is by far the best performing BMW that I have owned. I am a techie and I love the advanced technology of this bike. It is smooth and has power-on-demand from just about any speed and gear combination.
Prior to this bike I had two R-Bikes and a K100rs. Although the K12 is a bit more unstable in the slower speeds, it is rarely an issue. It gets a bit top heavy and demands you careful attention below about 5MPH.
I really like this bike but all of those high tech improvements do come with a price. It is a departure from the "Simple by Design" philosophy of the old air-coolers. Mine is currently in the shop for a small fluid leak in the hydraulic clutch slave. The high tech clutch system sprung a leak and has spewed hydraulic fluid on the clutch face and the seals. All are being replaced right now along with the engine rear main seal. This high tech replacement for a clutch cable is going to be just shy of $3000 when all is finished.
My 04 GT has 17000 on it. The dealer says that this failure is more about the age of the bike and not the milage.
Cost of ownership can be steep but I still love the bike and now I will have it, hopefully, trouble-free for a long time.
 
Best Bike EVER!

:heart I got a 1985 K1000LT in 1986. All the "OLD" hard core beemer riders rejected it, didn't want any thing to do with them. I payed $6,800. for it:D I roled up over 100,000 miles on it over 13 years with out a problem. It had its "quirks" (speedo quits now and then. Different ways to get it working were tap on the guage pod and beep the horn?) I had a 99 K1200LT,a 2002 K1200LT, a 2004 R1200C Montauc, and a 2002 R1150RT. Then I decided I wanted an 04 K1200GT. I found a great deal on one in 2008. I felt that it had all the refinements they could do on the "FLYING BRICK". Great Machine:brow My Wife has had a Liver and a Kidney transplant and was having a difficult time getting on the back. (We fell over when she tried getting on the back at the national ralley in Tennissee and broke her arm.:cry I told her we may as well give up the bike because I NEVER wanted that to happen again! BUTT! We seen the wonderfull side car selection at the Hannigan display. We had Hannigan put the Classic model on the GT and really love it. My only complaint was that Hannigan conviently didn't put the HEAVY DUTY front spring on and after Bottoming out a couple times which bent the front wheel. I contacted Hannigan ant their employee named John gave me a really hard time untill I found that my origional reciept showed the heavy spring was included. He then changed his tune but handed me over to a very nice person who aranged for BMW of SE. Mi. to put the PROPER spring on. After completeing the repair the mechanic pointed out the bent wheel. I tried to pass this information on to Mrs. Hannigan at the Pa. ralley. She talked to her "mechanics" and they denied my claim that the wheel got bent because of the "week" stock spring. So now I'm stuck with a bent wheel. The sidecar is great BUTT make sure they do ALL the work you pay for. ( I'm sorry, I just had to get that off my chest! The side cars are great):bikes
 

Attachments

  • K1200GT & side-car, Kitty Cats 1-Oct 2012 022.jpg
    K1200GT & side-car, Kitty Cats 1-Oct 2012 022.jpg
    65.3 KB · Views: 134
Last edited:
Gt

Thanks all for the information, esp liked the sidecar pics since I would like to have a sidecar one day. Am planning on doing a test ride shortly so we will see what happens. Hoping it will be a comfortable seating position for me because the bike sounds like it has PLENTY of power.
 
keep us posted.

I installed the Suburban bar backs on my 04KGT - improved the riding position for me (5'10") but as these things work out raised my helmet and changed the airflow/noise numbers.

Anyhow, I have found this to be a fair compromise for long distance days.
 
Another lover

Of the modern K bike.

I come out of a lifetime of owning older bikes, mid 70s Brits, a couple airhead beemers, and an 88 K100RS. The old 88 K was FAR more "advanced" than anything I had previously owned- or SINCE, for that matter- UNTIL I bought the new K12.

After all the older bikes, a couple which I still own- I got the bug for a 21st century modern motorcycle. Not loving the looks of the R series touring bikes, or the "naked" R series sport /touring models, I thought what the heck! I wanted a Sport Touring motorcycle. After all the bikes of the past, this is where I am at. Sport. Touring. Big enough to load and travel, sporty enough for those solo blasts thru the local twisties.
Not being a devout purist, and having already owned a K model, I began looking at the K12s. At the time I was ready to buy, they were DARN tough to lay hands on- last spring (2012), they sold as fast as they were posted. I mostly saw the RS models, and that's what I wound up with- a 2002 K1200RS. I LOVE it, pure and simple.

The primary "flaw" IMO, is the lack of weather protection from the fairing- this affects mainly the hands & forearms, in the rain. I own a 93 R100RS, and once had an 88 R100RT, so this is my comparison basis; my baseline. Heck the 88 K100RS (with tall Parabellum windscreen) offers more rain protection. Short of that, I cannot conceive of anything else to complain about. I loaded the bike to the gills last June and my GF & I rode over 3K miles all over Nova Scotia, then over to Olde Quebec, and back home. On the twisty, mountainous Cabot Trail, going up and down Cadillac Mountain, on the Kancamagus Higway, fully loaded & two-up.... the bike truly was superb. :bow

You know, I really could have just kept my R100RS for those long trips - I mean I still have the airhead, BUT the big K12 is much better off on the freeways, with its extra size and weight. Now all I have to do is find a new home for the old 88 K100.

And oh BTW- radar detector? Isn't that what Cruise Control is for? :D
 
Agree.I bought my K1200 GT new in 04 after two previous R bikes. performance is unbelievable,braking is superb,an all day high speed tourer.Its weight is noticeable at slow,not,when humming along.He is hard on tires in the heat.He had his "issues" early and under warranty,thank Dog.Rear main seal leaked,clutch slave puked,headlight went kaflooey regularly, fixed eventually with higher ampere wire;gas line qds were replaced before they filled my boot with gas. I added bar backs just cause I am older and my knees and back don't bend as well as they used to. Added a big GIVI box and changed the stock shocks for Ohlins and a new steering damper from Pirate's Lair.

There are 2 K specific sites.I-BMW and K-Bikes,have a look.

I have ridden since age 19 and this is the best bike I have ever had.I doubt I will ever sell it;however,I did have to buy a 1995 R100RT just to keep perspective.

I own no shares in BMW...
 
Back
Top