Yearning for a sport bike...

...and always had a soft spot on the blue and white striped k1200s, circa 2005-ish.



And I just found one. With 47,700 miles on it.

I'm an experienced rider, IBA member in good standing, with a paid-for 2015 R1200RT, so this isn't my first rodeo.


My questions are, with almost 50,000 miles on it...

1. what problems should I look for?

2. are there any known issues that are known to crop up at this mileage?

3. what kind of life can I expect from a 1200 with this many miles on it?


Thanks in advance.

Had that color combo for several years Miss the adrenaline rush of roll on, but not the visits with LEO's!

The cam chain tensioner hopefully was changed, it is located just behind right fairing and if the upgraded one is there it is a vertical tube on top of clutch housing instead of a flat plate. BMW recommends cam chain replacement at 30K(from memory) most likely for units that went that far with no tensioner. I replaced rails,sprockets, and tensioner on H's way before the "recall" as her sounded like marbles under the valve cover at start up.

The rear wheel spider was a service bulletin to upgrade to a forged unit like the R series of same vintage

The rear suspension also had a dog bone link that was a service bulletin
Both can be verified with VIN check with a dealer and open ended until completed by a dealer at no cost.

Oh, and the fuel pump plate where the QC snaps in is also on that list like all other models with that Siemens part. Cannot see that unless yank is pulled on the K's

Is this not a Flying Brick model?

akbeemer said:

Is this not a Flying Brick model?

Click to expand...

First year Wedge

I was not sure, but thought that fairing was on the bricks.

henzilla said:

The cam chain tensioner hopefully was changed, it is located just behind right fairing and if the upgraded one is there it is a vertical tube on top of clutch housing instead of a flat plate. BMW recommends cam chain replacement at 30K(from memory) most likely for units that went that far with no tensioner. I replaced rails,sprockets, and tensioner on H's way before the "recall" as her sounded like marbles under the valve cover at start up.

Click to expand...

There's also the plastic cam chain jump guard.

Steve do you remember, once he updates the cam chain and sprockets does he need to change them every 30,000 miles.
I don't remember this service being needed on the K1300S which has the updated setup.


Here's a picture of the updated tensioner.

Remove this cover to see if you have the cam chain jump guard.





Jump guard is not in place in this picture.




Jump guard in place in this picture.

Thanks Lee,
Forgot about the guard...figure if you see the tall tensioner that the guard was done at same time, however maybe an assumption unless documented.

I do think the original litter before they upgraded the tensioners with higher mileage were the concern with the 30K schedule .My 05 never developed the noisy valvetrain as I added the tensioner early miles wise.H's already was around 30K when we got it...and very noisy

And my location of tensioner was a bit off, behind fairing, but definitely on cylinder block, not clutch. Haven't looked at one recently...great pics.

I see this bike doesn't have the stock seat cover. Hopefully it has aftermarket padding too because the stock seat is a vinyl-covered crucifix.

In addition to the above, one last thing to watch out for is worn clutch basket springs. Its not debillitating but the rattle can be irritating. As far as mileage is concerned, as long as the oil and all filters have been changed, the brakes (servo-assisted) have been bled regularly and the valves checked/adjusted per the maintenance schedule, this bike has tens of thousands of miles ahead of it.

Lastly, the blue and white ones are the best/fastest/coolest. Not sure why I say that.

I just bought this one. 2015 K1300S Motorsports Edition. Around 1500 miles. Yes. 1500. HP Forged Aluminum wheels. ESA II. Quick shifter. ABS. Akropovic Exhaust. Some carbon bits. Helibars. Kaoko throttle lock. BMW Sport Panniers.

Just purchased some Pirelli Angel GT’s for it as I plan on using up the remainder of the stock Metzlers this Spring.

Getting a little older and was looking for something sporty I could also tour on. Ride report this Spring.
It is 9f and snowing currently.

Beautiful!!!!

Apparently we both have the same itch.


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that is a gorgeous motorcycle

Wow, that is one striking motorcycle...nice purchase.

Abs

Keep in mind that the 2005 bikes have ABSIII, also know as I-ABS. The ABS modulator and/or the servo motors are known to fail more frequently than other designs and, more importantly, the ABSIII modulators are not repairable. If you do have a failure the only options are buying a new ABSIII modulator ($2300 or close to that) or performing an ABSektomy and turning the bike into a non-ABS unit.

radiofun1 said:

Keep in mind that the 2005 bikes have ABSIII, also know as I-ABS. The ABS modulator and/or the servo motors are known to fail more frequently than other designs and,.....

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....typically attributable to disintegrating brake hoses and lack of regular fluid flushing. If the bike has had its scheduled maintenance checks, it is highly likely that the ABS/Servo unit is just fine. Further, this bike came equipped with braided steel lines and did not suffer the same fate as many neglected rubber-hosed R1100/1150.

Repairs for iABS modules have been available by a company in Germany for several years. (~€900 and shipping)

In the U.S., Module Masters has begun repairs, though their web site still shows that module as "Under Development" as they work through a backlog. ($750-800)

No, not cheap, but failure is far from a certainty.

BC1100S said:

....typically attributable to disintegrating brake hoses and lack of regular fluid flushing. If the bike has had its scheduled maintenance checks, it is highly likely that the ABS/Servo unit is just fine. Further, this bike came equipped with braided steel lines and did not suffer the same fate as many neglected rubber-hosed R1100/1150.

Click to expand...

Absolutely true. The fact that it has braided steel brake line is a good sign that the previous owner was into his bike and perhaps keen on the maintenance items. However, I would still like to see evidence that the fluid was changed regularly. Previous owner may have had it serviced so there would be records there. Even if he did the servicing himself I'd want to see his records. I bought a 2006 once where the fluid was very off-colored and I suspect, in retrospect, may never have been changed. I changed the fluid right away and had the bike for several years without a problem. So one can get lucky. I also bought a 2005 with a failed ABS unit and turned that into a non-ABS bike. Use that one quite a bit and actually liked the fact that it didn't have the ABS; made me pay more attention to my braking. Bottom line is that I wouldn't necessarily not buy a bike with ABSIII, just wanted the OP to be aware that those ABS units cannot be repaired or replaced without significant cost.
PS. My recommendation for anyone interested in a K1200 would be to spend a few more dollars and get a k1300. BMW sorted several issues with the k12 when the k13 was released and those small changes add up to a substantially better bike, IMHO.

K1200 vs K1300

I concur fully with RadioFun1... right on the money, Ernesto!