4-6-20 Update: Two and a half years later, this bike is back up for sale. It’s now on the third owner, it’s moved to Los Angeles, and the mileage is up to 97,000 and change. It’s recently had the 96k mile service and it’s got nearly new Pirelli Angel tires. The price has also dropped significantly – you can find it for $3,500 here on ADVRider in Los Angeles, California. Is it bad that I’m sort of tempted by this? It’d be a great complement for my 2006 BMW K1200R which is also silver and has 89k miles…
“Born in heaven, raised in hell.” That was one of the slogans BMW used when they introduced the R1200S, an evolution of the R1100S that fell much more on the ‘sport’ side of the sport-touring equation. It was the sportiest boxer twin BMW had ever built, and they emphasized the point by initially omitting factory luggage. A year later the German firm made a more hardcore version of the R12S called the HP2 Sport, so the R12S got luggage and became a little more practical. This example has aftermarket luggage in lieu of the OEM BMW equipment, but said luggage has clearly been used appropriately as the bike has a healthy 89,400 miles on it – all from the original owner!
BMW took the basic 1,170cc engine from the popular R12GS, but were able to bump up power to 122 horsepower thanks to some internal modifications and the highest redline seen to date on a BMW boxer – 8,800 rpm. Dry weight was 430 pounds, a 29 pound reduction from the R1100S. For more information, check out this write-up from Motorcycle-USA, where Kevin Duke says this “is the first Boxer-powered Beemer that will wheelie strictly with the throttle, with no clutch work required. I was duly impressed when the front end came up in a controllable wheelstand while exiting a tight first-gear corner, and I was able to hold it with the bars crossed up while I shifted to second – not typical BMW.”
I’m a big fan of one-owner bikes that have a good amount of miles on them – maintenance has usually been taken care of. This example has been used “exclusively as a touring bike”. It was purchased at San Jose BMW, and they also handled all the recalls. It’s equipped with ABS, heated grips, and the Sport Package (Ohlins suspension and 6″ rear wheel). It’s stock except for a Powerlet plug setup for a battery tender or heated gear.
Find this R12S for sale in Livermore, California for $4,500 here on South Bay Riders. Or the seller says he’ll knock off $100 if you can beat him up Mines Road to the Junction…