The BMW K1200S, Changing my Attitude

I'll be the first to admit that I never saw myself choosing to ride a BMW K1200S, that's not a slur on the Bavarian bike builders, far from it, just that as a die hard fan of sport bikes since my defection from the dirt during my early twenties, up until now if it wasn't fit for the track then I wasn't really interested.

But then maybe I'm growing up? Or maybe I've finally come to realize that in the depths of 'spring', an all-day comfortable riding position and soft suspension beats anything on a Japanese spec panel.

So far I've covered around 2,400 kilometers in just over a month of ownership and I have to say, I'm getting into the BMW K1200S groove. The panniers that I hated means my days of setting fire to soft luggage are definitely over and no more shall I suffer the wrenched shoulders and stiff neck hangover of a 10-hour rucksackathon.

The riding experience itself takes a little getting used to if you're not acquainted with the usual BMW K1200S idiosyncrasies, though it has to be said, the telelever/paralever suspension combo does work incredibly well at speed on bumpy B-roads, if less so on tight and twisty one. My regular trips to Northeast Thailand used to take me well over three hours in the car, now they take, erm, three and a half. The problem with the Beemer is that as much as I was convinced it would make a great motorway kilometer-muncher, it's even more entertaining for discovering new routes through the Northeast Thai countryside.

But it's not all roses, oh no. Around town and at slower speeds the fueling isn't the greatest. It's a little jerky off a closed throttle. Not only that, but the steering feels incredibly heavy at town speeds and through tight hairpin bends. For a bike so long, I was surprised to find that it had a steering damper that I'd have to say feels way too stiff for such an inherently stable bike. What this all means though is that I'm going to have quit moaning about the few shortcomings the BMW has, get off my backside and go do something about it. A quick scan through the Internet has already revealed that a Power Commander is available for the BMW K1200S, so I'll be getting one set up on the bike sharpish. Not really in the interests of increasing power, but to get rid of that damn annoying low down lumpiness.