Tell Us About You

[Crepusculum]

Well I just noticed this thread and considering I just joined up and have been asking many questions, I should introduce myself. My name is Dan and I live in Tucson, AZ. Compared to many people who ride BMWs I would be considered a novice rider. I purchased my first bike December 26th of 2007. So I have been riding for less then a year. I have always wanted to ride and after my divorce I was able to make that dream come true. I waited to take the MSF before purchasing my first bike because I wanted to make sure that it was something that I really wanted to do. My first bike was an '07 Ducati Monster 695, I didn't really know what type of bike I would like the best. Like many younger people I was drawn to the look of full superbikes, but I knew that wasn't something that I wanted to start off with. After a few months of monster ownership I wanted more; more power; more comfort; and more unique (there are many monsters on the roads). So I had been searching around for months looking for the right upgrade, I found out that I truly loved naked bikes. I felt that the Italians did it right, Americans and Japanese nakeds didn't do anything for me. But the issue was that the Italians I was looking at (Benelli and MV Augusta) were pretty darn pricey to purchase and maintain, while reliability seemed to be an issue too. I was fortunate enough to stop by my local BMW dealer ( 1/2 mile away ), that I had never been to before because I didn't think there would be anything that I liked, was in my price range, and that I could fit on. But I walked into the showroom and glanced around for a couple seconds and saw the K1200R, I had no idea that BMW made a such a bike. After talking to the employee, I realized that it seemed to have everything I was looking for. And that brings me to were I am today...

[JHoss]

Well, since I might be the newest person to this forum I might as well contribute.
I am 63 YOA and am 5 years retired from 31 years in law enforcement in California. I saw this forum when looking for info on the K bikes because I am considering trading my '02 R1150RSA for a K1200R or R-Sport. When I am not surfing, skiing, playing tennis or fly fishing I am riding the BMW. Oh, and my wife of 34 years is still working and supporting me. Yea, I met her when she was 17. As my ex said, "robbing the cradle hey."
I rode a 50cc Honda to college many years ago. Later I had an 80cc Yamaha I rode to work. Then I took a 30 year hiatus. About 2001 our motor officers went to the BMW RT-P. I looked at that and said hmmm, nice. So Iknew i was retiring in '03 and looked at BMW's. I sat on the RT, and the RS. Both nice but different ergos. I got the RS because I liked the slightly sportier seating position and feel. Now six years later I am considering the K bikes. I've ridden the R and the S I like the positioning of the bar on the R better. More like my own R-RS. I was concerned about the power. But after riding both I realized it was very manageable. That was the original question. Is a K bike a good fit given my experience level. It feels good! Though very powerful. I also have ridden an Aprillia Tuono-R. Mighty nice bike.

Nice to be a part.
surfer Joe

[JHoss]

Hello Roger,
You and I are about the same vintage. And, I too started on a Honda 50. The reason I am writing is I see you own a K1200R-Sport. I am considering the same purchase. My question to you is have you had any problems with it? I am concerned that the bike was produced only in 2007. The dealer will say that is because it was not a good seller. At least in the USA. My current ride is a "02 R1150RSA. I've ridden the K1200R and S and I personally like the look of the quarter fairing on the R-Sport. The dealer I work with is getting an R-Sport returned from the company because the original purchaser demanded a new bike. It seems he/she was feed up with some warranty repair issues. Any such problems with your bike?
Thanks,
JHoss

Oh well might as well tell you about myself as well !!!!!
Been on the forum for a short time and made some postings but not on this post, so here goes.
Like Leon I'm also 59. Started biking back in the 60's with a Honda 50 (wow). My brother had a BSA Super Rocket and said did I want to buy it??
I'm still a learner silly I said. No problem said he (girls were beckoning!!!) we will go to Streamline motorcycles in Dulwich (South London) and they have a Watsonian Monza Sidecar they can fit, stick on your 'L' plates and away you go.
Off I went full of the joys of Spring - Honda 50 to BSA650 !!!! oooops was stopped for speeding within 3 weeks on our way to Brands Hatch to see the likes of Chris Vincent, Florian Camathias and Fritz Scheidegger in action.
Mid 70's marriage - no bikes but was tempted back by my late father who was selling a Yamaha 250, that lasted a couple of years and I then upgraded to a Suzuki GS550E cracking bike, but then in May 84 I purchased a Honda VF750FD which I still have today. Those of you who have been on the forums will probably know I took delivery of a K1200 R Sport in Silver & Black back in March07. My first new bike since the Honda50.
Fell in love with it after originally testing the 'S' version which I would have bought but I then saw a photo on the web of the Sport in Nov 2006 and knew thats the one I wanted. Not dissimilar to the VF in style.
Have done 1300 miles so far and really getting used to her. What a machine, a little light customising may be on the cards. Sadly my good lady doesn't want to go on her (doesn't like the idea of wearing a crash helmet) but does not stop me in anyway going out, and in fact persuaded me to go for the Sport version. After 30 years I suppose she is used to me
Enjoy Rideouts with other bikers and hope to take the IAM Advanced course with Miton Keynes Advanced Motorcyclists.
So there you are - another potted history.
Ride Safe and Enjoy the Freedom
Regards
RogerM
The only difference between now and the 60's ??? It takes a little longer to get over the ache's. Bikers are just as friendly and long may it stay that way.

[billy_BMW]

Hello to all

My name is Bill (Vasilis in Greek)

I live in Athens and I was born in 1977.Since 12 years old many bikes and many trips.

Some of the countries I have travelled with motorcycles beside Greece are:

Italy(&San Marino),Austria,Holland,France,Germany,Belgium,F.Y.R.O.M,Albania.

Not only once but many times...

My motorcycles...

Long list and over 300.000 Km on them

1989 --- Ηonda Z-50cc

1990 --- Chang-Jang 50cc

1991 --- Honda Chally 50cc

1992 --- Aprilia RX 50cc

1993 --- Yamaha DT 125R

1994 --- Yamaha TDR 250cc

1995 --- Kawasaki ZZR 400cc

1999 --- Kawasaki ZZR 600cc

2004 --- Yamaha Dragstar 400cc

2005 --- Honda Hornet-S 600cc

2005 --- BMW K1200R

2006 --- Honda AX-250cc (Still have it)

2007 --- Yamaha XT600 E

2007 --- BMW K1200S (Still have it)

2007 --- BMW F650 (Still have it)

[mor]

Hello Everyone,

just joined the board today: test rode my first BMW 1200 S yesterday and now awaiting Intermot here with us in Cologne in a fortnight to decide whether to wait for the K 13 S that they'll premiere - or to go straight for the 12 ... without the wait for it to arrive in Feb 09.

Thanks for a fantastic site - great source for information.

best
Marc-Oliver

[caratz]

Ciao Mor,

We're almost neighbours. Welcome to this forum. You'll find it informative, and generally fun and easy going.

[bazbiker]

Hello people within my computer, My name is Barry and live in Scotland just south of Glasgow but im originally from a wee village called Dunbeath in Caithness (up near John o Groats). I have been into bikes all my life and had my first bike at 4years old which was a Honda 50 with no gears just a twist and go, I then had to give that up for my sister a year later when she turned 4 and got up graded to another Honda 50 but this time with 3 gears . Since then I have had my fair share of bikes, and I should probably try to list them but will probably miss a few and remember them later, but here goes anyway.
Honda 50
Honda CR 50 (3 gears)
Honda CR 80
Yamaha RM 125
Yamaha RM 400
Yamaha DT 50 (my first road bike)
Honda Super dream (shared it with my mum)
Suzuki GS250T (I think everyone in my family had that bike at some point )
Various Yamaha RD 250 and 350 LC's, mainly my uncle’s bikes (he paid or them) but I got to use them sometimes when we weren’t replacing pistons
Yamaha Virago 535 (shared with my mum, she didn’t use her bikes much so adopted them )
Yamaha XJ900 (shared with my dad as he was working offshore)
Kawasaki 550GT (another one shared with my mum)
Ducati 750ss (I could finally afford to buy a bike I could call my own )
Triumph 955I Daytona (my sister now has this and i hope it will never leave the family, great bike)
Suzuki GSXR 600 (race bike)
Ducati 996
Kawasaki ZX10R (just sold it)
Yamaha TTR600 (just sold it)
Suzuki GS500 (breaking bike to use the engine in a buggy)
Yamaha XJ600 (breaking bike to use the engine in a buggy)
Kawasaki GPX600 (breaking bike to use the engine in a buggy)
BSA M20 exarmy. My dads mate left it to him when he died years ago and we put it in my granddads shed for him to tinker with (he is the main reason my whole family are bikers) when he died last year my dad gave it to me so im about to start to restore it.
BSA A7 This was my other granddads (mums side) but is just boxes of bits now from when he stripped it over 30 years ago, some day I will rebuild it.
Auto cycle, another one of my granddads on my mums side, it’s basically just an old pushbike with a wee engine bolted to it, Its supposed to be one of the first ever built! I will have to look into it but it’s another one for me to restore!
Honda 50 step through it was my granddads on my dad’s side for going round the sheep as his legs had started to give in on him with old age! I’m going to use it for my wife to learn on in my mate’s field, and then a few of us are going to enter a 12hour enduro scooter race with it when we find out where the next one is
And finally my BMW K1200R.
I am 30 years old and am an electrical and mechanical engineer to trade. I was involved in bike racing about seven years ago mainly in Scotland with a couple of my mates racing Suzuki GSXR600's for a few years, I got out on the track a few times but couldn’t afford to keep it up so ended up becoming the pit mechanic for my two mate's until cash flow got the better of one of them and the other decided to move to New Zeeland to live and race there.
As well as bikes im also into classic cars and have had more of them than bikes I’ve just finished a Ford Capri that I got MOTed yesterday to use while im dong a full ground up restoration on my MK3 2door Ford Cortina
And me and a few of my mates are building some field buggies using motorbike engines for some fun (just one more cheap crashed or dead bike to find to rob of its engine)

[Fuzzyghoul]

Hey everyone!

31 years old. First bike BMW K1200 R. I.AM.NOOB.

Good to be here and thanks for the site.

[caratz]

You're most welcome to it.

[RRider]

FuzzyGhoul, did you buy your bike from BMW of Orlando?

[Fuzzyghoul]

Yes, I purchased my bike from BMW of Orlando....

[mordygan]

i've lusted after bmw bikes my whole life. my first motorcycle memory was of my dad's '76 r100s. burned my calves on the pipes after my dad came home from work when i was probably 4 years old. i've lusted after BMW k series bikes since 1997 with the k12rs. soon to be a k1300s owner, probably the first in my town.

been riding for about 10 years or so, give or take. several years my Yamaha Maxim was the only means of transport i had. i even rode it ~1800 miles in 2 days.

other personal stuffs. 29 years old, though the body feels older (not the year, but the mileage, right?) i currently work IT for an indian casino. mostly desktop support, but other advanced hardware and networking support. on my free time i am a card carrying member of the Society for Creative Anachronism http://www.sca.org.

i'm looking forward to riding with my friends and creating our own WWII bike group. my dad's current bike is a HD Roadking Classic, 2 friends with Triumphs ( ST1000 and Bonneville T100), Yamaha V-Star, and my finely crafted German machine of pure excellence.

luckily, i live where we have 360 days of sunshine (though still cold in the winter) and will probably put over 10k miles on it a year, as i did with my last bike.

[newboy]

As my name suggests - a complete noob on bikes
Always wanted one when I use to listen to my dad talking crazy stories about sliding under buses in the ice down the main street on his BSA Road Rocket i the 60's
Kids and mum forced him to sell - I was banned till I left home...

Then somehow never went for it - but every time I saw a big BMW - I drooled...
Then last year my brother passed his UK test - bought himself a ZZR1400

Then while I was doing my test this Autumn - my dad bought a yellow/black K12S - scared the crap out of himself ans decided to sell up as 68 and 30 years away was too much

So I decided to buy his 9k miles bike and start BIG...
Will be taking it nice and easy at first and hopefully will finish the year with a tour of the Alps with my brother and the ZZR with my dad driving the team "bus" to the hotels

[dolly]

Hi all
I have been riding for about 6 1/2 yrs. Graduating from a 250 Virago to my now K1200R. I am riding around Australia (with hubby on R90S). Have had my BM since '06 and have clocked up 39,000kms. Left Innisfail (1hr south Cairns) in April this year and will be in Bunbury till the end of January, then up to Carnarvon for the next house sit. We are house sitting and working as we go. No intentions of returning home at this stage. Both bikes are doing well although Pete's (hubby) hit a roo out of Charleville which did a fair bit of damage to his baby, but she is still going. ABS who'd be without them!!!! The K1200R is a dream to ride even packed with bags and gearsack. Been through some pretty crap weather but not a flinch, she just keeps on going.

[Wizz]

Hi
Been hanging at this site for a while ... so its time for an introduction
My name is Ulf and living outside Stockholm, Sweden
It all begun with a glimse in my fathers eye.. leaving that and continuing with the bikes
I was 14 years and I and my 2 years older brother got a Panther 350 -53 never registerd but a lot of fun on gravel roads around our village.
Purchased a Kawasaki H2 750 -72 had it for 2 years and sold it for a
BMW R90/6 -76 had it for 2 years to change it to a
BMW R100S-78 really nice bike a lot of touring in Germany, Norway and Swizerland
Had a bad accident and i was sitting behind, my friend who was driving the Goldwing, was unconsious for 6 weeks survived but was never the same guy again
So i sold the R 100S and was without bike for nearly 20 years.
I hired a bike for a weekend and took my wife for a ride and she was thrilled and started to arguing to buy one, so who can resist that in a longer time...
Purchased a used BMW K1100rs -96 from germany and made some touring and daily commuting until 2007 when i changed it to my
BMW K1200S

[caratz]

Hi
Been hanging at this site for a while ... so its time for an introduction
My name is Ulf and living outside Stockholm, Sweden
It all begun with a glimse in my fathers eye.. leaving that and continuing with the bikes
I was 14 years and I and my 2 years older brother got a Panther 350 -53 never registerd but a lot of fun on gravel roads around our village.
Purchased a Kawasaki H2 750 -72 had it for 2 years and sold it for a
BMW R90/6 -76 had it for 2 years to chenge it to a
BMW R100S-78 really nice bike a lot of touring in Germany, Norway and Swizerland
Had a bad accident and i was sitting behind, my friend who was driving the Goldwing, was unconsious for 56 weeks survived but was never the same guy again
So i sold the R 100S and was without bike for nearly 20 years.
I hired a bike for a weekend and took my wife for a ride and she was thrilled and started to arguing to buy one, so who can resist that in a longer time...
Purchased a used BMW K1100rs -96 from germany and made some touring and daily commuting until 2007 when i changed it to my
BMW K1200S

You forgot to mention some of the horrible characters you have met since you started riding again
I have the privilege of knowing Uffe personally, since he's also an active member of Europrez. Very nice, quiet and funny person.

[Wizz]

You forgot to mention some of the horrible characters you have met since you started riding again
I have the privilege of knowing Uffe personally, since he's also an active member of Europrez. Very nice, quiet and funny person.

Ssh Carlo, yeah thats my dark side, i dont wanted to mention the Europrez gang
Thats nicest part with bikes u meet alot of nice persons and make alot of friends

The other part with the Europrez you get a good apology at home to make a long trip on your own

[mordygan]

soon to be a k1300s owner, probably the first in my town.

its official. ESA II, heated grips, luggage rack, light grey, BMW K1300s is on its way, so to speak. $17045 before TT&L ($600 or so for TT&L). build week 10, delivery between weeks 20 and 22. First in ABQ to order, first in ABQ to own!

[MarkN]

Hi All,

I've just signed up as I think these forums are a good idea for sharing ideas with other owners.

I've just traded in my 07 K1200GT SE for an 07 K1200S and I can't wait to pick it up from CW's on Thursday. The reason for buying the "S" is that until recently I had the GT for doing the big miles (about 25,000 / year) and a KTM 640 Adv for messing around on at the weekends etc. Anyway, I've sold the KTM to a guy in Spain and wanted something a bit more fun that the 1200GT and something still capable of doing the miles so the S fitted the tick boxes.

I've been riding since passing my test back in 1995 and have toured all over Europe in that time and have just got back from a month long trip riding off road in Morocco.

Hopefully, as finances allow, I'll be looking to get either an Akrapovic or a Laser end can for the bike as well as a hugger and some luggage and will be asking for opinions on here.

Cheers for now

Mark

[Jamie]

Welcome to the forum

[Bernardo]

Hello Everyone!!

Let's tell about myself... if you understand my poor english.

My name is Bernardo Maniloff, 59 YOA, and I live in a little town, Las Varillas, Argentina, Divorced Twice, 2 boys (34, 33) and love of my life Judith (12 )...

Automotive Technician, Mechanic Engineer, actually work in a plastic company (Quality Assurance), and in my independent life I do Accident reconstruction, repair and maintenance of electronic, communications, traffic ligths....


I really loves bikes. At 9 I began biking: Vespa 125, Siambretta 125 (2) Siambretta 175 (2) Zanella 175, Yamaha RD 400, Kawasaki KZ1300, then stop for 12 years. Actually I decided spent my physically active life with a great Bike like K13,


Why I'm in this forum? I followed this excellent forum when I decided to buy The K13R ( March or April, I hope), and I found in it Good information and very most important, good people.

By now few words to say. The history will starts when I'll ride "la Gorda" !

[Edge]

Mmmm, something about me, let me see.

My name is Javier Benito (a really strange last name here), im From Santiago Chile, like i said in the welcome topic, my friends call em Edge. Im am 23 years old, workaholic guy, always doing something to get money ( im not a drug dealer or a gigolo ), now i repair bmw bikes, and im a photographer, not a good job but i can get some cash.

I really like bikes, my first street bike was a K100Rs 16V in the 2005, for me, one of the best bikes in the world, i sold it and get a K1100RS, that time i realize my love for bmw bikes , i still have it in the garage of my house , getting more and more dust, sometimes u use it to travel with my girl-wife-friend , and now i have mi beloved and hated K1200RS, an amazing bike, really fast (and heavy), im always sais "the driver make de bike" , so, lot of RR bikes cant catch me in the curve zone, but in the highway i look like a rock (250km/h is not enought).

Here some pictures of me and my bike:



And now a picture of how looks now mi K12RS

Damn conrod, i curse you!!!!!!!!!!!

[drummer]

Hello to all ! I recently discoverd your site. Very cool indeed !
I've been riding 30+yrs. But have to say that 98' krs is my 1st.Beemer.
With that said,I've never looked back ! I will say that I have become completely
smitten with this bike. We (RT and LT ) buddys do all our own maintence,tires,service,farkles,seals F/D,ect..
Enjoy it all,its part of becoming "one" with your bike! looking forward to being,
part of the "family". On the "bio" side;Live in Northern Michigan.
46yrs.old, married, 2 sons, work in the Maritime trade.
Thats it........PEACE.........................chris.

[mfire1]

Hi Everyone,

I just purchased a K1200gt Black/silver.
Started riding back in 1968, I have owned 4 Harleys and 2 Hondas. I have been looking at BMW's
for about 3 years. I am currently doing the breakin on the machine know. Man! What have I been missing!
German Engineering is first rate. What a wonderful handling piece of equipment. I can't wait to get used to
the feel of the bike. I am looking forward to lots of miles on the K12. I enjoy the posts on the site. Its fun to
see how all the riders around the world love BMW Motorrad. Quite a following.
When you ride a k1200 GT you get heads to turn and watch you ride by, its impressive.
I am going to enjoy the ultimate sport tourer.
I live in southern Indiana along the Ohio River. So there are lots of Twisty paved roads to cruise on.
Oh not like the mountains in Europe, but one must practice on the small stuff before going Big.
Burke Jones
Mfire1
"Smooth to Ride"

[Bernardo]

Hello Burke !

Welcome to the forum, it's really great!!