Hi everyone,

I currently hava a K100RS. I do enjoy the bike and one-up it's great. However, two-up is not too comfy either for me or my passenger as neither of us are small, around 110Kgs each! Another issue with the RS is the fairing, I'd have preferred a K100RT/LT but they are not easy to find. For that matter the RS is not that easy either!

Well, I saw a K1200LT for sale the other day, not a common occurence either, and went to have a closer inspection. Obviously they are larger than the original Ks but does anyone have any information they could share with me about these bikes?

I currently ride about 150KM a day so I do need a comfy bike that wil carry waterproofs, laptop and other odds and ends easily.


Thanks in advance, Martin

I know a few who ride them and I don't ever recall any complaints about then except that it is difficult to get off them and not go for one last ride for the day.

One in particular has over 250,000k on it and runs as sweet as new.

I was once passed by a mate who rides a K1200LT, at a track day at our local road course, on the inside of a corner and he pulled a small wheelie as we exited the corner and away he went, knee down for the next curve, footboards touching down. At the next stop he wore a smile a mile wide. While I can't say that the K1200LT is an ideal race bike I can say that in capable hands it is a fine machine with its Telelever and Paralever suspension, ample power and copious amount of luggage space. My mate is a club racer at the weekend and a madman in general, so he can turn any bike into a weapon. He's removed the topbox (too much weight up high, he says) and uses the lowest windscreen option, and tours all round his country in comfort and style. His even has the electric switch to operate the starter in reverse for backing the heavy beast up in tight parking situations when necessary. For two-up touring I would own one.

A few years back the boss asked me to take his 2004 K200LT home for the weekend so I could put a few more miles on it. He wanted to ride it to the national dealer meeting several states away and nearly needed two new tyres and a service, so my taking it home would rack up the required mileage and wear the tyres sufficiently to enable him to have these two items done and ready for his long ride. I was usually riding a K1200S and had the notion that this would be fun but perhaps a bit of an effort. I accepted the challenge.

That weekend my girlfriend arrived by train and we spent the next three days touring the Cascade Mountains of central Washington state on the LT. We camped under the stars, cooked over fires, and rode along the pine-covered mountain passes at speeds and in comfort that surprised me. All the while we had Bob Marley and other sweet tunes to accompany us on the built-in speakers and in our headsets, as we desired. I came away thinking that for a big girl, she can really dance, and I wasn't talking about my girlfriend. I'd own one, sans topbox.

WhooooHooooo, now I reckon I'm just the one to tell ya 'bout the K12, 'cause I just went to Qld to get me hands on one of them big suckers 'bout 10 weeks ago. I had my 1988 K100RT for 5 years after buying it in a run down condition as our entry level toring bike. What a fantastic bike she was too, fully loaded with my wife and me, 2 panniers and a 52 litre Givi top case, unstoppable, and used exactly, and I mean EXACTLY the same amont of fuel as my mate's 2010 Harley Electraglide whenever we toured.

But, we decided to go for a little more comfort and checked 'em out on Bikepoint (Aus) and 1 jumped right out at me, a 2005 with 13,000 K's on the clock and absolutely immaculate. Saw it on the Sunday, phoned, discussed with wife, phoned again, got a cheap airfare to Noosa, done deal by the Thursday, as they say, he who hesitates is cactus !

Rode the K12 from Noosa to Melbourne in 2 days, just under 2000 Km's total, wow, you can ride those things all day every day and you'll still smile when you stop. I can see only 1 fault with mine - the boot should be designed to open sideways like the Harleys, far more convenient. Other than that, I'd advise you to go for models later than 2004 because of uprated engine output, better head light, different dash display and the latest generation (EVO) integrated braking system, which is absolutely awsome stopping power !

Just remember though, these things weigh 380 Kg's and are easily dropped in the driveway. For more info checkout (google) BMWLT, a very good forum for the K12's. By the way, testament to how good the K100RT is, I sold mine in Tasmania in a week, and it was winter, try that with the Jappers. Long live the mighty K !!!

Now you've got me started,....... the electric/hydraulic centre stand is no gimmick, just pull up, select neutral, hands off the brakes and press the button - up she goes, 2 up and fully laden, wicked !

And the reverse feature is great for getting into uphill parking spots. And the stereo in fantastic, just piss off the 6 stacker to gain extra space in the RH side pannier. But my single favourite feature when riding is the cruise control, never will I be without it again, fantastic ! I could go on and on, but I'd sound anal, probably already do, but I love this bike,................ or hadn't you noticed.

Remember, there are only 2 types of riders, those who ride BMW's and those who wish they did.

lol ... hmmm



i can see some inventors minds ticking over real hard dennis



giggles



must be awesome mate .......youll have to post for us huh ?

Lovely bike. Just a bit too much weight for me.
Seem to remember a few of the earlier ones had final drive problems.
Have also read that the clutch slave cylinder can leak onto the clutch. Some owners drill a small hole at the bottom of the clutch housing to prevent fluid writing of the clutch itself as well as letting the owner know there is a problem.
Wouldn't put me off though.
Dennis, is the additional weight much harder to handle compared to the K100?

I liked the fact that the rider's seat is so much lower than a standard K100/K1100 series, cut to allow your legs to drop to the ground more easily, and adjustable too. The 'bars reach back to greet the rider and have a natural bend to them. The weight as you straddle the bike isn't heavy-feeling in any but shuffling, low speed car park manoeuvres. At 174cm (5'9") tall and with an 82cm (32") inseam I am comfortably foot-down, where as on my K100 I am toes-down only. She's not a ballerina but more like a nimble, flying Dumbo once underway, the weight disappearing rapidly. As I've said, she's a big girl, but she can dance. I touched a board down only in extreme cornering in the mountains and realised I could crank up the back end's pre-load with the under-seat knob, and had no more issues. The later model, with the highbeam under the chin of the fairing nose, got a 108hp motor while the earlier models were 'only' 100hp. The torque peak is up there with the cow that jumped over the moon, top gear rolls on a cinch, even with a pillion.

The final drive 'issue' was with the heavier-laden K1200LT, some R1150RT and R1150GS models as well. It came down to weight carried out the back and hard use, the bearing letting go catastrophically, and usually out on the Nullie or some Nevada two-lane state highway near Area 51. The weeping clutch slave was not uncommon on all of the 1150 series and the later K's too. Probably the most common issue was the starter relay fusing itself together and the starter continuing to operate, but an upgrade kit was on offer after about 2001. I'm not certain of the production change, and the kit retrofits to the first models of K1200RS/LT. It's a reach to get to it, not something you'd wanna do by the side of a busy motorway, the acres of plastic and the tank are coming off.

The extra weight really increases the risk of dropping the big girl in the driveway I'm afraid. To the point where I bought a new pair of Rossi boots (Ozzie made) which have polyeurethane soles like work boots and are very grippy. But I must admit, I dropped the K100Rt 3 times, I kid you not, and each time I was stationary ! My foot slipped ever time, twice on gravel and once on pine needles.

Darren is right, the bars come back to meet you and have a natural bend to them and they are quite wide, more like Harley drag bars, or, as a mate said, like my bloody jet ski ! Engine is stated as 116 hp and extremely smooth. I've only taken it to about 6000 rpm a couple of times (not in top gear) and I must say it loves being above 5000 revs, but you're really riding in a spirited mode rather than cruising. Handling is fantastic but she can't go over as far as the RT, so that needs to be allowed for or one can run out of road in the tight stuff. So the golden rule is, make every move deliberate when moving slowly and parking to avoid what could be a costly and embarrasing moment. As I stated though, I love the bike, as does my wife, she finds it sooo comfortable, loves the heated seat and the stereo, everything from Willy Nelson to Johnny Cash to Geroge Thorougood, sort of a high speed juke box really.

That's right, the engines were uprated to 116hp, not 108, and the starter relay upgrade occurred from 6/2001 on.

"Retrofit starter relay module, from 06/2001, BMW part number 61 35 7 663 945, US$203.57"

it was love at first sight for me when i saw the first picture of a 1200LT. i finally justified buying a used '99 in 2002 with only 25k on it. what an excellent motorcycle it was! just sold it in 2009 with 85k. probably wouldn't have sold it but i was moving from wisconsin to nevada and couldn't make room for all the toys (the LT and 5 others). slowly but surely rebuilding a collection here, but that's a whole other story. since the '99 was the first year for the LT (at least in the states), there were a couple of issues with it for me. the final drive bearing went out @ about 60k (miles). i never pulled a trailer with it, and, in fact, most of the miles were put on "solo", so i think it is a design flaw with them...espec with the early ones. the sound system started getting a bit unpredictable after i had it for a couple of years. i never really worried about it, because i didn't use it much anyway. maybe that's partially why it was tempermental (lack of use).the bike is a "handful" for us short people (29" inseam) and it did fall over a couple of times when i was turning it in the driveway. but at speed, that bike was sooo stable and it really did handle well, considering its "heft". i had the "custom" which was the top o' the line in '99. it had a very comfy seat and the seat and grip heaters still worked well when i sold it, as did the speed control, electric windscreen, and trip computer. the only "minor" irritation was the sound system...its sound quality was excellent, but reliability was not the best. i'm sure the new ones have major improvements in that area. gas mileage was excellent...i could get 50-51 miles per gallon with the cruise on at an indicated 65 mph. that is impressive! if i were getting another (in my plan, eventually), i would definitely get a 2005 or newer. the electric centerstand, improved lighting, and more horsepower are worth it. although, it's easier to put on the centerstand than my '85 k100rs!

I have an 01 great bike. No problems, top heavy, likes to take power naps in the parking lot, rides on rails at speed.
Weather protection is great although it is hot as heck in texas now..
The starter power relay problem up above...what is the real deal with that is usually it will stick if the battery is weak. Thats why the contacts weld themselves closed . So keep the battery charged up..
Oh and ride it like ya stole it.
Also do not put tires not designated for that particular year of bike. It does require the weight rating. Sounds easy.. But ive seen riders that put the wrong tire on. And that girl is heavy.. She will run with some pretty fast company, but she is heavy. And she looks good doing it too.

It's true that there are very specific tyres for the K1200LT. Even the mighty Metzeler ME880 Marathon has a load rating all its own for the K. Bridgestone do a radial and a non-radial BT020 for it. But not many other companies recognise the extra-heavy load rating and the handling can be downright evil with the wrong tyres.

The relay was a problem, and low battery voltage caused it, but the new design is an improvement and less likely to fuse itself at an inopportune time, and they all got the upgrade after that month/year.

After a whole heap of final drive failures BMW quietly changed the design of the main bearing back there and did not, as is usual, change the part number. We at the dealerships had to pull each bearing out of the box as it came in to our stock and check to see if it was the newer design. If I remember right, the number of balls was reduced within the size of the cage. Bigger balls seemed to solve that problem. Perhaps there's a lesson there for all of us.

A lesson indeed mate!

OG

TWB I'll let my sister know that next time I talk to her....

I have taken the plunge and bought a Y2K K1200LT. She's got almost 100K KMs but is very good condition and dealer serviced up to 70K KMs. In fact, she is in better condition and the other two I saw which had lower KMs but looked far older despite one being the same year and the other two years younger.



The bike is currently in the workshop having ALL the electrics checked over since the statrter relay was becoming iffy. In fact the seller has also put a battery on her as a precaution.



Hopefully, I shall take charge of her on Tuesday.

Martin, there is a starter relay upgrade starting with mid-2001 K1200LT/RS which retrofits back to '97. Get it changed lest you want welded together starter relay contacts and three hours to get to it for questionable repairs at the roadside. A fair bit has been written about that particular problem with the early K12 series machines, see above as well. This is the part number: 61 35 7 663 945, retrofit starter relay module from 5/2001. It's number 1 in the image. Enjoy that fine machine!

Hi everyone,

I did quite a lot of research before taking the plunge and actually buying a K1200lT. They aren't common in Brazil so that limits the choice a bit. However, I ended up seeing 4 bikes, with 40 K kms, 56K Kms, 75K Kms and 98K kms. All in a 1999 - 2002 range. As I'm quite used to buying older vehicles and I actually give preference to overall condition rather than KMs. Surprisingly I found the newer and lower KM bikes quite scruffy in comparison to the one I ended up buying. I actually went for the 1999/2000 bike with 98K Kms on her. She has dealer service history up to 60K, full tool kit, all the manuals and in superb condition. Again, that saying "Buy the best you can afford" was also in mind as I did buy the second most expensive of the four. The priciest had only 40K on the odometer but it's condition said otherwise! As I bought the bike though a multi-brand dealer so I did get some piece of mind, the from brake lines were swapped for aeroquips as the originals were a little tired. The electrics had a full service, I'm just waiting for the new flasher unit to be delivered.

On the whole, I'm very pleased with the bike. She is far lighter on fuel than my K100 even though I still ride at the same speeds which came as a huge surprise, it must be down to superior aerodymanics and the OD top gear. I also enjoy the fact that my pillion doesn't slide forwards when braking, in fact, when riding the K1200LT with or without a pillion she behaves the same. I got cought in the rain yesterday, obviously I hadn't taken my waterproofs! Anyway, weather protection is really impressive, far better than on the RS.

When going from the K1200 to the K100 it's almost impossible to say that they are 'relatives' the K12 is a two-wheeled car. Every time I've changed from one BMW to another I've been amazed how the newer model is always far more advanced than the prior model. Again, I'm very pleased I took the plunge and got this bike.

wow ....good on you martin ...enjoy !!!

but dont forget the place where everything ..including standards started ...the k was an eye opening standards phenomena