Don't.

Run.

Run quickly.

 

My local dealer has a 2005 K1200S with 24K miles. They are asking $5299.

I was on the Facebook K1200 group and they told me that the ABS is probably not working and the clutch will probably need replaced. I also had comments about the tranny and fuel level indicators having issues.

I have not gone to the dealer to look at the bike and test ride it.

FYI, I own a 1985 K100RS for over 30 years and I’ve done all the maintenance myself (except for fixing a clunky transmission that was always going into false neutrals). So I don’t mine working on a bike. I don’t want buy a bike that has issues unless the price is right.

If everything is working like the ABS and they can provide a service history, is $5299 a fair price?
If the ABS is not working (which is my guess), what is a fair price?

I also had people comment that I should wait for K1300S. I’m in no rush to purchase the bike.

In, addition, if anyone has any opinions on this bike, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

No idea why you shouldn't buy it if you like what you see and if it rides well
You evidently have experience with the brand/these types of bikes. So you could most likely quickly get an idea of if you are buying a great bike at a bargain or a handgrenade with issues. If it rides flawlessly then why not buy it?
IF not or if it just does not tickly your fancy then surely waiting for a K1300 (if thats in your budget) would be a pretty wise move.

 

Test rode k1200s with a 1000 miles on it in 05 a dealer demo and the 06 was no better, the 07 and on is just a better all round bike BMW we’re learning and I have had my 07 R Sport years, but the bike you really need is a 1300.

 

Just to offer different points of view
I testrode a K1300 before buying my K1200R
The 1300 i rode had significantly worse brakes (my 06 K12R has incredible brakes, and i am comming from bikes like the VFR 1200, GSX-S1000, VFR 800, Tracer 900 etc)
The engine felt literally the same and the gearbox if any was more tight and felt more clunky than my 06 K12.
Quickshifter was dope however and i liked the extra saftey net in general.
Suspension / chassis wise i cant tell if the K13 is better, they are both an excellent mix of sport and comfort.
Point being that you can 100% get a very good early K12 but it demands a lot more from you as a buyer. (To know if the bike you are buying is solid)
And you can 100% also get a bad K13. Also know that the improvements made over time are very much incremental.
If in doubt buy a later gen, but do not believe the nonsense that "all pre 2007 K12's are lemons"

 

If you are leaning toward buying this, read all the threads about each of the suspected problems you have mentioned to get some idea about how much you will actually get to enjoy the cycle during the first year while you fix the problems.

 

No idea why he couldn't just buy a bike and enjoy it? If everything checks out that is.
Assuming you buy one with the common issues solved (recalls + the things that should have been recalled lol) you are fine.
The K12 bikes are more raw and feel more mechanical and less "techy". Some dig that, others dont.
No reason to pass on the bike because of hypothetical issues in my opinion, these are fantastic machines. With that said IF it is not in great condition or if its uncertian whether or not the previous owner has tacked the multitude of issues these bikes faced when they were new, i'd steer clear too. Basically do your due diligence.

 

The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards taking a pass on this bike. I might go out there and test ride it and give them a lowball offer. I’m sure they’ll deny my offer because they could probably find somebody who will pay more.

 

A good description Sunde. I ride my mates k13 and it feels more refined than my k12 but that does not mean the k12 is unpleasant. As I’ve said so many times - I like the k12 so much that I haven’t bothered ‘upgrading’ to the k13

 

I'm with Sunde.Latest this and that doesn't solve the problem.I am 60 something and after my first bike which was a 1966 Matchless 250cc I then went on to witness the Japanese revolution of reliability which only Bmw flat twins could match but at the time no-one could afford one.So me and my mates ,all on limited budgets learnt how to maintain our leaky steeds to get too 'that' mega rock concert at the weekend and sleep in a field !Years on I presently own three Bmw's,two of them "bricks".The most recent is a (04) K1200rs with 74,000Km bought for 2,200 euros.Two keys, original tool kit and service history up-to 64,000km.This seems to be cheap compared too what i see you guys are paying in the USA.Most euro-riders swoon over the big BMW cross-over flat, especially the French&Italiens.This has puts a big dent in 'their' national motorcycle industry and made the K's incredibly cheap.So when you consider the design evolution & technology that these machines have under gone this is a great motorcycle.Mine is smooth and responsive and handles with ease most situations I experience in the French Alps.Sure there will always be issues but 'Bricks' are not difficult to work on ,so get a lifting platform and save yourself some money.Nothing more satisfying than fixing it yourself.....or buy a Honda Transalp.

 

Only 60….I wish 😄

 

I was 60 once (11 years ago).

 

Me too, youngster. 15 years ago.

 

Geez...One-upmanship at it's finest. Pretty soon we'll be comparing knee and hip replacements, rheumatism pains, and the like...😂

 

Here we go! Back in '67, I......never mind. 😴

 

My liver ain't what it use to be either but it's not due to riding bikes...unless drinking to drown my sorrows because of the high repair costs has something to do with it....nah.

 

Snook,

Its a way subjective type of question...... you ready to Overhaul it, and put your heart and soul into it? You got 10 G's lying around to invest in it?

You have to love riding this bike, and be absolutely Sick about Beemers...... If you have experience with the beloved K100, Great Machine, and you have been keeping up with BMW and the Geo politics, can see past all that and really enjoy working on motorcycles...... Do it!

Happy Hunting

 

Snook,

Its a way subjective type of question...... you ready to Overhaul it, and put your heart and soul into it? You got 10 G's lying around to invest in it?

You have to love riding this bike, and be absolutely Sick about Beemers...... If you have experience with the beloved K100, Great Machine, and you have been keeping up with BMW and the Geo politics, can see past all that and really enjoy working on motorcycles...... Do it!

Happy Hunting

Firstly, this comment is not aimed specifically at you Bradmiester, just FYI.
But why is there a tendency on this forum to paint a narrative around the 1200 series that you need to be some diehard lunatic with a bank full of gold before you even can CONSIDER owning one of these machines?
This isn't the first thread (at all) where this has happend.
Why?


Just to explain my confusion, as my personal experience is very far from this apocalyptic situation, my personal experience is this. Found a K1200R (2006) in good nick. Figured out what these bikes needs doing (largely on this forum, tho reading past the doom and gloom of some forum members)
Controlled that these fixes were carried out, bought the bike, and its doing great for me.

Why would i need to be sick about beemers, have experience with previous BMW's, need to "really enjoy working on bikes"? Its less complicated to own than many Hondas i'v owned lol.

Yes this bike is a case study in "keeping up with maintenance". But im sorry to say, that is indeed the case with basically ANY motorcycle from 2005-2008 that had over 160HP.

 

My local dealer has a 2005 K1200S with 24K miles. They are asking $5299.

I was on the Facebook K1200 group and they told me that the ABS is probably not working and the clutch will probably need replaced. I also had comments about the tranny and fuel level indicators having issues.

I have not gone to the dealer to look at the bike and test ride it.

FYI, I own a 1985 K100RS for over 30 years and I’ve done all the maintenance myself (except for fixing a clunky transmission that was always going into false neutrals). So I don’t mine working on a bike. I don’t want buy a bike that has issues unless the price is right.

If everything is working like the ABS and they can provide a service history, is $5299 a fair price?
If the ABS is not working (which is my guess), what is a fair price?

I also had people comment that I should wait for K1300S. I’m in no rush to purchase the bike.

In, addition, if anyone has any opinions on this bike, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

I have an excellent k1200s - new clutch, new brake discs, abs works great, all work done by A&S BMW in Roseville CA. Bike is in Santa Ynez CA, let me know if you want pics or any receipts for work. Age has caught up with me. Tony fjrtony@gmail.com

 

I love my 2005 BMW K1200S.

 

So, back to the OP, have you made a decision yet? Is the bike still available for you?

 

You can pick up a 5 year newer K1300S for the same money, sold my last one with 24K for $5,200 and picked up a 10K mile unit for $4,600. Either way, you're taking a big roll of the dice when it comes to unexpected issues. Some may never miss a beat, and others can turn into money-sucking nightmares. I was very fortunate with the first one, and quite unlucky with the second. It's no different than buying a 15-20 year old M car or AMG.

 

Maybe you are looking for evil intent where concern for you is the real motivation of the people responding.

A mechanical device is incapable of vindictive acts. It is what it is (despite my experiences with my Norton P11). Do your assessment of the cycle and buy what YOU are comfortable owning. I would like to see you get a cycle that you can enjoy whether you get as much enjoyment from doing the mechanical as much as you enjoy riding.

Whether you get this cycle or another, all here want you to enjoy the experience and share here what you learn to help others.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I want to emphasize every single issue I encountered is fixed in later years.

The bike is fantastic except for these inherent flaws. If a K1200S, not an '05.

 

Any dyno over 160 at the tire is either from a turbo bike(of which a handful exist), or complete made-up bullshit.

 

Could very well be but considering that a stock 2004 K1200S has 167.23 HP (123 kW) @ 10250 rpm, the dyno ticket that the owner was purporting to be for the bike, and the fact how it felt when I rode it, I'm gonna stick with what the man said.

And like Forrest Gump says, "That's all I have to say about that."

 

167 crank horsepower, not wheel. The K1300S dynos right around 153 at the tire and a claimed 175 at the crank.

Edit: Therefore, the 200 wheel horsepower dyno is complete bullshit, or the dyno was located 4 miles below the surface of the Earth.

 

I recently picked up 2005 BMW K1200S with 54000km. Its in rough shape, sat for a while, Project bike for me. I took of the fairings, cleaned the bike, real good. AIR Filters, were disgusting, did an oil change BMW 5W40 and BMW Oil filter, new Batt. Put in a bit of Sea Foam, got new gas 94Octane, since it sat for a while. It runs fine, idel is good, but do hear clutch noise / clutter, which my BWM Dealer told me its normal. Only issue is ESA Norm/Sport/Comf do not show up in display. I cleaned the left side ESA housing button, still nothing when i press the button or hold the button? though ride is good, response is good, pretty normal. Do have miss fires, may need plugs ? which i will do soon, take off RAD etc. i am thinking of getting MotoScan APP, see if miss fire is due to one plug / coil pack / ignition wire? miss fire can also be due to my after market exhaust Akrapovic ? not to sure. But i am very curious why i do not see ESA in display when i start the bike? any ideas? thank you. I am in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area, know of any Handy guys who work on the side, home garage? BMW is way to expensive.

 

I think you have to touch the sea toggle and then ESA shows up.
Check the Owners' manual.

 

Sturm und Drang is silly. The Japanese triples of the 70s testify to that.
As for a stock bike exceeding a makers output claims er ummmmmm. Nooooooo.
There is a formula for calculating BHP of a reciprocating piston engine we had to learn in ground school.
42 years have made me forget it but the interweb may have one buried neath the porn and cat videos.

 

You are correct, but.... Horsepower is just a mathematical function applied to Torque. Torque is unique to each engine type / build so a dyno is required.

 

I checked Owner's Manual
ESA settings, i never see ESA Comf, Sport , Norm, nothing? i am using this manual. ModelCode0591_USA_K1200S_Aug2005.pdf
I followed the steps, start ignition, press ESA 1, then should see current state? nothing happens, i even held it for 1min, nothing? I will get Motoscan app, see what it says? i believe it has calibration option for ESA. Unless you guys have any other suggestions?

 

sea toggle good lord. meant toggle switch. So yours has a single function switch? this was changed later the k1300 I have has a rocker switch. No matter it still should fill the display. I rarely use my ESA switch as the comfort mode is as much discomfort as I can stand and I've noted precious little if any performance difference on street pavement.

perhaps there is a delay built into the switch to avoid inadvertent suspension changes.
Following the manual instructions ign on etc hold the button for a measured number of seconds increasing time with each.

ALso is there any chance some previous owner put a used switch on with ESA? I mean do you see ESA suspension components?