I kinda miss the BMW cruiser

[yjleesvrr]

While I was not a huge fan of it, I wish BMW kept making the boxer cruiser. With the new boxer engine being a high output (in terms of HP) engine and a smooth one at that, I know the character of the new engine was out of character with what most people associate with a cruiser. Still, BMW offered a unique alternative to all the Harley wannabes that currently crowd the market.

[DJ Downunder]

I liked it also...expecialy after James Bond rode one..

DJ

[mad1150]

I was seriously considering one, till I found this board.

Once I started reading ride reports and help threads, I realized the flexibility of R1150R and the amount of info available for it. Needless to say the Beak pecked me with some kind of addictive voodoo and I haven't looked back.

But, the 1200C was one unique lookin' cruiser, and that's part of the reason I like the BMW's, nothing else looks like a BMW, except another BMW, and you don't see them on every corner!

[machew01]

I rode one once and was surprised at how much I liked it.

mac

[R4R&R]

Hey Mac - when you ride the cruiser, did you notice and differences from the rear-end since they don't have the paralever suspension?

I know it wasn't a big seller - probably lots of people that 'liked' them but not enough to buy them. I kind of work with a guy that has one and he's also in the local club. He's having back issues and seriously considering a GS now. He thinks the relaxed seating position on the cruiser has something to do with his back problems.

[Boxer]

That was one of the ugliest motorcycles I have ever seen. I think that alone was enough to doom the model from the outset. It could run like the bee's knees but if it's ugly, people won't go for it.

There are two or three that I know of in our Georgia club. One is owned by a lady who got it because she's vertically challenged. The other two are guys and have no excuse, other than they lack an appropriate gene controlling aesthetic values.

If I had been given one for free, I think I would have immediately traded it for a Roadster with a beak. The beak is where it's at my friends. Don't let anyone tell you different.

BMW and Cruiser just don't mix. It's like trying to make a chocolate carrot. It may taste just like chocolate but who wants to eat something sweet that looks like a carrot?

Oh well. Maybe those German geniuses can come up with another cruiser style beemer similar to the one custom built online here a year or so ago. Now that was a piece of art.

[sjbmw]

I think if they used the 130+ hp K motor the Cruiser would have sold and survived.

[OU812]

That is the first BMW twin I wanted. Just could not come up with the cash at the time. Least I got my R!

[mcooperstein]

I'm still interested in the BMW cruiser for the wife. It's really the only bike BMW made for vertically challenged people...of which my wifes 5'7" stature qualifies!

[machew01]

I did not notice anything about the rear suspension, but I didn't stress the cruiser in any way. However, I think the cruiser does very well what it was designed to do. At first, I did find the footpegs difficult to locate. I just don't have cruiser legs.

mac

[Beemeridian]

updated

[sweatmark]

Different strokes for different folks.

Boxer's comments notwithstanding, the Better Half and I love the BMW Cruiser design. We bought one, '98 classic black & silver/chrome, ostensibly as my wife's 1st bike, but got her an R1100R instead for that 1st season.

The Cruiser is a thing of beauty - many of the design features that we cherish on our Roadsters & Rocksters are prominently featured on the R1200C: boxer motor, Telelever, single-sided rear suspension. The fit and finish of the Cruiser is superior to the R1150R variants, perhaps because so much of the bike is visible. Example: compare the rear subframe of Cruiser and R1150R/GS, and the fitment of the instrument modules.

And where the sun doesn't shine, under that big Cruiser fuel tank, there's more stuff carefully crammed in a small space - especially with ABS - than you'd think possible.

In a world of lookalike cruisers, BMW's offering was distinctly different. And the thing rides great. Visceral and refined at the same time. Best transmission of the 5 BMW oilheads I've owned.

My brother rides it now, a former H-D rider daring to be different, 6'2" guy who kicks out with feet on Elf pegs (they mount INSIDE the valve covers), gets more comments from folks than when he rode a Road Glide or crotch rocket.

Mark
Oregon

[yjleesvrr]

The version I liked the best was the R1200C Euro. It had regular handlebars designed for leverage for handling purposes and IMO nice lines. Ape hangers just didn't look right on it.

[iowabeakster]

It may have been a fine cruiser. It was interesting. It was unique. It may have been engineered exquisitely. It was still the ugliest cruiser I have seen. What else are cruisers for, except to be pretty?

I can understand an ugly sport bike. I can understand an ugly tour bike. If that was BMW's attempt at snatching a bit of the cruiser market, they should better understand what people are looking for in cruisers.

Chrome, Flaming paint jobs, loud pipes, and a genuine Harley Logo.

I'm not a big Harley fan. I am not a hater either. They look right! The V-twin is the motor that just looks ideal sitting under a gas tank.

[Boxer]

[Biff's R]

My Dad had a Phoenix model like that and he liked it. Said it was pretty fun on the backroads, but limited on the top end.

Unfortunately he decided to stop trailering two bikes across the country twice a year and traded the R1200C in on a second RT. One for each side of the country.

[Arbee]

At least the oil coolers dont look like an afterthought
like my R1100R does.
Where the admirer is distinctly challenged by the designers last minute addition, or so it seems.

[Beemeridian]

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