THE ADVENTURES WITH A BMW K1200LT

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Vis Arend

Bachelor Dog
Joined
Nov 14, 2010
Messages
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Location
King William's Town
Bike
Honda CRF-250 Rally
I will use this thread to post all our rides and trips with our newly acquired 2006 BMW K1200LT. 

A short explanation for this purchase of the LT.  The thinking behind it was to visit family and friends here in SA as well as in Nam.  We can visit them on short notice, we will still be on two wheels, it should be a quick ride and the cost on fuel will at least be 3 times less than with the cage.

Our current bikes were my wife's CRF250L and my CRF250 Rallye and then the BMW 1200GSA with a sidecar.  The two 250's is way to slow for long trips and we prefer them rather on gravel and all the back roads instead of the highways.  The sidecar is suitable but much slower than the LT and heavier on fuel than the LT.  The sidecar is great for touring, gravel as well as tar, but you need time. 

So, this came up,
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=249780.0

I was more on the lookout for a RT, but seeing this add we decided on the purchase as the price was right, the bike looked good and the previous owner assured me the bike was still in good nick, considering the year model of the bike.  Once again the thinking was, should there be any niggles on the bike, another R30/R40K over and above the purchase price, should short that out and then we had an almost new bike for around R100K. 

So, the deal was done and less than a week before my knee replacement I flew up to Gauteng and fetched the bike. 
My 1st impression when I got on the bike is that we made a big mistake.  :eek7: :patch:  The bike was huge and felt very very heavy. 
Now remember, I had to ride/wrestle this huge machine from a suburb somewhere in Gauteng, negotiating through the traffic all around me, onto the highway and then eventually on the road to King William’s Town.  :eek7: 
The 1st three/four corners were a nightmare, then I realized, just ride the damn thing like any other bike, don't fight it, use the weight and use the throttle.  All of a sudden all came together, and I started to enjoy the ride.
Once on the highway, even with heavy traffic around, it was a breeze, the bike is super comfy and smooth, and she eats the kilometre’s without any sweat.

My 1st stop was just before Grasmere Plazza.  Picture attached. 
Here I, with a huge smile on my face, phoned the wife and told her I am on the road and should see soon. 

The ride down, roughly 900 odd km, was just so easy with this machine.  I used the time to familiarize myself with all the gadgets on the bike.  Cruise control, radio playing while riding as well as the CD.  Adjusting the screen up and down depending on the weather and wind and plenty more.
This thing rides itself, you must just keep her on the road.  I am a smoker and stop roughly every 45min to 60min for a smoke break.  With this bike I light my cigarette while riding and carry-on smoking, as if you sitting in a car, so need to stop.  Must say, you save plenty of riding time. 

I stopped at the house, took the wife for a short ride and came back.  I did not feel tired at all.  The ride down felt more comfy than with my vehicle. 

Overall, we were happy with the purchase.  There were here and there some scratches and chip marks, nothing serious, but it was there, and we wanted it fixed. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhkZL3mNGYE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGkLJLfDGrQ
 

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