10 Reasons Why The BMW K 1200 S Was A Fun Sports Tourer

BMW has been producing motorcycles for one hundred years now. In these years, the Motorrad (German for motorcycles) part of the company alone has become a global powerhouse. It has won racing championships, developed advanced technologies, and even birthed a new segment of motorcycle riding.

Aside from these accolades, BMW has released several groundbreaking models into the world. It hadn’t always translated to success, but more often than not, it did. Such was the case with the K 1200 S, a sports touring bike produced from 2004 to 2008. Though the bikemaker is primarily known for its successful line of adventure bikes (like the flagship R 1300 GS) and flashy sports bikes (the M 1000 RR halo bike), the reputation of the K 1200 S has only grown in recent times. That’s what we’re focusing on today, by listing 10 reasons the 1200 S was a fun sports tourer.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from BMW Motorrad and other authoritative sources, including Motorcyclenews.com and Motorcycle.com.

10 BMW’s Updated In-Line Four Was A Winner

Plenty of manufacturers are known for cultivating and evolving a specific engine into a multitude of bikes. Triumph has the famous triple down-scaled and up-scaled depending on the motorcycle. Ducati is known for its Desmo-loaded V4 and V2 engines. Harley-Davidson all but cornered the cruiser market with their massive V-twins.

For the longest time, BMW had stuck with the Boxer (or flat) longitudinal twin. Its unique architecture can still be seen on modern bikes like the BMW R 1300 GS. But for the K 1200 S, BMW elected to break tradition and manifest a liquid-cooled inline-four that would compete with the best Japanese bikes. And if the reviews of the time are anything to go by, BMW certainly hit the ball out of the park.

Engine Specifications

Source: BMW Motorrad

9 Performance On Par With Modern Sports Bikes

Though the bike was a little heavier than its Japanese competitors, its performance figures certainly made that extra weight an afterthought. With 165 horsepower and 96 pound-feet of torque, the K 1200 S was able to achieve a respectable top speed of 170 miles per hour. In comparison, the Yamaha R1 at the time could do 186 miles per hour.

Sure, the R1 was 16 miles per hour faster. But at those speeds, and considering the size of the K 1200 S, are you really going to complain? Chances are, if you’re using the K 1200 S for sports touring, you’ll never go anywhere near those speeds, anyway. But the fact that it is capable of it, makes this a potent bike to own, even today.

Top Speed and Performance

Source: Motorcyclenews.com

8 Limited Upkeep With Shaft Drive

There are several types of final drive methods available, depending on the make and model of the motorcycle. Some manufacturers stick with chains, as they’re simple, cheap, and fairly common. Others, like the Yamaha Bolt, will utilize a belt drive. Though BMW has used both belts and chains, they’ve also utilized the more complicated shaft drive. The main reason, despite their higher cost, is that they simply last longer and need much less maintenance. This helped make touring on the K 1200 S worry-free.

7 Bigger Gas Tank Meant Long Hours In The Saddle

We’re not going sit here and pretend that a 5-gallon tank is something revolutionary on a motorcycle. Modern adventure bike fuel tanks, for example, can easily exceed that size. But since the BMW K 1200 S was meant for chewing up concrete, the tank capacity ensured a total range of over 200 miles without needing to stop for a fill-up. Besides, the impressive claimed 49.4 miles per gallon fuel economy made matters sweeter. And the longer you were in the saddle, the more fun you were going to have.

6 Comfortable For All-Day Riding

While we’re on the subject of saddles, BMW made sure the K 1200 S was just as comfortable as it was fast, knowing it was going to be used for sports touring. The clip-on style handlebars weren’t so aggressive as to make your wrists hurt after an hour of riding. The stepped seat was narrow in the front, plush, and comfortable. And the pegs, while placed in a sporty position, were a little lower and forward than on a typical sports bike. BMW didn’t want to compromise the athleticism of the K 1200 S, but these little tweaks helped make the bike more practical and distinguishable from its competition.

5 Plush Electronic Suspension

Where the K 1200 S really shows its sports touring design is in the electronically adjustable suspension: an optional feature called the Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA). It came with nine settings and allowed the rider to click between suspension settings without having to stop. The settings tightened the suspension based on the type of road or style of riding. And all of it was done with one dedicated button. So, regardless of whether you were on a winding mountain road or a straight highway, the suspension could be tuned with a single press of the button.

4 Power Windshield and Heated Grips

The comfort features didn’t end with the ergonomics, seat, and suspension. BMW outfitted the K 1200 S with an electronically adjustable windshield, too. Anyone who’s ever taken a naked bik (without a windshield) on a spirited ride will tell you how exhausting the wind beating against your body can be. On the K 1200 S, you could adjust the screen on the fly, without taking your hands off the handlebars. That is an extremely useful feature that continues to be earmarked for premium bikes only, even to this day.

And if you knew that your touring would take you through inclement weather, BMW had optional heated grips available for the bike. Much like with the electronically controlled windshield, those of us who have experienced heated grips on our travels universally love the feature. And BMW was smart enough to offer it. Yes, we would’ve loved if it was included, but hey, it’s a feature that might not be valid for tropical places. So the optional nature makes more sense.

3 Advanced (For Its Time) On-Board Computer

Today’s motorcycles come in all varieties of smarts. Some have basic brains that power the barest of essentials (if any at all). Others need to be more powerful, so they can handle the various complex technologies included on the bike. Ducati’s Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour is one such bike, deploying its high-end radar technology.

The BMW K 1200 S was limited, in that sense, as it didn’t have too many complex features. The early on-board computer replaced the standard BMW Tripmaster button. It was used to view the trip meter, clock, residual range, average speed, average consumption, oil level, and ambient temperature. It also controlled the heated grips, to ensure that the battery wouldn’t drain past what was needed to start the bike. If that doesn’t sound special in any way, you have to remember that this bike came out twenty years ago, when display technology didn’t exist as we know it today. We also can’t fault the triple-pod instrument cluster (one for tachometer, one for speed, and an LCD for everything else).

2 Unique “Duolever” Front Suspension

To make the bike handle good, BMW did away with a more traditional fork structure for the front suspension. In came the Duolever setup (done by Norman Hossack) that utilized a monoshock in the front. It made the front suspension lower, stronger, lighter, and more maneuverable. If you’re not familiar with Norman Hossack, he was an engineer and inventor responsible for the creation of the Hossack suspension system, among many other things. BMW had featured his designs on several bikes, including the K 1200 S.

1 Classy Design Looks Great Even Today

Out of all the motorcycle styles, sports bikes seem to age the worst (depending on the era). Maybe it’s because of the busy bodywork and fairings. Or maybe it’s the wacky color schemes that are associated with certain decades (we’re looking at you, 1980s!). When compared to a vintage Triumph Bonneville or Harley Sportster, an average sports bike from the 1990s (for example) doesn’t seem to have the same ageless beauty to it.

Of course, that kind of thinking is subjective, but with that in mind, certain aspects of the K 1200 S can be considered outdated by today’s standards. The strangely shaped headlight, the hideously large exhaust, and the tail end of the bike have all gone out of style since the mid-2000s. But when considered as a cohesive unit, the K 1200 S seems to have aged better than its contemporaries. Its uncluttered, clean yet flashy paint scheme, classic silhouette, and streamlined body don’t look too out of place with modern bikes. And surely not something from decades ago. Only time will tell if this will remain to be true. But for now, the K 1200 S is still very much a viable option if you’re looking for a fun sports tourer. Just make sure you find a clean used example.