For 2013, BMW kills the best R12R colors

[websterize]

"From model year 2013 the BMW R 1200 R is available in the following new paint finishes:
Montego blue metallic
Magnesium beige metallic
 
The paint finishes Red apple metallic and Smoke grey metallic are no longer available."

Beige instead of smoke grey metallic? That ain't right.
 

[dcameron]

Yes it's alright. It means my Smoke Grey Metallic bike is more unique.

[Woland]

Without having seen it I must say that beige sounds less than exciting.

Still, black with pinstripe is the fastest

[jrvip1]

Check it out with a Google images search. Quite hideous IMHO. The blue's not so bad but beige - what were they thinking off?

[objectuser]

Looks better than I thought. Kind of golden. From the article here:

[objectuser]

The article also mentions that there could be a naked S1000RR, and the has spy shots of the R1250R.

It also seems to indicate that the K1300R will return to the US, which surprised me. There's no mention of a US "return", but it lists US pricing.

[Acpantera]

I went to the link, but the spie photos had been taken down. Any one have them to post?? The description sounds real interesting.

[Bamblys]

Hideous color and Bridgestone tires.
Sad

[Catchina]

Blue is the color I wanted...maybe I'll trade in my 2011 red for a 2013 blue.

[Snapping Twig]

Looks better than I thought. Kind of golden. From the article here:

Mmmm! I like!

The Monaco Blue is nice too.

Not sure I'd get the blue, but the beige is sweet.

I'm riding a Phantom Grey metallic matte (smoke grey) 2012 which is a unique and excellent color, so I'm not going to feel too much like changing.

Mine came with those exact tires - BT 021. So far I have 3450 miles on them and they hook up real nice and I have at least that many miles left in the rear, the front looks new still.

Not bad for OEM stock tires.

Getting PR-3's when the rear goes.

[objectuser]

I'm not a fan of gray on bikes (though my GS is gray ). I really prefer color on my vehicles. BMW is rather conservative in their colors, and really for good reason: more people buy those colors. Alas.

I guess it's always just a paint job away, but ...

[websterize]

The R12Rs new beige reminds me of the Mojave Brown pre-face lift bike that Motorrad auction a few years ago, to the save the children and to celebrate 40 years of manufacturing in Berlin. Think we saw the spokes for the first time on the R12R then, too.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/573/4920/ ... arity.aspx

Oh, dear. Motorrad moved the darkish grey from the R12R to the 1600GT.



And the auxiliary LEDs are now a factory option on the GT. Must ... not ... test ride.

[badbs101]

BMW has always tended to offer poor color choices IMO. I liked the smoke grey metallic and the black/white. The blue is not my thing and neither is the brown. Wonder if the black and white classic is still available? No mention.

[badbs101]

The article also mentions that there could be a naked S1000RR, and the has spy shots of the R1250R.

It also seems to indicate that the K1300R will return to the US, which surprised me. There's no mention of a US "return", but it lists US pricing.

You can do a google search and find several foreign sites that still have fuzzy pics. The R1250R looks more like a street fighter. Not as graceful looking and less practical than our current bike. Glad I got mine when I did as it looks less attractive and the cylinders stick out even farther. BMW seems to be taking a page from the offer less motorcycle for the same price book. The front fork telelever is trimmed down, read more flexible but cheaper to build, and the rear end is more abbreviated, read less functional for a passenger or luggage and cheaper to build. Are they going with a cheaper tire too? Build the brand and then live off the name for profits. Sigh. Of course their going to tout the telelever as lighter and more responsive but the last time they trimmed it down, Cycle World noted that it had more flex.

I'm guessing the price will of course go up. Harley has done the same thing by stripping down bikes and shortening fenders, using less chrome and flat black paint. The Harley bikes can look better if you like the dark minimal look but there is no price reduction for the fact that you're getting less bike.

[Acpantera]

Yeah, I have seen the fuzzy pics of the elegid next roadster. Looks like a test mule. Seems to have the same cam head but the oil cooler has been relocated. The front suspension could be just an usd fork and it appears to have radial mount brakes too. On another note, the new colors are not that bad at all. The beige looks like a nice shade of gold in other pics. Still keeping my fingers crossed for something stellar to replace my trusty 07 R12R.

[dcameron]

Hideous color and Bridgestone tires.
Sad

I'm on my 2nd set of Bridgestone tires. Bike came with BT 021's and barely got 6K - replaced with BT 023's , per manufacturer, which are supposed get better mileage. I'm very pleased with them. Good grip provides confidence when cornering tight twsties. I was somewhat reluctant with the Bridgestone's, at first, having good experience with Conti Road Attack's on my 1150. But, note that all of the GP Moto racers use Bridgestones. There must be a reason for guys like Biaggi & Valentino who ride their bikes to the limit to use them.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Bridgestone other than they came on my 1200 when I bought it and I have been very satisfied with their performance.

[Bamblys]

My Yamaha came with Bridgestones, worst tires I've ever had. Don't remember the model name, just know they were very slippery. I don't think that bridgestone sells the same tire to consumers as they put on moto gp bikes. I guess I just lost any confidence in the brand.
My R12R came with Metzeler. So far i love it got 6500 miles on them. I'll probably put another 2-3K more.

[ammolab]

Never a fan of conservative colors on performance autos or motorcycles so I would have to pass on the Metallic tan but I could live with the Blue.

Glad I got the RED when I had a chance!

[Don C]

I went to the link, but the spie photos had been taken down. Any one have them to post?? The description sounds real interesting.

Here's the link to the spy photos. Note that the motorcycle.com story doesn't mention the classic version of the R1200R. It could be that it's being replaced by this low rider style bike next year.
http://www.motorradonline.de/news/motor ... ter/414098

[Woland]

Oh, dear. Motorrad moved the darkish grey from the R12R to the 1600GT.



And the auxiliary LEDs are now a factory option on the GT. Must ... not ... test ride.

It's not my kind of bike but I do get a weird craving when I look at that pic. Not test riding does indeed seem like a good idea.