In this video we talk a trip down memory lane and have a think about if I spec’d the BMW R1250R – Did I pick the right options – Is there anything I wish I specced?
A big thank you to my Friends at Webbs Motorcycles for supporting me. Webbs motorcycles is a fantastic shop offering a huge range of motorbikes, riding apparel and accessories. They have physical shops in Peterborough and Lincoln and fantastic online store. (Link Below)
https://webbsmotorcycles.co.uk
My Riding Jacket hanging up in the back ground in this video.
VENTI MENS IGNITION LEATHER JACKET BROWN
https://webbsmotorcycles.co.uk/venti-mens-ignition-leather-jacket-brown/
This is not my exact jacket but this is the newer version – super price and super performance. I think it’s an excellent jacket for the money 🙂
All videos are for mainly entertainment purposes. Although sometimes I may share my opinion or advice it is not to be relied upon. Please check manuals, other information sources, instructions and other things like those examples particularly from the manufacturer before making any decisions, buying anything, changing or fixing anything etc. Videos are highly edited for entertainments and ensure ridding safe and at a sensible speed and abide by the road legislation and rules.
Oh he there guys welcome back to the channel in today’s video I thought I’d do something a little bit different cuz it’s storming outside it’s rainy and horrible so so unfortunately not taking the bike out this weekend so I was thinking what can I do as a video and
Interesting enough I’ve just done 10,000 M on this bike had it for about 6 months but because I’ve ridden it so much I’ve really got toight well and I thought to myself did I spec it right were there any options that I wish I would have
Gone for when buying this bike if you don’t know this is the BMW r1250r first and foremost I just want to say I absolutely love the bike absolutely love it the list price for this bike is £ 12,330 in this paint color which is ice
Gray I really like it comes with a bike you don’t have to pay any extra for it now with the specs and with what I picked as options and bits and pieces the bike came in at just under £16,000 I want to go through the list of
Options that I expect it with and I’ll comment on whether I think it’s worth it whether it was a good one whether I’m happy with it and also there’s a few options that I really kind of wish that I went for in my opinion the option that
I think is absolutely essential on this bike is the dynamic package now many might disagree with me but I’ll give you my reasons as to why firstly the quick shifter is absolutely amazing when you’ve got this thing wide open on the throttle and you just clicking through the gears it is absolutely Relentless
There is no letup whatsoever and also when slowing down you shut the thrott and you’re clicking down through the gears it’s phenomenal pops and bangs from the exhaust and it feels super stable because another thing with the dynamic package and I don’t know how this works but it does something with
Some sort of torque magic thing to the back wheel so that it stops it from locking up when you’re downshifting aggressively now I don’t know how it works but I know for a fact that on the downshifts aggressive downshifts the bike feels super stable so the engineering there does work the
Suspension as well in the suspension package comes as as as part of the dynamic package it’s electronic it’s got a few different settings that you can change and with that you’ve got the r that you can change as well so Dynamic package encompasses all of that which just allows you to change the
Characteristics of the bike and I think the changes are really quite big as well so having it in Road mode it’s super comfortable it soaks up the bumps but changing it to Dynamic mode or even setting your own mode up you can really firm up the suspension make the engine super
Responsive and it just becomes a completely different bike the next most important option for me was the aoac exhaust again this is personal but the aoac exhaust I think sounds phenomenal lots of Pops lots of bangs and when you just open the throttle it it just sings
Such a beautiful tune with that I went for the chrome exhaust pipes coming off the engine as well and I’m really really impressed I’ll show you at the end of the video but they’re wearing nicely they still look nice and shiny but they’re starting to get a little bit
Darkened by uh I suppose the heat but yeah just it looks great for me again I’m about 6′ 6′ one and I went for the sports seat which gives you I think an extra 2 Ines or an extra inch I don’t know you check on the website but it raises the seat height
And it’s just made it look bit more flexible for me um it’s decreased the bend in my knees and it’s just added to the overall comfort and positioning of the bike I went for the cruise control the heated grips and the keyless ride all three of those I’m really happy with but
I did not spec the touring or Comfort package reason being is I think the touring package includes like heated grips and and keyless ride or it’s the Comfort one whichever way it is but it comes with the GPS preparation and I just didn’t like it it’s basically if
You haven’t seen it before it’s like a square black box that is is ready to take a GPS module but if you’re not using GPS you basically end up with this black plastic box in front it’s not directly in front of the dash but it just kind of sits on the handlebars and
I just think it kind of ruins the look of that kind of cockpit for me I prefer it sort C and sort of naked looking I do use a quadlock with a phone but my phone always goes on my handle but so it kind of looks nice and uniform so I guess
That’s down to your preference but I could imagine obviously the GPS module being fantastic if you if you’re planning on going across Europe and and stuff like that when we went abroad I kind of wish that I had it because my phone kept running out of battery Etc so
It’s one of those things another thing I wish I would have gone for is the Adaptive headlight I’ve done far more nighttime riding with this than I thought it would and I think the headlight is good good visibility it’s nice and bright and on Main being get
Good distance on your field of view however the dynamic headlight sounds awesome sounds like it sort of goes around the corner with you and obviously at night time the more you can see the safer the better really so I’d be interested to know if you if you’ve got
A BMW if you’ve gone for the Adaptive headlight I’d be interested to know your thoughts on it another thing as well is the tire pressure monitoring system now I didn’t expect that because I heard that because obviously heat goes into the tires PSI increases one of my
Friends who’s got TPS was having a few issues it kept flagging up tire pressure issue and stuff like that so I didn’t spec it but in hindsight if you could just get the data sent to the dash that would be useful to know without having
An alert all the time so I don’t know if any of you have got TPS but I’d be interested interested again to know how you getting on with it to answer the question did I spec this bike right for me the answer is I think so there’s a
Few things that I kind of wish I got but also I don’t necessarily Miss and there’s a couple things for instance the keyless ride that I like but also could have gone without overall am I happy with the bike yes and am I really pained by any of the options I didn’t pick
Honestly no if you’re looking at buying one of these bikes or you’re just looking at BMWs or any bike for that matter and you you’re looking at the options and the specs and everything like that I think that’s the great thing and the exciting thing with buying a new
Bike you get to customize it to how you think you would like it and it’s exciting right there’s a lot of Technology out there nowadays and there’s a lot of options so it’s absolutely fantastic anyway that’s my view that’s my rundown on specs and bits and pieces next week’s video really
Excited because I am again shout out to webs I’m reviewing something very very special and is quite topical at the moment considering new releases of bikes on the market so far so yeah please join me in next week’s video I hope you enjoyed this video and hopefully the
Weather clears up for next week stay safe and hope to see you in the next one
10 Comments
What an excellent video! BMW options packages can be such a maze and although a lot of them sound tempting, not all of them are essential. I've got a previous gen R, with pretty similar options. Wholeheartedly agree with the quickshifter, cruise control, and of course the Akra exhaust. Combined with the electronic suspension, it makes the bike so versatile. In town, put it in Road mode for the suspension and shift with the clutch, smooth and restrained. Once reaching the alpine twisties, flick it into Dynamic, open up the throttle and bang up and down the gears, all while listening to the mesmerizing pops and gurgles.
The adaptive headlight does sound nice, I think this upgraded headlight is a massive improvement over the version my model has. I've got factory auxiliary lights, they help a lot. Tyre pressure monitoring is indeed very much just a nice to have. I've ridden over 50k on my bike and only once did I get a puncture, the alert was very welcome then of course. And it's just peace of mind checking the pressure on the dash instead of having to check it manually.
The GPS cradle is indeed an eyesore. I bought a smartphone cradle converter for it off of AliExpress and it's been very nice. It also has 2 charging ports and takes the power from the cradle. It does get in the way of my tankbag at slow speed manoeuvring. Another piece of the touring pack that you don't get is the topcase rack. Which is not a tragedy, the factory top case is very small, doesn't even fit a helmet. It is very practical though, so I keep it on all the time. It does take away from the look of the bike a lot though. I like your tailpack solution better.
What do think about adding a windscreen? Handguards? And some kind of protection for the cylinder covers, if it tips over when stationary (happened to me more times than I want to admit)? Also, what tyres will you be getting when the factory ones wear out?
Awesome machine and chat on the Specification was interesting brother!
How the hell do you do 10k in 6 months 😳
Got an adapter for my Nav prep to charge my phone.
CC and heated grips are a must
I'm not getting an R, but an RS, so the options are much the same. I went for the SE version which includes the dynamic pack, for the same reasons you did. It also includes the Touring pack so heated grips, centre stand, pannier mounts and Nav prep (I already have a Nav5) I didn't bother with the Akro simply because I thought it was over priced
Seat wise, I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum at 5'7" so went for the low seat so I can get my feet down, plus I like to sit more in the bike than on it. I also spec'd the chrome exhaust and headers and heated grips. I didn't bother with the keyless ride as having had 3 GS' 1 without it and 2 with it's a nice to have but not something I wanted to pay extra for, similar with the TPMS, had that on all 3 GS' but never used it. One other thing I picked was the tubular bars so I sit a bit more upright. The fact you can really tailor the bike to suit you is one of the reasons I've bought 5 BMWs over the years, to me it really makes them stand out from the rest as the same bike can be configured to fit such a wide range of riders with things like different seat heights etc.
Got virtually the same bike & specs this year but 2019 model, used one with ridiculous low mileage. I got some extra lights in front of the cylinders. Looks fabulous. Have a small screen. Will get a smaller one. Would like to know your experience with wind buffeting and such. Love the bike. It’s a dream come true.
I like mine simple. Cruise, heated grips and quick shifter. The rest to me is superfluous to requirements. I hate the electronic suspension. I'd prefer to have the standard stuff. If I could get them without traction control and ABS I would.
Superb bike and it sounds like you got it spot on. I have a 1250RS and a 1250GS as well. It's my third bike with TPMS and I have found it quite useful, particularly on tour where I ended up with a slow puncture. I have an Akro for the GS and have to confess for me it was a waste of money as the standard can doesn't look and sound that bad. I have the standard can on the RS and it's not the best looking and I wish my GS Akra fitted. I am going for the flat bar conversion for the RS as it just looks and feels better. The RS and the R are much more refined and sporty than the GS particularly the handling and the quickshifter. The GS is much more agricultural but great for multi day trips.
I currently have an R1200GSA 2019 TE. I am in the process of selling it. It's too big for my needs, boring and pretty pointless for solely riding on the road.
Whilst i like the 1250R, i didn't on that much of a difference from the 1200R 2017 to the 1250R 2019 other than the TFT and £3k price difference.
Picking up a 2017 R1200R Sport with full luggage for £6000, 13k miles, this will be my new touring bike. There is no need for these big, expensive adventure bikes.
Also left a deposit on a 765RS to be ready in March for the summer months 😁
I test rode this bike and really enjoyed it. Proper torque monster. Packs a lot of punch. I just prefer the riding position on the GS.