Hi all, looking at a K1200GT '04 model, to add to the stable.
Will test ride it during the week, but I heard it running yesterday, sounds nice, has a Remus can on it.
But I noticed it has a flutter / hesitation coming off idle (smooth idle). The salesman said it does it till it warms up. Is that normal? or should I be concerned of something thats needs to be fixed? If I do go ahead it'd be nice to know what the likely cause is and whether I should be wary.  

cheers!

tps ...(different to the old k ) issue ...making the bike too lean ?  or a vacume  leak somewhere ?

Hey Charlie!
Yeah, not sure, I saw on the K-Bikes forum something about an issue with the motronic version and that it would be replaced with a newer version if this was occuring (USA) If its just until its warmed up, may not be so bad..........I'll know more once I get to ride it. Hell, my rt is running so rough it takes ages before it'll idle decently. I used to be able to have a smoke while it warmed up enough to stop rattling...........now I could smoke a whole pack!!

Just want to cover my ar*e, dont want to shell out for fixes if I've just bought it. Its not at a BM shop.

Hopefully you're going up to Rick's soon....hint, hint, and he'll send me some goodies.

Still wanting to do the sept ride.....(if Halo comes) may have to be on a K12 if the K100 is in pieces......

cheers mate

Most likely not syncronized (the K1200 bricks don't have the big brass screws that the K100 has) well but possibly an air leak but the later Ks are not as prone to problems due to air leaks because the motronic doesnt use a air flow meter but the throttle opening and air temp to determine the mixture.  If as the salesman says it goes when warm there is nothing to be concerned about, just make sure he is right.

G'day Rick, you all healed up?

Yeah, I'm hoping its Ok, really nice bike and very good price. Always want to believe what a salesman says, want to, but you always seem to have a niggling doubt........

I'll guess I know more once I have ridden it.

cheers mate!

Yeah fairly much healed lost a lot of the tough skin on my hand and need a bit of physio but still have the partialy numb finger that it was all about to start with. I can close my hand round the throttle grip now which is the important thing but I'm not sure of the strength to hang on if I gave it a handfull.
It's a bit hard to trust a used anything salesman but whenever I do a test ride I ride it like I would any other bike if I was going to work and that way you notice anything that will bug you.
You will sure notice a difference in grunt going to a 1200 with 130hp.

heading up to ricks next weekend andy ...its been Purdy busy round here just lately

Those GT's are a nice bike.
Has it got the servo brake assist?
If it has, make sure it has a full service history. Guy in out local BMW dealer says they're fine if the fluid 
is changed every 2 years otherwise they clog up.
The unit can't be serviced and is telephone numbers to replace.
Seen one for sale recently. It was lovely but it had gone that way. The owner had removed the servo unit and the bike worked OK but for some reason they couldn't get the speedo to work afterwards.
Wasn't much interest from buyers due to that.
Could have bought yourself problems.
Would be tempted myself for the right one. Great value for the money if you don't mind being different and we weren't, we wouldn't be on this form.
Health to ride it.

I bought the one that you see in my avatar brand new in 2004. It was the best bike that I have ever owned bar none, and I have been riding BMWs since 1977. I would still own it now except that when I moved to France there was a 100hp restriction on French registered bikes.
I once rode mine the 550 miles (880kms) from the south of France to the channel in 5 hours and 40 minutes including 3 fuel stops. When I got to the channel the dead flies on the front of the bike were about 2cms thick.

A couple of friends of mine bought the 1200's, both reported that they're licence losers!

So smooth, so fast!

A little twist with the right hand and before you know it, there's 130+ on the speedo and your mirrors are full of flashing blue lights :cyclops:

At the time that I had mine, the French police could not chase a UK registered speeding fine.

bikerboy wrote:I bought the one that you see in my avatar brand new in 2004. It was the best bike that I have ever owned bar none, and I have been riding BMWs since 1977. I would still own it now except that when I moved to France there was a 100hp restriction on French registered bikes.
I once rode mine the 550 miles (880kms) from the south of France to the channel in 5 hours and 40 minutes including 3 fuel stops. When I got to the channel the dead flies on the front of the bike were about 2cms thick.

G'day Bikerboy, yeah it looks to be a really tidy unit. I have ridden a K12LT 04, and that was nice, so I reckon this should be beaut. Did you ever experience the flutter just coming off idle while the engine was still warming up? Apart from that it idled like a digital clock. Its got 92,000klms on the clock with barely a mark on it. ABS, servo brakes, full luggage, cruise, heated seats, grips etc.

It will come with a 3 month warranty, but do you think the flutter coming off idle is a cause for concern? I'm yet to discover what sort of history its got with the bike, I'll find out during the week when I take it for a test ride. Your thoughts would be good.

cheers.

Mine never missed a beat in the time that I owned it. I would not worry about anything at that mileage. Mine had the heated seat, grips and all the luggage. The electric screen is nice as you can wave at kids in cars. The GT only came in slime green (like mine) or dark blue.
The best place for that model of bike is on a long high speed run, in my opinion the Japs cannot make a bike that can tour Europe at speed like the K1200RS/GT can. An 04 1200LT is a very different bike with less power than the GT.
The thing that I do with any bike that I buy is a good service as soon as I get it. Synthetic engine oil (because the K1200 gets as hot as my K100), Full throttle body balance, ignore what BMW says don't do, a brake fluid change and a gear oil change. You will probably find the flutter will disappear.

Andyb,

Its an ECU issue that affected a certain vin range on the RS and GT bikes. My 2003 KGT that I recently sold had it for a minute or two until warm. Local dealer service department at first denied there was a service bulletin,....but,....I knew better, and did find the bulletin ID number somewhere,............I think on the I-BMW site. The Service department still said they didn't know what I was referring to,....................but.................I knew one of the techs in the shop,......I talked with him,.............he acknowledged it,.................did some research on the sly, found it, printed it out for me;...but told me that although BMW WAS fixing the problem for free at one point,......It was now too old. Hmmmm,.......

Later talked with the guys at the service desk, showed them the print out, (not telling them where it came from) and they said,...............ahhhh,.....OK......well, yeah,.............too long ago. BMW won't do anything about that problem on your bike now............too old.

A few guys on the I-BMW site have found the correct / updated chip and actually swapped it out in their ECU and successfully fixed the problem.

I learned to just let it idle for a moment before initial roll-out,.....or.....just blip the throttle to move past the flat spot if I couldn't wait for warm up.

Best of luck. Spectacular sport touring machine. I've owned over 35 or 40 BMW bikes and the K1200GT will always be one of my faves. Right up there with my GS 1150 and 1200 Adventures that I have had.

Thought I was done riding when I sold the GT,....but stumbled on to a natty K75 that needed some loving in the neighborhood,.......so....now building a K75 Cafe/Street fighter

Brian in Austin