For years, many motorcycle manufacturers have attempted to replicate the success enjoyed by the likes of Harley-Davidson. Cruisers have been immensely popular in America for decades, so it makes sense for brands not typically associated with the style to try their hands at making a cruiser. Back in the late 1990s, BMW rolled the R 1200 C out onto the market. Dubbed “the BMW of cruisers,” it was BMW Motorrad’s first production cruiser, and it sure was a weird one. The boxer-powered cruiser had enough character for James Bond, but perhaps not enough for the Americans it targeted. Here’s the story about an obscure point in BMW Motorrad history.
As I’ve mentioned in another piece, I’m shopping for a motorcycle to replace the 1999 Triumph Tiger I recently sold. When I search for vehicles to buy for myself, I enter in somewhat vague search terms to cast a wide net. Who knows, maybe I might find something I didn’t know existed. Through these searches, I was reminded about the Honda Gold Wing’s origins. When I searched “BMW R,” I got plenty of vintage German iron, but also a couple of examples of BMW’s weird effort to sway buyers from the cruiser establishment to BMW. This is the R 1200 C, and it looks like nothing else on the road.
Cruisers Reign Supreme
America has been obsessed with the cruiser for decades. As the Los Angeles Times writes, in the era before the 1960s, American riders enjoyed swinging a leg over chunky motorcycles with equally thick engines. Lots of people chose Harley-Davidson and those who didn’t may have gone with a European marque like Triumph, Norton, or BMW. Then, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers hit the scene with affordable small displacement machines, starting a revolution.
As Motorcycle Cruiser writes, the late 1960s further changed the market for the motorcycle enthusiast. In 1968, England was the largest producer of big motorcycles while affordable imports eroded the market shares of established marques in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, as Motorcycle Cruiser notes, the cruiser as we see them today wasn’t as popular. Instead, the bikes that look a bit like today’s cruisers were often considered customs or choppers.
At the time, the market for motorcycles like those was reportedly small. Then, Easy Rider hit the silver screen in 1969, leading to a surge of interest in choppers and custom motorcycles that departed from the design norms of the era.
Suddenly, people began hacking apart their bikes, tacking on different pieces and bolting on ape hangers and sissy bars.
As Motorcycle Cruiser writes, this was a prime opportunity for then AMF-owned Harley-Davidson. The Motor Company was struggling and if it couldn’t get its act together, AMF was willing to pull the plug. William G. Davidson, head of Harley’s design and styling, capitalized on this new custom motorcycle popularity by combining the frame, suspension, and other bits of a FLH Electra Glide with the front end of the XL Sportster. The end result was the 1970 FX 1200 Super Glide, a custom right from the factory.
Eventually, other motorcycle manufacturers started cranking out their own factory customs and even Japan got in on it. As the Los Angeles Times reports, for most of the 1980s, cruisers made up under 20 percent of the motorcycle market. Time marched forward and with it, the factory custom and eventually the cruiser took its hold on America.
As the Los Angeles Times reported in 1996, by 1990, cruisers made up a full third of the motorcycle market. By 1995, cruisers owned a controlling interest with 51 percent of the American motorcycle market. If you’re a brand that didn’t have a cruiser, clearly you were leaving some money on the table.
BMW’s Take On The American Cruiser
Now, BMW could have done like the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers and built something that resembled an American cruiser. But this is one of those occasions where BMW pulls a Honda and gets a bit weird with it. I found a press release from 1997 where BMW explains how the R 1200 C came to be, and you won’t see what’s coming:
Like 1993, the year in which BMW’s new generation of Boxer machines made its first appearance, 1997 will again go down in history as a milestone in the motorcycle world and with BMW in particular. For in autumn of this year BMW will be launching its first-ever cruiser, the new R 1200 C.
Easy Rider or genuine freedom on two wheels
The origins of the cruiser date back to the early days of the “American Way of Bike” in the ’50s and the birth of the original chopper. The cruiser story then continued in the US cult film Easy Rider in 1969, which brought the dream of freedom on two wheels over to Europe, where the motorcycle, already dismissed by many as obsolete, subsequently made a great come-back as a hobby and leisure-time occupation.
The styling message of the BMW R 1200 C underlines the smooth style of relaxed cruising free of any kind of aggression by emphasizing the typical design features of the “American Way of Bike”. Examples are the wheel fork arranged at a very flat angle, the high-rise handlebars, long wheelbase, and low seat measuring only 740 mm or 29.1″ in height, in this case in traditional saddle design. And then all this is rounded off by an upright seating position with your legs stretched out comfortably to the front.
In that press release, BMW notes that cruisers made up 33 percent of global motorcycle sales in 1996. So, it seems as if someone at BMW watched Easy Rider and then realized that there’s some money to be made selling to the large swath of riders around the world who love cruisers. BMW admits in its press release that with the R 1200 C, it didn’t focus so much on sporting characteristics as it did on the experience of relaxed cruising with plenty of reserve power on tap.
As noted by Motorcycle.com, BMW head designer, an American named David Robb, was responsible for the R 1200 C, and the goal behind the motorcycle was to make a machine that was both a laid-back cruiser while also showing off BMW’s technical prowess. Robb reportedly said that the R 1200 C was “the BMW of cruisers.”
According to Motorcycle Cruiser, BMW had design targets for the R 1200 C, and not all of them were met. BMW reportedly wanted a “V powerplant, low saddle height, feet-forward ergonomics, high-rise handlebar, a minimum of bodywork obscuring the structure and mechanics of the machine and ease of customizing.”
The end result is a motorcycle that looked like nothing before or since. At the heart of the R 1200 C is its 1,170cc boxer twin, derived from the R 1100 RS.
Of course, BMW wasn’t about to give up on its fabled boxer to go with a V-twin like everyone else. In this guise, the twin is making 61 HP and 72 lb-ft of torque delivered to the rear wheel through a shaft drive. It sacrifices top-end power to make much of that torque down low to get the 584-pound machine moving.
Having the horizontally-opposed engine goes against one design goal on its own, but also impacts another. The engine layout meant that the footpegs couldn’t be as far forward as you’d find with other cruisers. Cruisers enjoy low seat heights but the R 1200 C sat on the high end with its 29.1-inch saddle. That’s pretty darn close to the height of a standard! Also notable is the bike’s high ground clearance relative to other cruisers, another thing that makes the BMW a bit different. So BMW, missed the marks on about half of its own goals. That said, the R 1200 C clearly has little bodywork to speak of. Ease of customization could be argued to vary between riders.
The lack of bodywork is certainly something else. The R 1200 C isn’t afraid to show off its frame, miles of chrome, and BMW’s suspension systems. Up front is BMW’s Telever suspension, and I’ll let the brand explain:
Like with the telescopic fork, the wheel is still aligned by the actual fork, which consists of two struts with slider and fixed fork tubes. It is a design with the greatest possible coverage, thereby ensuring a high level of stability. A semi-trailing arm joined to the frame at the front supports the fork and front wheel. Suspension and damping tasks are performed by a central spring strut. Unlike a conventional telescopic fork, the fork on the Telelever system only needs to be able to absorb low bending moments during braking and when driving over uneven surfaces meaning the slider and fixed fork tubes cannot jam each other.
Bringing up the rear is BMW’s Monolever system, which is a single-sided swingarm with a monoshock. The bike’s design was almost skeletal, more so than many cruisers get.
Aside from the weird looks and un-cruiser-like powertrain, the R 1200 C did have a few technology tricks up its sleeve. ABS was an option and the passenger seat, if equipped, folded up to become a backrest for the rider. Other neat goodies included adjustable levers and self-canceling turn signals. And while it wasn’t meant to be a sporty machine, the BMW still had two disc brakes up front and another disc bringing up the rear.
Part of this motorcycle’s fame comes from the fact that it was James Bond’s motorcycle from the film Tomorrow Never Dies:
A Cruiser Unlike Others
With all of this in mind, a good question is how did this thing ride? Well, reviews suggest that it handles great for a cruiser from Motorcycle Cruiser:
The unique suspension does much more than set the visual style of the 1200C. Well controlled and reasonably compliant, the suspension gives the BMW a better ride than most cruisers (though not as good as that of some other Beemers). A day spent riding the bike in southern Arizona revealed responsive, predictable handling and low-effort steering with better cornering clearance than most other cruisers, despite the jutting cylinders.
Braking should also be a revelation to dedicated cruiser riders. Not only is there excellent power, but you can get the anti-lock feature included on the 1200C we rode. By releasing pressure for an instant as the wheel decelerates toward lock-up, the ABS can keep you from crashing in a panic stop. In an emergency, providing the bike is generally upright, you can simply slam on the brakes with all the force you can find. The problem may simply be holding on in the face of all that braking force.
Multiple reviews note that there isn’t a ton of power, but the engine works for cruising. Here’s Visordown‘s take:
On the open road, the low-stressed, low-revving engine gives the impression that it is unbreakable. Cruising has never been as easy. The power unit is so independent of high engine speeds that a revs counter is not necessary.
James Bond had some cool cars, but an unusual choice when it came to bikes. Despite what you see in the movies, this bike can’t wheelie, jump buildings or evade a helicopter. It’s also unlikely to help you pull. When it comes to cruisers, BMW should really stay clear of that section, although having said that the Classic isn’t that bad. It handles ok, looks alright-ish and the engine is typical Boxer. But for the money, the Montauk is a better buy.
BMW sold the R 1200 C in a bunch of different versions. The one you’ve seen for most of this article is the R 1200 C, or the original version of the motorcycle. There was also the Avantgarde, which showed up in 2000, and it was the R 1200 C with less chrome.
Joining the rest of the line was the 2003 R 1200 CL, a full dresser model, the 2000 R 1200 C Phoenix, which deleted the passenger seat, swapped the wire wheels for alloys, added a flyscreen, and other small changes, and the 2003 Montauk, which resembled a muscle bike. There was even a smaller R 850 C.
The Montauk, which is named after a popular vacation spot in New York, got a wider handlebar, a wider front tire, an extended rake, the dashboard from the R 1200 CL dresser, a narrower seat, a five-speed transmission (other models got six speeds), and other small changes. As you read above, some reviewers felt the Montauk to be the best of the R 1200 C series.
Not The Right Bike For America
Despite reviewers giving the motorcycle high marks for handling, its looks seemed to divide riders. Ultimately, sales performance is probably what BMW cared most about, and it seems BMW couldn’t sell enough to justify the R 1200 C’s existence. Production halted after 2004, with BMW Motorrad president Dr. Herbert Diess reportedly saying that the motorcycle’s engine wasn’t a good fit for the market at that time. In the end, BMW built around 40,218 units between 1997 and 2004. That doesn’t sound like a bad run, until you realize those are the units BMW built in total for the whole world.
It’s unclear if BMW itself considers the R 1200 C a success or a failure. What we do know is that BMW didn’t give up on its desire to build an American-style cruiser with BMW flair. A couple of years ago, I got to ride the BMW R 18 B bagger and the R 18 Transcontinental full dresser. Both of those bikes ditched the weirdness of the R 1200 C, instead going for the classic cruiser style with a dash of BMW DNA. I thought both of those were excellent machines and so beautiful that I found myself staring at them for long periods of time.
If you do want one of these, I have great news. You can easily find one for sale for well under $10,000. If you don’t mind seeing a few miles on the odometer, you can find one for under $5,000, too. Some searches of our comments reveal that at least one of you owns one of these, so it would seem that the R 1200 C is Autopian reader-approved!
We’ve been focusing on the weird exploits of Honda a lot, and that’s because Honda isn’t afraid to do things a bit offbeat. However, if the R 1200 C shows anything, it’s that BMW is also not afraid to get a bit weird. And that’s good, the motorcycle world needs a few weirdos here and there.
(Images: Manufacturer, unless otherwise noted.)
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This wasn’t just a BMW thing, Ducati tried it (the Indiana) as did Moto Guzzi with the California (still available? yes! https://www.motoguzzi.com/nz_EN/models/california/)
Also in BMW’s defense, the Telelever was used on several models, and the single side rear swing arm is a staple of the brand. Stepping back a bit I don’t think these bikes were as weird as they might seem, though maybe the sum is weirder than the parts.
Fast forward to today with Harley and every other maker under the sun trying to get on the adventure bike bandwagon that BMW invented.
Harley did make a boxer twin during WWII, so BMW figured they could make a cruiser?
It was a clone of a BMW R75, if memory serves. There was a copy of a Moto Guzzi around that time, if memory serves, but I can’t remember who built it.
It was weird and wonderful at the same time. I have always said If I was going to shop metric bikes for cruisers they better have their own identity and not just try to be knockoffs of HD. Yamaha V4 cruiser was cool, could have been better with the V-Max tune that the engine was derived from. Valkyrie with a big six and six gun exhaust still sounds rad, but they put carbs on it when they could have really shined with Fuel Injection before Harley. Moto Guzzi was the Italian Harley to me, this Beemer was pretty big for the time and looked like nothing else. I liked it.
The R18 did a much better job of being a cruiser than the R1200c. I like them, but I like oil heads. The Version with the fairing looks like something from the Matrix with all the lights
Currently have one of these sitting in the shop waiting for a new owner. Flip up back rest. Sadly the worse for wear. Hoping an enthusiast picks it up so I can clear the shop floor. 😀
I loved the look of these but the foot position on any BMWs bugs me with the boxer in the way. I feel like this seat layout is what Harley should have gone for with the Livewire, still cruiser-like but more modern, and would’ve worked with their giant battery box.
How about this
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1399303623947190/?mibextid=dXMIcH
They’re not for everyone but that means they’re pretty affordable right now, especially for a boxer. I’ve owned Japanese and British bikes and now a BMW K1200. The engineering and build quality are better but not perfect. Just like the cars, obsessive maintenance yields long life.
BMW makes some great bikes, but the cruiser thing they never understood and still don’t although the R1200 C was a better motorcycle than the R1800. IMHO a cruiser should look good as is and be a good blank canvas for the owners wishes, farkles and dreams, the R1200 C wasn’t that.
You cruise just fine on a regular old BMW R bike without all the ugly fat bike styling.
Rode for about 4 hours today on one, can confirm.
My 1980 R100 concurs
My 1967 R60/2 and 1984 R100CS Last Edition agree. They have that perfect seating position BMW’s have had for ages.
I think the Chromehead also borrowed from BMW’s own heritage. In the original colors of ivory with black pinstripes or black with white pinstripes there’s a strong flavor of R60 /2 especially around the seat and rear fender. On the minus side the R1200C sacrificed suspension sophistication compared to the regular Oilhead and Hexhead models which had the Paralever articulated rear swing arm to eliminate torque effects. A fun trivia point is that this era BMW twin has no frame. The R1100 based bikes use a stressed engine with the front Telelever pivot in the crankcase, the rear swing arm pivot in the transmission case and the steering head and seat were small sub frames bolted to the crankcase.
I never took to cruisers so I wanted and still want an R1200RT to eat miles on.
Side note, like Harleys BMW twins are nicknamed by cylinder head style. Airhead is the 70-97 R75, R90, R100 etc. followed by the Oilhead R1100 and R1150 Telelever bikes while Hexhead is the early R1200 generation and Waterhead is the late R1200 and R1250 with water cooled heads.
Thanks for the shout out! I love my 2000 r1200c; its heads and shoulders a better bike than my 03 fxst it replaced. At 54k on the clock it shows its age somewhat but I still get compliments everywhere we take it. It doesn’t have quite the power it probably should, but more than anyone needs. The fuel injection can be quirky at times, but I absolutely love it.
No love for the CL’s jumping spider face?
Oh right, I was the only one who loved that, which is why to this date I’ve never seen one in the wild.
my bikes have been an airhead r100rs, oilhead r1100rt and now camhead r1200rt.
i LOVE the boxer layout.
sorry bmw, the boxer layout precludes the foot-forward frontset/highway-peg layout reclined position that cruisers kinda require.
the r1800 seems to be selling ok, but i just don’t see how it can be a long term commercial success, faux retro has it’s limits.
bmw boxers are my thing, cruisers they are not and will never be – sorry, not sorry.
If they released a version of the R18 that was less HD and more R69S, I might be convinced to spend some money to buy one. But right now, they pull from the R5 pretty hard, but left the best part behind: that seating position that perfectly positions you to ride long distances, shoulders to the wind, in comfort.
As the owner of four Airhead BMWs I’m BMWs target market for this and the new 1800… After a quarter century, still have no desire for these ugly bloated attempts at building a new Airhead!
Counterpoint – I’ve been fixing, building, and riding airheads for over 30 years. I have a pretty large collection and a fairly successful side business restoring and modernizing /5 – /7 R series bikes. I’ve ridden hundreds of them. Even the last gen airheads are in no way as good as modern oil/water cooled models. The new bikes handle better, stop better, and are actually lighter in many cases. For context, in addition to my Airheads, I own an R1100S. a K1300GT, a S1000RR, and recently, a R18 Bagger. BTW – if you havent found it yet, the Airhead 247 podcast is great – of course I’m a little biased because I’m in one of the episodes 🙂
I had a K1300GT for a few years. It was a monster! That famous BMW suspension saved my bacon when I ran over a 4×4 going 70, miraculously keeping me upright. I’m riding a 1980 R100 nowadays, but do miss the stupid speed of that K13 every now and then!
My garage has an R60/2, an R100CS, an R12RT hexhead and now a shift cam R1250GS. The GS is head and shoulders above the rest and in 45 years on airheads and BMW, it’s by far the easiest motorcycle I’ve ever owned to ride. The jump from generation to generation is hard to miss, but the new water boxers are leagues ahead of anything they’ve built previously.
The R1200C reminds me of the Cybertruck. I can’t quit looking at it but I don’t want one.
Easy Rider. I was 15 and a bike nut when it came out so I should have liked it. I couldn’t get over the high school production values. If you’ve never seen the movie I would suggest this: Run it forward until about ten minutes before Jack Nicholson appears. Turn it off after his exit. There’s a nice, tight story about a disillusioned, alcoholic lawyer. Everything else is time you’ll never get back.
I remember back in 2001 I saw an R1200C on a platform above a row of slots in Vegas – it was the jackpot. Nobody was playing those slots.
About 10 years ago, a friend of mine bought a Montauk sight unseen. She got nervous about riding it back (it was close to 1000 miles), so I volunteered to fly out and ride it back for her.
I had (still have) an R1150GSA, so I figured it wouldn’t be too different but it was a completely different experience. The engine felt like mine off the bottom but had absolutely no top end – just when the 1150 was getting powerful, the 1200C was signing off. On top of that, it had a 5 speed instead of the 6 speed I was used to and that terrible riding position.
I thought it was ugly but everywhere I stopped, I was inundated with questions about it. It was a real magnet for German tourists because it wasn’t sold in Germany.
The BMW Cruiser reminds me of a Beavis and Butthead where they were commenting on a video for a heavy metal band (maybe the band was “Accept”?) and they looked at these guys, and said “They look like they got their clothing at the rock and roll store at the mall…”
The mall-shopping band was Grim Reaper and the terrible-but-funny video was for their song ‘See You In Hell’.
Not sure if it’s good or bad that I remembered that offhand, but it is a pretty amusing video.
Here’s the clip from Beavis & Butthead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Py8hHFrYU
Here’s the non-B&B version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJgv-qBBT3Y
I stand corrected! But seriously, BMW. Just because the other kids decided to get earrings and rat tails doesn’t mean you have to do it too.
I will now add the Montauk to the Hall of Motor Vehicles Named After Places East of The Mississippi. Come enjoy our display GMC Acadia and Chrysler New Yorker, and now this bike. Then please leave.
If only there was a Goldwing Nantucket :’(
Wouldn’t you also have to get an Alfa Romeo Montreal and a Chevy Orlando?
I haven’t done anything at work for awhile now. So I did some research. So those two. Plus:
So the HoMVNAPEoM is up to 10! Admission price just quadrupled.
Follow up also: Buick Park Avenue. Chrysler Newport and Biscayne, and soft inclusion to the Sebring, as it doesn’t seemed to be named after the race track.
That said there is some Mopar related to Florida race tracks, that being the Dodge Daytona.
We’ve also got the Subaru Tribeca.
Ford has the Fairlane, named after Henry Ford’s house. Plus for Canada exclusive models, we’ve got the Meteor Niagara and Rideau.
Also the Zastava Florida, where Yugoslav engineering meet Giogetto Giugiaro kinda phoning it in design.
Citrus you are now co-owner HoMVNAPEoM. Your half of the rent is due on the 5th.
I did always want my own museum.
Though I did just blow our entire budget on every Plymouth. And a Kaiser Manhattan.
Damn, no Ford Torino Talladega this year.
Unless your investing. I spent that last of the funds on various Triumph Daytonas. Company wins a 200 mile race in like 1960. Proceeds to name a fleet of bikes after it.