New Guy... Kind of... Sort of... well, ALMOST!!!

Hello all! I am about to be the proud owner of an '18 R1200RS silver/gray/red, but am waiting for it to come to Detroit from St. Louis. I let the last one in a three state radius slip through my fingers before I could get to my dealer to close the deal. But he is shipping in one of the last 9 available in the US for me. It may be a smaller number now, as I made my down payment on this one last Tuesday.

I'm not new to riding by any means, and not even to BMW. I have a '97 R850R which has served me exceptionally well for the last 21 seasons. I'm in love with boxers in general, and have been waiting for a model which could turn me on as much as the R1100S did back in '99. My bike was too new back then, so I didn't get the "S" when I had the chance. I finally pulled the trigger in this RS, because I knew a couple of years ago when I first saw one that it would be my ideal bike. I had to get this one now because I don't like the styling on the new '19s as much. Admittedly, the TFT instrumentation looks to be the bomb, and the shift cam may be a great technology, but I have my reservations about the durability and ease of service for such an animal.

Anyway, I am looking very forward to taking delivery of my new mate, and envision being on it for the next 20 years. I'm very thankful that there is a forum such as this one to stoke the flame. If anyone on here is in the Detroit area, or will be coming this way, feel free to give me a shout.

You will love this bike. I had many bikes in my 50+ years of riding and without a doubt, this RS is the best . You made an excellent choice.

Welcome BusBoy & yes, great choice. BMW's best (& most overlooked). You'll love it

Welcome to the site, BB. You'll find all kinds of tips and tricks here. There are many well versed BMW riders in this fold. Stick.

Welcome aboard. Plan on lots of fun. This is the best touring bike I've run.

I'm in Saint Louis after 20 y in Toledo. I think I have plans to stop by Henry Ford Medical Center and catch Asleep at the Wheel at the Ark in Ann Arbor some time in April. Will let you know and you can decide if there's time for a coffee and a little tire-kicking, or the equivalent.

Thank you, Ray. And, yes, tire-kicking sounds great. Hit me up when you're sure of dates.

I picked up my new RS on Saturday. I am soooooo pleased! There was only one little issue I had with it... but more on that in a minute.

I got to work on some alterations on Sunday. I installed a Machineart Moto Mud sling. Then today I removed the rear luggage rack and replaced it with a set of Puig Faceplates for Passenger Handles. I also removed the side case mounts, albeit likely only temporarily.

I have only put about 150 miles on it so far, but am absolutely in love. I can't wait to get paired with it so that it feels like an old pair of sneakers. It is coming along nicely, though.

Now back to the one issue. I had to have the bike delivered to Detroit from a dealership in St. Louis. When it arrived, I found that it was equipped with the sport seat. I was very surprised to learn that the sport seat is the tallest of the four seats that are available to order on the RS. I am just average in height, so I found the seat very uncomfortable. I can touch the ground just fine, but I feel as if I am perched up on top of the bike, rather than settling into it. And it makes for a very downward reach to the bars as well, particularly because my arms probably shorter than average. Anyway, I rode back up to the dealership (BMW Motorcycles of Southeastern Michigan) today with the intentions of ordering a "rider's seat", which is the version that comes stock on the R1200R. The sales manager blew me away when he told me that he would order the seat from BMW for me, and just trade me straight up for the sport seat that I have. I have been dealing with BMW dealerships (stealerships) for over twenty years, and have never had such outstanding service. I even offered to pay for a portion or all of the seat, but he wouldn't hear it. Wow! I was absolutely stunned, and immediately turned into a bmwmcsem.com customer for life.

So now my RS is parked outside, waiting to take me back home. It's still pretty chilly up here in Detroit, so I'm thankful it's only going to be a few blocks.

Thank you all for reading, and a happy Spring and riding season to all.