The Beast is for Sale! $13,000

2008 R1200 GS 

This beautiful bike has been with me since 2008.  I remember when I bought it from Salem Honda BMW (http://www.salemhonda.com/), it's sparkly rims called my name from across the showroom floor.  I remember sitting on it,  my feet dangling above the carpet, toes stretching to reach the ground.  I held onto the grips thinking, "What an amazing machine!"  And, truth be told, I thought, "What a huge machine!"  It was all tank, a sea of blue that I couldn't wait to call my own.  My previous bike was a 2001 BMW650 GSAL.  It felt so much lighter and easier to throw a leg over.  On this Beast all I could do was step onto the peg and then climb onto the bike like I was a little kid climbing onto the back of a couch.  But still, I loved it.  

I didn't test ride the Beast before I bought it but simply signed the papers and waited for the lowered seat and Adventure boxes to arrive.   When they did arrive I was driven to the dealership by my friend Jenn who helped me pack the boxes into the back of her Suburban.  I would later spend a good hour trying to figure out how to attach the Adventure boxes to the bike while admiring the look of them since I was much too cheap to pay someone else to do the chore.

After Wes, my salesman, put the lowered seat on he pushed the bike to the curb as their awesome service guy, Mark, put on my new plates.  I remember Wes looking at me and I could see he had his doubts about whether or not I'd be able to ride the thing.  Watching me "climb on board" probably didn't make him feel any better about it.  But I was on, pushed up the kick stand, and zipped into traffic.

I remember the thing that I was most impressed with, other than the fact that I was riding away with a huge bike that only had two miles on it, was the power.  That still impresses me today.  A tiny little flick of the wrist and the bike surges ahead.  My little 650 never had the gumption.  The other thing about the Beast that I've always loved was the Adventure boxes.  They may be big and utilitarian but I used those boxes every time I rode.  I remember grocery shopping, helmet in the cart, piling bag after bag of paid for groceries in the cart.  The checkers would ask how I was ever going to get that stuff to fit on my bike and I'd just smile and say, "It's a Beemer!"  I sometimes wondered if they didn't sneak outside just to watch as I loaded the bike.

The Beast just turned 12,350 miles.  The 12k service has just been paid for (650 bucks!) and what sits in my garage is a freshly tuned, low mileage, riding machine.   It has a new battery (170 bucks) and a rear tire with about 2k miles on it.  It has heated grips (love those) and ABS and a regular seat that's been used roughly 10 times.  The lowered seat has been the primary but both are in perfect condition with no blemishes.  The bag keys are same as the ignition so there aren't a handful of keys to lose...just one!  Thankfully I haven't done that, but I do still have the plastic spare that came with the bike, just in case.

This bike has never had any issues.  I've ridden it lovingly and carefully, zipping down I-5 as if on a cloud.   In rain, sleet or snow this bike performs.

If you know someone who's interested in riding a bike of superb quality and awesome power, please send them my way!