If you look at the photos, you'll see that there are no throttles on the heads. Clearly, the engine is a diesel, which explains the lack of power.
the following link is the reason they don't make them anymore (at least in my modest opinion): http://powersports.honda.com/motorcycles/cruiser_standard/model.asp?ModelName=VTX1300C&ModelYear=2008&ModelId=VTX1300C8 i know many older gentlemen and a few women who own that bike, and they simply say you can't buy a better cruiser for the money. i think the reason they pulled the bike was that it had trouble competing with japanese harley knock offs that cost far less, especially when proper cruisers were considered to all have V-twins. and the bike wasn't personalized at the dealership extensively the way you can with honda, or the other brands (maybe that's just a recent development though). i'll admit there are parts of the C i liked. i really liked the retro style leather looking bags they had the first few years. I liked the exhausts, and i kind of liked the passenger seat on the hinge that created a backrest for the driver. I think they had the right idea, but executed it wrong. the styling is hit or miss with almost everybody and doesn't have mass appeal the way cruisers do with the general public. I would have loved to see them come out with a retro styled cafe cruiser, similar to the bonnie or the gt1000. take that with a grain of salt though, I'm an r90 owner. i think bmw's idea of nostalgia is painting the roadster black, putting white pinstripes on it, and occasionally offering spoke wheels. at any rate, i think another cruiser doesn't make tons of sense when harley is struggling so badly to sell bikes. on the other hand, according to one of the press releases, they're developing the sportbike to appeal to customers in market segments bmw's not strong or non-existant. maybe a cruiser is their next goal.
weren't cruisers supposed to have girls posing on them? http://www.bobsbmw.com/community/top-model.html photos of the bob's bmw cruiser chopper: http://gallery.dirtyhandschoppers.com/gallery/BobsBMW?page=76
I, like Bugeyed, owned an R1200CL. Fortunately, fate intervened to take it off my hands and replace it with a GS at no additional cost. Pros: it was comfortable and handled brilliantly for a cruiser. Lots of clearance compared to Milwaukee iron. An amazing array of amenities (when they worked). The biggest "con" was the lack of power. Yes, you could surf the torque wave, and yes, it was at a disadvantage here at altitude, but the fastest I ever got the thing to manage was about 90, and it wasn't easy. If it had the Hexhead engine, it might have been worth working with. The other big "con" was the windshield, which, instead of going straight across just below your line of vision, had a huge dip out of it. I think this might have been done to reduce buffeting, but getting air full-blast at highway speeds is inconsistent with equipping the same motorcycle with a radio and a CD changer! Utterly ridiculous, and it points out the parts-bin nature of the bike. Still, a redo with a proper engine would sell. I think a Boxer has at least as good a claim to the cruiser market as Triumph's new parallel twin, and it would appeal more strongly to the bling-bling set.
:huh 90??? While I have the standard R1200C, I've it up to 118 without even trying. Hell, I even went out riding with a bunch of wacky squids who were amazed that I could even keep up with them on their liter sport bikes. That was in South Georgia where the roads are straight as an arrow with no hills. I didn't think the CL's carried that much weight but maybe the do... There was never any argument that the CL's were underpowered. I still like the torque and set up of my R1200C.
Think about it: the CL had three bags, plus a huge fork-mounted fairing. With a gargantuan windscreen. And I'm at a mile high in altitude.
Combustion--internal or otherwise--generally involves oxygen. We have less of it here at elevation. Is it your belief that fuel injection somehow resolves this condition?
Can't have a bagger without a big-ass front wheel. They should just skip the whole Boxer thing and give us what we really want ... the K1200C and CL.
I have a 2003 CLC. While not the fastest tool in the box it has always done well enough to prevent too much embarrassment. Just ran from Western Washington to Spokane Sunday and came back on Monday night after about 6 hours of work. Cruises at all legal speeds quite well, My GPS even noted a little way at 96 mph and I didn't get up all the way it would go. That said, when chasing my son on his ST1300 I do have to pedel harder. My wife likes the back seat of the CLC and that alone is reason enough to keep it. V-Tour 2008 V Strom 650 ABS 2003 R1200 CLC
That's scary just thinking about a K-C/CL. :huh The K bikes just have not appealed to me yet. Maybe I'm just not old enough...
Old enough? Any one of these bikes will put you on your ass. Not every K is the baraclounger 2000s model. Point in question: (even if you are kidding, I will never pass up the opportunity to post some pics)
Yah, that K1200RS is looking mighty appealing on the used market. I have a hard time justifying the price of a current, new K bike tho.
Pics are always welcome I rode my buddy's K-RS and it felt like I was piloting a barcalounger. That's a good analogy!!! My RT had better turn in than that thing.
I've been contemplating turning my C into a hack. Who did your conversion? Any and all details are greatly appreciated. more pics please!!!!