The CB1100 Community Forum

My Dad, at 73, just bought himself a bike he has been wanting for a long time now. It is a pretty rough (was stored outside for a long while by a previous owner and has some chrome plating issues) 98 BMW R1200C.



A little cleaned up.


It has some rusty bits here and there that we'll be looking at replacing, and basically try and get it mechanically sound so he can decide if riding again is a good fit for him or not, and then if riding this is a good fit or not. He ended up scoring it for $3k so we both think that even if he sells it, he wont loose any money on it. We're getting it road worthy today, the front brake lines are split and leaking, and those are all getting replaced with a braided set.

I ended up grabbing a steal on this new to me beauty. a 1998 Shadow ACE 1100 Tourer. It has Cobra floorboards, Mustang seats, and a Vance and Hines Exhaust. 57k miles on her and a rebuilt title for causes unknown. But this bike rides and runs pretty flawlessly.

It does have a little bit of a sputter/miss when rolling in to the throttle hard (mid RPM or so) at first I was thinking carb issue, but upon cleaning it up and taking the seat off, I found a mouse made a home in the air box and ended up chewing a small hole in the engine side of the air box. So probably was running a touch lean. New parts are ordered for it and should show up next week. Other then that and some small scratches here and there I think I got a pretty good deal at only $1800.


I know a lot of people here dabble in other bikes. Does someone have experience with one of those BMW R1200C?

Dutch, $1800 for a nice bike and a family of mice - what a great deal!

Oh yea definitely! Didnt find any of the residents so they must have moved along before i acquired their building. They didn't do much damage just tore the airfilter apart, and nibbled on some wire insulation here and there which I've already repaired. The hole in the airbox is about the worst of it, and even that is very minor. I think I'm into it for $120 for some factory grips with a throttle tube, some small rubber bits it was missing, a new OEM air filter, filter lid, air box, hard bag latches and some miscellaneous bolts that are MIA.

Hopefully I'll be able to get her all fixed up and running smooth as it did off the showroom then take the wife on some road trips and get those miles up near 100k.

Good deals

the 1200C was an odd bird for BMW. It didn't sell well but from all reports was a good and comfortable bike. My family Dr just got one. Traded a pistol for it lol.

(09-04-2023, 03:28 AM)Nachodaddy_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Dutch, $1800 for a nice bike and a family of mice - what a great deal!

(+1) Absolutely agree.

The 1200c is definitely a unique machine. From what I read it was their first attempt at a "modern cruiser". Their front cantilever is an absolute work of art. We spent the day and got the Spiegler braided brake lines installed and bleed. Then after a very short familiarization ride around the block my Dad rode it home, about a 25 minute ride. With me leading in his pickup to get that back at the same time. All in all, he and the bike did well. It does seem to have an odd sputter/miss from time to time (I think a fuel filter needs changed), and their transmissions are very crude and rudimentary, mainly shifting it into 1st gear at a stand still is a bit of a challenge. I think my Dad will like it though.

Back when I was 8 or 9, he bought himself a new 98 Shadow ACE 1100 standard model he loved that bike. He always wished he would have got the tourer though. He ended up trading that Shadow in on a 2000ish Valkyrie Interstate and while he enjoyed the comfort he never really connected to the Valk like he did with that Shadow, eventually the Valk got sold and he has been without for probably 20+ years. So when I found this Tourer deal I had to jump on it, when he saw it today he was so blown away and all that nostalgia came rushing back. He was talking about how he'd have to take it down to the bare frame and do a full restore of it. It all kind of sealed the Shadow's future. I'll go through it all with a very fine toothed comb this winter and come next summer, I'll pick up a VTX1300 in some flavor for me and the wife to cruise around on, then I'll give this Shadow to its new forever owner.

Very thoughtful of you Dutch. I love stories like that.

An odd duck for sure but James Bond rode an R1200C. Jumped over a helicopter with one. That’s gotta make it cool.

Way cool story! $1800 for a great bike. I tried to get my son into bikes a couple of times, it never took. He's into black rifles, which I am not.

Wow, I never knew that.

The James Bond bike is now at its new home and is in the process of being fixed up slowly. The needed parts list on that keeps growing pretty quickly.

The Shadow on the other hand just got 4 new plugs, a new fuel filter, a new used airbox and lid (set me back $9.99 from EBay), new grips and throttle tube, hard bag latches, and some random small bolts and rubber bits that it was missing. I'm hoping that I'll have it all back together by next weekend so I can get some more pictures of it out and about. Strangely enough, 2 of the 4 plugs were barely hand tight and that fuel filter looked original, which makes me pretty excited to see how it'll run once all back together.