Beemer Cruiser – 2000 BMW R1200C

Post-Sale Update: This BMW R1200C sold for a hidden best offer less than $6,250.

First shown to the world in the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, the BMW R1200C was Germany’s attempt at the cruiser market. With very distinctive looks, the R12C survived for 7 years, but BMW decided to kill it as the engine wasn’t very suited to the characteristics that most cruiser riders wanted.

In the mid 90’s, BMW was using a 1100cc boxer engine for almost all of their R-series bikes. When they bumped up capacity, the first bike to receive the 1200cc engine was…this cruiser, and not the GS adventure or S sportbike. Producing 61 horsepower and 72 pound feet of torque, power wasn’t an issue, but it was ‘different’ than the V-Twins that dominated Harley and the Japanese Harley clones. One of the niftiest features was the passenger seat, which could fold up to become a backrest for the driver at three different angles. It was smooth, distinctive, and surprisingly nimble in the corners for a 564 pound (wet) bike, but Americans never really caught on to it.

Back to Bond: In an exciting chase sequence that involves jumping between rooftops and over a chooper, Bond (played by Pierce Brosnan) pilots a BMW R1200C with Michelle Yeoh’s character on the back (and sometimes front) through Saigon. We highly recommend you kill the next 5 minutes by watching it here, though we apologize for not being able to find a video with better quality:

BMW supplied 15 of the bikes for filming, and only 3 survived the experience. Interestingly enough, when the movie was released, BMW offered a promotional deal where you could buy both a 750iL and a R1200C together from dealerships. And that was part of the problem – almost every R1200C was bought by someone who was already a BMW owner. The bike stole very few riders from other marques, so a lot of the sales were simply BMW cannibalizing themselves.

This specific BMW R1200C comes in the rare cream color with blue leather seats and luggage, and comes with heated grips and ABS brakes. It’s in excellent shape with just 10,502 miles – you’ll easily reach more than 10 times that if you want to put that many miles on it, and it comes with a few extras. If you’re looking for a cruiser, the R12C will stand out, and this is an excellent example of what will inevitably be a future classic.