eljeffe
Feb 4th, 2006, 6:47 pm
I've talked with a few dealer principals who were up at the dealer meeting in New York this past week. Here's the info that I have:
1. May (most likely LATE May) is the arrival date at your local dealership -- Not April as was previously reported... this sucks!
2. Dealer allocation for the K1200GT will be based on pre-orders and how quickly dealers sell their first shipment units -- I'd get one on order now or expect a long wait after they arrive. Based on the pre-announcement orders and interest, BMW and the dealers expect this bike to "outperform the launch sales of the K1200S" (don't kill me, I'm just the messenger).
3. The people I talked to who attended the dealer meeting said that the Xenon (HID) lighting would NOT be an option for the USA. It did not pass the DOT certification as it was too bright -- not an issue, because I can get an aftermarket HID and have it installed cheaper anyway.
4. Your dealer should be receiving an electronic version of all the K1200GT collateral in the next week or so (along with info on the new R1200GS Adventure (June), R1200S (June), and the new R1200RT Police (July) bikes that will be coming this summer -- no word on the F800 bikes was shared with me.
5. As an interesting side note, one of the dealer principals told me that there were two "innovative" features on the GT that won't show up on other BMW bikes until the next model year. There will be a tire pressure monitor displayed on the dash (no details of whether this is an idiot light or a pressure gauge) and that the heated grips will be "automatic" based on the ambient temperature (I asked if there was a high/low override switch for really cold days when you want that extra heat), but got no word.
I'll keep you posted as I learn more.
1. May (most likely LATE May) is the arrival date at your local dealership -- Not April as was previously reported... this sucks!
2. Dealer allocation for the K1200GT will be based on pre-orders and how quickly dealers sell their first shipment units -- I'd get one on order now or expect a long wait after they arrive. Based on the pre-announcement orders and interest, BMW and the dealers expect this bike to "outperform the launch sales of the K1200S" (don't kill me, I'm just the messenger).
3. The people I talked to who attended the dealer meeting said that the Xenon (HID) lighting would NOT be an option for the USA. It did not pass the DOT certification as it was too bright -- not an issue, because I can get an aftermarket HID and have it installed cheaper anyway.
4. Your dealer should be receiving an electronic version of all the K1200GT collateral in the next week or so (along with info on the new R1200GS Adventure (June), R1200S (June), and the new R1200RT Police (July) bikes that will be coming this summer -- no word on the F800 bikes was shared with me.
5. As an interesting side note, one of the dealer principals told me that there were two "innovative" features on the GT that won't show up on other BMW bikes until the next model year. There will be a tire pressure monitor displayed on the dash (no details of whether this is an idiot light or a pressure gauge) and that the heated grips will be "automatic" based on the ambient temperature (I asked if there was a high/low override switch for really cold days when you want that extra heat), but got no word.
I'll keep you posted as I learn more.