The James Bond movie franchise was responsible for making the Aston Martin DB5 one of the most famous vehicles ever (although some will argue it is the DeLorean or even Herbie which is the most famous), so when BMW Motorrad heard that they could get a slice of the big screen action in the 1997 Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, naturally they jumped at the chance – although the bike they chose to link with the famous British secret agent left a bit to be desired...
Back in the mid-1990s, the German brand was looking at expanding their model range and shifting away from their traditional stomping ground of tourers and adventure bikes. Like pretty much every other manufacturer, they looked across the Atlantic, to the all-important American market, and decided that if they could get a slice of the huge cruiser segment, no matter how small, it would represent a significant boost in sales.
The Japanese makers attacked the sector with cookie cutter Harley-Davidson clones, complete with their de rigueur V-twin engines, lashings of chrome and pulled back handlebars. BMW took a more original approach.
One issue was that BMW didn’t have a traditional V-twin cruiser engine, they only had an inline four, single or a boxer twin, and they didn’t want one either. Undeterred, they decided to create their own take on a cruiser and power it with a 1170cc boxer retuned for more low-end grunt. The R1200C project was born.
Steadfastly refusing to adapt to many of the cruiser norms, BMW’s R&D team stuck with their own ideas when it came to the R1200C rather than build a pseudo-American bike and that meant it featured not only a shaft drive but also a Telelever front end. Yes, it had the chrome, wire wheels, forward foot controls and pulled-back ‘bars, but this boxer-powered cruiser was a million miles away from a traditional Harley-Davidson product – although it was at least air-cooled. A radiator would probably been one step too far!
All they now needed to do was work out a way of promoting it to a global audience – which is when Her Majesty’s Secret Service came into the story...
When it came to the scene involving the R1200C, nothing could have been further from the bike’s actual abilities or what its target audience would do. Handcuffed to his love interest, Bond proceeded to outrun the baddies through some narrow streets in Saigon before jumping, wheelieing and avoiding a helicopter before (mercifully...) smashing the BMW to pieces in a lowside to dodge the helicopter’s rotor blades of death. So, a normal day cruising down Route 66 then...
Despite 007’s endorsement, the R1200C never really took off in America (or Europe for that matter...) and while it eventually spawned three other variants (Classic, Independent and Montauk), it was discontinued in 2005 when a chastened BMW stepped away from the cruiser market.
It would be 15 years before BMW would take on the sector again, when the R18 ‘big boxer’ appeared at the height of 2020’s pandemic afflicted summer. That has also proved a bit of a slow seller, despite appearing in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
So why can’t BMW make a successful cruiser? Honestly, it is simply down to reputation and market forces. And frankly they are not the only manufacturer to face the same dilemma.
The American market remains huge. Nearly 600,000 bikes are sold every year Stateside, and Harley-Davidson alone commands a 20% stake (120,000 bikes, the vast majority of which are cruisers) while BMW attracts just 3%. Americans tend to be very patriotic and if you want to live the American dream, you buy a Harley or maybe an Indian, and generally not a BMW (or Triumph, or indeed any other manufacturer) cruiser.
That’s a tough nut to crack and despite Motorrad’s higher profile of late (remember they now have a World Superbike title to their credit) as well as their car side being very highly regarded, it still not plain sailing. And in Europe, where just over 1,000,000 motorbikes are sold every year, we prefer naked, adventure and touring bikes to cruisers and baggers, meaning the market is comparatively small when put alongside America’s.
That all said, BMW do seem committed to the R18 models, so maybe they are now playing the long game and gambling that sales will pick up. But what of the R1200C?
In the UK’s used market, BMW’s original boxer cruiser is viewed as a quirky bike for enthusiasts only. Not all that common due to their relative unpopularity when new, a tidy one will set you back in the region of £5000, which isn’t bad value for your money. Just check it for any signs of bullet holes, damage from rotor blades and maybe hidden rocket launchers...
Interestingly, the R1200C wasn’t the only product BMW shoehorned into the film. Bond is also given a BMW 750iL (after a wonderful scene involving insurance waivers when Q poses as a hire car rep) complete with guns and a female-voiced interface to catch the Lothario’s attention...
Specs:
Engine: 1170cc, air-cooled, 8v, SOHC, boxer twin
Power: 61bhp @ 5000rpm
Torque: 72.3ftlb @ 3000rpm
Seat height: 740mm
Weight: 258kg (wet)
