The new BMW R12 is a recipe that I hear people begging for in the world of two and four wheels all the time. Give us a big-bore, proven engine, put it in a simple, reasonably lightweight chassis with a minimalist smattering of tech essentials, and make it look like an old icon, modernized lightly. This 2026 BMW R12 G/S is exactly that wish fulfilled, all done in a tough-chic adventurous style that’s so hot right now, with the hardware to back it up.

Gelande/Strasse

The BMW R12 G/S is a very close homage to the original dual-sport adventure bike, the 1980 R80 G/S, with G/S meaning Gelande/Strasse, translating to Terrain/Street. It was intended to be a bike that blended the off-road capability of a dirt bike, with the highway cruising and usability of a good street bike, and as you might have guessed by the perpetually growing popularity of adventure bikes, it was exceptionally successful.

Style

This new R12 G/S, especially in the Light White colour scheme that mimics the R80 G/S’s tri-color livery, is a dead ringer for the original at a quick glance, complete with a nearly identical aluminum gas tank, high mount front fender, square headlight fairing/flyscreen and spoked wheels (with tubeless tires, in this case). 

This tester’s Option 719 Off-Road package modernizes things with Sandrover matte paint, with red and metallic grey graphics, chromed exhaust, black Option 719 hardware, and a bright red frame to make it all pop. It gets attention everywhere it goes, and I couldn’t help but notice it had a particularly strong influence on children - “my son loves your bike!” -  and everyone knows the unfettered imagination of a child has the best taste in vehicles. 

I don’t typically go on about style - I prefer to let photos do the talking - but this thing is the coolest cat in the class. Personally, I think it's even better looking and a closer homage to the original than the former R nineT Urban G/S; a good chunk of that is owed to the R12's new frame.

Chassis

The R12 is a marked departure from the R nineT it replaces, using a more traditional tubular frame to make up the bike’s backbone, instead of relying as heavily on using the engine as a stressed member. This allows for more flexibility to move things around, create a more relaxed riding position, and position the rear shock on an angle for more progressive damping. Weight is just about identical to the older R nineT, with this battle-clad R12 G/S tipping the scales at 505 pounds, ready to ride.

The G/S is, somewhat obviously, designed to be taller to facilitate additional suspension travel and ground clearance. It uses BMW's paralever rear swingarm to carry the driveshaft out back, and up front, it rides on a 45mm inverted front fork; both front and rear dampers have easily adjustable settings, with the rear having a convenient preload adjustment knob that can be tweaked on the fly.

Our tester’s Enduro Pro package puts much greater emphasis on the gelande portion of the G/S equation, raising ground clearance to an even 10 inches by adding an 18-inch rear wheel (standard is 9.4” and 17” respectively), and also adds handlebar risers, engine guards, hand guards, a longer kickstand, knobby off-road tires, and additional Enduro Pro ride mode that relaxes the standard ABS & traction control for soft-surface silliness.

Tech

The new R12 platform has modern standard niceties like keyless ride, lean-sensitive ABS, and dynamic traction/drag reduction. Our tester’s comfort package also adds heated grips, cruise control, quick shifter, and hill start control; the latter of which worked a lot better than I would have expected.

Our tester also includes a new, minimalist TFT display that replaces the standard analog speedometer. It’s small, doesn’t detract from the style of the bike, is easy to read, can be mostly disabled via Pure Ride display mode. It’s not as slick or nearly as fully fleshed out as the larger displays on other Beemers, but it’s easy enough to use and live with. I would be curious to see how the standard analog speedometer compares, but I’m willing to wager this will end up being a no-brainer for just $180.

The only noteworthy omission is the distinct absence of a fuel gauge. You do get a reserve warning that triggers once you pass the 4 litre mark, and starts counting kilometeres up (...strange) on a dedicated tripometer until you’ve refilled the 15.5 litre fuel tank.

You’re supposed to have about 50 kilometers of reserve range, calculated by extrapolating your average fuel use against the low fuel trigger, and you can keep yourself well appraised by resetting your trip distance when refueling (which you should be doing anyway, in any vehicle), but it seems a little silly to not have a gauge. Anyway…

Engine

The R12 G/S is powered by the same, well-proven, air/oil-cooled 1170cc “hexhead” boxer-twin that was previously doing duty in the RNineT that the R12 line replaces. In this application, it produces 109 horsepower and 85 foot-pounds of torque, and it is routed to the road via a 6-speed transmission with a single-plate dry clutch. There’s not a lot to report about here, because if you’ve ridden pretty much any BMW boxer in the last twenty years, it sounds and feels like that - which is a good thing. People like these engines for a reason.

It starts without a fuss, runs pretty smoothly with a faint vibration from the thrumming boxer layout, and has a very broad torque spread, making it super flexible and easy to ride any which way. You can lug it around quietly or rev the absolute snot out of it, and it’ll be just as happy either way, with a gradual build of power towards the top of the 8,500 rpm tach, and a signature boxer intake snort and exhaust bark - which could be smidge more authoritative, but that’s an easy fix.

For better or worse, it is a much simpler, more traditional engine than the new generation of 1300cc water-cooled boxers from BMW. It doesn’t make nearly as much as power, but it’s still more than enough to get properly silly with, it still feels like a world-class engine, and it’s considerably easier for a DIYer to maintain.

Ergonomics

The riding position is fairly relaxed, notably more upright than an F900 G/S, but a little closer to the action with sharper leg angles than the bigger R 1300 G/S. The seat is comfortable, and the new frame allows for a relocated airbox, making the seat and your knees a little narrower than an RNineT. It is fairly tall, with a 34.4 inch seat; my six-foot lanky frame was unable to flat-foot both feet, you might struggle a little if you’re shorter.

It’s worth noting that there is zero storage, and not much in the way of tie-downs - this is the high cost of high style. You’ll have to get a little creative if you want to take your adventures out of town.

On the move

As you’d probably anticipate, the R12 G/S has fabulous ride comfort. This is a bike that can jump stumps; potholes are nothing for it. It’s easy to maneuver at low speeds and with a light clutch and generous torque, it’s not torturous to sit in traffic. The shifter is slick, responds to either a delicate touch or a heavy boot, and the quickshifter is so effective that the clutch is almost entirely unneeded once underway. It’s an easy bike to ride.

With a big, torquey engine in a middleweight bike with aggressive gearing, this R12 G/S can move. It’s very quick around town, plenty quick enough to make the front wheel really light, and it doesn’t run out of breath on the highway, either. At speed, it’s very stable, unfazed by crosswinds and runs in the pavement; it may look like a big dirt bike, but it’s quite happy on the highway. My only gripe is roar from the knobby tires on this tester’s Enduro Pro package - I’d say skip it if you’re not honestly planning to really get muddy on the regular.

Having said that, this bike is so much fun when you wander off the beaten path. The raised handlebars makes it easy to stand up comfortably, and the same quickshifter that’s so useful around town is just as useful for delicately nudging between first and second on tricky terrain. The same low centre of gravity that made the helped make the original R80 G/S so popular is just as effective on this big boxer, enabling it to feel surprisingly sure footed, even for this not-super-experienced rider. 

The Enduro Pro ride mode is well dialled to allow for a generous amount of wheel spin without running away, and the ABS is disabled on the rear for doing sweet skids like a kid on a bicycle. The Enduro mode goes the other way, softening throttle response a bit, which was very useful for clawing my way out of a tire track with deeper standing water than I thought without making a complete mess. My only nitpick - the front brake is a little grabbier than I’d like; I never really got used to it.

Money & Wrap it up

Like I said at the outset, this is a recipe that people have been begging for. Take something old and established, sprinkle in a little bit of a modernity, make it look rad as hell, and send it out the door. It’s a thoroughly modern machine that (with the exception of the absentee gas gauge) only benefits from its classic inspiration, and ends up oozing cool while also being a very effective motorcycle.

Base MSRP on an R12 G/S starts at $18,165, and our tester’s options bring that tally up to $24,340. A cynic might say that's a tall ask for a simple chassis with an old engine, but there's nothing else really like this, either. Not only would you be hard pressed to find something that has more cool factor than this, there aren’t many bikes that can be this rad while also being so effective on the strasse and gelande, when the mood strikes you.