Spied! 2005 Bmw R1200gs

SPIED! 2005 BMW R1200GS

Unlike its counterparts on the car side with their zooty double VANOS cylinder heads and electronically controlled shock damping, BMW’s bike division is pretty conservative, especially when it comes to embracing new technology. The current air/oil-cooled flat-Twin, for example, has been around for a decade now, having made its debut in the 1994 R1100RS. The innovative Telelever front suspension first hit the market on that

model, as well. Now, spy photographs of an updated engine and transmission housed in an all-new chassis-one that includes an actual frame based on the trellis-style affair used by the Paris-Dakar rally bikes-have surfaced. Essentially a shrunken version of the current Boxer, the engine will likely be available in both 850 and 1200cc displacements. Expected first in the best-selling GS-itself made more compact to appeal to a wider audience-the updates won’t likely be seen until 2005.

-Matthew Miles