K1200r
CYCLE WORLD TEST
2006 new bikes
K1200R
BMW's Muscle Missile
MARK HOYER
WHAT IS THE PROPER response when faced with an unpatrolled open road whilst sitting upon a wacky-looking German naked bike capable of more than 150 mph? What about when you’re lapping a racetrack on the same bike following a flying BMW test rider?
Pin it, of course! A fellow might not have had that thought on many previous BMWs, but the Bavarian Motor Works are enjoying a strange transformation, dropping hard saddlebags as an option on several models and adding crazy amounts of horsepower across the range. From the HP2 super-adventure bike to the R1200RT to the forthcoming R1200S sport-Twin (see Roundup) to the pair of four-cylinder Special Ks, power is on the rise, sporting intent the new focus. It’s not that all the hard saddlebags are gone (far from it), but there has been a sea change in company philosophy. This change has led to the K1200R “Roadster,” essentially a stripped version of the Hayabusachasing K1200S. Aside from shorter final-drive gearing, slightly more aggressive steering geometry and higher/wider handlebars, the R is mechanically identical to the S. “What do you think?” asked one of the German PR higher-ups. “Are we doing the right thing with the R-model?” Hey, a naked bike packing a claimed 163 crank hp is fine by us...
We got our first taste of the new naked in sunny southern Spain at the international press introduction. The surprise was that we rolled out of the hotel to ride to Race Resort Ascari about 60 miles away. Track time on a naked bike? But there we were after a high-speed road ride, lining up behind ex-racer BMW test riders for follow-the-leader laps around the “Race Resort.” As you might gather from the name, this ain’t Willow Springs Raceway in its dusty, cinderblock, high-desert glory.
Ascari is basically a country club, with beautiful manicured landscaping and exceptionally finished paddock garages. The ladies’ locker room (I’m told) featured carbon-fiber toilet seats, while the men’s facilities boasted.. .potpourri. Lunch at the clubhouse was fabulous. Apparently, being a Dutch oil magnate (so went the story about the track owner) allows extravagance when it comes to motorsports hobbies. The sweeping 3.4-mile road course was built to FIA standards, features lots of elevation changes and a fairly high average speed. It was really about as suitable a racetrack as you could imagine for the K1200R. Except maybe for Talladega...
Nonetheless, attacking the track on a 516-pound bike with a 62.2-inch wheelbase seems at first glance to be a nutty proposition. But it’s no more nutty than a 163-hp naked bike. So while being far from lumbering, a cut-and-thrust specialist the K1200R is not. Turn-in response is reasonably quick, but you don’t really get the feeling you could ever carve under somebody in the heat of battle. More importantly, the R resisted tightening its cornering line. Add to this vague front-end feel at deep lean, making it hard to know what was really happening up there at the contact patch. The Hossack-style Duolever front suspension sports a mellow 29-degree rake working with 4 inches of trail (.4-degree steeper and .4-inch shorter than the S).
PowerCup race versions aside (see sidebar), the probability of track use with this bike is low. On the road, the K1200R made a fine sporting companion with excellent ride quality, particularly from this very low-stiction front end. Stability was never in question, on the road or the track, and the R felt great whipping along at 120 per on Spanish freeways, even if my neck muscles were struggling to maintain similar composure for my head. Back in the U.S. with our testbike, we found the sub-80-mph norm to be comfortable and smooth-the engine isn’t even breathing hard at those speeds.
Our testbike was equipped with BMW’s novel Electronic Suspension Adjustment, which allows three damping modes to be selected-“Comf,” “Norm,” and “Sport” reads the LCD display as you toggle through the modes via a button on the left handlebar pod. Further, rear spring preload is electro-hydraulically altered (but only at a standstill) for one helmet or two (number of riders on bike), as well as showing a suitcase icon in the case of added luggage. ESA made a real difference in ride quality and bike behavior. In Comfort mode on the road, the ride was noticeably smoother and more.. .comfortable, with the Duolever front and Paralever rear suspension sucking up bumps nicely. At the track, the Sport setting was particularly useful. The bike rode higher in the stroke to maintain better cornering clearance, and when bashing over the curbs through the chicanes the bike would only cycle up and down once, then settle. On the Normal or Comfort settings, it cycled two to four times, forcing the rider to delay the tip in for the final kink, although the curb bumps were sucked up better. ESA is not a mere novelty.
Neither are the optional partially integrated power-assisted EVO/ABS brakes, which worked very well on the street and track. But isn’t the anti-stoppie effect also anti-thug? Yeah, a little bit. Not only for the no-stoppie action, but because the partially integrated brakes (handlebar lever actuates the rear brake along with the front) make doing great big smoky burnouts a little awkward since you can’t lock the front and fry the rear effectively. Such is the price of safety! In all seriousness, these are good brakes for most riders, and deleting the ABS saves you $995.
Good brakes are key when you’ve got 140 horsepower at the rear wheel. The reason this is reduced (6 hp) from the Smodel, says BMW, is due to the differences in intake systems brought about by the lack of fairing on the R. There’s still plenty of go, though! Delivery feels very refined and much like that of Honda’s discontinued CBR1100XX, although this engine has more high-frequency vibration. Torque muscles past 70 foot-pounds at 4000 rpm and stays above that all the way to 10,000 rpm, passing through an 83 ft.-lb. peak at 8450 rpm. Performance was impressive, with 2.8-second 0-60 and a stout 10.57-second/128.43-mph quarter-mile run. Top speed was 155 mph, although you really don’t want to probe this windy limit on an (almost) naked bike.
And what about the shifting trouble and mistuned EFI reported after Executive Editor Brian Catterson returned from the initial K1200S launch late last year? The 1-2 and 2-3 shifts still weren’t the smoothest, but were hugely improved at higher revs. As for the fuel-injection, there is a slight surge on deceleration as the revs drop below 3000 rpm.
These items weren’t an issue as we smoked along the highways of southern Spain pushing triple-digit speeds. But then on the way back to the hotel we pulled into a town called Morón for fuel and, to be honest, to find out how the Morons lived (much like us, I discovered). It was really the first time all day we’d actually brought the speed down to a “normal” range, and while wandering among these gentle people, it was noted when traveling less than 30 mph that the steering lacked some feel and didn't center very well. Further inspection back in the U.S. unearthed a steering damper. Jacking up the front end and swinging the bars back and forth revealed there is quite a lot of damping in this non-adjustable unit, which is what makes the bike wander at low speeds. As much as we wish life were one big autobahn, it isn't. Slow happens, particularly on a naked bike, and the R's slow-speed behavior-at least in regard to shifting and steering-could be better refined.
Above 30 mph, this is a great motorcycle. The high, wide bars ally with a comfortable seat to make this a very nice place to sit over the long haul. The optional larger wind screen (tinted even) on our testbike provided surprisingly good wind protection and allowed trouble-free high-speed cruising. Other niceties such as BMW's power outlet (for electric vests and other accessories), plus options such as heated handgrips and an alternate, lower seat, further underline what a capable and versatile naked GT bike this is. But ultimately there are contradictory phi losophies at work in the K1200R, in that its stripped-down, muscular styling suggests the sort of punk playfulness of bikes such as Triumph's Speed Triple, yet the idea doesn't translate clearly into German. The major horsepower and new attitude at BMW are welcome, and the very fact that this bike exists is a testament to the changes tak ing place at this formerly conservative company, but the R is held back by the fact that its fundamental design was intended to be a high-speed GT bike. So, at $14,250 base price without ESA or the partially integrated ABS, the K1200R represents sort of a bargain version of the S. As an overall package, though, it doesn't make quite as much sense. Wait a minute.. .an unsensible BMW? Now, there's a step in the right direction.
BMW
K1200R
$16,680
