Bmw Supertwin

BMW SUPERTWIN

ROUNDUP

MEET THE UNDERDOG, or BMW Motorrad’s idea of an endurance racer. This R1200S-based machine competes against the cream of the world’s endurance teams and riders. Choosing an air-cooled Boxer-powered motorcycle to race in Europe’s premier 24-hour events is like Tiger Woods methodically breaking both his index fingers in the run up to the U.S. Open. But BMW doesn’t have much choice for bike selection in its current lineup. The company’s four-cylinder K1200s have too many cubic centimeters to race in existing classes. That leaves Singles or Twins, and the big Boxer is the natural choice.

“Right from the start, we were aware of the fact that with this concept-our bike being air-cooled-we would face certain disadvantages and we would not aim for the podium,” said a project insider. “But everybody knows 24-hour races are more about endurance, reliability, strategy and a good team than just

sheer power.”

But what a Boxer! The bike took first in class and 16th overall at Le Mans. Later, at Oschersleben in Germany, the two team bikes finished 1 -2 in class and a remarkable fifth and ninth overall.

This racing effort is another attempt by BMW to liven up its image. It has the touring and big-bore adventure segments sewn up, but the German company barely makes a ripple in other markets. The word from the top in recent years has been, “Change that perception.”

Single-make racing series, like the BoxerCup and PowerCup, only go so far. You must be judged against your peers to gain true performance legitimacy. The very fact that this air/oilcooled platform is perceived as an underdog compared to the lOOOcc Japanese Pours means that even half-decent results help BMW gain credibility. And that’s what happened at Le Mans and Oschersleben.

Unlike some other bigcompany race projects, this bike isn’t an after-hours effort built by enthusiastic engineers who want to push some boundaries. It is a bigbudget bike developed by BMW R&D and “experienced partners of the BMW Motorrad BoxerCup activities.” The resulting racebike makes 130 crank horsepower at 9500 rpm and has a significantly higher rev limit than the road bike. BMW says this motor has the potential to make 140 hp at the crank. “Endurance rac-

ing offers a great opportunity to see how far we can go with this unique engine concept,” added the insider.

The 1170cc Twin has bigger valves and a modified valvetrain, but BMW wouldn’t expand on exactly what had been modified. The heads have been ported and combustion chambers redesigned, with compression set at 12.5:1. The engine also features forged pistons and “adapted conrods.”

Ask what that means and you meet a wall of silence. They’re racing, after all. Throttle bodies are 52mm, and a modified ECU mates with 2D racing dash and data-recording equipment.

True to the brand, the Paralever final drive is shaft. The gearbox case looked like a sand-cast special to us. Getrag, the German gearbox specialists, are sponsors of the project, but BMW says the transmission is standard, so we must be wrong. An EVO Telelever fork works at the front. Both ends ride on linkage-free Öhlins shocks.

Interestingly, the pointy, high-waisted carbon bodywork appears to have many production-road-bike features. Why else would race bodywork need flat, rectangular indentations for front turnsignals? “No comment,” said BMW. But rumors heard elsewhere indicate that a new HP model, following the HP2 and Megamoto, will be presented to dealers this fall. Who’d bet against it being an R1200S-based Supertwin?

Gary Inman