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Sorry for the bad formatting, dont have time to fix..
Read it properly in the PDF link above."By Matt Farah
When shopping for a used motorcycle
several years ago, I decided to check
out BMW’s, since they look great and
have a reputation for quality. I found
something interesting: most used
BMW bikes have many more miles
on them than competitively marketed equivalents from Italy, America,
and Japan. The people who buy these
bikes, especially the magnificent GS
series of adventure tourers, buy them
to ride them everywhere. BMW motorcycles, unlike their cars, have a reputation for bulletproof reliability, and
it seems the more they are used, the
better they work. I’ve tested BMW’s
F800R and R1200GS for The Smoking
Tire, and when the opportunity arose
to ride the new R1200R “Roadster”
bike, I couldn’t resist.
This is a gorgeous motorcycle,
with classic proportions modernized
to the exact right amount of aggressiveness. As a “Roadster,” it’s designed
as a multi-purpose tool for urban,
canyon, and highway travel at speed
and in comfort. Let’s explore how the
R1200R handles these situations here.
Urban Commuting: Most of Los Angeles is a huge, annoying grid. Unlike
the wonderful suburban commutes of
many American cities, LA is a lightto-light universe, where one can rarely travel half a mile without stopping
and could, theoretically, traverse half
the city without having to turn a steering wheel a few degrees. It’s dreadful,
and the only way to make a commute bearable is to ride a motorcycle.
Lane-splitting is allowed here, unlike
everywhere else in the nation, so Texas-sized cruiser bars resembling steer
horns won’t cut it. Though the 1170cc
boxer twin sticks out to the sides of
the bike more than I’m used to, it’s
just under the width of the perfectlysized handlebars for sneaking in between cars at lights. Now that you’re
at the front of the line, the fun comes
from the land of Torques, where the
88 lb/ft of them is more than enough
to move the 437 lb (dry), 497 lb (wet)
R1200R briskly off the line and out to
clear road ahead. As the revs climb,
the boxer gets smoother, and quietly
delivers 110 horsepower at the 8500
RPM redline. Though it’s clearly no
S1000RR here, the R1200R feels fast
without trying, so you don’t have to
wring the engine out or downshift a
gear to make a pass.
Urban riding also means potholes and uneven pavement. Fortunately, the R1200R comes with BMW’s
Electronically Adjustable Suspension
(ESA), with “Sport,” “Normal,” and
“Comfort” modes, as in the GS series.
It works exceptionally well, saving my
only half-functional spine on many
occasions while riding around town.
Speaking of my spine, anyone who’s
ever had back problems will genuinely appreciate the upright riding
position that makes riding motorcycles after a spinal injury bearable. But
the R1200R is also easy to ride in the
crouched position once you get to the
canyons or the track.
Our one issue with all BMW’s
in urban riding is still the blinkers.
We’re not sure why BMW has to split
the blinker controls between the two
handlebars instead of using a single
toggle like everyone else, but after 7
total weeks of riding BMW bikes, I’m
still not used to it.
The Canyons: Here is where you
learn the most about a motorcycle.
Unlike a perfect, repetitive race track,
the canyons have obstacles, such as
wet patches, gravel from rock slides,
and unpredictably bad drivers in latemodel imports, not to mention other
riders who choose to ignore doubleyellow lines. Here, I was slightly disappointed. The R1200R’s engine is
mounted low and is a structural element in the bike’s construction. The
included ABS brakes and Automatic
Stability Control should help in panic situations. The shaft drive system
should offer direct throttle response,
and the sporting profile, with its telelever front suspension should offer
excellent handling all around. Unfortunately, the actual riding experience
wasn’t as connected as I was hoping.
The R1200GS, a taller bike powered
by an identical engine, proved to be
as sure-footed as an ox through the
canyons. But after two days of canyon riding on the R1200R, I never felt
fully comfortable. I never got the desire to push the bike harder through
corners, and in some cases, I felt like I
couldn’t even go as quickly as I could
on the GS. Though the throttle response is excellent, there’s a fine line
between on and off throttle, making
it difficult to fully settle the bike in
a corner, especially at low speeds. It
loves powering through big sweepers
at the top of third, but I kept worrying
about scraping the cylinder heads on
the ground through fast second-gear
bends. Ultimately, I preferred the ride
home on the open, sweeping Pacific
Coast Highway to the tight and technical Latigo Canyon Road.
Highway: Here is where the R1200R
shines. Like many other bikes, it has
a sweet spot. We’ve already learned
that the sweet spot is not between 15
and 35 mph, since it doesn’t like slow
corners. The R1200R’s sweet spot is
between 50 and 80 mph. Whether
on an open desert road, the Pacific
Coast Highway, or even the awful
405 Freeway in LA, you’re going to
enjoy yourself on one of these. Fast
passes on wide-open straightaways
in Nevada? No problem. A Sunday
cruise up the PCH to Neptune’s Net?
Covered. 20 mile commutes to work
each way? Easy. At speed the R1200R
is composed, solid, and comfortable.
The small windscreen helps keep
wind-fighting effort low, while the
air-cooled boxer twin runs smooth
and cool, never putting up a fuss. In
three weeks of riding, I never once
downshifted out of sixth gear to make
a pass. LA’s grooved highway system
affected stability significantly less
than in smaller bikes I’ve ridden, such
as BMW’s own F800R or the similarly
styled Suzuki SV1000. It’s not necessarily an endurance road tripper like
the R1200GS or K1600 series bikes,
but with the addition of a set of soft
saddlebags, could be used every day
for long highway commutes or overnight trips. The rear seat is very usable, and from what I hear from the
beautiful woman lucky enough to join
me for a day on the road, quite comfortable.
So, is admission into the world
of BMW Sport Touring bikes worth
the $12,495 price tag? If you’re looking for an all-season canyon carver, a
utilitarian road tripper, or a big-bore
superbike like the now-extinct HP2,
no, it isn’t. But if you’re someone who
rides every day, in cities and on highways, to and from work and on casual
weekend rides to clear your head, and
if you plan on racking up the miles
while keeping your spine intact, this
just may be the bike for you.
Photo Credits: Matt Farah"
piston.