Road tested this BMW R1200S yesterday from Kaimuki around Sandy Beach through Norfolk.
I think it could be a good next bike
But it's still a long way from being a Ducati
More on road test impressions later
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OK, now it's later and I have re-fueled after this morning's bike ride.
BMW has had some spotty success with a few odd bikes that could be considered "sport bikes" , loosely defined that is. Starting with the R90S which won a class at Daytona and then afterwards in a few other odd classes. In fact a rather famous rider, who's name escapes me at the moment, (Reg Pridmore) had some considerable campaigns with the bike ( Two first places at Daytona in AMA Superbike ). However this class of bike never really sat well or sold well with most of BMW's market and had little appeal outside their market.
The R1200S was the new, improved version of the R1100S but not quite the pinnacle of the Boxer engine that was used in the HP2 Sport. BMW got with the program and developed the S1000RR and you guys know the rest.
So this R1200S is lighter and more powerful than the previous bike. On paper it has 122 HP at the crank, puts out 82.6 ft lbs of torque and has a dry weight of 419 lbs. Contrast that with the Ducati 848 at 134 HP at the crank, 70.8 ft lbs torque and 370 lbs dry.
Considering the 12 extra ft lbs of torque I thought the performance would be close between the two. WRONG. The 848 is noticeably quicker and meaner sounding. Not that the R1200S is slow, it's not but it does take a little more work to get it going whereas the 848 is more of a bad boy right from the get go.
When we got off the bikes at Norfolk the 1200 owner ( who has had a Monster and a 999 ) told be right away that I probably thought the R1200S was more of an old man's sport tourer. Well, that was close to what I thought but having put some miles on the R1100S just the day before I was inclined to be more charitable, and not unjustly so.
The R1200S is noticeably lighter and more agile than the 1100 and noticeably more powerful too so that in BMW's book it was, and is , a huge improvement. You can feel the top heaviness of the bike as opposed to the Ducati. The front feels light and slightly nervous. It moves a bit too easily and requires a bit different feel when cornering compared to my 848 which is totally planted but still moves exactly where you want it to, exactly when you want it to, with no guesswork or uncertainty. Just perfect IMO. Maybe doing away with the helibar clipons, which add about an inch of height to the bars, would help get a little extra weight on the front. He was running Michelin Pilot Power front & rear but I don't know what the tire pressure was and getting that set right might also help. Coming through some of the bumpy sections of Norfolk at a bit of speed also showed the rear suspension was not damped enough so there was a bit of extra bouncing and wiggle there. Almost thrilling......
I think that could be worked out with some adjustment.
The engine is way smoother than the 1100 and has almost no Boxer buzz at all. That's nice. The 848 is right in between the two when it comes to overall smoothness. The Akropovic exhaust has a nice note but still seems stealthy compared to the 848 and that is even with the baffles removed in the 1200. Stealth is not a bad thing but like the 1200 owner said when he got off my bike " The exhaust noise is intoxicating on this thing." Yep, he's sure right about that and it's one of the things I'd miss. So, in a way, the whole bike is a bit stealthy, minus a flat black satin paint job. That is, while it's a bit slower than the 848, it can still be made to go quick enough to surprise people. It is not a stodgy BMW cruiser. It's more like a bike without a proper identity. In a way, kind of like me.
