Greg Gorman does a really nice review of the all-new BMW K1200RS which he was lucky enough to ride on the Nurburgring in Germany.
I rode a new R12GS BMW in New Zealand last November, and was really amazed with it. What BMW does that few other bikes do, is ABS (which is more important on a bike than on a car, imo) and the best front suspension (Telelever) on any major brand. Suspension is critical on motorcycles because keeping the tire on the tarmac is so important when you only have 2 wheels and the contact patch is much smaller.
I’d love to own one, but BMWs are really expensive in Japan and bike theft is rampant in Tokyo. It doesn’t pay to own a foreign bike, sadly.
I’ve never ridden a BMW before and have always thought of them as quirky looking but very functional motorcycles that were, in the most part, heavy and underpowered. That perception has changed.
The bikes we rode were pre-production bikes and they did have their problems – vibration and lousy throttle response at 3500-4000 rpm, various shifting problem, and a grossly inaccurate fuel gauge. These were all mentioned in various magazines but they are really minor problems.
What about a high speed weave you ask? I had the bike up to an indicated 270kph and it did nothing but go right where I pointed it. And believe me you’d notice if the bike did anything other than go where you pointed it when doing 270kph through the various sweeping turns of the Kesselchen section. If it does have a high speed weave it’s somewhere in the 270-290kph range – so what.
Overweight? The way it flicks from footpeg to footpeg, you’d never know it weighs about 550lbs with a full tank of gas. I’d say it flicks like 2000 ZX-9R or a first generation GSX-R1000. Yes, it’s that good.
The power assisted front brakes? TRULY AWSOME when the key is in the on position. Scary when it’s not, e.g. you’re pushing the bike, and try to stop. No power equals almost zero brakes.
The Electronically Adjustable Suspension (ESA)? A way cool feature I wish I had now. Set the bike up for the interstate, city, corner carving, luggage and/or a passenger with the touch of a button.
In all this is a motorcycle for the street. As such it makes the rider’s job easier. In my view, there is no high performance STREET bike out there that’s better.
Go ride a 1000RR. It’s super stable, and retardedly fast. I can confirm that it does NOT have a high speed weave, a low speed weave or any other uncomfortable characteristics of any kind. And the unpowered brakes will stop you. Right now. Nope you missed it. You’ve already stopped, or, more likely, locked ‘em up because you weren’t ready for the power and didn’t warm up the tires. Good job, rook.
BMW road bikes (not the dual sports!) are overpriced, overtechnical and overweight. A simplified BMW with the good engineering, bettr weight, and more rider control would be better. The telelever front is a really neat idea, but the electronic gewgaws detract from the machine. ABS on a bike scares me. I also doubt that it runs like a 2000 / ’01 GSX-R1000 (unless the guy meant an older one, which is possible, but I thought that those were called the GSX-R1100).
As a final technical note, the track is the Nordschliefe (there are different configurations) and is, from a pure “cool” perspective the neatest racetrack in the world. Too bad F1 is so watered down these days or they’d still race there. The long variation is about 14 miles and has many wide-open sections.
cdg
Good review Gen. My problem with the BMW bikes is that I cannot get over the styling… all in the eye of the beholder but I really with they could bring over some of the auto designers (old designers not the bangle led crew in charge of new models) to help bring the design up to par with the engineering. IMHO, of course.
Shane
No, I didn’t mean the older GSX-R1100. I meant the ’01 1000 like the one I enduranced raced in 2001 or the ’98 ZX-9R I won an amateur championship on in ’99. It is totally surprising how good the K12S is, especially considering it’s a street bike first.
nice comeback greg! Although I agree in principle with CDG’s assertion that the CBR1000 is a better bike, the question has to be, better for who?
I have done around 100 laps to the ring (or nordschleife for you anal retentives out there) as well as countless laps of various tracks around europe. Any regulars of the ring will have seen Ferraris overtaken by Golf GTi’s etc, and the same is true of bikes. I was at the small and twisty Lydden circuit last summer, riding in the fast group. There was a rider on an old BMW R80 who was lapping quicker than 50% of the group, on their CBR1000s etc.
Unfortunately, many riders these days are incapable of using the power of their bikes and would be quicker on something more stable and less intimidating. CDG – I suggest you keep an open mind!