+ Click to Enlarge BMW K1200 R: At about 122kW it is, technically, the most powerful production roadster in the world.

July 19, 2005
By Tim Luckhurst

Specifications
Engine: 1157cc liquid-cooled in-line four.
Power: 122kW at 10 250 rpm.
Torque: 128Nm at 8 250 rpm.
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox hooked to shaft final drive.
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 2.8sec.
UK Price: £9 190 (about R106 000 at 19/07/05).
SA Price: R118 000.

If naked muscle bikes were people they would be the blockheads: loud, brash and full of energy. Blockheads know it will all go wrong in the end but, until then, they are determined to have a riotous time.

You would not take them home to meet your mum because they might throw up in the kitchen but blockheads can be fun to be around.

Modern blockhead motorcycles are designed to be as fast as they are impractical. They deliver dramatic surges of power but have nothing to keep the rain and wind off their rider. You can have spectacular fun on a Kawasaki Z1000, Triumph Speed Triple or Ducati Monster S4 but you would not ride one far.

These are bikes on which to pull wheelies, thrash around a few innocent lanes and then slide screechingly to a halt before buying a bag of chips on the way home.

Until now BMW has not ventured into this thuggish market. The German manufacturer has been associated with touring and technical innovation but not brute force. The K1200R roadster is designed to change perceptions. At about 122kW it is, technically, the most powerful production roadster in the world.

It looks vicious and sounds like a furious dragon but, if BMW wants it to be considered nasty, it's going to be a bit disappointed. It's simply too classy for that.

The K1200R is a stripped down version of the K1200S superbike that endured a spectacularly difficult birth. You might remember that the first few models were recalled after problems with electronic fuel-injection and sub-standard crankshafts. The starting point is that BMW now has its new in-line four cylinder engine right.

It's smooth, balanced and impressively flexible as well as hugely powerful. One result is that a lazy rider can do almost everything in fifth gear. I passed coaches on winding minor roads without changing down. The engine pulled with dramatic effect from 70km/h with a gentle twist of the wrist.

Of course, I could have accelerated faster but the K1200R does in fifth what few sports cars can do in third. It pulls hard in sixth, too.

As impressive was its demeanour when I dropped down three gears and pegged the throttle open. I expected my front wheel to lift off the tarmac - several naked roadsters are designed with that in mind but the K1200R kept its tyre on the road and rocketed forward like a wire-guided missile.

It handled like one, too. From standstill to well over 160km/h this BMW goes exactly where it is pointed. There is no twitching. It carves through sweeping curves as if on rails and turns into tighter ones with calm precision.

A track session at Rockingham race circuit confirmed that it also stays composed under serious provocation. There was a point when things started to feel ragged, but I was travelling at close to twice the legal speed limit when I reached it.

Technical innovation

This is a roadster, not a pure sports bike, but it has sports DNA. It's a little too heavy to compete with thoroughbreds, but it can race. To prove it, BMW has launched a new one-make contest, the BMW Motorrad Power Cup to be run on European tracks this season.

The version I rode came with BMW's latest technical innovation - electronic suspension adjustment. This permits the rider to switch between "normal", "comfort" and "sports" modes while moving. It works. In sports mode the ride was plenty sharp enough for high-speed track-riding. Comfort absorbed every bump on rutted lanes.

ESA varies the damping on the front and rear wheels via a button mounted on the left handlebar. It's an optional extra on both the K1200S and K1200R that, stationary, can be used to adjust between solo and two-up riding and to compensate for luggage. It will catch on.

The K1200R's brakes, suspension and transmission have been imported from the K1200S but there are modest adjustments to the suspension geometry and the final-drive ratio is reduced to compensate for higher drag. The result is a motorcycle that handles just as well at low speed in town as it does on the open road. There is immense power, but delivered progressively.

Push it hard and the K1200R is aggressive enough to set the most jaded pulse racing but it is still a BMW, with few of the rough edges associated with naked muscle-bikes. You can ride a K1200R gently and still enjoy it for its technical refinement and comfort.

Aesthetically aggressive

The K1200R is aesthetically aggressive, with clean modern lines calculated to convey a mood of menacing potential. They do not lie but, while it is lighter, fresher and more agile than BMW's traditional range, this machine comes from the same stable.

It's a very aristocratic thug, more dashing young cavalry officer than blockhead, and should appeal to riders who believe that serious fun can also be had responsibly.