Road Test: BMW K1200R
It's big, it's weird looking and it doesn't have any clothes on. Oh yes, and it's very, very fast. Are BMW about to take the naked bruiser class by storm?
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"Cien sesenta y tres caballos?" asks the traffic cop, pointing at the K1200R. Rifling through the mental bin my GCSE Spanish has been in for the last 15 years I try and work out what he's saying. I'm roasting like a boil-in-the-bag meal but just as my brain edges toward meltdown, something clicks.
"One hundred and sixty three horses?" is the question. Our man wants to know if BMW's quoted power figure is right. Aha. My linguistic triumph is quickly extinguished when I realise I now need to answer. In Spanish. Bugger. I could book a hotel room, ask for a receipt and almost certainly ask for directions to the station, but explain that BM's power figure is measured at the crank and although probably correct it'll be a lot lower by the time it gets to the back wheel? Not a hope. I resort to pointing at the back wheel and mumbling loudly instead.
Fortunately I'm saved embarrassment by the arrival of the nice lady from BMW who's come to buy my freedom from the roadside I've been detained at for the last hour.
Now, with the K1200R being the joint most powerful bike BMW has ever made, you may assume I had been stopped for riding somewhere near the speed of sound. Sadly the reality was less rock and roll. My crime had been a u-turn, which I now know is illegal in Spain. With this kerfuffle finally straightened out it was time to hotfoot it the 100-odd kilometres back to the hotel.
Sense would suggest that, having just met most of the region's police (who were now aware of where I was going), riding at a restrained pace would be advisable. Well, I managed for about a mile, then it all went to pieces as the incredibly-surfaced roads opened up to carve into the hills ahead.
"The BMW made me do it," is not an alibi I suspect many magistrates have heard before, but in the case of the K1200R it may just become one because this is a very fast road bike. And it's not just fast, it's fun too. Proper knee-down, flick-flacking, 120mph-plus sweepers kind of fun. Blimey.
All this meant the ride back to the hotel was a blinder. Most was spent between 100 and 130mph, rolling the BM on and off the throttle in third and fourth, using the wide spread of smooth, torquey power from the gutsy four-cylinder lump to hurl the 1200R from one flowing bend to the next. Straights were demolished with extra input from the loud handle, resulting in the speedo drifting past 165mph at one point, and when the empty roads did throw up dawdling drivers in the distance any speed removal the ample engine braking couldn't manage was easily handled with a gentle stroke on the anchors.
That this supposed 'naked' bike was able to make the most of its shove is due in no small part to its excellent screen - it allows you to get the kind of stomp on you normally can't on a bike like this. It's not into fully-faired sportsbike territory as the coating of flies on my neck testified, but it's closer than any other naked bike I've hopped on to date.
The final ace up the BMW's Bavarian sleeve is stability. It is a rock. Bounce it off cats' eyes, overbanding, potholes and anything else you come across at any speed you like with the gas wide on, and the most you'll get is a mild wiggle from the bars.
I will throw in a gentle criticism here because, although the bike is a demon, it is slightly uninvolving. You always know you've got grip tipping into a corner, but this is based more on a trust the bike instils rather than on any feedback received. The feeling's not as extreme as other BMs, but it's there and takes getting used to.
Sandwiched between our morning and late afternoon road thrashes was a lengthy session at perhaps the finest racetrack I have ever sampled. Built as a (very) rich man's indulgence, the Ascari circuit outside Seville is a cross between the greatest track imaginable and an exclusive country club.
What would the K1200R make of it? After all, BMWs and racetracks are not the most obvious bedfellows, no matter how hard the Boxer Cup racers have tried to prove to the contrary over the last few years.
So it was a pleasant surprise to find the bike not only coped admirably, but that it was also fun. Damn, there goes that word again - what on earth is going on?
Although you can feel the bike's weight and lengthy wheelbase shoving it hard from one lean to the other, it's nowhere near the handicap you might think. The BM can be sliced through tight chicanes without too much drama plus, whatever it gives away in agility it makes up for in solidity, so no matter how hard you shove it about it always seems to want to play ball.
Whatever I did I don't remember any slides or moments. Even trailing the front brake into the slower corners didn't cause any protest, although it's not something I'd like to push my luck with. Just as on the road, although the K1200R always felt composed on the track, this was still based more on trust than total feedback from the tyres, which was still more muted than you'll find on any other modern sportsbike you care to mention.
What was very impressive was the ESA, or Electronic Suspension Adjustment. You can, via a bar-mounted switch, swap between nine damping and preload settings. And you can actually feel the difference. On fast road settings it was a touch soft on the track, but a flick of the switch to firmest settings and any wallow was banished without a bent C-spanner or skinned knuckle in sight.
So where does this leave us? BMW have surpassed themselves, building a cracking road bike that's 10 times faster than anything with a BMW badge has a right to be without sacrificing their hallmark quirky design and user-friendliness (ABS, heated grips, lower seat and luggage are all on the options menu). That the bike also handled a heavy track thrashing is testament to the fact BMW are genuinely getting the hang of this sportsbike thing.
Except I'm not sure who'll buy the it. The K1200R is too fast and radical for BMW's diehard customers, but may be too leftfield and expensive for those in the market for a slice of muscle bike. Let's hope I'm wrong, because it's a seriously fun piece of kit.
FEEL THE POWER
The Boxer Cup is dead; long live the Motorrad Power Cup. It's not the catchiest title around, but it is a great piece of evolution because, where the Boxer Cup saw a horde of overweight, underpowered bikes being made to do things gravity really shouldn't have allowed, the Power Cup will do more of the same but with a far more capable bike forming the basis of the assault.
Upgrades are minimal, but they make the most of what the standard K1200R has. An end can and new mapping lifts power to 175bhp at the crank, while new linkage arms and rearsets give the bike more ground clearance. Shock and fork internals are the same dimensions as standard and still provided by WP, although they are more adjustable than the stockers. Braided hoses and a quickshifter and lap timer complete the picture, while carbon bodywork makes this BMW's trickest-looking bike to date and also gives teams essential sponsor sticker space.
Riding the racer is a proper shock to the system, and if someone had told me that one day I'd be thrapping a BMW around a track and whooping in my lid at the same time I'd have thought they'd lost their marbles, but this is exactly what happened on the Power Cup bike.
It barks, it grunts, it turns far more quickly than anything this long should, and in all is a complete ball to ride. Frankly, I didn't want to give it back. 25 of these in the hands of a gang of professional idiots charging into the same corner is going to make for some very entertaining racing indeed.
VERDICT
A belting road bike with surprise track potential but it'll need brave punters to make it the success it deserves to be
SPECS
TYPE - Streetbike
PRODUCTION DATE - 2005
PRICE NEW - £9190
ENGINE CAPACITY - 1157cc
POWER - 163bhp@10,250rpm
TORQUE - 94lb.ft@8250rpm
WEIGHT - 237kg
SEAT HEIGHT - 820mm
FUEL CAPACITY - 19L
TOP SPEED - 160mph
0-60 - n/a
TANK RANGE - n/a
"Cien sesenta y tres caballos?" asks the traffic cop, pointing at the K1200R. Rifling through the mental bin my GCSE Spanish has been in for the last 15 years I try and work out what he's saying. I'm roasting like a boil-in-the-bag meal but just as my brain edges toward meltdown, something clicks.
"One hundred and sixty three horses?" is the question. Our man wants to know if BMW's quoted power figure is right. Aha. My linguistic triumph is quickly extinguished when I realise I now need to answer. In Spanish. Bugger. I could book a hotel room, ask for a receipt and almost certainly ask for directions to the station, but explain that BM's power figure is measured at the crank and although probably correct it'll be a lot lower by the time it gets to the back wheel? Not a hope. I resort to pointing at the back wheel and mumbling loudly instead.
Fortunately I'm saved embarrassment by the arrival of the nice lady from BMW who's come to buy my freedom from the roadside I've been detained at for the last hour.
Now, with the K1200R being the joint most powerful bike BMW has ever made, you may assume I had been stopped for riding somewhere near the speed of sound. Sadly the reality was less rock and roll. My crime had been a u-turn, which I now know is illegal in Spain. With this kerfuffle finally straightened out it was time to hotfoot it the 100-odd kilometres back to the hotel.
Sense would suggest that, having just met most of the region's police (who were now aware of where I was going), riding at a restrained pace would be advisable. Well, I managed for about a mile, then it all went to pieces as the incredibly-surfaced roads opened up to carve into the hills ahead.
"The BMW made me do it," is not an alibi I suspect many magistrates have heard before, but in the case of the K1200R it may just become one because this is a very fast road bike. And it's not just fast, it's fun too. Proper knee-down, flick-flacking, 120mph-plus sweepers kind of fun. Blimey.
All this meant the ride back to the hotel was a blinder. Most was spent between 100 and 130mph, rolling the BM on and off the throttle in third and fourth, using the wide spread of smooth, torquey power from the gutsy four-cylinder lump to hurl the 1200R from one flowing bend to the next. Straights were demolished with extra input from the loud handle, resulting in the speedo drifting past 165mph at one point, and when the empty roads did throw up dawdling drivers in the distance any speed removal the ample engine braking couldn't manage was easily handled with a gentle stroke on the anchors.
That this supposed 'naked' bike was able to make the most of its shove is due in no small part to its excellent screen - it allows you to get the kind of stomp on you normally can't on a bike like this. It's not into fully-faired sportsbike territory as the coating of flies on my neck testified, but it's closer than any other naked bike I've hopped on to date.
