Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127838
1998 BMW K1200RS presumably it'll vibrate just like all the K-blkes ever built? No, no, no and no. This is a dlfferent breed of four-cylinder Beemer: It's the Superbike SuperBrick' There is, however, no getting away from the fact that this is a very large and imposing motorcycle, designed more with the typical German customer in mind than, say, your average Japanese BMW owner. As such, the K1200RS is in every way the two-wheeled equivalent of BMW's own 8-series V-12 coupe, combining exceptional performance and high-speed cruising ability with plush, refined power delivery from a silkysmooth engine that's uncannily quiet, and handling that is adequate in tight corners, without being exceptional. It's a mile-eating grand tourer with sporting overtones - the sort of bike you can imagine slinging a leg over one morning In Paris and covering 600 miles to be in Milan by nightfall, staying on the autoroute until the Alps - but then havlng fun c.rossing them. The sort of bike whose high level of refinement would aHow you to make a trip like that, then pull up at a smart hotel In time to shower and change for dinner - while the doorman parks it for you' Well, fantasy island, perhaps - but whereas Ducati's new ST2 is a sport tourer with the sport u.nderhned (and the eight-valve ST4 coming in September wi II be a true rival in performance terms for the BMW), and Honda's VFR750 is an all-rounder with equal emphasis on the two discipLines, the BMW is a sport tourer with the accent on the touring part - but one with considerably more sporting pretensions than, say, a Honda STI 100. If you had to ride from Los Ailgeles to San Francisco, you'd take the freeway with the Honda - or any Harley tourer! - but go the Pacific Coast Highway with the BMW. Horses for courses. BMW has addressed the problem of size - the rider, not the bike - with its usual thorouglUless. The Kl200 offers a multi-adjustable ridillg pOSition as part of the standard package. The one-piece seat can be set In two heights, 30.3 or 31.5 inches, while the footpegs are adjustable for three positions (up and down) over a 2.2-inch range. As on the RIIOORT Boxer, the gear lever is adjustable for two lengths, while the RS Boxer's choice of three different handlebar positions and four optional locations for the brake and clutch levers is also lncluded here. The result is that almost anyone can dial in a satisfactory riding position on the K12's extremely comfortable seat, though even with the bars pulled back as far as they'll go, it's still a pretty long reach to them even for a 6-footer, because the seat isn't lntegrated very Jar into the back of the fuel tank. Seated at standstill after climbing aboard for the flrst time, there's an undeniable sense of bulk, caused mainly by The black pods attached to the fairing in front of the handlebars look like they should accept mirrors (a la the R1100RT) but don't. In addition to containing the turn signals, BMW says they're there to deflect air away from the riders hands. the width of the integral fairing which acts as a shield for your legs, and the tall hump of the fuel-tank shroud. However, thumb the awkwardly placed starter button (BMW switches are as curious as ever, especially the :-:""'"'=---"~~i~~~ three different switches to work two sets of direction signals), drop it into first gear with the sweet-shifting unexpected as gearbox, let out the smooth, light-action to be almost miraculous. dutch - and get ready for a surprise. Not There must be so many different factors at work here - forwaxd engine locaonly has rubber-mounting the engine on the K12 completely banished the irritattion thanks to the Telelever front end, ing vibrations present on other K-modand thus weight distribution; steering geometry; engine layout; engine-manels, the bike that at rest seems big and clumsy appears to shed pounds from its agement-system mapping and so on weight and yards from its wheelbase as that it's hard to jdentiJy exactly how soon as it's on the move. It's a really BMW has pulled off this great confiremarkabLe transformation that is so dence trick, but confidence is what the BMW K1200RS: Pragmatic innovation T Getrag gearbox are featured, together w.ith a new smaller-diameter single-plate diaphragm dutch, now with hydraulic operation. The 4-2-1 stainless-steel exhaust system with twin three-way catalysts meets all current and future announced emissions norms anywhere in the world: CaLifornia, this is your bike for the next miUennium - it may be a 130-bhp power tou.rer capable of over 150 mph, but it's so green. The Motronic EMS is programmed to enhance the efficiency of the catalysts, and is also compatible with BMW's new mobile diagnostic computer, known initially as Mobi o rejuvenate the prestige sports touring RS version of its f.Ou.r-cYlinder K-model Dic. Who said engineers have no sense of humor? Depends who's telling the jokes, I family after more than a decade in production, and move its performance envelope guess. However, between the time of the K1200's introduction at tl,e IFMA Cologne show and this riding intro. the name has been changed to MoDiTec. Obviously someone in BMW management had a whale of a fright and got cold feet at this sense-of-humor outbreak. up a notch, BMW comprehensively re-engineered the whole package even compared to the second-generation KllOORS version which it now replaces (the smaller engi.ne continues in production in LT touring form). Starting with the lay-down, longitudinally mou.nted engine with crankshaft on the right and cylinder head on the left, the K1l00's almost-square dimensions have been traded for a long-stroke format, by adding 5mm to the stroke, the results of which are 70.5 x 75mm cylin- This laptop system cuts down on service time, and also enables dealers to trouble- unjque architecture shoot both electronic modules and the electrical system even in the field - or broken down at the side of the road. Which, of cou.rse, never happens to BMWs. Does it? This substantially uprated power pack is rubber-mounted for the first time for any BMW in an all-new alu.minum backbone chassis, on which Blmota did the preliminary design work at BMW's behest. The heavy 48-pound but lmmensely strong result employs four separate cast-alloy sections welded together (with honeycomb internal of the liqu.id-cooled, 16-valve DOHC rein.forcement, as on one of the Italian chassis specia.list's own frames), from which the engine and transmission unit are underslung on four Silentbloc rubber mounts. motor, there wasn't space to ga Ln extra Because of this, the engine - wh.ich sits 1.2 inches higher than before to give extra grou.nd clearance, can no longer be used as the mou.nting point for the Telelever front capacity by overbor- suspension's operating arm, since it's no longer a rigid chassis component but is flexibly mOlmted to eliminate vibration. For this reason, BMW has now foLlowed Saxon (whose SaxTrak system the Telelever was either derived from or developed in parallel with, der dimensions and 1171cc. Beca use of the ing without unduly lengthening the wheelbase, which at inches is 61.2 already very rangy even for a sport tourer. Hence the stroked crank, as For the first time ever, BMW has used an aluminum frame. It was designed with help from Italian chassis specialists Bimota. It is also the first time the Telelever front end has been used with the fourcylinder. well as the hefty torque of 86.3 ft.-lb. peaking at 6750 rpm - 10 percent better than before - with peak power of 130 bhp delivered at 8750 rpm, the first time BMW has felt it politically correct to exceed the voluntary 100-bhp German-market limit it's previously respected. New forged pistons bump compression up half a point to 11.5:1, and like many inter- depending on who's telLing) in pivoting the wishbone arm on the chassis itself. Similarly, for the same reason the all-new Paralever rear swingarm no longer pivots on the gearbox like before on the K- models, but on the chassis as with the Boxer, using the vestigial rear frame spars which also support the tubular steel subframe for the seat. The Showa rear shock is offset to the right in a semi-lay-down position that delivers some degree of progressive suspension response, even without any linkage. Adjustable for preload and rebou.nd damping, it delivers 5.9 inches of wheel travel compared to 4.5 at the front, though the Telelever's Showa shock is strangely not adjustable, not even for compression damping or anti-dive. About the only carryover from the K1100RS on the new bike is the Brembo brake system, complete with ABS as standard (more than 120,000 BMWs have been fitted with this since it was introduced back in 1988), with twin 305mm front discs and a hefty 285mm rear, all in stainless-steel and gripped by fou.r-pot calipers. The cast-aJuminum wheels are a.1I new, though, with the delicate appearance of their nal engine components, such as the 26.5mm inlet/23mm exhaust valves, they have been lightened to reduce inertia, thus improving engine response as well as smoothness. Different camshafts deliver completely new valve timing, while the new-generation five spokes evidently belying their strength, for instead of the brake discs being fitted to a carrier that is then attached to the wheel, as before, they're now bolted directly to the Bosch Motronic EF[/EMS has not only been completely remapped, but also now incorporates an automatic choke program, coupled with electronically controlled throttle butterfly adjustment - a world first which eliminates the need for a separate choke control. For the first time on any of their models, BMW has adopted a ram-air induction system on the K12, using the right-hand one of the pair of ducts under the head lamp (the one on the left is a stylistic fake) to push cool air into the enlarged, seven-liter airbox. Engine cooling is also optimized, by use of a pair of water radiators instead of just one on the Kll (each with its own fan). Hot air is expelled throu.gh the black vents in the flanks of the fairing. It may look as if these are aimed at the rider's legs, but riding in This imposing, idiosyncratic, yet freshly engineered technical package is clad in restrained but distinctive styling owing nothing to Blmota, but produced in-house by BMW's own design team led by American David Robb. Available in three colors - red, blue and yellow, only the latter of which can be adorned with the distinctive checkerboard motif that's become the model's trademark, although it's a rather expensive option - the K1200RS weighs in at a claimed 627 pounds with a full 5.6-gallo~ยท load of fuel, 44 pounds more than the KlIOORS it replaces. That would equate to a dry weight of arou.nd 572 pou.nds if BMW wasn't u.naccou.ntably coy about revealing exactly what this really is, preferring instead to compare the K12's fueled-up wet weight with the Honda STl100's 715 pou.nds and Kawasaki Concours 647 (neither of which are e"actly sport tou.rers) or the Yamaha GTS1000's 596. StiU, whichever way you look at it, BMW slow traffic in warm Spanish sunshine with the fans' thermostat cutting in, there was no discomfort - the front part of the fairing is wide enough to allow even a 6-footer to tuck his knees in well enough behind. Also thermostatically controlled is the single oil radiator, while a beefed-up 720W alternator and - for the first time on any BMW - a Six-speed wheel hubs - thus saving precious unsprung weight. gives you a lot of bike for your money - just as you must give them a lot of money for its bike. Call it even.