Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Styling was meant to be sensuous above th e beltline, while leav ing the "technlk" or mechanlcals exposed on the bottom half. Hard saddle bags are optional, but as one tester said , " To hang bags on th is bike would be li ke dressing Cindy Crawford In a potato sack: ' The whee ls are bo rr owed fr om th e K1200RS. The tw in-silen cer exha ust sy stem was tucked under th e la llsecllon to give the S a light look. shifts . The new six-speed - borro w ed fro m the K1200RS - is lea ps and bou nds ahead of what used to be on Boxer s, an d ra ther than the knockout-p u nch downshifts or false neutrals that occu rred all too fre que n tly on the old box, yo u just tak e th e next gear, with o nly a q uiet kacill/nk. It s till is n' t th e sli ckes t thing going , but it is finally w ithin the realm of normal. Overa ll, this Bavarian Motor Works. Becau se of the more sporti ng focu s of th e new 5, th e chass is got its sha re of attention as we ll, and the swi nga rm pivot is now located on a prope r fra me rather than being connected d irectly to the rear of the engi ne / transmission case . The 5 is spru ng w ith a single shock front an d rear as on the other Tele /Par alever bikes, bu t for th e firs t time, there is a re bo undda mping adj ustment at the front - bu t no sp ri ng -p re loa d ad justment. And it's a cred it to BMW tha tthe rebound adjustment is so easy - a nice, big kno b juts out just behind the steering head . We have been ge nerally pleased with the Telelever system on past BMWs and the 5 is no exceptio n. The feel is general ly the sa me, in that fro nt sus pension seems similar to a supe r- rigid conventional system , but with almost no di ve, even with a Kung Fu gri p on the fro ntbrake le ver tha t inv okes the A BS, and none of the littl e kickback that a conv enti on al fo rk throws a t you w hen y ou come to a full stop . To the exten t that we would explore the hand ling of the 5 on the ba ckroad s o f the New Jersey a nd Connecticu t countryside (in ter m itt en t ra in and hidd en dr iv eway s around every corner), the BMW rev ea led itself to be a sta ble, m edium-speed st eerer . There w as pl enty of gro u nd clearance. This initia l impressi on w as backed up on the dry roads of Cali fornia, where w e cou ld tum the bik e in quicker and with greater confid en ce, es pecia lly o n the roads with which w e wer e famili ar. Rebound damping adjustment for the fron t shock is done via thi s kn ob. The lever beh ind it is the keysto ne that holds the fou r body panels In place. The sus pe nsion is very su pple, with h igh-speed co m p ression d ampin g o n the softe r side of sporti ng . A ct io n a t both the fro nt and rear, but particularly a t the front, is better than any Telelever Boxer we've yet sa m pled . It' s obv ious BMW we nt the extra dollar to fit be tte rqua lity damper s (bo th .Show a) fo r thi s b ik e. But it is n ' t th e shock alone that makes the bik e work as we ll as it does . BMW al s o d e cr ea s ed t h e un spru n g we ig ht a t th e fron t by severa l pounds (new mult ipi e ce for k tubes, li g h t er w hee ls and a ca r bo n -fi be r fe n d e r) , w hic h has helped the Telelever system do its job wi th much grea ter effect. Stee r ing is ve ry ne utr al and th e na lure of th e feedback from the contact patch feels sligh tly different than wi th a "no rmal" fork. It' s almost a bi t disconcerting the firs t tim e you ent er a comer really deep on the brakes. Th e anti-dive effe ct of th e Telelever kee p s the bi ke nea rl y le ve l, no m atter how hard yo u are taxing th e excellent Brem bo bind ers, an d w hen yo u release the lever and get on the throttle, there is subsequently little to no rebound effect - just near ly perfect stabili ty . If th er e is anyone word tha t characteri zes the way th e 11005 rid es, "s table" is it. It is, therefore, somewhat of a contradiction - a nice o ne, thou gh - w he n yo u tip the bike into a tight corner fo r the first time. W id e bars gi ve yo u a lo t of leve ra ge, and despite ha ving a fa ir ly conservative rake and trail of 25 degrees and 100mm, as w ell a s a fairly rang y 58.19-inch wheelbase, th e effort to turn this machine is almo st impossibly light. And o nce yo u reach yo u r d esired lean a ng le , n o further in p u t is n e eded unless, of course, yo u' d like to tighten the line a bit , which the bik e just does as soon as you as k it to . Th e o nly com pl aint we can level at th e front end of this bike is that , w hile in-line rigid ity is excellent, torsionall y it is somewha t flex- Passenger grab rails are hidden under the eas ily removable seat cover. ible. It manifests itself only slightly, but ther e is a sor t o f s li g h t la g effect o n sha rp stee ring input. In the end , however, at high speed s or low, there is almos t nothing that upsets this BMW's cha ssis com posu re . The bra king sys tem o n the R11005 comes in tw o flavors: ABS or no ABS. If yo u are accus tomed to usin g the "ABS" in yo ur head you ma y find it somew ha t d isco ncerting w hen the R1 100 ' s a nti lo ck sys tem kick s in the fir st tim e, be ca use th e information yo u ge t fro m the brak e lever suddenly grinds to a halt as pum ps an d valves lake over modulatio n. Softness and vagueness su d denly manifest themsel ves a t yo u r fingertip's, and you' re simply along for th e rid e at tha t poin t. One grows ac custo med to this, and the "rid e" yo u are a long for is a safe, quickly stop pi ng one th at howls the front tire . O n dry pavem ent it's so rt of a shame that th e m achin ery takes over, too, because the Brem bos used on th e 5 (sa me as on the K1200RS) are really good, wi th a nice, firm lev er, immed iate bite and lin ear response . Feedback u p to t he poin t th at th e ABS s tar ts cy cling is excellen t, a nd stoppin g the 50S-pound twin is p red ictable and fadefree . You can order the 5 wi thout A BS if yo u li ke , a n d yo u ' ll save 15 p ou n d s (lig h te r b attery , alternator a n d les s brak e plumb ing ) a n d $1700 in the process. In Southern California, that' s probabl y th e option we would take, th ou gh if you live in an area with bad roads or a lot of rain, ABS would be the better choice. If y o u choo se the $15,6QO ABS eq u ip ped 5, yo u' ll a lso ge t th e heated gri ps (and heavier electrics), as well as sa d d le-ba g m ounts , m akin g th e 5, in tru e BMW tr ad ition, a s por ting twin full y ca pa ble for use as a touring mount. After several we eks w ith what is the m o st insp iring , best-l o okin g Box er we've ever rid den, th e final ana lysis of The black wind deflectors that house the tum signals were meant to lighten the 'Iook of the S at the front. Asymmetrlcal heBdligllt and kidney-shaped air Inlels definitely say BMW. the BMW Rll 00s is this: If you w an t a truly spo rt ing BMW that's a real alternativ e to o th e r twins o n th e m arket, it looks like it' s tim e to move. And don 't for get yo u r leathers. n 1999 BMW R11 OOS S pecifications Eng ine Air/ oll-Cooled horizontally opposed twin wi four valves per cylinder Bore x stroke 99 x 70.5mm Compression ratio 11.3:1 Carburetion/ ignition .Bosch Motronic MA 2.4 fuel-injection and engine-ma nagement system Horsepower Torque Transmission Frame 98 @ 7500 rpm 71 ft.vlb. @5750 6·speed Alum inum space frame wI engine as st ressed member Wheelbase 58.19 in. Rakeltrail 25°/ 1oomm Seat height 31.5 In. Suspension Front Telelever single shock wi rebound·damping adjustment: 4.3 in. travel Rear Paralever single shock wi sinqle-sided swingarm. rebound damping arid spring-preload adjustment: 5 .1 in. travel Final drive Shaft Tires Front : 120/7 0ZR17 Rear . .. .. . .. 170/ 60ZR 17 Brakes Front Dual 305mm fioating discs with four-pist on Brembo calipers: ABS optional Rear Single 276mm disc w/four-piston Brembo caliper Wet weight 505 lb. Fuel capacity .4.75 gal. MSRP $13.900 $15,600 wi ABS 29

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