Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2 0 0 4 BMW M ontauk The new BMW Montauk Is the new est bike in the Munich-based company's cruiser line. Taking the Montauk to Montauk th e name "Mo nta uk ?" No one had a good answer, only that earlier R 1200 C's we re nam ed Pho en ix and Montan a, and it was tim e t o m ov e east. Newark was neve r an optio n. Re gard l e ss, i t 's an a ppropr iate nam e that c onn ot es eq ual p ar ts adventu re and leisu re, shark hunting an d overprice d beach front pro pert y . Th e Montauk , all 584 poun ds of it, is a manl y m ot orc y cl e , b i g , hand so me and hu lkin g , as ma scul in e as not ask ing for directions . In a bri efing the ni ght befor e our rid e, we were told t h at " m asc uli ne d es i gn eleme nts" w ere bu ilt into th e new Montau k t o dis t in guish it f ro m the re st of th e BMW cruise r li ne. Th e rear suspensio n used to be vi sible forw ard of the rear wh eel , giving a sense of lightness. New sid e pa nels m ak e the bod yw ork contiguo us, leav ing no gap un cov ered and add ing to th e newest cru iser's sense of size. A " cl assi c cru iser," th e Montauk uses the front end off the R 1200 CL , but with new five double spok e cast alloy whee ls front and rear and very w ide tires (3 .5 x 16 front wi th a S T O RY A N D P HOT O S BY H EN NY R A Y ABRAMS I f yo u want a cru iser th at also happ en s to be a Box er t w in w ith leg endary relia bil ity and impecca ble lin eage, look no furthe r than the BMW Montauk , th e lates t ite ra tio n of its popular R 1200 C pl atform . It' s that simple and th at co m p lex. Simpl e becau se th e on ly ma ch in es like it are in th e BMW family. Com p lex because it's an untradit i onal choice for a cruiser in a world fi lled with Harle y-Dav idson s a n d th ei r many im itat or s. How , th en, to att rac t new riders to th e li ne without ca nni balizin g th e BMW faithful? BMW introduc ed its newest cru iser with a ride to Montauk , the namesak e of the new Boxer. Nam ed for a town at th e e a st ern mo st p o int o f N ew York 's Long Island, itself nam ed for the Montauk Indians who first settled there nearly 500 yea rs ago, the town gained fame as the home of real life shark hunter Fran k Mundus, whose exploits were fictiona lized in the movie Jaws. How did BMW come to 8 N O V E M B ER 2 6 , 2003 ' cue • e neVIl's 150/80 -1 6 tubeless t ire and a 4. 0 x 15 in back wi th a 17 0 / 80 -15 rear) th at add to a gr eater sense of st abilit y , at h igh and low spee ds , w ithout adver sely affecting stee ring . T he larger fro nt fend er h id es the fro nt t ire, whi le th e rea r fe nder levitates ove r th e rear tire. The singl e - sid ed swing arm is on th e right sid e, th e left sid e wid e open to ex pose the mag wh eel , which has the traditional blue and white BMW log o in its center. Rear suspension preload is easily adjusted by a knob on the left side, just above the passenger foot peg. There 's a sm a ll i s h w indsh ield, which works well fo r the average rider but not so well for t all er ones. A secon d headlight has been added just below the ori gi nal beam. The handlebar is slightly wider, and the seat has b een changed. The rear passenger seat is an aftertho ught, too small for adults , likely th e firs t p i ec e to b e rep l a ce d for a more c o mmo d io us p l atfo r m. It was referre d t o as t he "p rem arriage" seat. Setti ng out from northern New Jersey , near BMW' s U.S. headquarters , we were quickly into New York State, through the beautifu l Harriman State Park , then Bear Mountain Par k and across into Connecticut before crossing Lo n g Island S ound on a fe rry bound for Port Jefferson. Two ferries later - on to and off of Shelter Island w e were on the road to Montauk, the ma niacally accu rate tr ip gu ide listing 211.9 m il es of ri ding, b ut that was before someone fail ed rem ed ial mapreading. Desp ite GPS, helm et -to-helm et commun ication , cell ph ones, a swee p truck , and a ride le ader wh o 'd just prerun th e co urse, we got lost. By the ti me we c ircled back to the gas station w here .we 'd p ut on o ur rai n gea r , we 'd ki ll ed half an hou r. In the b est o f co n di ti o n s , t he re wou ld have been eve ry co ncei va ble road challenge . Th e park snak ed up and down a m ountain, but wet leaves and morning dew made spi rited riding unwi se. Wh ich was a good th ing . Th e Montauk isn 't made for the knee - and k nuc kle-dragging cro wd. The seating position is as upright as a choi r leader, wi th th e de eply rec essed seat telling you wh ere t o settle in Barcalounger comfort . The only m inor qu ibble with

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