Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Buell Lightning X1 200 1 BMW R 1 100R The R II OOR s e e ms to get lost in BMW 's lineup of mot orcycles - it appears to have the least personality of the range, which spans from Dual Sports to Full -dresser touring bikes . But get this - BMW has dropped the price of the R II OOR by almost $2000 for 200 I, mak ing it a truly affordable entry-leve l Be emer. It's powered by an air - and o il-c ooled 1085cc, horizontally oppos ed twin (Bo xe r), with four va lves per c ylind e r. Fu el deliver y is handl ed b y EF I. w ith a Bos ch Motron ic ignitio n s ystem hand ling the s pa rk. Powe r is sent th ro ug h a single p la t e d ry cl utch wit h a dia phra gm BMW R1100R spring, and then into the five -speed transmission , Final drive is via shaft, in normal BMW tradition . The chassis features BMW' s Telelever front suspension, which is basically a strut, sim ilar to a cars , but facing forward, with a coil spring. The rear suspension's single -sided swingarm als o doubles as the hous ing for the shaft drive , and features a sin gle sho ck that is adjustabl e for rebound dampening . Braking is han dled up fr ont b y twin 304 .8mm ro to rs, and four-p ist on B r emb o ca li pe rs . Th e r e a r d is c is a 27 6 .86 m m rotor wit h a tw o- pis ton c a li pe r. Our BMW was fitte d wit h bea ut iful c hro me s poked al u mi num 2000 B U E LL LIGHTING X 1 rim s . The front is a 3.5" X 17" fitted with a 120j70ZR 17 tire - th e rear rim m ea sures 4.5" X 18 " and is fitted with a 160j8 0 ZR18 tir e. BMW' s c la im e d dry we ight is 482 pound s . It ha s a fa t, co mfy s e at , w ith a m ell o w r idin g pos itio n , grea t for all -d a y c ruis in g . The R1100R will onl y be availa ble in o ne color for 2 00 I , Bla c k with wh ite p instripes , with lots of c hro me. T he R II OOR s u rp rised everyone with it s han d ling co mpe tence . T he bike wasn't m e ant to b e a spo rt ing bike - it's much more of a cruising tool. But as it tu rns o ut , it shocked everyone with its ability to ha ndle the curves, it isn 't track-worthy, but we could n' t be lieve how nice it was to ride in medi um -s peed sweepers. The centerstand wo uld g rind , howl , and shoot spa rks, but it ne ver seemed to both er a nyone - e ve ryo ne felt confid e ntly planted . Th e o n ly h andling com p lai nt s seemed to b e a imed a t t he rear shock, wh ich , a t times , felt o ve rwhe lmed . The bike does like to be ridden in a smooth manner and , when doing so , rewards you a ccord ingly. Our bike wasn 't fitted with the optional ABS (Antilock Braking Sys tem) , but the stopp ers provided strong, predictable deceleration, with o ut a ny fanfare . The motor was also a surprise , pro v iding plenty of e n te rt a in me n t be tween stoplights, or corners, deliv e rin g a whopp ing lo ad of torqu e in th e m id-range. The fue l inject ion syste m wor ks we ll out o n the open roa d , but wo uld sometimes hunt a nd lurc h when c r u is ing at su rfa c e -str e e t speeds. Th e cl utc h also wa s a to pic of d isc ussion, most of us agreed that it functio ned well , but sometimes fe lt grabby . The R II OO R may seem bla nd at first gla nce , b ut it does have some rea lly nice details. Th e straight-pull, c hro m e spoked wheels are just plain beautifu l, a nd combined with some of the ot her chrome pieces o n the bike, it a ppears ready to wh is k yo u away to a bla c k -t ie a ffa ir - ve ry sop his tica ted. The seat was th e most p leasa nt of th e bunch , and com b ine d with th e com fortabl e riding position , it m a y be th e bi k e for long tr ip s . Th e j u ry wa s un an im ou s on the op t ional win d s cr e en - it's ugl y , a n d d oesn 't help e no ug h to put up with . cue I e n Th e XI is c re d it e d w it h being Ame rica' s o n ly tru e s po rt b ike . Th e bi ke is a hybri d b e tw e en a sporty chass is a nd a Harl e y-Da vidson motor. The motor is a 1203cc ai r-cooled, 45 degree pus hro d V-twin, with two -valv e heads a nd EFI (Elec tro nic Fue l Inje c tion ). It's th e sa me bas ic mot o r that is in t he H-D S p o rt s t e r 1200 , but t he e ng ine h a s been tun ed t o o ffe r a sportier powe rba nd . Th e exhaust runs u nde rneath t he e n g ine and exhales out the left side of th e b ike . The XI, like its S portster cous ins, has a five speed tra nsmission , with a wet m ultiplate clutch . Fina l driv e is ha ndled by a Kev lar belt. Th e X I c hass is ha s a tubular steel fra me , with inve rte d forks, a nd a sin g le re ar shoc k. The shock is un iqu e for a couple rea son s , it resi des unde rn eath the m o t o r , and t he linkage pulls inste ad of pu sh ing t o c re a t e dampening. Th e front br ake is a sin gle 340mm dis c, with a six -p iston cal iper - th e re ar is a 230mm d isc with a single -p iston c a lipe r. The XI was fitted with Dunlop D207 Sportmax t ir e s , th e front tire is a 120j70ZR 17 , and th e rear is a 170 j60ZR 17 . Our bik e was one of Buell's special ra cing -stripe editions , which is red with fat white stripes, like on a Dodge Viper. The Buell's riding pos ition is upright and com fo rta ble, with tall, wide bars , but th e sea t its e lf is unforg iving , a nd leaves you wish in g y o u were o n a n El e ct ra Glid e ins te a d . Everyon e o n the sta ff wa n te d to see what th e XI was a ll about. It has a ho t-rod appeal to it, and the ra c ing stri pe just adds to t he fas cinat ion. T he sty lin g is brutish , and si m ple , with the a symmetrical airbox proving that functio n ov er form c a n look cool. Staff opi n io ns varied re g a rd in g the paint job , but e ve ryon e agreed t ha t the b ik e was attract ive in its ow n way . The motor is - how can we say this nicely - past its prime . Th is s ho uld n 't be a rev e la tion , co ns idering that its Evolu tion -b as e d, pu shrod -a c tu ated two -v a lves -pe r-cy linde r mill sh are s mu ch with the ve ry firs t V-twin that Bi ll Harl e y a nd th e David s on b ro s rolled out of th e ir bic ycle s he d a t the turn of the pa st cent ury . Alth ough it m ight seem out o f plac e on this e _ S • O C TO B ER 25 , 2000 37

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