2020 BMW R 1250 RS
R I D E R E V I E W
P82
This is the motorcycle equivalent of Larry
Bird—a gangster in his day, but willing to
kick back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
BMW's boxer motor has been the basis
of the Motorrad wing's success for gen-
erations, and it's been refined further in
the RS. Fitted across three models in the
RS, R and GS Adventure, this iteration of
the motor is fitted with the BMW ShiftCam
system that debuted back in 2018.
The ShiftCam feature is BMW's take on
variable valve timing. Using a shift gate on
the end of the camshaft, the intake valves
are opened at different times in the com-
bustion cycle when on partial throttle at
lower revs, giving less valve lift but better
control of the combustion.
When things are ramped up to full
throttle, the shift gate moves the cam onto
a different lobe that allows for the full lift
and duration of the valves to be reached,
thus pumping in more air, more fuel, and
producing more power.
ShiftCam has come in for a bit of criti-
cism in the past. I found the system, when
paired with the restrictions in place for the
noise and emissions regulations, to be a
bit unwieldy on the S 1000 RR super-
bike. The cam shift from partial throt-
tle on low revs to full power and
high revs wasn't smooth on the
U.S.-spec models, especially
You're sitting
pretty low to the
ground in the
chassis, which is
lovely for corner
stability.
