Aboard the Rs
ABOARD THE RS
CW RIDING IMPRESSION
SAMPLING BMW’S WUNDER-BOXER
AHEM. DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT BAVARIAN MOTOR Works may just have skunked the rest of the motorcycle world.
BMW’s new R1100RS, it wouldn’t be too hard to argue, is the most advanced streetbike ever made, despite using an engine design that first saw the light of day during the time Warren G. Harding occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Consider the bike’s features inventory: alternate front suspension, engine cases that double as a main frame, single-sided shaft-drive swingarm with anti-chassis-jacking Paralever, advanced anti-lock brakes, fuel-injection, catalytic converter, adjustable ergonomics. This is one very smart motorcycle.
BMW rolled out its new wunderBoxer to the world motorcycling press on Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, just off the coast of Morocco. Now, riding specially prepped pre-production models in an exotic, foreign locale is interesting, but it isn’t the most accurate barometer of how production versions will perform, so we’ll withhold final judgment until we can put an RS through our regular testing regimen here in the U.S. Still, the RS is an impressive piece.
FOBs (Friends of the Boxer) will be glad to know that the new Type 259 motor retains the familiar sound and feel of the old air-cooled opposed-Twin. There’s still that characteristic shuddering that sweeps through the entire bike when the throttle is rolled on from low revs. What is different is the amount of power available. Redline is set at 8000 rpm, and the RS likes to rev. BMW claims 90 horsepower at the crank, which will translate into perhaps 75 at the rear wheel. While this figure won’t have ZX-11 riders looking anxiously over their shoulders, it’s enough to push the neo-Beemer to a top speed of maybe 130 mph, judging from a couple of full-bore passes I made on one of Lanzarote’s few stretches of straight asphalt. For comparison, the 980cc R100R Boxer tested elsewhere in this issue achieves 50 rear-wheel horsepower and runs out of steam at 116 mph.
The engine is impressive, but it’s the front suspension that steals the show. Steering effort is wonderfully light at a snail’s pace and remains so at speed. The Telelever system doesn’t hinder the bike’s turning radius either, so feet-up Uturns on backroads are no problem. And this may be the most supple front suspension ever, with very little trace of seal stiction. Indeed, from the saddle, the rider can see the fork scrapers constantly reacting, even on relatively smooth surfaces. The front shock has no adjustment for now. As one engineer confided to me, small changes make a big difference with Telelever, and BMW was afraid that some customers could set things up very wrong.
One surprise is the fitment of Bridgestone Battlax radial tires. I ask if there was any debate about the propriety of using Japanese rubber on the R1100. “Not after we tested the Bridgestones,” I’m told.
Problems with the RS? One mechanical, two psychological. The in-metal problem is the gearbox, which on the preproduction machines was notchy and noisy, especially when downshifting in the lower gears. Sourced from the fourcylinder K series, the five-speed transmission apparently is reacting adversely to the different power pulses of the Twin. This isn’t debilitating, but really chafes on an otherwise outstanding motorcycle. “We are working on it,” one of BMW’s engineers told me. “It will be better before production begins.”
The in-mind problems deal with the bike’s looks and its price. Those Boxer lovers who think the old Twin was designed by God and not to be trifled with probably aren’t going to trade-in their mounts-for them, old-style R-bikes will be available for at least another two years. But BMW isn’t counting on “switchovers,” hoping instead that new buyers will be drawn from elsewhere. “For the Twin to be a success, we need more than switchovers,” said one company official.
The other psychological hurdle will be sticker shock. BMW dealers can recite chapter and verse about the three year/unlimited mileage warranties, traditionally high resale values and roadside-assistance programs, but with non-ABS models right at $12,000 and the fullboat version pushing $14,000, it’s going to take a serious financial commitment to become an RI 100RS rider.
“We’d be in trouble if this were just a warmed-over Boxer,” a BMW man said, “but this is a really advanced machine.”
That kind of optimism was rampant at Lanzarote. I mention to one of the company’s higher-ups that all those involved with the RI 100RS project seem to have a gleam in their eyes, a supercharged enthusiasm, almost as if the introduction of this new flat-Twin marks a new beginning, a “coming home” for BMW.
He thinks about this for a moment, smiles, and says, “You have put that very well.”
David Edwards
