Bmw Gets Radical
BMW GETS RADICAL
ROUNDUP
VENERABLE GERMAN marque BMW is set to shed its stoic image with a racy new alloy-framed superbike and a fashion-conscious cruiser.
When the curtain rises on the Cologne Motorcycle Show this October, the main new model on the BMW stand is expected to be the sporty K1200RS. Like the Aprilia-built F650 Funduro, this new machine is the product of BMW’s collaboration with an Italian company—in this case, Bimota. The Rimini-based trendsetter was commissioned more than three years ago to develop the basis of a new range of four-cylinder K-bikes, and signed the project off with delivery of a prototype sport-tourer one year later.
That was two years ago, since when BMW’s Munich-based stylists have reportedly finalized the bike’s look, and engineers have been hard at work testing and refining the production version.
When the K1200RS finally appears, it will be interesting to see how much of Bimota’s original design concept remains intact. German sources ^ describe the Italianbuilt prototype as having a twin-spar aluminum frame that is a mirror image of Bimota’s usual design for such a chassis; the architecture of BMW’s laydown, longitudinal inline-Four dictates that the frame starts out narrow at the steering head and widens to embrace the rear of the motor, rather than viceversa. A normal BMW Monolever swingarm with a cantilevered single shock and shaft drive is employed at the rear, while up front there’s a Bimota-developed version of the Telelever fork BMW’s neo-Boxer range. Antilock brakes will be standard equipment.
BMW is understood to have bored and stroked the existing l lOOcc 16-valve motor to reach I200cc. Power is still restricted to the company’s voluntary 100-horsepower ceiling, but the extra cubes coupled with revised mapping for the Bosch Motronic fuel-injection system should deliver muchimproved torque and midrange performance.
The K1200RS is believed to be the first in a range of new models using the revised engine and chassis; both touring and standard versions are expected before the new millennium.
Things are less certain regarding the probability of a BMW cruiser. Though rumors have been rife in recent months, published reports have failed even to agree whether it will be a Twin or a Single. If we do see a cruiser from the German company, however, it will most likely resemble the Boxer-engined bike shown here.
Pressed for comment, BMW North America spokesman Rob Mitchell said, “I can’t really say anything about it yet. That rumor has been going around internally, too. I suspect that we might know something by spring.”
In the meantime, expect two versions of the best-selling (in Europe) F650 Funduro to arrive on U.S. soil this autumn, each with a price tag around $7500. BMW is known to have a roadster variant under development, powered by the same Rotax-built four-valve Single. Like the K1200RS, this is scheduled to be launched at Cologne, but word is that it may be delayed because of production limitations at the Aprilia factory, which builds the badge-labeled machines.
-Alan Cathcart
