The Future Is Now: Super-Tourer Spied!
THE FUTURE IS NOW: SUPER-TOURER SPIED!
WHAT’S THIS, A NEXTgeneration Honda ST1100? Not quite. For one, it’s not even a Honda—it’s a BMW!
Photographed while undergoing road testing in Germany, the four-cylinder machine is clearly designed for two-up touring—witness the hard saddlebags and top trunk with
passenger backrest and built-in stereo speakers. But the aerodynamic-looking fairing is much sportier than we’ve come to expect from full-dress land yachts, effectively bridg-
ing the gap between the sport-touring and luxury-touring categories.
BMW spokesman Rob Mitchell confirmed that the bike, called the K1200LT, is indeed a replacement for the aging Kl 100LT. It will be powered by the engine from the forthcoming K1200RS sportbike (Roundup, October, 1996), and will feature Telelever front and Paral ever rear suspensions. It is still in the prototype stage, however, and isn’t scheduled to debut until the 1998 Cologne Show, meaning that we may not see examples here until early 1999. Call it a K-bike for the new millennium.
—Brian Catterson
