Back To the Boxer
BACK TO THE BOXER
BMW returns to the desert with a rally-racer version of the R1150GS
JIMMY LEWIS
BMW HAS A LOT OF HISTORY WITH ITS FLAT-TWIN Boxer motor, first penned by ol' Max Friz back in 1923 and never out of the lineup since. Surprisingly, for a company that doesn't make a "real" dirtbike, some of the Boxer's biggest glories have come in the off-road arena. As in winning the granddaddy of all rallies, the Paris-to-Dakar, four times in the early '80s on potent, powered-up Boxers carrying 12-gallon as tanks.
it really wasn't surprising when BMW went back to Dakar last year and won, this time on a race version of the F650 Single. which I later rode for an article (CW, October `99). Little did I know, but that day of testing in Hungary would lead to a phone call a few weeks later: "Jimmy, how would you like to be part of BMW Motorrad Team Enduro and ride the new Boxer in the Dakiir R~11v'~"
I'd done Dakar as a lowly, sand-crunching privateei and had my fill. But this was different. I would be pail of a factory team on a filly supported racebike, one that was hand-tailored just for me. Objective: Paris-Dakar-Cairo 2000! Which is how I ended up in the United Arab Emerates for a week of testing leading up to the five-day Dubai Rally. The perfect shakedown run for Dakar. Oil-rich, Ferrari-thick UAE greeted me with 100-degreeplus temperatures and high humidity to match. Then there was the sand-make that sand, sand and more sand-with dunes that go on forever. One whole section of the country is called the "Empty Quarter." The name couldn't be more fitting. The works GS/RR Boxer is an amazing machine. Fabricated by a small company, HPN, it is a massive motorcycle-a mobile gas tank with cylinders sticking out the sides and a GPS to point the way. It's built by the same men who put together the old Dakar-winning Beemers of Hubert Auriol and Gaston Rahier.
At first, I was intimidated by the sheer size of the thing. Seat height is 40 inches, giving a whole new perspective to fr~ the term "climbing aboard~" And, of course, most dirtbikes don't have a fairing, a mapbook holder or GPS instrumenta tion arrayed in front of the rider. But the bike is undeniably trick. With carbon-fiber this and titani um that, there isn't an area of the RR Boxer that hasn't been heavily tweaked. Even the motor in my bike was special, displacing only 900cc to fit in a lower-displacement class and therefore be less penalized by the weight restrictions for twincylinder machines. My Boxer sits right at the 420pound minimum. Another advantage of the 900cc motor comes from its shorter cylinders, and lighter crank and pistons, giving the bike a more nimble feel than the 1100cc version raced by my team mate. British bloke John Deacon.
Rigged for rally duty, the bike is carbureted, as the often-questionable African gas has its way with fuel-injection systems. Fired up. the RR lets loose with a very healthy exhaust note, most unlike the civilized snuffle of the stocker. The power is very GS-like, only more so, flowing with torque and not all that snappy. Though the 900 builds revs quickly if you want it to, it is much happier torquing its way • around a gear high. Let it spin, though, and the big Beemer tops out at 120 mph. making it the absolute fastest dirtbike I've ever twisted the throtfie on.
Figure 90 horsepower, throwing a mighty roost off the Michelin desert tire the whole time. In the dunes, where Singles have to scream just to stay afloat, the Boxer calmly lopes along with oomph to spare if the front end starts to plow.
In the handling depart ment, the GS/RR is all about stability, just the thing for tackling the smooth African or Middle Eastern deserts at roadrace speeds. But when needed, the bike has to absorb the inevitable hummock, ditch or dune that comes up way too fast-on a powerful Twin, a common occur rence, even with super-strong Brembos all-around. Big sigh of relief here to the works WP suspension, a conventional inverted telescopic fork up front replacing the stock Telelever A-arm, and a PDS shock attached to a special Paralever single-sided swingarm. In fact, I wouldn't at all be afraid to jump the RR like a motocross bike, though I'll leave the nac-nacs to better men.
After a successful week of testing in the desert, the Dubai Rally dished some bad luck our way. On the first day, my handlebar clamp came loose, followed by the gas tank cracking, delays that dropped me to about 30th place. But from there, I clawed my way back into the top 10 overall with one day remaining. Then the driveshaft's rubber cush-drive let go, caus ing a DNF. Strange to say, but this was a good thingbetter in Dubai than at the Dakar. The crew is at work solving the problems. We'll be ready come December 28 for the rally's send-off in the streets of P~iris
ror me, its a dream come true to race a works Boxer in the world's biggest off~road race. It's like being given the keys to the castle-you just have to cross the Sahara to get there. And along with 200 other crazies, I'll be doing just that, streaking east across Africa. First one to the pyramids wins!
