Bmw R1150r Rockster Limited 80 Vs. Moto Guzzi V11 Coppa Italia

BMW R1150R Rockster Limited 80 vs. Moto Guzzi V11 Coppa Italia

Bikes of character, built for fun

DAVID EDWARDS

SEE IF THIS DESCRIBES YOU. IN YOUR LATE 30s, EARLY 40s. Been riding for more than two decades. Owned seven motorcycles plus. Log more than 5000 miles per year. Household income somewhere in the $80K range. Planning to buy a new bike in the next two years.

Prettyclose? If so, congratulations, you are the average Cycle World subscriber, obviously a well-informed person of highly refined taste-and maybe a prime candidate for one of these two motorcycles.

Similarities between the BMW RI! 50R Rockster Limited 80 and Moto Guzzi Vii Coppa italia are striking. Both come from Olde World marques founded in the I 920s but with roots in WWI aviation-BMW as engine supplier for the fabled Fokker D.VIl; Moto Guzzi co-founders Carlo Guzzi and Giorgio Parodia members of the Italian Air Force. Perhaps because of that aero background, both bikes locate their two air-cooled cylinders out in the breeze, unshielded by fenders, front tires or fork tubes, the Beemer's laid flat, the Goose's rotated upward 45 degrees. Both run pushrods, though the BMW is more modern with its in-head cam act ing on stubby rods that open and close four valves per cylin der. Both bikes employ electronic fuel-injection, generous oil-coolers, six-speed gearboxes and shaft final drive, each with anti-chassis-jacking arrangements-Paraiever on the BMW, an unnamed~ orque link on the M-G.

Wheelbase on each bike is near-as-damn identical, rim size ditto, both running 5.5-inch 1 7s out back, though the edge in rubber goes to the BMW with its RR-compound Dunlop D207s (the Guzzi wears Metzeier Sportec M-ls,? also very good). We were ready to give the 1064cc Italian machine the nod in performance test ing.. .until we learned just before deadline that the Moto Guzzi had been equipped with the factory's accessory titanium exhaust system, a $1220 upgrade that also includes an entirely new ECU. Oops! We were~ fooled because at idle and low rpm the pipes are cOrnmendably quiet-let the Vii warm up on its sidestand early Sunday morning and nary a neigh bor will be disturbed. Nor was Guzzi trying to pull a fast one-the canistersL wear the company’s new Accessori logo (a Screamin’ Goose?). They just thought we, like most customers, would prefer the bike with its volume turned up notch, and the pipes do sound great between 6000 and the 8000rpm redline.

BMW R1150R LIMITED 80

$13,960

Ups

Heated handgrips...yes! Hard saddlebags, centerstand, windscreen, GPS module among extensive options Wipe-n-go paint, no waxing required

Downs

Does someone have Remus orStaintune on speed-dial? Headlight pod a little too “Johnny 5" for some Is special paint, a badge and ABS worth $3K? Yes? Too bad, they’re probably all gone

In any event, besides taking its “as-tested” price to beyond $16K, the piped-and-chipped Moto Guzzi outpowered and outran the bone-stock BMW (which, truth be told, could use a little aural enhancement), but not by much. With no time to retest, our best guess is that stock vs. stock, you’re looking at a dead heat-even the dry weights get nip-and-tucky with the added heft of the Guzzi’s standard pipes.

Not much to choose between the bikes in the eye-candy stakes, either. Both are low-volume variants with special paint and parts. The Limited 80, a 2004 model, commemorates BMW’s 80th anniversary, never mind that took place in ’03. Based on on the regular-issue Rockster RI 150R ($11,050), just 2003 were built, with 200 slated for the U.S. Each bike wears a small, serialized “80 Jahre” frame tag and is finished in a flat, eggshell white with blacked-out engine and metallic blue-gray accents. It’s an odd but striking combination that stands out in any parking lot.

Not as attention-grabbing as the Guzzi, though. Celebrating the factory’s involvement in Italian Cup roadracing (Guzzi marked its 80th birthday three years ago), the Coppa Italia gilds the base VI1 Naked ($10,990) with a silver/red/green tricolore paint job, a higher, gold-anodized handlebar, bikini fairing, carbon-fiber front fender and starter-motor cover (!), Brembo Gold Series brakes and a full complement of Swedish suspension-fork, shock and steering damper all are from Öhlins. What’s Italian for bling-bling?

Even with its trick chassis pieces, the Italia does not gap the Beemer on backroads, though we prefer the feel and feedback of the Guzzi’s conventional Brembos to the linked, power-assisted ABS Nissins on the 1150. BMW has quietly made improvements to the system since its introduction in 2001, and in panic-stop situations nothing’s better, but the trade-off is less-than-ideal initial feel. It’s subtle, but experienced riders notice it immediately. Still, either of these bikes, ridden well, will give a good account of itself on a brisk Sunday-morning flog, and both would work great at the occasional track day. Just steer clear of sportbike studs packing 100 fewer pounds and 50 more horsepower. Of course, come see us after a long 500-mile day, youngsters. Both the BMW and Guzzi have rational, relaxed-fit riding positions and ample saddles, especially nice for those of us likewise equipped.

Another common denominator is an uncertain future. While the Limited 80 is a one-year-only model, will the standard Rockster be equipped with the new 1200 Boxer motor-and along with it a possible styling tweak? Rumors and spyshots suggest that only the RT touring Twin will get the lighter, more powerful engine in 2005, the rest of the line at a later date. More up in the air is Guzzi. Latest news out of Italy is that despite a strong run by Ducati, the entire cash-strapped Aprilia Group-consisting of Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Laverda-has been sold to scooter giant Piaggio, at presstime awaiting only a bank official’s green light. What happens next is unclear, though a sell-off of Guzzi to cruiser-needy Ducati to help fund Piaggio’s multimillioneuro purchase still isn’t out of the question. Regardless, it’s clear that there will always be a Moto Guzzi-Italian pride would have it no other way.

Crystal-ball gazing aside, wTfich one wins? Well, any new-bike purchase is a head/'heart dilemma.

Our heads tell us the Limited 80 is the bike. It’s less expensive than the Guzzi (especially so, the otherwiseidentical standard Rockster model), more high-tech, has a wider range of options, a better dealer network and a threeyear/36,000-mile warranty. But our hearts would be just as happy with the Coppa Italia. Friend-of-the-magazine Peter Wylie, a hard-charging 60-something VI1 owner, says it best: “There’s no logic to it, but every time I start the Goose, it talks to me. It’s a keeper; they’ll bury me with that bike.”

MOTO GUZZI COPPA ITALIA

$14,990

Ups

Great Guzzi soundtrack Öhlins to the max Two-year/unlimited-mileage warranty Preferred parking outside your favorite bistro Riding pals don’t have a c-f starter-motor cover

Downs

Factor in extra $1200 for the exhaust/black box The occasional EFI burp Sport-touring a soft-luggageonly proposition Spare parts from Guzzi, Piaggio...or Ducati?

Er, throw the pipes in for free?