R1200st

R1200ST

Does the ST stand for "stiletto?"

Sometimes, as Mick Jagger so wisely told us, you might just find you get what you need. So it was in the Pyrenees when the bikes were handed out.

I have an open, relaxed riding style and prefer the leverage of real handlebars, the swoopy feeling of a standard. I prefer a narrow mount (my other bike is a Norton). I usually choose a GS or naked R-model BMW on Edelweiss tours, but when I got to Spain the garage held an R1200ST, an R1200RT and a K1200S. I chose the sportier of the Twins, the ST.

I’d attended the U.S. press launch of the ST and RT in Palm Springs, California. Most editors ended up raving about the sporttouring RT (a thoughtful bike perfectly executed, reclaiming the title in its category). They seem baffled by the ST (not as immediately dominant in its category, and what’s with the funky headlight?).

I had a different take. I measure a bike by the level of confidence it inspires-/.e., Can I keep up with the guys from Cycle World? Can I even keep them in sight? (Mark, David, Don, you know who you are). On a little-used road between Palomar and Julian, I was able to acquit myself on the ST, staying in the same moment as the lead bike, riding the Steel Needle in all its beauty.

I liked that the bike was light and narrow, the fairing small and the airflow unobstructed. I thought the bike was a purist’s delight, as eager and uncomplicated a tool as a stiletto. Right up there with the Honda Interceptor-plus you wouldn’t have to wait a decade for luggage that worked.

Okay, I’m no big fan of linked ABS brakes, harboring a troglodyte’s distrust of computer chips that channel the wisdom of Freddie Spencer and make the decision to trail-brake whether I want to or not. But the machine flew.

In Spain, I listened to GS owners talk about fitting the ST engine into their bikes and understood completely. It is a marvelous power source, those 10 extra hp a real rush. Wild Bill, one of the fast guys with Team Moron, also chose an ST. He romped. The ST tolerated my upright riding style, negotiated problematic patches of gravel with the aplomb of a dirtbike, and only seemed out of place on goat tracks overgrown with grass. When I tried a more aggressive style, the ST just leaped.

For a gentleman’s sportbike, it is seductive and subtle, with an air of understated menace. Go back to the line about being as eager and uncomplicated as a stiletto. -James R. Petersen