Bmw Hp2 Megamoto
BMW HP2 MEGAMOTO
NEW BIKES 2008
BRUNO DE PRATO
Supermoto goes upscale
CREDIBILITY, THAT'S WHAT SUPERMOTO streetbikes have needed. Otherwise, most seemed like little more than a fashionable way to dress up motocross bikes so you could legally ride them on the road. Which, mind you, is not such a terrible thing. But two new models promise to give supermoto road bikes all the street cred they need.
One is Ducati's 1078cc, 90-horsepower V-Twin Hypermotard; the other is BMW'S mighty Me amoto, an 1170cc, 113-hp Boxer Twin. Both
bikes refine the basic parameters of the supermoto concept to create what might become a new generation of naked bikes with extra zest.
As its name and appearance both suggest, the HP2 Megamoto is a derivation of the HP2 Enduro, the monster off-road bike with which it shares many components. The Megamoto departs from BMW’s tradition of building practical-rational bikes designed for the long haul; it instead is a lean runner on which nothing that does not enhance performance, control and safety has been
CW RIDING IMPRESSION
included. This is evidenced by the bike’s claimed dry weight of just 393 pounds.
Power is generated by a 101 x 73mm bore and stroke fed via a Bosch EFI using 47mm throttle bodies, with the mixture squeezed by an 11.0:1 compression ratio that is extremely high for a production air-cooled engine. Okay, so it is not purely air-cooled: a high-velocity, low-pressure oil flow (from a secondary oil pump) assists by removing heat from the hottest spots in the heads.
Though the engine is basically the same as those in all current Boxer models, the Megamoto-with its claimed 113 hp at 7500 rpm and 84.9 ft.-lb. of peak torque at 6000-is 813 horses more powerful than any of the others save for the 122-hp R1200S. The extra ponies come from a high-lift cam
that actuates standard 36mm/31mm valves. To match that extra lift, the exhaust is a high-efficiency Akrapovic system mated to a catalytic converter.
When it comes to the frame, however, both HP2 models are total departures from BMW’s other Boxer Twins. On those “R” models, the engine is the basic backbone to which front Telelever and rear Paralever suspensions are hinged. But on the HP2, a tightly triangulated space-frame takes all the burden, with the engine acting only as a marginally stressed “spacer,” giving the structure a very high level of torsional rigidity.
Dimensionally, the Megamoto indeed deserves its name, what with its 63.4-inch wheelbase and 36.2-inch seat height. The frame is identical to the Enduro’s, the only numerical
discrepancies coming from the tire/wheel combination and the use of sport radiais instead of knobbies. In front, a 120/70-17 replaces the Enduro’s 90/9021; the rear has a 180/55-17 instead of a 140/80-17.
This results in a slight reduction in rake (from 29.5 to 28.4 degrees) and a substantial one in trail (from 127 to 95mm). The HP2 trades the usual Telelever for a traditional telescopic fork, an offset-axle 45mm Marzocchi inverted unit with black titanium-nitride plating. At the rear, the latest evolution of the Paralever design is teamed with an Öhlins damper in place of the enduro’s air-spring shock. Wheel travel is a generous 6.3 inches front and rear, with both ends fully adjustable for preload, compression and rebound. Brakes are Brembos in the form of twin 320mm
rotors teamed to standard-mount four-piston Gold-Series calipers at the front, and a single 265mm rotor and two-piston caliper at the rear.
Make no mistake; this is a big bike. But it is surprisingly light and superbly balanced, with 51/49-percent front/rear weight distribution. The long wheelbase and well-placed, leaned-forward riding position help keep that balance almost the same with a rider aboard. Combine this with a rigid frame and nicely tuned suspension, and you get a bike with outstanding handling qualities.
Considering the Mega’s “old-fashioned” fork rake, I thought the steering response would be slow and fairly heavy at low speed. Wrong. The bike is smoothly responsive, easy to maneuver at any speed, turns sharply and is capable of incredible lean angles while maintaining complete control. There’s always superb traction at the rear, and the engine generates so much torque that keeping the bike balanced while leaned over comes naturally.
Despite the engine’s strong, unrelenting power delivery, it is quite user-friendly and mated to a sharp-shifting six-speed gearbox with well-spaced ratios. Under hard acceleration, the front wheel easily floats in the air for a second-all part of the fun. The engine pushes relentlessly in any gear and sounds great, with the evenly spaced staccato that has made BMW Boxers as unique-sounding as H-D V-Twins. Great motorcycle engines have soul.
No matter what you might call the Megamoto-a supermoto, a naked or even a standard-it is a fantastic streetbike that delivers an experience that will never go out of fashion: the pleasure of basic, pure motorcycling on a lightweight bike with big power, fabulous handling and great versatility.
In Europe, the HP2 Megamoto does not come cheaply: It currently sells for 18,500 euros, the equivalent of $25,500.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s worth every penny. □
