Hottest Boxer ever launched

BMW has fired its most serious shot ever in a bid to capture a slice of the hyper sports market by launching to the world's press the R 1200 S. Following on from the successful R 1100 S (which sold in excess of 30,000 units worldwide) the bike features the most powerful production Boxer powerplant ever offered out of the Berlin-based plant.

The bike claims 122hp at 8800rpm (also the tallest redline of any Boxer offering ever), and 12.4kg-m of torque at 6800rpm. The R 12 weighs in at a competitive 190kg which adds up to an impressive 1.7 kg per horsepower. Those are serious sports numbers right there.

The compression ratio is now up to 12.5:1 which is a record high for an oil and air-cooled unit. The manifestation of all that squish is buckets of torque at low and midrange engine speeds, and after a day's riding out of Cape Town and on the Killarney race circuit, I can attest to the improvement over the R 1100 S. The bike fairly leaps out of corners and with the majority of the bike's weight held low and forward, sports riders will be well pleased with the agility offered by the R 12.

The improved performance can also be sheeted home to five millimetre larger throttle bodies that deliver the fuel/air mixture via a variable transmission system. In simple terms, the delivery is not linear, rather constantly electronically updated to provide optimum fuelling across the rev range.

The bike now features more aggressive steering geometry, with a 66 degree steering rake and 87 millimetres of trail, which sets off the increased wheelbase of 1487mm (up from 1478 on the R 1100 S).

High lean angle ability of 52 degrees are achievable and clearance will not be an issue therefore.

There are the usual huge range of quality BMW options available for the bike, the highlights of which are a six-inch rear wheel that will happily take a 190-section rear tyre (quite a feat for a shaft drive bike), and Ohlins suspension for both front and rear. Test bikes at the launch featured the Ohlins option and, while I can't report on the standard suspension's capabilities, the Ohlins set-up could well be worth the extra quids. Supension was a highlight, both on mountain twisties and indeed during the extensive track work undertaken during the launch.

So... Time will tell, and the market will make its own choices, but for mine this is an outstanding motorcycle and represents a big improvement on what was already a good bike.

The bike will be in Oz showrooms in late May/early June and expect to pay around 20K.

R 1200 S FEATURES AT A GLANCE
Air-cooled 1170cc flat twin engine with balance shaft
Electronic BMS-K engine management with dual ignition, knock control, two oxygen sensors, and three-way catalytic converter
Three-piece frame structure constructed of steel and aluminium tubes
LED tail light
Under and over underseat exhaust
New lighter ABS system
Wide accessory range

*NOTE. Motorcycle Trader editor Greg Leech will file a launch test of the all-new BMW F 800 S and ST later this week. Keep an eye on BikePoint for the world-first test of Beemer's parallel twin range.