Haroon

Normally in this superbike section the discussions center around the CBRs or R1s or GSXRs or ZZRs or Hyabusas etc. Hence, for a change I thought, why not post some pics of our BMW riding group here, since BMWs are rarely talked about in the forum.

With the temp close to 40 degrees C on friday(our week-end), yours sincerely clicked all the photos at our starting point before the ride. Since I did not have a pillion, I could not take any pics during the ride. Anyway I have marked the bikes also for those of you who are not familiar with BMW bikes.

We had 4 of the new K series bikes in our group. Just to give you a little background on the new K bikes. BMW is slowly moving from their long standing image of bikes ‘for middle aged men and swiss army-knife bikes for the world travelers’ to more aggressive looking & performing bikes. The new K series was a bold move in that direction. It had the brute power, stability and the fantastic stopping power together with all the other alphabet gizmos like ASC, ABS, ESA blah blah blah. Besides, the new K is one of the very few sport bikes that you can ride for 400+ kms and still come back home without any wrist or back pain. The K1200S is fully faired, the K1200R is naked and the K1200GT is the touring bike with side cases etc (ofcourse the earlier generation K1200RS and K1200LT are very different to the new K bikes- Zameen-aasmaan ka farak hai!). Indeed, these new sports bikes also have top-end speed, bhp etc like the Japs, but won’t probably enter the edge-of-the-seat record books as they are normally atleast 10-15% heavier than the japs (almost all of them use the heavier shaft drive as against chain drive in the japs). Ofcourse, the new S1000RR supersports with chain drive is awaited. Although BMW bikes do sell at premium prices, unlike Harleys, BMWs are not fashion statement bikes. These are very functional and reliable bikes. Most of the parts used are high quality and in general take a lot longer to deteriorate than other bikes. The normal service interval on all new BMW bikes is every 10,000kms. Once you use BMW bikes for a while, it is very difficult not to go back to BMW.

During the ride today, I got the chance to ride my friend Skander’s new R1200RT. Skander has been out of riding since almost a year after his crash that totaled his Suzuki V-Strom- Ofcourse, he wasn’t hurt too much but it took time to regain his riding confidence. Coming to his new bike Wow, wow, wow it’s a gorgeous bike and the engine is a lot more smoother & has more torque than my older generation R1100RT. Ofcourse, the minor engine vibration is standard with all BMW Boxer engines old or new. This bike has electronic cruise control and a wonderful stereo as well. The 3-position adjustable seat is a little higher than my bike even in its lowest position, but this bike is a lot lighter & easier to maneuver than my bike at slow speeds. Getting used to the electronic assist brakes was easy, but I was careful. As for ABS, my 1996 model bike has BMW’s first generation ABS, while this bike has the 3rd generation ABS, which is a lot more advanced, less noisy and lighter, but I did not get a chance to test it nor was I keen for any such ABS challenges on a brand new bike that’s hardly got 600kms on its odo. The electrically adjustable windshield is similar to my bike, but its a lot bigger and it cuts most of the wind noise. OK my final verdict- I will still upgrade to an R1200GS!!


BMW bikes present at Starting point:
1 R1200RT
1 R1100RT
2 K1200R
1 K1200S
1 K1200RS (Old version)
1 K1200GT

Joined enroute
1 R1200GS
1 R1200GS Adventure


Skander’s brand new R1200RT



My old (& trusty) R1100RT Vs the new R1200RT



Cockpit view from the new RT


Me enjoying the new RT


The older K1200RS (red)


Brute power- K1200R



K1200S (faired) and K1200R (naked)


K1200GT



The touring rigs- R1100RT(Blue), R1200RT(Silver) & K1200GT(Black)


The grand travelers R1200GS(Yellow) & R1200GS Adventure (Grey)
(Jim & Wolfgang joined us briefly enroute, but this is an earlier file photo)


The Starbucks parking lot







On your marks…..




Get-set, go………

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Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional

Aryan

Topic Approved.

Wow! A BMW riding group, no less! Wonderful stuff Haroon sir.

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akshaye11

wonderfull stuff !!!!! +1

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Raoul Black

great man hope you enjoy them safely & for a longtime to come.

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Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.

ken cool

You are absolutely right. All that people discuss about Sbks here is CBR and R1 and Gixer and thats it! Pretty narrow discussions that ways. And thus our circulation of knowledge is pretty limited. I loved your presentation of the Beamers. For once we have something different to look at. The K1200R looks pretty neat. There are people who do not like asymmetrical headlights. People who see Beamers regulary would not mind this.

Thanks Haroon for initiating us to the very different world of BMW motorcycles. I admit that I am quite ignorant about the characteristics of such bikes other than their famed ruggedness.

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BMW Motorrad Days 2011

Xbhp's Indo-French Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

pudix

Hi Haroon
Thanks for the great pics! It is a new world for me for sure.

Will it be too much to ask for a ride report of the K1200R?

Awaiting more stuff from you.

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Lean.

blisteringintelligence

Awesome stuff. The K1200R is just

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PERSEVERE... failure is not an option!

'88 Premier Padmini | '99 Maruti 800 | '99 Yamaha RX135 | '10 Wagon R | '11 Yamaha FZ16

abhijeet080808

Wow! Nice rides. My fav is the K1200R. I dig the asymmetrical headlight!

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Your biking tells a lot about the person you are!

46wannabe

my fav is the latest one. The S1000R. BMW quirky design at its best. When i first saw its pictures, I actually thought it was the rumored TVR bike which never materialised. Anywho, thank you for the pics and write up Haroon.

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10 Commandments:
1)Thank thy God for being alive.
2)Thou shalt respect one's own life and the live's of other road users.
3)Thou shalt respect one's own bike.
4)Love thy bike as thy self.
5)Always wear safety gear.
6)Alcohol is a strict NO!
7)Thou may lust after thy neighbour's bike specially if its of the R1 kind!
8)Thou shalt ride with 'ultra-most' care and caution when on Indian roads.
9)Thou shalt never leave the engine running at long traffic halts.
10)Thou shalt follow all of the above.

silver_falcon_46

I was surfing on my phone when i came across this thread and I shifted to the computer right away. BMWs have always caught my attention in every way possible way and this thread was no exception.

Nice pictures there. How far did you guys travel? I think the most beautiful bike in your group is the new K1200R. Aggressive styling. Has the 1300R been released in the market yet? I am in love with that motorcycle. There are a few videos on youtube but i guess the bike hasn't been released yet. It has the anti-wheelie and anti-spin features. BMWs like you already mentioned have not been made to do topspeeds but I believe the k1300R could make a difference. I rate it the best looking bike in the world. Tiny video of the k1300R, but the sound quality is not great -
My love for BMW also traces down to Germany. That country has interested me in many many ways. They have so many high quality automobile manufacturers that are a cut above the rest. Although I haven't ridden them I feel the bikes have a different feeling, higher quality and reliability like many other german manufacturers. BMW made bikes before cars and I'm proud of that fact.

I remember you telling me at one point of time about the GS Adventure looking like a well bred stallion compared to the regular GS1200. Must've been beautiful seeing one in real. I love the ad of the BMW 1200RT in Norway, everyone here reading this post must watch it. Its beautiful. (Remember to put your volume up)



I was talking to my friends cousin yesterday who has a 10R and CBR600 in California. He was shocked to know that we in India ride for 3 hours one shot. He said he could not take more than one and half hours in one shot on these bikes. I'm sure people like Ken and Rossiter may disagree, but I think riding a superbike around in complete comfort is a different feeling? And I think thats possible on a BMW with the added comfort of reliability.

The bike in my display picture - the r69

Haroon, please do bring in more pictures and discussions about BMWs, I would love to chip in and be a part of it. Cheers!

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