BMW HP2 SPORT

RARITY yep, less than 100 in the UK

UNUSUAL TECH mega-tuned boxer lump, with Öhlins everywhere

NOSTALGIA oh yes

Let’s hark back to the days when BMW bosses were still all on acid, and insisting that a boxer engine was the perfect solution for a sports bike because air-cooling or something. Yep, it’s hard to believe now, but the S1000RR makers used to poo-poo all that power and light weight shizzle, in favour of relentlessly, maniacally banging away at a 60-year-old engine. This then was the ultimate expression of the old oil-cooled 1170cc boxer engine, in sportsbike form. They cobbled together a DOHC setup, and managed to get nearly 130bhp out of the old bugger, then bolted on a stack of Öhlins, Brembo and carbon shizzle they stole from the MotoGP pit garages when they were delivering the safety cars. It was a laugh, though crushingly pricey, and is still some sort of ultimate. There were only 95 in the UK supposedly, though a few others might have sneaked in from Euroland. An R1200S is almost as good, far cheaper, and might be worth a look too…