FIRST RIDE: BMW R1250RS
It’s safe to say the good old sports tourer is currently ‘not on trend’, swamped as it is by ballistic adventurers and nakeds. However…
BMW’S new shiftcam engine makes its way into sports touring.
AS MANUFACTURERS BUSY themselves developing all sorts of different flavour adventure, naked and retro machines, it can feel like the once-beloved sports-tourer is getting left a bit behind the rest.
But it’s not easy to leave BMW’S re-energised R1250RS behind. With its boosted boxer, sharper styling and greater sophistication, it’s a bike that looks big miles in the face and laughs. Hysterically.
The all-new motor is grunty rather than revvy, the riding position is sporty not racy and there’s space for a properly grown adult instead of a grandprix pixie.
Bodywork offers everyday wind and weather protection rather than 180mph aerodynamic optimisation and
there’s even room for hard luggage. A passenger is also welcome.
The RS is the final model in BMW’S range of water-cooled boxers to inherit their new-for2019 1254cc flat twin. With a bigger bore and a longer stroke than the old 1200, there’s way more power and torque at all revolutions. Performance is identical to the latest GS and RT, with 134bhp and a thundering 105lb.ft of torque (more grunt than KTM’S Super Duke GT or Kawasaki’s supercharged H2 SX). Like its siblings the motor has Shiftcam, which seamlessly shuffles its inlet cams to swap between two sets of lobes – one for low-rev efficiency, the other full performance. The end result is an absolute joy of a road engine, with mountains of
mid-range, a plentifully powerful top-end and faultless low-rev manners.
It looks a bit sharper too, with restyled headlights giving a sportier, sleeker face. Where the outgoing R1200RS used traditional halogen bulbs, the R1250RS has an all-led headlight, which means the units can be smaller and more power-efficient. A daytime running light, however, isn’t standard – it’s a £100 option, or it’s part of the Dynamic pack and included with the R1250RS Sport. The R1200RS’S pedestrian two-part dash – an analogue speedo sitting alongside a thin, wide LCD letterbox – is replaced by a stunning 6.5-in colour TFT display. The matt finish makes it easy to read even in bright summer sun, the speedo is large and clear, and all the information is presented in an intuitive fashion. The biggest bugbear is resetting the trip, which takes way too much scrolling and clicking the thumbwheel to navigate through multiple sub-menus.
The RS can now be had with BMW’S latest Dynamic ESA (that’s semi-active suspension in plain English). The big advantage this year’s model has over the R1200RS is that the latest system automatically sets rear preload. Where you previously had to tell the bike whether you were riding solo, two-up or carrying luggage, the 1250 can calculate the load it’s carrying and automatically compensate to maintain the bike’s attitude.
Damping can be set to Road (softer) or Dynamic (firmer), with a noticeable difference between the two. Dynamic ESA is a £775 extra, part of the Premium pack or included as standard on the Exclusive model. The brakes haven’t changed, and they are worth highlighting for that very reason. While the R1250GS and R1250RT switched to front brake calipers made by Hayes, the R1250RS and naked R stick with Brembos. While the Hayes calipers certainly have no shortage of stopping power, for most riders the Italian brand is a far more familiar, established and proven name.
Price, for the standard R1250RS (in black only), starts at £12,100. The Sport model (£13,465) adds smarter leansensitive rider aids, a two-way quickshifter, LED indicators and metallic yellow paint. There’s also the Exclusive (£13,960) tested here, which comes with metallic blue paint, keyless ignition, semi-active suspension, GPS mount, cruise control and centrestand. Our test bike also has the Comfort pack (£465: chrome exhaust, heated grips, tyre pressure monitors) and Dynamic pack (£910: daytime running lights, two-way quickshifter, smarter aids, LED indicators). BMW’S SOS button is a further £305, bringing our test bike to a fairly hefty £15,640.
‘Boosted boxer, sharper styling and greater sophistication’