| | | | Road test : 2007 BMW K 1200 R Sport-Blue hurricane |  Written: 24/01/2007 : 16:41. Read 13815 times (30/day). | | The integrality of this filed article is for Premium Members. | We literally rode through a hurricane to ride the new BMW K 1200 R Sport. Hurricane Kyrill had killed 11 people in Germany by the time we landed for our mission in Munich. The K 1200 R Sport is BMW’s latest addition to the sports tourer segment and with 163hp the emphasis is on Sport.
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After an extremely bumpy flight to Germany we finally arrived at BMW’s pick up centre. It reminded me more of the CTU headquarters in adrenaline TV series 24 than your usual press centre. Walking through the modern concrete based corridors with automatic doors would either lead me into Jack Bauer’s interrogation room or to the latest addition to the powerful K series.
Luckily for me there was a blue K 1200 R Sport at the end of the corridors. The Sport is based on the K 1200 R which is the naked more comfortable version of the fully faired high speed K 1200 S. I had arranged with BMW so that I had access to all three bikes for our shoot.
This location in Munich is ideal for these mile munching powerful motorcycles. We had easy access to the autobahn, town and B-roads just outside the door from BMW. The new half fairing complements the more relaxed ergonomics of the R version. K 1200 R Sport is a compromise between the exposed R and the fully faired S. The best thing about the bikes ergonomics is that BMW have kept the upright seating position from the R. The seat height is a sporty 820mm in standard, but with BMW there are always options and the Sport can be fitted with a 790mm seat. Our test bike was fitted with ESA (Electronic suspension adjustment), integral ABS and heated grips. In the high winds the front cowling provided welcome protection on the motorway.
Riding slowly the winds grabbed hold of the front and I had to lean into the wind. So I upped the pace a little and with the momentum gained stability improved. I have noticed this before on the K 1200 R how stable the chassis is at high speed. The new Sport is no different and you get the extra pleasure of some more wind protection. Sitting upright you are more exposed to the winds than on the S, but it is a whole lot better than the R. In essence this is the Sport, the perfect compromise between two fairly extreme models. Certainly the most extreme and powerful models BMW have ever built. You get a K 1200 R with 163hp and just enough fairing to add to the comfort whilst that 55 degree tilted in-line four is still visible.
The ...
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| Comments | |
 Ratbyk (02-02-2007): Loved your road test on the K1200R... I own the K1200S, and put on 32,000 Km,s the first 2 months, going from Vancouver, British Columbia,down thru the USA, to the World Gp in Laguna Seca, then across USA to Eastern Canada, as far as Cape Breton Island, then rode back to British Columbia..I am 67 years old, and enjoyed every moment on the BMW..
Thank-you for all your articles... Bob Underhill
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