Issue 141 : June - July 2005
Riders Salute Simon
Winging It
Mile Munching Luxury
MAG Magistrate
Easter Egg Run
My Bike
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Riders Salute Simon
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Mile munching luxury
It almost became the first AGC where I had to turn-up in a car, but then BMW came to the rescue with an R1200RT for the weekend. This is the very latest edition of their long-established touring-bike series and the decades of experience scream from every facet. I didn't have much time to get familiar with all the switches and doo-dads before setting-off into the chill artic conditions of Coventry in April. By the end of the first mile I had the electric windscreen set for maximum calm, the bike scything through swirling snow-flakes its built-in radio/CD/intercom tuned to some mellow jazz vibes. This complemented the plush ride-quality from the softly sprung suspension as we glided along the suspect tarmac of the inner ring-road, burbling along at 40-50mph in second gear. I was just reaching for the heated hand-grips, when my eyes lit on the switch symbol for heated-seats - riding two-up through a dark cold night wasn't just going to be a doddle, it was going to be a joy with built-in luggage. By the time I got home I was chuckling in anticipation. I'd already decided this was a great bike, but I didn't know at that time how much time or effort I really should have spent to get it set-up right. The Beemer is a real mile-muncher but motorways aren't my cup-of schnapps, so single-carriageway 'A' roads were chosen as more direct, though potentially slower. The gearing seems very tall, with six gears in the box and a happy feel to the engine at 6,000rpm, it does an easy 40mph in first and 90mph in fourth. There's plenty of go in the motor, but for the kind of roads we were using the ratios were too demanding of the engine-torque. Overtakes were uncharacteristically worrisome, meaning I had to consciously switch my riding style from armchair observer of the world drifting by, to edge-of-the-seat throttle-jockey. I like to plan my overtakes, to make sure I've got the approach / commit / execute and recover phases well sorted, so the constantly surprising need to cog-down and build-revs on the RT was a bit of a distraction. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, the bike has two distinct personalities, laid-back and full-on, we may have got used to big European tourers like BMWs or Guzzis that do everything through sheer grunt, but times change and today's rider wants a more sporty-edge to call-on. The bike is quite capable of getting sporty. Removing the stream-lined and very sturdy panniers gives the bike a much slimmer, yet natural look - the pannier mounting system is pretty uncluttered so you wouldn't necessarily think they were 'missing'. An hour-down the road to Salisbury, I felt nice and toasty so turned-off the seat-heaters. Half-an-hour later Heather asked me if I could turn-off the seat-heater. After checking and re-checking the switches we had ruled out any short-circuit and concluded that the mix of caravans and blind-bends meant the engine heat responsible for the rosy glow in Heather's cheeks had nowhere to go. On open roads, where the breeze could carry the heat away, this wasn't such a pain in the nether-regions. Meantime, I'd also been getting a bit of a roasting from passing cars flashing at me to complain about the Bee-Emm's own headlight adjustment - one of the few things that can't be adjusted from the handlebar. The next morning meant a short-hop to the AGC in bright-sunshine, but still a chill-wind. The venue was also a bit on the chilled-side in more ways than one. The heating system was too noisy to use but the gathered MAG clan - as concentrated on the events at hand as they ever are - had relaxed into an inherent mix of good-nature, close-scrutiny and constructive dialogue. Back out into to the open-air and, after paddling through gravel on the not-insubstantial weight of what is, after all, a fully-loaded touring machine, we were off to the strains of 'Born to be wild' blasting-out from the on-board fairing speakers - cheesy? yes, contrived? maybe, but just because the 1200RT is the antithesis of a stripped-down Milwaukee V-twin, doesn't mean a bike like this can't embody the feeling any rider looks for in their journeying. The RT might have all the features of a well-presented saloon-car, but it also delivers all the essential ingredients of what makes motorcycling special:- the adjustable windscreen means you can have as much wind in your face as you like / the chassis transmits the same intimacy with road and surroundings and pillion to enjoy / you still move with the bike and feel every sweeping shift of gravity and momentum. Now, bear-in-mind my usual ride is the Multistrada - a compact, lithe, bend-blaster that loves alpine hairpins for their geometry not just the views they have to offer. The Beemer would be more sanguine about covering the distances that separate Blighty from Mont Blanc, but it too, would be perfectly at home in the Alps - more 'at home' in the sense of 'at home with its feet-up enjoying the scenery' perhaps, but just as enticing for all that. Nich Brown |
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Bend swinging Ducati rider Nich Brown tries something different...