2019-07-01_RiDE

suspension

Standard model uses

conventional suspension, but

BMW’s impressive semi-active

Dynamic ESA is optional

Unlikeits 1250siblings,theRkeepsBrembo

— ratherthanBMW-brandedHayes— calipers

first ride BMW R1250R

T

here’saquietonein every

four-piece.a solid,dependable

pillarofthegroup;thinkGeorge

harrison,JohnPaulJones,Winston

Zeddemore...Well,quietlystanding

shoulder-to-shoulderwithits more famous

Gs, rtandrsboxercolleaguesis thenaked

‘r ’. For 2019it toohasexpandedintoa more

powerful,torqueyandtechnicallyadvanced

1250 version.ther1250r has thesame

enhanced engineas its siblings:134bhpand

10 5lb·ft,up fromthe1200’s123bhpand

92lb·ft,alongwithBMW’sshiftCam

variable-valve-timinggadgetry.

LiketheGs andrt—thesports-touring

rsis duelaterthisyear—ther1250r ta kes

this meatiermotorandslotsit intothesame

frameandstylingas its predecessor.ther’s

fit,feelandfunctionremaina relaxed

ro adster—butin2019,thatturnsoutto

beanincreasinglyrarething.Divergent

evolutionhasseennakedstreetbikessplit

into eitherrose-tintedretrosorslick-

scorchingsupernakeds.Butther1250r is

neither: it’sa big,solid,easy-goingunfaired

motorcycle—andit’sa breathoffreshair.

theriding positionhasa slightlysporty

leanto it, withhandlebarssetloweranda

touch furtherawaythana bolt-upright

adventurebike ortourer,givingthevery

gentlestofcafé-racerfront-endfocus.seat

height is anunremarkable820mm,witha

zero-costoptionto reducethatto a

ground-hugging760mm,andfootpeg

positionis instantlyintuitive.there are no

falsepretences,justfamiliarity.andsolidity.

ther1250r is nota lightbike—BMW

claims239kg,thoughriDe’s scalesreveal

ourtestbike is 248kg—andits lengthy

wheelbaseandlaid-backsteeringgeometry

allamplifythatat lowspeed.a light clutch

andfaultlesslow-revthrottlemanners

(t hanks,shiftCam)makeit veryeasyto

rideslowly,butthere’snoescapingthatthe

r1250r is a chunkiermonkeythanspeed

tri ples,Mt-10sandthelike.

Notthatit can’tboogiethroughthebends:

oh, it definitelydoes. Ourtestbike,like

mostBoxersleavingshowrooms,wearsthe

latestversionofBMW’sDynamicesa

suspension,whichcombinessemi-active

damping at both ends withautomatic

re ar-preloadadjustment.roadmode

givesa softride, witha littletoomuch

movement,butDynamicstraightensthings

outbeautifully.Leaveit here andyou’llbe

happyallday long,rollingthroughbends

with enoughgrip fromtheexcellent

MichelinPilotroad4 tyresto scrape

thepegs.Meanwhileridequalityis still

pl ush,andpitchinganddivingis controlled

sublimely,evenhaulinghardonthe

retina-detachingBrembobrakes.Yes,you

re adthatright:whiletheGs andrthave

BMW’sR1250R mightnothave theflash or

flair ofitsbigger-selling boxerbrothers,

but it’sa stonkingly capableroadster

One for the road

Noairsandgracesbuta

very capablemotorcycle

WordsMartinFitz-GibbonsPicturesJasonCritchell

26 | july 2019

new bikes