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 Presentation of the new K 1200 S to the press. "Piecemeal" Up till now the Munich BMW elves have been serving up tiny morsels of their new creation, the K 1200 S. Now we have a nicely garnished appetizer: The facts and figures about BMW's new sportmachine.
The Bavarians have always been fond of a joke. They have played us with one teaser after another. First, they showed us the new K1200S under a semitransparent cover. Then they sent us a single photograph, side view, leaned over. Now the press releases come one after another as the Bavarians finally feed us all the details and technical data on their new K 1200 S sportbike. The very first official photos make it clear that the new K is not a sportbike in the sense of a ZX-10R or R 1.This 1200 cc bike is a sport tourer more in the category of a ZX-12R or Hayabusa, and can certainly hold its head up in such fast company. No more "Bavarian modesty" about horsepower with these published figures: Exactly 167 HP (Note = DIN horsepower. SAE HP would be about 175.) is the figure given for this forward-tilted four cylinder. Thanks to a short-stroke layout and a light, strong valve system with short valve actuating arms instead of buckets, as is also usual in Formula 1 motors, the K revs to over 10,000 rpm, and is smoothed out by two balance shafts. And plenty of torque, too: 130 NewtonMeters at 8250 rpm puts them in the top league. Already by 3,000 rpms the motor is making 90 NewtonMeters.
More than with any previous model, the dynamic characteristics of the bike had priority in its development. This is demonstrated by the excellent power-to-weight ratio, that according to first reports is 50% better than any previous BMW sport model. Motorrad calculated that the bike should have a road-ready weight of around 235 kilos, (517 lbs.), but this was not quite reached by the engineers at BMW, who claim a fully-tanked weight of 248 kilos (545.6 lbs.). If that is correct, then the BMW is exactly on a par with the Kawasaki ZX-12R. Further positives - the center of mass is very low, as the motor is leaned forward 55 degrees, and thanks to dry-sump construction with no oil-pan, is mounted extremely low in the frame. The cassette-style six speed transmission and wet clutch are integrated into the crankcase housing.
A lot of extra effort was put into the design of the chassis, where certain experiences from the automobile side played a role. While the rear wheel hangs from the well-known Paralever single-sided swingarm, the front wheel is held in a massive wheel-carrier that is suspended on two A-arms. This design, called "Duolever", opens many possibilities. It allows for the arc path of the suspension travel to be determined as desired, instead of the straight line path that is mandated with a telescopic fork, and also controls dive under braking. The complete suspension system is not only lighter than a conventional telescopic fork, but also substantially more rigid. BMW is using this technology in a production bike for the first time, but doubtless further models will make use of it. As an option, electronically adjustable suspension can be ordered. By means of servomotors one can adjust not only the spring preload but also the damping, according to the weight, road quality or enthusiasm of the rider. The cost of this luxury option will be made available in the next press release.
The K 1200 S will be officially presented to the public in September, at the Intermot show, and shortly thereafter will be in the dealerships. The price of 14,850 Euros certainly is no "dumping price", but it is still within the range of this category of motorcycles, especially when one considers that integral ABS is standard equipment. Translated by Kari Prager. |
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