All Tests – With weapons and luggage! – Used BMW

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With weapons and luggage !

All Tests - With weapons and baggage! - Used BMW

With its new K 1200 GT, BMW intends to reaffirm its position in the niche of comfortable and powerful four cylinders, capable of traveling quickly and far with weapons and luggage. Faced with the success of the R 1200 RT, is the K worth it? First contact.

For those who want to travel fast and far on a motorcycle, BMW is still today often a reference figure: after the phenomenal success of the BMW R 1200 RT, a real weapon of massive seduction which has sold nearly 2,500 units alone. in France (read), the German manufacturer now intends to (re) seduce fans of the four-cylinder by releasing a new version of the K 1200 GT on the market.
St-Tropez, 03/15/2006 – New BMW K 1200 GT 2006.

From the outset, the 2006 model of the new BMW K 1200 GT is distinguished by much more angular lines than on the previous model, presented at the end of 2002 and sold in 337 units in 2003..

The fairing without openings and with sharper angles gives the new German Grand Tourer a sportier silhouette than its predecessor and a much more aggressive profile than the soothing curves of the brand’s other grand tourer, the BMW R 1200 RT (read ). Ditto for the tank plunging forward and the side cases that seem to have been dug in the back, accentuating the aggressive side of the placid GT.

Automotive technology

In the shade of the hotel arbor The Mistralee in Saint-Tropez – very judiciously chosen by BMW to present the "big" latest to the French press – the new BMW K 1200 GT already shows all its aptitudes for comfortable and fast travel, alone or in pairs: standard cases, 24 liter tank offering a "theoretical range of 500 km"(actually more like 400), saddle in two separate parts for the comfort of the rider and the passenger (with independently adjustable heating option!), dashboard lighting controlled by a photosensitive cell, front wheel guidance by Duolever and rear by Paralever, etc.

The new K 1200 GT also inherits the same chassis as the brand’s sporty model, the K 1200 S (read), and its roadster version K 1200 R (read).

"Automotive technology is used more and more on our motorcycles", specifies Patrick Lucas, head of the press department at BMW France. The K 1200 GT is therefore equipped, among other things, with an electronic immobilizer key which cuts off the ignition and the fuel supply when the key is not activated. does not correspond to the lock. As for the leveraging on the control unit, surprisingly easy, it is done using the passenger grab handle.

Contact: the four-cylinder snorts while the dashboard – equipped for this test version of the on-board computer at 150 euros – lights up thanks to its photosensitive cell. Barely installed in the saddle – adjustable in height from 820 to 840 mm (free 800 mm low saddle option) – comfort stands out like the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie: the handlebars (adjustable in height in four positions and in depth on a range of 40 mm) falls perfectly under the hands, the feet are very slightly behind but the bust remains straight: a real GT position which encourages you to start cutting the road immediately. !

Firm pressure but not excessively on the handlebars – possibly accompanied by a slight thrust – and the beautiful leaves its central stand. The balance of its 282 kg (249 kg dry, or 21 more than the K 1200 S), located rather low, does not pose any particular problem. Suspensions and shock absorbers unanimously welcome the pilot machine assembly and also seem ready for adventure … Action !

The weight flies away

After barely a few tens of meters, the first observation is obvious: this machine is one of those whose handling, despite its weight and its imposing size, is the easiest. The K 1200 GT can be tamed like a peaceful old tomcat, so much so that you feel at home after the first 40 seconds spent on the handlebars..

The weight is barely felt at very low speed just before a stop, at the approach of a fire for example, but flies away as if by magic as soon as the bar of 10 or 15 km / h has passed. The bubble tends to emit a fairly present whistling sound at the beginning which disappears once the right setting has been found thanks to the electric control on the handlebars.

In the relatively congested traffic on the outskirts of Saint-Tropez, the "big" GT evolves without problem and does not lack recovery for lightning overtakes, with a precise gearbox which slams happily during certain gear changes. The mirrors, perfectly placed, do not vibrate a millimeter and allow you to see far behind. The slightly prominent right crankcase may come into contact with the ankle during the first rear braking, but it will quickly be forgotten after a few hundred meters.

Only the suitcases will require a little time to adapt so as not to hang them up when going up the lines. And even if a suitcase protector should soon be offered as an option, urban bikers may have an interest in replacing them with a top case to be able to bring them out intact during long trips..

Once understood the BMW standard for the indicators (one control on the left for the left side, one on the right for the right side and one on the right for the interruption of the two, which will result at the beginning for the novices in a tendency to honk involuntarily before each overtaking!), we can then fly (the term is almost exact!) to the assault of the hinterland, where the 1200 will be particularly docile when setting on the angle and effective in corner exit.

Clamping, clamping…

The four-cylinder 1157 cc, very linear – too much, will object the followers of the bi -, at first glance gives off a drier and less creamy impression than that of the Yamaha 1300 FJR, for example. Blame it on a less successful bridle? Perhaps. Nevertheless, the machine does not balk at taking turns, even if we regret the appearance of certain vibrations beyond 7,000 turns. Again, it is possible that the free version is perfectly flawless.

With a maximum torque of 110 Nm in France (130 for the free version), it is a bit below the RT (115) but at higher speed (7,750 rpm instead of 6,000).

Restricted to 107 horsepower in France against 152 in the free world (at 9,500 laps), it nevertheless allows, associated with an irreproachable cycle part, to have extremely fun, alone or with two, on small viral roads as in the gorges Verdon, Artuby or Bruyère. On the major axes, the protection is quite satisfactory thanks to the electric adjustment of the screen which allows everyone to find the optimal position according to their size … and to keep the adjustment when switching off the ignition.

And while the K 1200 GT seems to make its own way through the bends bordered by flowering mimosas and holm oaks, the on-board computer (optional, 150 euros) distills the driver, by pressing the BC button, the following information: remaining autonomy, average speed and consumption, outside temperature with warning of the risk of ice when it reaches less than 3.5 ° C, oil level and temperature.

After a short coffee break on a sunny terrace in Comps-sur-Artuby, the desire to leave is stronger than the position of the lizard. Stuck to the road even on slightly gory bitumen connections, the GT never ceases to provide growing pleasure over the turns. It also remains very manageable in the event of optimism at the start of a curve and only the patches of snow that remain here and there on the side of the road encourage you to lower the pace and increase vigilance..

The Kamasutra of suspensions

For its part, the electronic adjustment of the ESA suspensions (optional, 680 euros) allows you to play between three presettings related to the type of driving (comfort, normal and sport), each of them being associated with a solo driving, as a duo or with luggage. That is a total of nine positions offered.

In terms of braking, the standard ABS Integral Sport system is particularly effective, whether in town or on the road, in emergency braking or in dynamic driving. It makes it possible to stop the machine in a safe and precise way thanks to an action on the front brake lever which also actuates the rear brake, while the pedal only activates the rear brake. This avoids the inconvenience of driving in town, where a slight pedal stroke just to slow down could turn into real braking by also triggering the front brake, at the risk of dangerously destabilizing man and machine..

A tire pressure loss indicator is also offered as an option, which displays a warning on the screen as soon as the current pressure differs significantly from that stored in memory (available during 2006, price not communicated), xenon lighting (360 euros), heated saddles with individual adjustment by the pilot and passenger (415 euros with heated grips), heated grips only with a continuous position and a position controlled by the outside temperature (205 euros), a cruise control (320 euros), a high bubble (55 euros) and an anti-theft alarm system (190 euros).

3 option packs

For "make life easier for our customers and our dealers", BMW also offers as original equipment three option packs chosen at the time of order: Pack 1 with heated grips and on-board computer (310 euros), Pack 2 with electronic suspension adjustment (ESA), heated saddles and grips and on-board computer (1,100 euros) and Pack 3 with xenon headlamps, electronic suspension adjustment, heated saddles and grips, cruise control and on-board computer (1,650 euros).

With the optional BMW GPS Navigator (1,490 euros, untested), it seems really difficult to resist this real invitation to travel which does not hesitate to put forward weighty arguments against the competition, despite a price of acquisition without option higher by 5% compared to the Honda ST 1300 Pan-European (16,950 euros with ABS and suitcases) and by 14% compared to the new Yamaha 1300 FJR 2006 (15,590 euros with ABS and suitcases).

Because even if, as the managers of BMW Motorrad France like to repeat, "the true price of a motorcycle is the amount between the purchase price and the resale price"(read), the beautiful requires a significant first investment."It is true that our products are expensive to buy, but our customers have understood that it is the differential between the purchase price and the resale price that matters", confirms Octave Manset, communications director of BMW France.

700 sales in 2006

At the end of this first contact – 240 km at various speeds in the Tropezian hinterland – a last glance at the on-board computer reveals a particularly economical average consumption (5.1 l per 100 km) at an average speed of 70.2 km / h. There is therefore theoretically 167 km to go but for those who still arrive on the reserve, the screen then automatically displays the number of kilometers that can be covered before the fuel runs out….

If it represents a real alternative to the R 1200 RT in the free world (152 horses for the GT against 110 for the RT), the K 1200 GT risks suffering in France from its constraint at 107 horses against 100 for the R 1200 RT . BMW nevertheless hopes to sell 700 from this year and does not fear the "cannibalization" effect on the R 1200 RT at 16,000 euros, the brand’s locomotive in France with 2,467 registrations in 2005 which make it the more than 750 motorcycle. cc the most sold in France. "On the 700 K1200GT that we plan to sell this year, customers will come a little from us (the owners of the old model, in particular) and a little from the competition", predicts Patrick Lucas.

It is available for 17,850 euros in graphite black metallic, crystal gray or dark blue metallic. The saddle can be black or gray to the taste of the purchaser, as can the side covers which are available in matt metallic gray or matt metallic black.

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