All Comparisons – 2015 R1200R Vs Monster 1200S Vs Speed ​​Triple: BCBG roadsters! – BCBG motorcycles: good chic, beautiful bitches!

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R1200R 2015 Vs Monster 1200S Vs Speed ​​Triple: BCBG roadsters !

All Comparisons - 2015 R1200R Vs Monster 1200S Vs Speed ​​Triple: BCBG roadsters! - BCBG motorcycles: good chic, beautiful bitches!

By exchanging its Telelever and its classic lines for a front axle and a sporty look, the R1200R is slammed in 2015. Boosted by the Fleet-twin, the BMW roadster even intends to rub shoulders with the classy Ducati Monster 1200 and Triumph Speed ​​Triple.

BCBG motorcycles: good chic, beautiful bitches !

Other times, other customs and other references … Until now listed as a comfortable and distinguished roadster – retro limit in its elegant and its spoked rims – the BMW R1200R turns its cuti and becomes much more dynamic visually and technically ( read our).

The centerpiece of this redesign, the vigorous "Fleet-twin" raises its performance (+15 hp and + 6 Nm) to a level in line with its desired change of category. With its 125 hp and 125 Nm of torque in Full, the R1200R even mechanically dominates a "pure" sporty roadster like the excellent – but aging – (125 hp and 99 Nm) !

Third motorcycle in the range equipped with the partially water-cooled flat twin – after the and the -, the R1200R is getting a makeover partly fueled by the incredible progress of the "liquid" Boxer. A metamorphosis as skilful as it is ironic: BMW manages to continue its quest for "youthism" by relying on an engine architecture that dates back to its very first motorcycle, the !

This "modern" mechanism, however, leads to the abandonment of the famous – but rather bulky – Telelever, sacrificed in order to integrate the essential radiators and expansion tank without overloading the front like us. After the R Nine T, the "R12R" in turn abandons this front axle hitherto characteristic of the Boxer range. A small revolution !

In its place appears an inverted fork of 45 mm that one would believe stuck to the radical S1000R … before noting the absence of all forms of adjustable series (suspensions with electronic adjustments ESA optional at 800 €). Add to this sporty range of Brembo 4-piston radial calipers, different injection maps as well as an anti-slip and a disengageable ABS, and you get a transfigured R1200R.

The busty bourgeois now wants to be "sexy cougar", and claims it with flashy makeup like this red and white color – with "R signature, chrome trim on the tank and engine spoiler – installed as an option on this "Sport" version (+ 360 €) !

Course and target changes

Thus adorned, the Behème is ready to challenge references like the Monster 1200 and the Speed ​​Triple … even though the idea would have made people smile previously! But in the meantime, the category has also evolved: the "nastiest" roadsters are now sharpened like Superbikes and spit between 160 and 180 hp, in the lead.

Results, the Ducati and the Triumph would almost pass for nice roadsters with their respective power of "only" 135 hp (145 on the S version of the Monster 1200 present on this MNC comparison)! At the Reds of Bologna, the transformation is assumed: since its transition to liquid cooling, the "Mostro" has offered a less exclusive. Evidenced by its practical grab handles (as on the BMW, absent on the Triumph) and its height-adjustable saddle, the only one in this comparison test..

A more versatile and relatively accessible Monster: crime of lese majesty for purists? Not necessarily, because lovers of more "Monstrous" sensations can turn to its, strong 160 hp and a cycle part with small onions! Thanks to this offer with multiple faces and uses, the Monster 1200 intends to soften its image of "motorcycle of initiates". On paper, who will complain? Probably not the accountants of the Bologna brand !

As for the Speed ​​Triple, the situation is different: unchanged, the Triumph has just aged slightly. Yesterday at the top, the English is today heckled by the latest "bombs" crammed with electronics. No excessive sophistication on the English, the only one in this comparison devoid of anti-skating, ride-by-wire accelerator and driving modes. Its only concession to the diktat of electronics lies in the use of an ABS, very efficient and disconnectable … and mandatory from January 1, 2016 !

While awaiting its overhaul, the Hinckley Brute embodies a form of sporty but not extreme roadster, appreciated for its neat style and its "chic" image. A positioning common to the R1200R and the Monster 1200, which also exude a muscular but high-end fragrance.

Let it be said: the R1200R, the Monster 1200S and the Speed ​​Triple are real "BCBG" …. "Good chic" by their look and their superb pieces, but "beautiful bitches" as soon as the road turns. thanks to their torque-packed engine (113 Nm for the Ducati and 111 Nm for the Triumph in Full) and their sports peripherals !

Static: Triumph and Ducati tied ahead of BMW

In terms of polished presentation and luxurious equipment, the Ducati strikes very hard, especially in this version "S recognizable by its forged three-spoke rims, its standard seat cowl, its LED indicators and its multiple carbon touches ( front fender, cylinder cover, license plate holder …). A feast for the eyes.

Impossible to remain unmoved by its fully adjustable Ohlins suspensions (given the enormous anodized 48 mm sleeves ?!), its M50 radial calipers common to the Panigale and its lattice frame with impeccable welds. On this version "Stripe" are also grafted a small wind and a white band running from the tank to its rear hull which underline its perfect finish..

Only the cooling hoses on its left side and the passable integration of the oil cooler – exposed in front of the lower engine – lend itself to criticism. For the rest, it’s faultless … all in all quite logical. By far the most expensive of the three (€ 17,250 against € 15,350 for our “optioned” BMW and € 11,790 for the Triumph), the Monster 1200S Stripe must indeed be unassailable.

Barely less rewarding in terms of "top level" fittings thanks to its Brembo radial calipers, its fully adjustable inverted fork and its shock absorber with separate cylinder, the Speed ​​Triple makes no complex in front of the quality of Italian manufacture.

Very elegant in its all-black dress specific to this (year of its launch), the Triumph attracts nothing but praise for the attention to detail. Just like its qualitative hardware, its plates and its polished metal exhaust protection or its classy split-tube frame.

Its ten-spoke rear rim is also superbly highlighted on the right side thanks to its beautiful single-arm and high mufflers, elegantly finished with polished stainless steel end caps. Of the three motorcycles, it is this which offers the most beautiful view of its large gommard 190 mm wide, dimension also retained on the Ducati.

The pretty rim of the Monster 1200S is itself partially hidden behind the superimposed black silencers, like threatening cannons. The least well off on this point is the BMW: its bulky exhaust – not very graceful, despite the chrome finish option installed here – blocks the view of its 180 mm rim.

Too bad because looking more closely, we discover a valve cleverly integrated into a stick (angled valves on the Triumph, straight on the Ducati). Also practical: the BMW is the only one equipped with an offset wheel to adjust rear preload. Signed Sachs, its mono-shock absorber with separate cylinder is however not adjustable in compression, unlike the competition elements of its rivals..

The German tries to distract attention by showing its final transmission by cardan, certainly visually and physically quite heavy, but much less messy and demanding in maintenance than the chain of the English and the Italian. This is not enough: in general, the R1200R attracts less attention and its presentation even appears slightly behind…

The welds of its mesh frame, for example, are less polished and some materials lack character, including the stainless steel – and not plastic – covering of the tank. In addition, the intake ducts above the cylinders are hardly aesthetic and its instrumentation appears austere, especially next to the colorful digital "slab" of the Ducati. !

But if the dashboard of the R1200R does not match the distinction of the Triumph (whose lack of controls on the handlebars always pestered), it turns out to be the most complete: it is the only one of the three to inform the gear engaged or tire pressure. On condition, however, to subscribe to the "On-board computer" option (read our Table of practical aspects and equipment on page 3)…

Finally, the headlight of the R1200R collects a modest score on the "MNC applaudimeter". Its consensual shapes evoke Japanese production – especially the Suzuki Gladius, not really the best aesthetic reference … – when that of the Monster 1200S and the double optics of the Speed ​​Triple 94 allow them to be identified at first glance..

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