Trail – 2010 BMW R1200GS test: the queen raises the tone! – The R1200GS does not want to share its throne!

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2010 BMW R1200GS review: the queen raises the tone !

Trail - 2010 BMW R1200GS test: the queen raises the tone! - The R1200GS does not want to share its throne!

A staple BMW bestseller, the 2010 R1200GS reaffirms its benchmark status with the twin camshaft cylinder head of the HP2 Sport. More efficient, the flat twin reveals above all a sound which gives it a welcome supplement of soul. Test.

The R1200GS does not want to share its throne !

Initiated in 1980 with the R 80 G / S, the GS saga is based on some 500,000 units sold around the world to illustrate its success story. BMW’s best-selling motorcycle, the current R1200GS – and its Adventure version – offers versatility that would pass a Swiss army knife for a common thrifty !

Road trail par excellence, the GS (Gelande Strasse, for all terrain / road) outclasses its rivals with cold and meticulous efficiency: the 1170 cc Boxer is pleasant and efficient, but its thrust is linear and its muffled vocalizations are reminiscent of the Citroën 2 CV (read our )…

However, if the unforgettable soundtrack of the famous Deudeuche did not prevent James Bond (alias Roger Moore) from taking his wheel in Just for your eyes in 1981, this acoustic parallel with one of the jewels of the French automobile industry does not necessarily turn to the advantage of the German motorcycle…

A backpacker and “always-on-the-go” motorcycle, the R1200GS has carved out a reputation for itself that should theoretically not suffer from these “trivialities”. But the clientele attracted by the big German road trail is much more heterogeneous than its aspect of crunchy of terminals suggests: from the adventurer in his thirties to the urban fifties through the quadra wishing to escape comfortably the time of a weekend , the GS casts a wide net !

So broad that to increase its potential for seduction and to match the youth crisis currently going through by BMW, the queen of the segment absolutely had to gain in character. Result: the 2010 R1200GS are equipped with the cylinder head of the HP2 Sport (read our). A necessary transplant because the competition, annoyed to be humiliated by the amazing balance of the Teuton trail, decided to retort !

The Ducati Multistrada 1200, unveiled in Milan this year, shamelessly eyeing the cake jealously reserved for the German star: the Reds would see themselves eating it to the fullest by applying the same recipes, punctuated by a zest of sportiness in the aromas. Italian (read our)…

Muscle and voice

Aligned as in the parade in the yard of the Nîmes dealer Sport Moto Thome, the standard R1200GS and Adventure 2010 made available to us for this polar test – from 0.5 to 4.5 ° C maximum depending on the optional on-board computer! – do not initially cause any aesthetic surprises.

Torn between the desire to revise the line of the GS and the prospect of disappointing its aficionados, the German manufacturer has decided in favor of conservatism: the current owners will have the satisfaction of learning that the novelty does not stick a wrinkle to the previous vintage !

In the game of seven errors, the expert eye will nevertheless detect the new shape of the adjustment knobs of the imposing and efficient windscreen, the magnesium-colored cylinder head covers – fixed by two screws instead of four – and the redesigned dials. from the dashboard.

Without any real shortcomings in terms of equipment – although the passage through the expensive "options" box to benefit from coupled ABS and traction control still surprises as much from such a safe manufacturer – the R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure 2010 renew a readable dashboard and managed by the left stalk, accessible levers, stable side and central stands and a polished finish.

Statutory with its 203 kg dry, its wheels of 19 and 17 inches and its wheelbase of 1507 mm, the R1200GS has retained this remarkable general manufacturing quality: from its turn signals to LEDs through its plush and well-assembled plastics and its welds irreproachable, the Behème does honor to the proverbial German rigor.

Longer (+30 mm), higher (+20 mm suspension travel and +40 mm saddle height), heavier (+20 kg dry) and benefiting from characteristics adapted to leave – and return! – at the end of the world (wheelbase lengthened by 7 mm, tank of 33 liters instead of 20, side guards, rocker covers, handguards, high screen, tubeless spoked rims, tank cover and specific saddles), the Adventure enjoys obviously the same qualitative treatment.

Imposing, the R1200GS Adventure requires Adriana Karembeu’s legs to touch the ground and Amelie Mauresmo’s arms (yes, the mixture leaves you wondering …) to maneuver it with the engine off! The beast may have a remarkably thin reservoir at the level of the crotch, the unkicking on soft ground or on a slight slope requires a great effort..

Hardly more accessible, the standard GS nevertheless allows a pilot of 1.75 m to touch the ground … on the tips! Of course, low saddles are free options out of the box, but the R1200GS are not intended for short legs. Moreover, when discovering motorcycles for the first time, the word "anvil" inevitably comes on the lips, tightened by the effort required to make them move back from their parking space….

But at Site, the specificities of German trail running are far from being foreign to us: thanks to an impressive weight distribution and narrow tires (110 mm at the front and 150 at the rear), the GS have the gift of erasing their overweight from the first few centimeters covered on their wide handlebars !

A flick to activate the heated grips (optional), the ESA (optional electric suspension adjustment device) set to Comfort and the thumb reaches out towards the unsightly on-off switch. First surprise: by equipping itself with an exhaust valve, the silencer – whose internal structure is brand new – lets out a sound that is so much more pleasing than in the previous vintage. !

However, exhaust manufacturers can catch their breath: the sound of the flat twin with 101 mm bore and 73 mm stroke is certainly more manly, but its melody is far from becoming unrecognizable or deafening! However, it is now more rumbling and much harsher, especially at low revs. This delightful surplus of sound presence would be almost enough to attribute a slight scoundrel side to the German !

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