BMW’s Uber Motorrad

There’s a lot to be said about riding a high performance motorcycle in the rain. Imagine Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts Jr. or Alex Checa racing against each other in a MotoGP while leaning at almost impossible angles under a heavy downpour. It is with the same thought that I started my ride-and-review: heavy rains, drenched riding gear except the ride was slower (due to Metro Manila’s traffic) and the lean angles were less (due to slow pace).

Don’t get me wrong. I like riding in the rain. Except that I’m not that confident about riding an expensive sports bike in heavy traffic under this weather. Furthermore, the BMW R1100S Boxer Cup Replica casts such an imposing figure that I had goose bumps just thinking about riding it in this downpour. The Bimmer sport bike is tall, big and heavy that it makes my cruiser look like a scooter. It also has such a detailed fit, fine finish and impeccable quality that the thought of muddying it up while running on our streets made me want to postpone the test ride myself.

But the biker in me prevailed. I rode the Bimmer in the rain slowly at first to get a feel of the bike. While the bike felt heavy at rest, it felt light and nimble in motion. Its high saddle felt like I was riding on top of the bike, but the overall riding position made it easy to move with the bike. Standing still, it throbbed to the left every time I blipped the throttle (due to the horizontal piston movement inside the flat-twin engine) while it throbbed to the right when I wrung the throttle during the ride (due to the shaft drive movement). The movements were manageable but it required some getting used to.

Ditto with the brakes and the suspension: the servo-assisted four-piston dual front disc brakes could grab immediately when you’re unaware of its operation, but it becomes a God-sent after several kilometers of riding since you can actuate the front brakes with just your index finger. Both the front and the rear disc brake systems are equipped with ABS, though they are seldom invoked because the motor supplies a tremendous amount of engine braking when you release the throttle. On the other hand, once you sort out the adjustable front Telelever and the rear Paralever suspension system, the R1100S rewards you with a sporty but comfortable ride and a sweet cornering agility even on Manila’s bumpy roads.

You also need to sort out the switchgear since the Bimmer has a different system for the turn signals, the cancel switch and the horn. It maybe different (it made me signal, horn and maneuver inadvertently at first) but I found it more logical than confusing. The bike also won’t start or will stall if you managed to start the engine with the side stand still down. With the side stand up, the heavy bike (with its lovely fairings) require your utmost care and concentration during start-up. Those of short in-seams may need sole extensions to ride this baby, never mind the wet road during heavy monsoons.

However, when a stretch of dry open road presented itself, I found out why enthusiasts willingly part with a lot of money to get their hands on a Boxer Cup Replica. The 1085cc, twin-spark plug, four-stroke flat-twin delivers a prodigious amount of power and torque that rolling the throttle from 40kph will catapult you to 140kph before you can even say "Randy Mamola". My eyes nearly got pushed into their sockets and my cheeks felt like they were being pulled back by the thrust the bike created when I twisted the throttle further to 190kph. (Eymard Aquino, Autohaus BMW VP for after-sales, claims he had ridden the bike to 220kph at the Star Toll Way.) Acceleration was so ferocious that you’d think six cylinders, not only two, were responsible for the force.

Slowing down to city speeds as I rejoined the traffic, I realized that the other reason for the bike’s existence is its beauty. People craned their necks to get a glimpse of the huge and flashy white and blue racer replica with the BMW logo. (Or were they looking to see who the loco riding an expensive sport bike in the rain was?) Enthusiasts gave thumbs-up gestures when they saw those two carbon-fiber valve covers and big bluish/chrome exhaust pipes. Bikers give way when they hear the deep baritone vroom of the potent engine. The uninitiated always asks whose signature is on the fairing. (Randy Mamola is the motorcycle world’s ambassador extraordinaire of goodwill.) Everything about the bike seems to say "exclusive, expensive and exciting".

When the weather cleared a bit, I took some media friends for a ride while some tried the bike themselves. Their impressions were unanimous: the Bimmer was everything you could want in a road-going race-replica sports bike and more. And after taking my wife on a fast ride around the village, she affectionately calls the bike "a fun arcade ride on two wheels".

After a weekend of fun with the Bimmer, I reluctantly rode it back to Autohaus. It had road grime and watermarks when I parked it at their Motorrad area, but as I looked longer at it, the bike seemed to have gained more character because of the dirt. The bike seemed to say "See, you can ride me even in the rain! I was born to run!" I had to force myself to return the key to the service guys, as I wanted to take the bike out for another spin.

So far (as of press time), there have been two lucky devils who have taken delivery of their BMW R110S Boxer Cup Replica from Autohaus. Any suggestions on how I can scrape up the nearly three-quarters of a million pesos needed to call one my own?