Rode my Dream bike: The LWR bike, BMW R1150GS

[BunnyPunia]

Before I Start...

I have ridden quite a few powerful bikes like the Busa, the CBR1000RR, the R1 etc, but not many know that I m a touring guy, and my dream Bike most probably is a ZZR1400 (Super-fast tourer) or a BMW R1200GS (demolishes himalayan roads with utter ease)...

I was in Delhi for a couple of days in 1st week of Sep and as usual dropped into KRP's office in Naraina for some usual stuff. What happened next made a dream come true for me!

As I was about to leave, my eyes got stuck on a HUGE machine - there it was, one of my dream bikes, the BMW R1150GS, and that too, the Adventure version, fully loaded with ABS, Projector headlamp, GPS and the works... I was drooling over the mammoth beast, when luck went my way.
I asked the KRP brothers if I could just sit on the Bike to have a feel, and voila, they handed over the keys to me! GOD... I didnt wanna act foolish by doing something wrong, and took things slowly. Lemme tell you, the GS is really a big bike. Im 6 feet and still had difficulty even touching the toes of my feet down and trust me, getting it outta the parking lane (by pushing it back!) was another task.

Thumping the unique kinda electric start button, the 1130cc mill came to life, with little vibs coming from here and there, but then, this aint a sports tourin bike, this is the Bike to have if you wish to ride thru continents!
Its difficult to pen down how I felt during my ten min stint with the GS but i will describe it best in three words - Torque, torque and yes, torque!! This beast pulls like anything. In 2nd, at around 20mph (equals to 32km/h, the kmh marks arent that prominent, this being a UK version) with just a little twist of the right wrist, she pulled hard, real hard, with the exhaust sounding purposely! The feedback from the ABS front brake was awesome too. I had the 10min ride in an industrial area, full of pot-holes (those who have been to KRP will know best!), and the awesome suspension took everyone with ease, actually, demolished everything with ease..

The GS (the new 1200GS) will cost around 13-14 lacs in India, remains one of my dream bikes, actually, tops the list now. Yes, the likes of the ZZR/Busa/Litre class bikes will lick it with ease, but only on open roads, and I dont like open roads , the Himalayas are my territory, and GS' too..


PS: it was getting dark, and hence the pics arent that great. LWR: Long way round, the documentary..

[Nitin]

Lucky you!!!
Must have been fun riding the mean machine..
A guy riding the GS pulled up next to me at an intersection, and boy....the bike was huge!! The guy must have been close to 6',and he seemed to be on his toes while waiting at the lights.

Amazing!!

[speedy]

great going bunny. sounds like you had alot of fun.
the bike looks very familier. was this a counsulate bike and come here from bombay? there was a counsulate person who i knew had the same bike or should i say similar to this one with the side boxes and i would tease him by saying the wheels were indian due to them being wire spoke.
what is KRP? it sounds like some bike dealer or some store. could you pm me the address please. i would like to know of any small quad available for my cousin here in delhi.

[vabs78]

Wow!!! Lucky you...
1200GS is my dream bike too. Give a choice I will go for 1200GS over a R1.


Any idea how much a KTM 950 Adventure will cost?

[BunnyPunia]

Nitin : it was fun of a different kind. Yeah, even me being 6 feet, i had a tough time keepin my shoes firmly on the road!
speedy : as u can see from the no plate, the bike belongs to a brit. some guys had come down to India to ride up to the Himalayas and this bike belonged to one of them! KRP stands for kaulson racing products : as the name suggests they are into motorcycling parts/gears/servicin of SBKs/exports of RE and vintage scoots and most importantly are the biggest importers of SBKs in north India. They are in Naraina industrail area Phase I, in the DTDC building, on the back side
Vabs: I dont think there is KTM 950 in Delhi, but from what i heard, it shd cost around 11-12lacs

[RedOne]

Originally Posted by BunnyPunia

Nitin : it was fun of a different kind. Yeah, even me being 6 feet, i had a tough time keepin my shoes firmly on the road!

The trick is not to expect to put both feet down at the same time. Lean to one side (whichever is more convenient, usually the left so that right foot is on rear brake pedal) and flat foot with that leg.

I owned and loved a 95 R1100GS for 2 years, when in the US. It WAS an awesome bike. With a good rider on board and sporty tyres, it could hold it's own against many sports bikes on twisties. I have toured a lot on it and was the best bike that I have owned for touring. Very reliable and tough too. I wanted to bring the bike to India on TR, but was quoted 7.5 lakhs as custom duty so I nixed the idea.

I sure miss her... but had to sell when I left US for good in 2000:

1995 BMW R1100GS For Sale

Gears,
Red-One.

[BunnyPunia]

RedOne : yeah, im aware of the trick. I used my height things as a reference to tell how high the bike was. The massive seat height does give you an awesome view of the road ahead (and a great street presence too!)

Saw the pics : looks great!

[iraghava]

Nice pics there Bunny! Funny this should pop up here. Last Thursday afternoon while on my way to Meerut from Moradabad I spotted two of these along with another slightly older BMW tourer being ridden by 3 firangs towards Moradabad. They all had side & rear panniers & the newer ones had pillions while the older bike was being ridden solo.

I suppose they were on their way to Nainital/Ranikhet/Almora or some such place.

[Rtech]

With a good rider on board and sporty tyres, it could hold it's own against many sports bikes on twisties.

Tell me about it! The first day I got my Katana in the US, I was just out riding, getting used to the bike and the roads. I see a GS in my mirror. Haa, I think, that trailee ain't got anything on me. We approach an exit ramp, unknown to me at that time was that it was not a tight exit but actually an increasing radius corner. So I slow down, to what I think is still a pretty rapid pace. Next thing I know, the GS rider simply rides around my outside, fully leaned over!

Lol. That taught me to take those bikes seriously!

[vabs78]

How was the weight of 1150GS? Was it heavy?

I remember reading somewhere that when BMW was developing 1200GS, one of the main challenges was to loose weight. The development team had kept a bucket full of water in a central location (visible to all) as a reminder to everyone of the weight they had to loose. They even converted the liquid cooled engine of the 1150GS to an air cooled one to loose weight.

[BunnyPunia]

The 1150GS used to weigh in at 553 pounds, and they managed to get rid of almost 50 pounds on the R1200GS! (weights are for bike with fuel and oil)

[RedOne]

Originally Posted by vabs78

How was the weight of 1150GS? Was it heavy?

I remember reading somewhere that when BMW was developing 1200GS, one of the main challenges was to loose weight. The development team had kept a bucket full of water in a central location (visible to all) as a reminder to everyone of the weight they had to loose. They even converted the liquid cooled engine of the 1150GS to an air cooled one to loose weight.

You are right about the bucket of water, I have read it too.

No BMW boxer engine is liquid (meaning water) cooled. The latest GS's are oil/air cooled. There is a small oil radiator behind the front beak (upper mud guard).

Gears,
Red-One.