HALF-PRICE HEROES
2019-on 134bhp 106lb·ft 820mm 239kg
Overlooked and underrated, BMW’s naked flat twin roadster delivers sensational roadholding, comfort and technology – and it bangs a bit for your bucks, too
NEW £16,395 USED £9395 -43%
Take the 1254cc flat twin ShiftCam motor from the R1250GS, put it in a steel frame with upside ‐down forks and single-sided shaft drive, give it naked styling but sit the rider deep behind the tank with a single (fairly high) handlebar, add a raft of luxury electronics – and you have the 2019 BMW R1250R.
Not the sexiest bike in the world to look at – even in HP BMW Motorsport colours, it pales next to the pretty Ducati SuperSport S. But when it comes to using the machine – and piloting it anywhere from a bumpy, twisty back road to an arrow-straight motorway – the R1250R is one of the very best. It’s a naked bike you can easily tour on.
Its predecessor, the R1200R – an updated model debuted in 2015 – had already made the switch to upside ‐down forks instead of Telelever front suspension, and incorporated BMW’s next-generation electronics with optional up/down quickshifter, dynamic traction control and semi-active suspension. And it showed how outstanding the liquid-cooled boxer motor could be, freed from the weighty adventure bike/full tourer paraphernalia of the GS and RT, instead housed in a simple, conventional chassis (the R1200R and its faired RS sibling were a bit of a mini-BMW revolution – the first flat twins to use a conventional chassis in almost 20 years).
So, when the 134bhp ShiftCam engine landed in the GS in 2019, it was inevitable it would find its way into the naked R – and when it did, its extra power and torque only added to the fundamental rightness of the naked bike.
With wider bores and longer stroke over the 1200, the 1254cc flat twin brings more power – 134bhp – and more torque – 106lb·ft – delivered with a whip-crack of energy right off the bat. Open the taps on the R and the bike leaps up with unexpected gusto, belying what you expect from a flat twin. There’s none of the old 1200 Boxer engine’s rocking the bike to the left as the crank spins to the right when you blip the throttle (or vice versa on older BMWs); the 1254cc motor’s counter ‐rotating clutch negates the torque reaction.
Instead, the engine is smooth, lively and pokey, thumping up and down a short rev range with instant throttle response in any gear, punting out deep, booming drive from just over tickover in top. It’s not as powerful as your hypernaked MT-10s, S1000Rs and KTM Super Dukes, but it’s breathtakingly flexible with a rich, organic chunkiness as pistons bang out their business; the kind of engine you relish playing with, rather than merely using.
And it’s not slow. The semi-active forks an
