R1250rs

[cabnfvr]

While waiting for new hoops and some 12k service work today we were given a chance to ride a new 2020 R1250RS. Seating is similar to the K1300S with helibars. Slightly more upright on the RS but not in a throw me a doggy biscuit kind of way. We took it down a dirt road (thought it would come out on a road we knew nearby. It didn't.)


We stopped for a break and I pulled a wheelie on the RS.


Lunch was at Hubba Hubba in Flat Rock, NC. They have an outside order table and outdoor seating. It wasn't bad in the shade and the food is awesome.


Pic of me on the RS.




We're still in love with the K1300S Motorsport but if anyone is looking for a sport tourer the RS should be on your short list. It's a fine bike.

[wildbears]

Test rode one at Daytona this Spring.

Agree. It's a fine bike and could be a good transition from my current K12RS.

[Lee]

Tim is there much difference in the 1250 engine compared to the 1200 you had?
How was the comfort for Susan?

[cabnfvr]

When BMW came out with the wethead it was a huge step forward in engine management for the twins. All the reviews on the shift cam say you can't tell when it engages. In second gear on a steady throttle and increasing rpms there is an audible click around 4200 rpms followed by about a half second of what sounds like spark knock. There is also an instant but slight increase in power. I repeated this several times with the same results. If I were shopping and had a choice of the original wethead or the shift cam I'd go with the original. The passenger seat slopes forward too much. It is also very soft. The passenger pegs vibrated slightly but this could be me getting used to a twin again with a lot of testing on throttle response without downshifting. These are all minor points and would not prevent us from considering the RS if we were shopping.

[RS530]

[cabnfvr]

Night and day. Apples and oranges. There simply is no comparison. On the twin shifting is still mandatory in many situations. On the S shifting is totally optional and exists mainly as a personal preference on how quick one wants to be quick. The RS can be very quick. It just takes a different style. Flicking the RS into a turn it is lighter and quicker to drop in than the S, but once in the S is more stable. That makes sense as the S has a longer wheelbase. We think of the S as an excited filly just out of the stall prancing around and very eager to go for a run.

[Lee]

Night and three days difference in power.

[cabnfvr]

It sounds better coming from you. Shortly after out first K1200S I told Susan it was like our K75s but with three engines.

p.s. Like I said, the RS is definitely not slow. Far from it, but outside of an RR the S is just simply anytime fast.

[RS530]

Lee,
your cracking me up!!!

[802Mike]

One would be in my garage if I didn't like riding dirt roads so much. I loved my '94 RS.

[wildbears]

?The noise? ?was absent on my test rides with moderately fast acceleration. However, the accelerations were ?well off from full throttle and only up to about 90 mph.

?Could t?he sound? or absence of it ?be vehicle specific or, OTOH, consistently absent on all examples using less than full-throttle acceleration?

Or could it be related to load?

I'm about 150 and was riding one up.

The ?bike was exceptionally smooth concerning the engine and drivetrain and ?IMHO? comparable to my 2002 K1200RS.

[Lee]

Tim, was the mechanical noise of the engine at idle quieter than your 1200GS?

When do you leave for Colorado?

[cabnfvr]

Quieter, yes. Especially at startup. We leave Friday afternoon, arriving Tuesday late afternoon. We're doing backroads and only 400ish miles a day.

[Lee]

We leave Thursday AM and arrive Monday afternoon.

[Bobby]

I had a chance to ride an r12 a couple years ago and liked it a lot. No expecystion that the power would be comparable to the k, so I put that aside. Otherwise, I really liked the smoothness, easy steering, and ergonomics. How did you find the instruments to read? Does the new version allow you to change the speedo to digital?

[cabnfvr]

TFT screen is awesome! I didn't play around with the displays but there were a couple of options. Off road on the GS I kept it on Vehicle info display which has at a glance engine temp and tire pressures.

[Bobby]

Good to know.

[955i]

Thanks for starting this thread, Tim. Thanks to all who added info to it.

[aviator]

Going out from an 1200 gsa to a 2020 1250 gsa, i find the engine far more responsive in lower RPMs like inside the town with less gear shifting needed. And it is definitely a bit more quiet. Lots of suspension and gearbox improvements since my 2014 GSA as well.