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An adventure on planet Boxer

I just never got it... Having lived in Germany for a number of years of course I realize that they are everywhere, every other bike seems to be a GS. I do ride a BMW myself, but the F800S parallel twin sports bike, which is quite rare by local standards. I was even a bit afraid of boxers: the GS i...s huge, and so broad that you dread meeting it in a narrow street, while the R model roadster with the lower suspension seems to run the risk of scraping the cylinder heads in tight corners.

So when I finally got on a boxer I was stunned! My own bike was being serviced and the dealer offered me an R1200R for the day. First impressions were not the best: it had rained the night before, and rain water which had collected in the cooling ribs on the cylinders now started to boil off as the engine was warming up. The seating position is very far towards the handlebars and revving the engine at the lights causes the bike to fall towards the right due to the engine torque. The gas tank seems huge from the riders position, but of course this also gives you have a very wide range before you need to refuel - fuel economy is good.

The gearbox is nice and smooth although with a slight "indirect" feel, but the balance of the bike is excellent, and I even felt more confident than on my own bike doing low speed U-turns in narrow streets. You are in complete control and balance.

But the magic doesn´t appear until you get out in the canyons or hairpins of the countryside. This is where the R1200R shines! The bike positively falls into the turns, and just makes cornering so easy! It is absolutely impossible to do the bike justice in writing, it just has to be tried. And the engine: I am almost afraid to say it, but that boxer is just a dream! It has oceans of torque ready anytime, and I found myself generally riding in a higher gear than I do on my normal F800S (which itself has quite a powerful and elastic engine). There is always more power on tap, and it is delivered so smooth with a huge deep roar: the sound of the boxer is more like that of a World War II bomber, fantastic! I had a huge grin on my face no matter whether I was on the curvy back roads, in the canyons or even on the Autobahn cruising at 120 mph - pretty good for a naked bike without windscreen! The only thing that made me get off the bike at the end of the day was the saddle which is quite hard.

So I am converted. All the times I made jokes about bowers, well, I am sorry - I take it all back! And now as any newly converted I want to convert you too - go and try it out, there is a fantastic experience waiting for you!
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