Its role in my life is to become my primary North America ride, replacing my 2013 BMW K1300S (Raven). Raven is still in my life and will remain so as long as I can hope, but it will likely become my Europe bike this summer.
I say that with hesitation, because I still love Raven. I plan to leave her overseas for a few years, but part of me feels like I'm betraying her. She is such an incredible bike. :)
Anyway, over the past week, I put about 1700km on the RS (Bessie), and took Raven out for a long ride afterwards, giving me a good opportunity to compare them.
First off though, Bessie. Someone reviewed the engine and called it agricultural, and at low RPM, I gotta agree that it reminds me of a tractor. Plus, there are pictures of the GS (on the same engine) taken head-on that is remarkably similar to a cow. So for now, Bessie. I say that very affectionately though!
The KS and RS are similar.
- They're both sport touring; they bridge the gap between a fully-upright touring and torture-rack sport postures.
- They're both intended to go long distance but also be masterful commuter bikes with a lot of luggage space, though the KS leans so far on the sport side of sport-touring that its luggage options take more of a shoehorn to apply.
And the KS and RS are radically different.
- The KS envelops a phenomenal 1293 cc inline-4, putting down 175hp (128kW) and 103 ft-lbf (140Nm).
- The RS sits on the incredible water/air cooled BMW 1170 cc opposed twin, the wasserboxer, delivering a bit more reasonable 125hp (93kW) and 93 ft-lbf (125Nm).
- The KS has a traditional throttle assembly, where the RS is throttle-by-wire with almost no feedback and a much different fueling curve.
- The KS has the rider in a lower lean while the RS is a bit more upright. The KS has better fairing wind protection, while the RS is half-naked.
- The KS has an awesome and rare Hossack-inspired "BMW Duolever" front suspension. The RS has traditional inverted front forks.
- The KS' electronics were probably cutting edge when the K1200S was designed in 2004, but they didn't see many electronic changes in the KS' 12 year production runs.
- The RS' electronics borrow heavily from the proven R1200GS and R1200RT lines and is probably one of the more electronically advanced bikes on the road today.
- The KS does not have a cruise control, and really wants you to lose your license.
- The RS has an awesome cruise control, and without it, you'd risk losing your license before you left the parking lot due to its feedback-less throttle-by-wire. Admittedly though, the RS engine isn't really one that begs you to wring it out at license-losing speeds.
Had the R1200RS existed when I was .. upgrading from the CBR1100XX, I probably would have bought it instead of the K1300S. The RS is simply a better sport-touring bike, has better electronics (like the cruise control), and is less likely to destroy my driving record.
When I started looking at buying the RS, I talked to the dealership about trading in my KS. However, after a great year at Cisco, I had enough money to keep the KS, and I realized just how happy I was about that. I love the KS. If BMW released a KS with all the new electronics and some touring kit (real hard boxes, etc) but left the ergonomics alone, I'd buy another one as quickly as finances permitted.
Why the urgency to buy the RS? Cruise control, flat out. I've wanted a real cruise control for years. Throttle locks are useless; wind, elevation changes, and slipstreaming all affect your real speed, and place you at risk of either defying the pace of traffic or the law, requiring you to be ever vigilant about your speed.
I've twice rented the R1200RT in Spain, and being able to lock in my speed with a real cruise control and stop worrying about it is an awesome feeling. I can really relax, redirecting my terror-fueled speed attention to other things like watching traffic, looking at scenery, and relaxing.
I'm disappointed that the RS doesn't have the Duolever front forks. I'm not prone to pushing my hardware to its limits, so I'm not immediately able to say Duolever is vastly superior to traditional suspension, but I think I am noticing that the RS has considerably more front dive when I brake than I've come to expect on the KS. I'll need a few more comparison rides to get a better opinion on that though.
In the end, I love both bikes deeply. I genuinely think the RS is a better commuter/sporttourer than the KS because of its tamer engine. But the KS ergos are nearly perfect and its engine is incredible. I'd rather have the RS in North America specifically to save my driving record, but I long to feel the KS breathing deeply.
Hopefully I can open up Raven on the German Autobahn this summer, and feel the bike stretch its wings in its native habitat.
