Sports-tourers? Nobody wants them. According to sales stats, they’re showroom wallflowers ignored in the stampede of incoming customers towards the nearest adventure tourer.
Even BMW, which has built and sold an RS sports-tourer with a boxer twin engine ever since the debut of the original R100RS back in 1974, will only sell a couple of handfuls of new R1300 RS models in New Zealand this year. That’s despite the RS being the fastest boxer, indisputably the best-looking, and the one that’ll set the fastest lap time at a track day.
Rewind 50 years of biking history, and you’ll find the ancestral R100RS right at the top of the BMW Motorrad pecking order, poised to enjoy many decades as the two-wheeled flagship of Bavarian-badged motorcycles. Then that cheeky freak, the R80GS, came along in the early 1980s and kickstarted the whole adventure touring phenomenon. The sales of GS models quickly swamped those of more civilised BMW models, and they continue to dominate today.
However, BMW hasn’t given up trying to persuade bikers to embrace the dynamic advantages of riding an RS on the road. To spice up the image of the Road/Sport motorcycle, they’ve decided to add extra sportiness. That’s particularly true of the new Performance version of the R1300 RS that you see here.
The $42,690 Performance variant sits 20mm higher than less-focused R1300 RS models on a sportier version of BMW’s electronically adaptive suspension (which now includes adaptive adjustments to spring preload, as well as adaptive compression and rebound damping). The tyres are Dunlop SportsSmart gumballs instead of harder compound sports-touring rubber.
Sporty finishing touches include four-way adjustable footpegs and tailorable foot controls that look like a racing superbike donated them. Instead of being made ready to secure luggage and pillion passengers, the Performance opts for a minimal tailpiece that reinforces the supersports image. It’s all finished off with a black chrome exhaust and BMW’s favourite white/red/blue/black motorsport livery.
It’s a great look, but is the Performance a great ride? Sure is, but you’ll need to put in some effort to get the best out of it. You’ll find the intuitive cybernetic steering of a supersports bike in another section of a BMW Motorrad showroom, notably where the four-cylinder bikes with a model name starting with an S are parked. Not here.
In tight, low-speed corners, there’s a fair amount of resistance to overcome when turning this R1300 RS in. Some of this is due to the conservative steering geometry, the fat rear tyre, and the steering damper shared with other R1300 RS models, but the raised ride height of the Performance probably doesn’t help either.
Away from corners posted with recommended speeds of 25km/h or less, the handling of the Performance is an entirely different keg of beer. It blitzes through the faster turns at exciting lean angles with the 47mm USD front fork giving plenty of tactile info about available grip through the bars. The stability is unflappable, helped by the adaptive suspension, which neatly irons out all imperfections in the road.
I rode the Performance mostly in the Road and Dynamic modes and couldn’t decide which I preferred. There was plenty of compliance and spring control in the Dynamic setting, which never delivered a ride that felt too firm. On the other hand, Road never turned the ride quality into mushiness and still held some of the travel of the front fork in reserve when the powerful front brakes were hauling the speed of this 233kg (dry) bike down hard.
Then there’s the powertrain. With 145bhp (108kW) delivered at just 7750rpm, the boxer delivers a king hit of overtaking performance. There’s torque everywhere through the rev range thanks to the variable valve timing and the well-tuned throttle response. I’d like to hear a bit more bass in the tone of the exhaust, but the R1300 RS already has a wealth of personality courtesy of its longitudinal crankshaft, well-damped shaft drive, and the interesting visual of witnessing a cylinder sticking out each side.
The Performance comes with a quick shifter but not BMW’s incredible Automated Shift Assistant (ASA), although it is available as an option on all 1300cc boxers.
Does the extra sportiness of the Performance pay off? Definitely, if you want to enjoy the odd track day on board a R1300 RS. Otherwise, the extra pillion and luggage security and the increased parking friendliness of more versatile R1300 RS models are more in harmony with the RS branding.
