|
WHEN OFF THE DIRT... Street rubber on black rims turns the BMW HP Enduro into a high-torque road machine that, on a bumpy, twisting road, will give any sports machine a go. |
Best of both worlds: street wheels for HP2 Enduro
March 4, 2006
The HP2 Enduro is the most extreme off-road bike yet made by BMW and is the first in a new high-performance range of motorcycles from the company - some of which will be launched to the world's media in the Western Cape later this month.
"Putting a tuned 77kW boxer engine in a naked purpose-built chassis has brought big-bore thrills to many dirt bike riders," BMW says, "but the big advantage the HP2 enjoys over its competitors is that it's road-legal."
Heavy knobbly off-road tyres are not much fun on tar, however, so 17" street wheels and road tyres have been made available for the bike.
Two bikes for, almost, the price of one...
Since its launch in September, 2005 what BMW calls "the world’s most powerful production enduro bike" has seen action in famous international races such as the Baja 1000 and Erzberg Rodeo and even competed in the famous Hafren Rally closer to home.
It also proved its long-distance capabilities and durability when Dakar rally veteran P G Lundmark rode one from the Nordkap in Norway all the way to the tip of South Africa earlier this year.
But it’s short journeys on tar where the HP2 with street rubber will excel. With sticky road rubber and more than 100 horsepower on call, this high-performance BMW will be great fun to ride on the kind of twisty, bumpy, undulating surfaces that tie sports bikes in knots.
In town, its long-travel suspension and 920mm seat height will provide excellent all-round vision AND visibility for the rider and his machine in traffic while the huge torque from the 1170cc boxer engine (115Nm at 5500rpm) will make commuting the best part of the day.
The spoked wheels (3.5x17 front and 4.0x17 rear) have anodised black rims and mounted brake discs. Adapted fork protectors and assembly instructions are included.
Changing from off-road to street wheels is very simple, BMW says – much like a standard wheel change since the axle mounts are identical to those of the enduro wheels.
Only the fork protectors have to be exchanged and the front brake calliper has to be bolted into the new assembly position in line with the larger brake disc diameter (320mm).
- From the end of March an HP2, complete with the spare wheels/tyres combination, will cost £12 595 on the road in the UK - or about R133 000.
That's the equivalent of about R7 000 for the wheels - which can be bought separately fitted with Continental Road Attack tyres (120/70 and 150/70) though other brands OK's by BMW include Bridgestone BT 020, Metzeler Roadtrac Z6, Pirelli Diabolo Strada and Pirelli Scorpion Sync.
|
