If you live down south, it’s a great time to test those electronic rider aids
BMW R1200RS – It’s that time of year again – time to dust off the winter gloves, unroll the rainsuit and, unless you are Paul ‘blizzard-proof’ Young, maybe even pull out the thermal undies.
I believe that when you are young, footloose and fancy free you are pretty much exempt from all forms of fear and will push through many different levels of pain and discomfort, but to quote Hamish Cooper, for us ‘former seventies longhairs’, age tends to creep up and massage your attitude somewhat.
I work out of Gassit HQ’s Melbourne office in the outer eastern suburbs and the temperature gauge on the BMW R1200RS each morning is now down to a single digit, and still dropping. My weary ‘just became a grandad’ bones really don’t function like they used to in such woeful conditions, and it’s not like it gets better throughout the day either; mostly it barely reaches the teens, so the heated grips are getting a great workout.
Even lower on my list of likes than the cold is rain, and Melbourne is famous for it – we have all kinds and usually get the lot all at the same time. So I decided to have a crack at changing the rider mode on the RS from Dynamic to Rain. Now, before you all send emails and letters calling me soft, don’t knock it until you try it.
The BMW R1200RS has three rider modes, Road, Dynamic and Rain, and for nearly all of my riding so far it hasn’t left Dynamic. It’s hardly akin to a turbo boost, but it is just a bit punchier than the standard Road mode, and it’s nice to have that quick responsive throttle when you want it.
But on these wintery mornings when I’m cold and tired and heading to work in the dark on the wet and greasy roads that I have to share with all the angry caged lunatics, I have been comfortably cruising along in Rain mode. This just dials it back a tad and gives a smoother power delivery – less twitchy but by no means dull. It’s probably best noticed when coming out of corners and throttling back up into an upright positon. It’s gives you a more fluid transition than when you confidently flick the bike around in dry and comfortable conditions.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking at trading in for a mobility scooter anytime soon, but the machines that we are riding these days are equipped with so many riding aids, why not take the time to play with them a bit? You never know, you may just find something you like.
Darren Kersey
Photo Russell Colvin