Readers review - Rebel without a cause

What do you do when you fancy a Streetfighter but also want to cover serious miles in comfort? You compromise, and as Malc Wheeler found out you may just come out the winner. Malc Wheeler pics Stevie P

My taste in bikes has always been, at best, slightly quirky and at worst downright weird. I was the one who bought a Suzuki DR800 by choice, not because it was practical, but because I loved its strange (ugly) styling. I also loved the Suzuki Katana when they were launched, just as well really as my day job was motorcycle salesman in a Suzuki dealership, and I found myself in a minority of one among the rest of the staff. And my love affair with the BMW GS range was legendary long before they had their present cult status.

And as I’ve grown up, no that’s not true I haven’t grown up I’ve just grown older, my appreciation for what is different in motorcycling hasn’t deserted me, which is why I am presently the proud owner of this lime green and matt black BMW Rockster.

Of course I didn’t intend to buy a Rockster at all. I wanted a Ducati Monster, or perhaps a naked Cagiva, or even the most innovative (ugly) bike to leave the MV factory, but not another BMW. Or so I thought early in my search for a new resident in the Wheeler shed.

But of course I hadn’t reckoned on the influence of Mrs W, a woman of strong opinion, in the buying process. You’d think I would have learnt by now? It didn’t take her long to figure that none of my shortlist had a pillion seat worth the name, and strangely, even after all these years, we quite enjoy knocking off the miles together.

We stumbled across the Rockster almost by accident; it had never entered my thought process when trying to come up with my short list. I have owned, and enjoyed lots of BMW in the past, the most recent, ahead of the Rockster, being a R1100R, which I loved but it just killed the wrists damaged in previous motorcycling accidents. Which is how we came to be in the local BMW dealer while on a shopping trip to our nearest large settlement, Grimsby.

Tucked in the corner of the window it stuck out like a sore thumb. The lurid green wheels smacked me in the eye before I even got out of the car, and the bulbous matt black tank and flat bars had me walking briskly towards the showroom door. And it appeared to have a proper pillion seat. I could almost feel the salesman’s eyes light up, never mind see them, as I stumbled in with a fixed grin already in place.

He had an advantage of course. Just months before we had taken a test ride on his standard R1150 demo, but had dismissed it as ‘a fine motorcycle but just too boring’, and he obviously remembered the conversation. After a lot of dancing around, a bit of unconvincing haggling, and a short test ride I was done. I made him wait until I had driven home of course before saying yes, but less than a week later I was the pleased-as-punch owner of a R1150R Rockster with just over 1000 miles on the clock, which had spent the first year of its life as the plaything of a top BMW executive.

With Rocky in my shed it was time to make it mine. It already had heated grips fitted, and to make them really effective I fitted GS hand guards for those early-morning spring rides. Actually it was nothing to do with practicality, I just liked the look of them and the standard BMW kit fits straight on with only a little Stanley knife work.

Next to get the treatment was the whispering exhaust, sorry you environmentalists and BM purists, which was replaced by a Carbon Can Company stainless silencer and mid-section, which also gets rid of the catalytic converter. For something bought on a whim at the NEC show it fitted easily and accurately, sounded superb, but is BS-stamped and road legal, and was amazing value. It also, so the CCC say, releases a couple more ponies and you don’t have to meddle with the engine mapping to let them out of the stable either.

A rear Pyramid Plastics hugger was next on the list, which also fitted like… well like all their products do, perfectly. Not only does it tidy up the rear end it has a practical purpose too, keeping the worst of the wet and muck off Mrs W. My last mod, well actually it was the first, was pannier rails, which are not only essential for hanging the panniers on but make stylish passenger grab rails when the luggage isn’t fitted.

I’m now in my third year of ownership, something quite unusual for me, and the Beemer has been great. It’s got enough in the way of performance for this geriatric hooligan, and once you get used to the lack of fork dive, surely a positive thing when hard on the brakes, it handles superbly and has embarrassed more than a few sportbike riders. It is comfortable enough, both back and front, to ride out the large range and has been totally reliable. And it still looks good despite most times only getting a wash, rather than the full polish treatment, after numerous very wet runs.

The Rockster always draws comment too, so it’s not for shrinking violets, but I guess you wouldn’t buy something this wacky if you fitted that category. I’d been thinking of selling the Rockster of late, mainly to make room for its new stablemate, a rather large Harley-D, but that’s a story for another day. However, having dragged Rocky out to pose for the camera of editor Pearson and his good lady I’m having second thoughts. In fact I rode the long way home from the photo shoot and arrived back with that fixed grin still firmly in place.

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