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Taking it to extremes: Touratech R 1200 GS Rambler
A super-lightweight 1200 cc adventure bike with excellent enduro characteristics, high performance potential and fantastic suspension. A liquid-cooled boxer weighing less than 200 kilos that bounds nimbly over rough terrain. A dream? With the R 1200 GS Rambler, it’s a reality.
From the beginning, the model name K 199 set the scene, as the machine was not to exceed 199 kilos in weight. The result is one of the lightest R 1200 GS conversions ever. A modern interpretation of the BMW HP2. A motorcycle that not only looks like a sporty bike, but also rides like one. A bike that shows just how closely the touring and off-road sports divisions at Touratech are interlinked. Not merely a pilot study, but a real ready-to-go concept bike, with outstanding off road credentials that Touratech CEO Herbert Schwarz put to the test in the Azores. And proof of the Touratech development team’s remarkable technological abilities.
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Touratech developed the Rambler in coordination with BMW Motorrad, and built two prototypes that differ only in colour: one in the black-grey-yellow Touratech design, and the other in classic BMW Motorsport colours white, blue and red. Design implementation with clay model construction and prototyping were carried out at TT-3D in Murnau, while the technical components were developed and manufactured at Touratech in Niedereschach.
Touratech’s developers devised a little trick: they combined the engine-gearbox unit from the R 1200 R Roadster model with the shaft drive from the GS. This gives the Rambler a directly responsive, high-torque drive system with 125 PS. And there was still another reason for basing the prototype on the Roadster: the chassis on this model is fitted with a tele fork as standard.
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With suspension tuned by Touratech Suspension, the boxer is extremely stable on its wheels, even at high speeds. The use of modern materials and technologies, fairing sections made from super-lightweight aluminium tube in conjunction with carbon fibre, a titanium exhaust system, and a powerful but less heavy replacement lithium-ion battery help to bring the overall weight down. Compared to the standard model, the Rambler has shed nearly 50 kilos, making it incredibly agile.
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Once the motorcycle was stripped of its fairing and all unnecessary mounting brackets, the frame was reinforced for hard off-road use. The original fairing was ditched to make way for the custom airbox with fairing made from carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), and adapted protection bars.
Behind this is a self-supporting, 16.2 litre aluminium tank, which also forms the subframe. Together with a separate plastic tank (1.8 litres) housing the fuel pump, the total tank capacity is 18 litres. The extremely slim seat, developed in a new process by TT-3D, does not require a base plate and is therefore extremely light.
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Another unique feature on the Rambler is the front brake: a lightweight single-disc brake, as found on sports enduros, yet it has ABS. A CFRP engine guard panel protects the crankcase and sump when riding the Rambler to extremes over rough and rocky terrain.
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