Written by Doug Filteau
Sunday, 08 January 2006
Our first bike in the "Project by Proxy" series is a nitrous-boosted BMW K1200R, a project sponsored and executed by SM Cycle in Victoria, BC.
The Project
Kelly Flynn, owner of SM Cycle, can be relied upon to convert the meek into the mighty and this bike is no exception. Rarely satisfied with the status quo, Kelly strives to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary whether it's a motorcycle, car, truck or his dealership. Kelly's commitment to excellence in customer service and competitive pricing has made SM Cycle one of the top dealerships on Vancouver Island, if not British Columbia.
Kelly's goal is to see what can be accomplished by adding a nitrous oxide system (NOS) to the already powerful BMW K1200R. Commonly known as "laughing gas", nitrous oxide (N2O) is not a flammable gas but instead boosts engine horsepower by delivering more oxygen to the engine when breaking down at elevated temperatures, allowing the engine to burn more fuel and air. In addition, the evaporative cooling effect of the nitrous that occurs when it changes from a liquid in compressed storage to an injected gas in the intake manifold results in a smaller, denser charge that helps reduce engine detonation and further increase power. What's not to like?
Engine
Out of the box, the BMW K1200R produces 163 shaft horsepower @ 10, 250 rpm and 93.6 lb-ft or torque at 8,250 rpm. This is not your average pussycat. The engine is a derivation of the engine in the speedy K1200S, which boasts not only four more horsepower than its naked cousin but also lays claim to the world land speed record for its class (details). I haven't ridden the K1200R yet but I found the K1200S to have a very smooth and powerful mill. As you lay on the throttle, the power keeps coming with a strong pull that's reminiscent of an electric engine. The combination of the exhaust rumble and intake howl while accelerating is very intoxicating. At only four horsepower less than the S model, I would expect the R model to be every bit as thrilling to ride.
Suspension
Like most of the other BMW bikes (save for the F650GS), the rear wheel is suspended by the Paralever swingarm/drive shaft combination. Unlike any other production motorcycle besides the K1200S, the front wheel is suspended via the new BMW Duolever system, derived from F1 race cars and consisting of two parallel control arms on solid down-tubes in place of BMW's standard Telelever front suspension. Despite the long wheelbase of the bike and the new suspension feeling like it steers slower, the Duolever-equipped bikes handle like they're on rails in the curves and are don't mind changing lines when heeled over.
Body
Not much to mention here, as the K1200R is a naked bike. Lacking the sleek fairing of the K1200S and sporting dual asymmetric headlights that remind some people of "Bill the Cat" from Berkeley Breathed's "Bloom County" comic strip, the K1200R is nonetheless a bike that many find attractive. Whether it's the beauty of the exposed engine or the raw muscle of the bike's appearance, this bike turns heads.
The New Stuff
Kelly chose the 03008NOS Fogger™ system from NOS Nitrous Oxide Systems, a division of Holley Performance Products. The adjustable Fogger™ system provides a 30% to 40% increase in horsepower and torque and can be adjusted by changing the jets.
The system is packaged in a large blister pack with all the hardware required for the installation of the NOS kit into the stock BMW fuel injection system. Each kit comes complete with detailed instructions, electric fuel pump, nitrous and fuel solenoids, Fogger2™ nozzles, filters, fittings, tubing, fuel pump, distribution blocks or T-fittings, jets, switches, hose, and all other hardware necessary for complete installation. The NOS Technical Support Department is available via phone for jet recommendations.
A 12- volt DC power supply with a minimum of 12 amps is required to operate the system and most applications may require more fuel for the nitrous system than a standard petcock will allow. Dual-feed high-flow petcocks are available to provide more fuel flow and the NOS Technical Support Department can provide more information if required.
In short, the kit requires some preparation on the part of the installer, some very careful drilling of an expensive BMW intake manifold and a fair amount of time and due caution. Attention to detail is certainly desirable.
Some assembly required, you might say.
The Results
So what is the manufacturer claiming for a horsepower increase? From 36 to 60 horsepower gained in the street kit and from 100 to 190 horsepower gained from the competition kit. I've seen the dyno numbers on the bike and can confirm that there is a significant gain in horsepower. How much? That's covered in the next installment.
In addition, Kelly wanted to dress up the K1200R to give it more "show" to go along with the "go". I'll cover the pretty stuff in the next installment, too.
What's Next?
Coming up, I'll cover more of the installation details, the dyno performance, the pretty parts and a test ride. Sounds like fun!
Project by Proxy*: K1200R/NOS - Part 2
Written by Doug Filteau
Monday, 23 January 2006
Page 1 of 5
In part one of Project by Proxy: K1200R/NOS, we looked at the changes made to the engine of the bike. In this installment, we'll be looking at the changes made to the outside of the bike and also the bike's performance on the Dynojet dynamometer.
The Rolling Stock
Kelley Flynn, owner of SM Cycle, had the stock matte silver wheels of the K1200R/NOS polished by Mirror Image Metal Polishing of Victoria to a beautiful bright shine, and it only took 16 hours of polishing. That's a lot of polishing but the results are spectacular.
Kelly also switched out the stock BMW brake rotors for Braking stainless steel wave rotors, primarily to reduce some of the unsprung weight but also to add a "cool" factor to the wheels. Sometimes also referred to as "petal" rotors, Braking claims to have invented the wave rotor and asserts that their wave rotors have the following advantages over traditional rotors:
- Higher coefficient of friction,
- Better resistance to heat accumulation (improved heat dissipation),
- Increased initial braking power,
- Improved feedback to the rider,
- Better handling and
- Less weight.
Moving up from the wheels, Öhlins shocks have replaced the stock units fore and aft and Kelly says that the improvement in ride, feedback and handling is palpable and worth the investment. It's a commonly-held belief that third-party suspension components are almost always an improvement over the stock items and it sounds like this rule of thumb also applies to BMW's stock suspensions. The installed rear Öhlins shock is not equipped with the Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA) feature as it was not readily available at the time, but Öhlins does have this feature available on selected units. ESA allows the rider to adjust the suspension for load, road conditions and riding style with the push of a button. Although dismissed by some as a gimmick, riders with experience with the system have become converts. Time will tell if ESA-style suspensions will be offered by other manufacturers in the future.
The SM Cycle techs in the back room were also busy machining a rather large aluminum billet into the polished aluminum Paralever strut shown in the photos. The end result is both functional and beautiful and provides some shine to brighten up the rear suspension of the bike.
The Rolling Thunder
The stock BMW exhaust was completely removed and replaced with some unique components. Up front, 4-into-1 titanium headers by Remus are swaddled in header wrap. The header wrap helps protect the headers from the inevitable damage from road debris as well as insulating the pipes. Keeping the heat confined to the gases inside the headers helps protect the surrounding engine, frame and body components from the effects of the extreme heat carried by the gases as well as allowing the heat of the exhaust to be retained longer in the exhaust system, generally improving the performance of the engine by adhering more closely to the initial design efficiency of the engine (the performance of the engine when modeled by the engineers).
The 1-into-2 splitter that leads from the headers to the twin exhausts was fabricated from a car chrome exhaust tip from Canadian Tire. The forward end of the splitter was expanded by a local muffler shop to fit the rear of the Remus headers. As it stands, Kelly can slip the stock exhaust can onto the Remus headers without further modifications.
The exhaust splitter leads into two chrome aftermarket D&D underseat exhaust units (from a Yamaha R1) that are suspended in the stock exhaust can mount. The tandem chrome cans are a beautiful contrast to the black powder coated and carbon fibre hardware evident everywhere on the bike.
On the left side of the bike, dual chrome-plated 10 ounce NOS bottles nicely balance the dual chrome exhaust cans on the right side. The bottles are suspended in a powder coated custom fabricated rack that attaches to the left passenger footpeg bracket for strength and are connect to the heart of the bike by braided stainless steel lines.
The powder coating was provided by Victoria Powder Coating and much of the welding by Dave Suian Welding of Victoria.
The Dark Side
There's probably a shortage of carbon fibre in the world now that Kelly has managed to load up on as much Ilmberger carbon fibre components as he could fit on the K1200R. The tail cowling, fenders, rear wheel hugger, windscreen, radiator shield and air intake panels are all constructed of carbon fibre, some being custom fabricated. The only carbon components for the bike that were not available at the time the photos were taken were the side panels (those have since arrived and have been installed).
Tommy's Upholstery in Victoria converted the stock K1200R seat into a monoposto (single seat) unit, covering it with material that looks like carbon fibre (of course) which meshes beautifully with the carbon fibre seat cowl.
The best way to do justice to the beauty of the carbon fibre components is through the photos, so I'll stop talking about them and let you admire the bike though the included images. Hopefully I've captured the balance of the carbon and chrome that's evident throughout the bike.
The Light Side
Up front, Kelly has chosen to add PIAA auxiliary lights to help light up the road. They throw a very powerful beam and should prove valuable in helping to avoid obstacles on the road. Kelly has also replaced the stock signal lights with units from a BMW Z4 roadster.
The stock single front air intake has been expanded in size and a mate on the left side has been fabricated, improving the breathing of the engine by increasing the intake area as well as providing additional boost for the engine through a ram-air effect.
The stock front grill has been augmented and chromed and when combined with the custom round nacelles on either side of the grill, this bike really has an in-your-face, take-no-prisoners look to it. It may not appeal to everyone but this bike wasn't meant to appeal to everyone's sense of style - it was built to be the bad boy on the street. This is a bike that visually challenges you to ignore it. You may not be initially stricken by the looks but after spending time admiring it, it truly is a beautiful piece of work.
One last thing before I move on to the dyno results: Kelly got the inspiration for the nacelles from Obi Wan Kenobi's speeder in the latest Star Wars episode. I think it really completes the nasty look of the bike.
Go As Well As Show
So now we move to the rear tire - specifically to what the contact patch of the rear tire can do to the drum of the Dynojet dynamometer. The stock figures for the bike are 163 horsepower and 93 foot-pounds of torque measured at the engine driveshaft, so let's see how Kelly did with the nitrous boost. Horsepower for the K1200R measured on the Dynojet dyno at the rear wheel is 148 horsepower, so we can consider that approximately 15 horsepower is consumed by the inevitable inefficiencies of the drive train.
There are often questions regarding the accuracy of dynamometers and calibration of the unit prior to testing. For consistency and accuracy, Kelly will spin the drum of the dynamometer for a set length of time to ensure the bearings and grease are moving freely and are properly warmed up, helping to provide consistent results from one run to another. In addition, Kelly compares dyno runs with another shop on the same bike model to ensure that the dyno is reading consistently. So far, Kelly's dyno has been very consistent over the years (this dyno was the first one in Western Canada) so the results can be considered to be reasonably accurate.
There is a broad range of boost available with a nitrous system and the general rule of thumb is that there's a direct relationship between nitrous pressure and engine output (more nitrous = more power) and there's also an inverse relationship between performance and reliability (more power = less reliability). There's a balance to be struck; a happy medium to be found where the power is increased sufficiently for the investment while reliability is not unacceptably compromised.
Kelly found the balance he wanted with this bike, achieving what he refers to as a "nice round number" in terms of horsepower achieved. That number happens to be 200 horsepower, as measured at the rear wheel. Add the aforementioned drive train inefficiency and we can safely assume that the engine's producing approximately 215 shaft horsepower - another nice round number. I like nice round numbers.
What's Next
I'll report on the reaction to the bike at the Vancouver Motorcycle Show as well as provide pictures of the bike in its polished aluminum display rack. Following that, we'll give you a ride report and try to convey what this bike feels when experienced first-hand.