BMW R 850 R 2005 — Specifications

Is it really worth reaching for the big sister when the younger sibling plays in the same yard? That's the question running through the mind of every buyer who crosses paths with the BMW R 850 R in a dealership in 2005. Heir to a lineage launched back in 1995, the R 850 R lived through the 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 model years without ever betraying itself, before being thoroughly redesigned for the 2003 to 2007 vintages. With each generation, the recipe remains the same: an easygoing flat-twin housed in a German roadster built to ride long rather than fast.

Beneath the 20.5-litre tank, the 848 cc four-stroke boxer develops 70 horsepower at 7000 rpm and a respectable 77 Nm of torque from 5600 rpm. The BMW R 850 R spec sheet doesn't promise hypersport thrills, but rather a clean 0 to 187 km/h, measured fuel consumption around 4.6 litres per hundred, and above all that mechanical smoothness unique to Munich's flat-twins. The secret behind performance so close to the 1150, despite a fifteen-horsepower gap on paper, lies in a shorter final drive ratio through the shaft transmission. On the road, the difference in liveliness is more guessed at than felt.

The chassis plays the in-house card with its three-section composite frame where the engine acts as a stressed member, a single-sided aluminium swingarm paired with the Paralever, and of course the Telelever up front that separates braking from compression. The result: ocean-liner directional stability on the motorway, a generous 1487 mm wheelbase, and predictable behaviour even when loaded. The flip side, the 238 kg fully fuelled make themselves known to the rider during cold manoeuvres, and the suspensions favour stability over sporting precision. Against a Suzuki SV650 or a Honda CB 600 F Hornet, the Bavarian plays a different tune, that of bourgeois comfort rather than nimble footwork. The BMW R 850 R's seat height stays contained at 800 mm, and that's an argument that speaks to smaller riders as well as to those returning to the licence.

That leaves the question of price. At 9586 euros, the R 850 R is expensive for its category, especially since the R 1150 R trades for barely 700 euros more in the same dealerships. It's hard to justify the gap when the bigger displacement offers a meatier engine character for next to nothing. That's precisely where the shoe pinches, this roadster has no exclusive territory, caught between a more comfortable in-house GT range and a barely thirstier elder. On the flaws side, reviews of the BMW R 850 R sometimes mention lambda sensor issues, a temperamental fuel pump on the earliest model years, and a final drive that demands rigorous maintenance, problems documented on forums and on owners' Wikipedia pages.

So who is this German aimed at? At patient long-distance riders, at fans of a mechanical package that lasts, at those who want to taste the scrambler spirit reinterpreted by Munich without tipping into caricature. On the used BMW R 850 R market, you can find nice examples today from the 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2006 model years, often pampered by methodical owners. It can be restricted to 34 horsepower for young licence holders, even if the bill often cools their enthusiasm at that age. A grown-up's motorcycle, honest in short, which takes on its role as second fiddle without hang-ups.