‘The Whole Way Round’ is the name of a 1,138km motorcycle run organised by the charity ‘Children’s Lifeline’ in aid of Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.
Last weekend I hooked up with 70 riders to tackle the round Ireland event. Joining us for the spin were a host of celebrities including comedian Alan Shortt, TV presenter Kathryn Thomas and the man himself, Gay Byrne.
The route would take us from Dublin to Donegal town, Donegal to Ennis via ‘The Burren’ and ‘The Cliffs of Moher’, Ennis to Waterford via the Shannon ferry, Tralee and Killarney and finally Waterford to the hospital.
My machine for the four-day event was the seriously rapid K1200GT or Grand Tourismo. For €19,350 you get a machine that can accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 3.1 seconds!
My test bike featured the optional electronic suspension BMW calls ESA. With the simple press of your left thumb the ESA button changes the stiffness of the suspension. There are three settings; Normal, Sport and Comfort that do exactly what it says on the tin. I left the bike in Normal most of the time. My bike had all the toys like ESA, xenon headlight, heated grips, individually heated front and rear seats, trip computer with A and B settings plus an electrically adjustable windscreen. The standard side panniers took my clothes, laptop and some camera equipment that I was using to make a TV documentary about the trip. The standard height adjustable handlebars were set at the highest point to help keep weight off my wrists and max touring comfort. My big criticism of the GT concerns the saddle, which for a touring motorcycle is simply not comfortable!
The jump from the previous 130bhp GT is massive. The old engine is gone and the new engine is way more powerful. Sourced from the 167bhp K1200S the output is slightly detuned to 152bhp making the GT easily the most powerful bike in its class. The GT has 17% more power and 11% more pulling power/torque (130nm). Fuel consumption has improved. I managed a very impressive average of 60mpg!
The GT is a big bike and as a big man I know it's hard to lose weight but the GT has managed it. It is now 6% lighter standing at a healthy 249kgs (dry weight). A bigger fuel tank makes the cruising range greater than even the most hardened backside could tolerate.
It was a great event and a brilliant blast on what is a superb machine. I have to say a big thanks to our garda motorcycle escort (Paul and Enda) from traffic at Dublin Castle who helped the large group move effortlessly through towns and villages on the way. The bikers between them raised over €25,000 on the run with more funds still rolling in. Check out their website www.childrenslifeline.ie As for the GT? It’s serious fun for grown ups.
Michael Sheridan
