I was at the BMW dealership yesterday to pick up a couple of badges I'd ordered for the goblin (as in green goblin, my palmetto green K1100RS). While I was there, I decided to sit on a Rockster they had in the showroom to see if it still felt right. It did. As I was sitting there going "vroom vroom", one of the salesmen asked if I wanted to ride one. I responded, "Does George Bush say 'nukeyular?', hell yeah, I want to ride one -- I didn't know you had the demo yet!" So he set me up, and I was off.

My first impression was one of more comfort than the vanilla R1150R. The Rockster comes with a higher standard seat than the RR, and it made all the difference, both in increased leg comfort and decreased twig-n-berries pressure. Second thing is that the bar is as wide as steer horns. Well, OK, they're as wide as the R1150GS' bars, though not quite as high. This took a little getting used to, since my K's bars are about as wide as a tricycle's. But in no time, I was pretty comfy, and really enjoying the tremendous torque that the bike has to offer.

I took my standard cruise through the curvy streets of the Denver Tech Center, and after a slightly cautious first turn, was whipping around faster than I usually go on my K (I still can't figure out this phenomenon). The bike handles great, and feels light as a feather at stops. The upright position, wide bars, and lack of any real fairing (yeah, there's a bikini, but it's only one cup) made my upper body into a parachute, to some degree, but it seemed less bothersome than when I rode the RR a couple of weeks ago. This is the naked BMW I could live with, except for the colors. These things are going to look ridiculous in a few years, unlike my elegant and understated bright-metallic-green K ;-).

They needed the Rockster back quickly, so I headed back to the dealership after just a couple of spins around the DTC. When I got back, I noticed the used '95 R1100RS was still there, and when I inquired the salesman thought it was ready for a test ride. However, he was busy, and I really kind of wanted to get home, so I left that test ride for another time.