BMW HP2 Megamoto road test review

BMW's most radical, stripped-down bike ever. With only 30 in the country and a stratospheric price tag of £13k, the Megamoto is as exclusive as it is rampant. Get ready to spend your city bonus

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BMW's latest addition to its HP range is certain to polarise opinions. On one hand it's a very expensive toy for immensely rich posh-boys only, on the other it's one of the most desirable and high-performance BMWs you can own. On specs alone the Megamoto is a fairly impressive package.

In keeping with BMW's HP ethos of producing lightweight bikes with quality components the Megamoto weighs just 179kg (20kg lighter than a GS), but comes with 113bhp and 85ft-lb of torque thanks to a tweaked and wonderfully revvy Boxer engine. Hand-built and balanced by BMW's special projects department at their Munich factory, the HP2 designers have specifically designed it for maximum responsiveness. This is a BMW brimming with character, technical know-how and trick parts.

The powder-blue chassis has an Öhlins shock, Marzocchi forks, carbon bodywork and the same lightened frame as the HP2 Enduro. On paper it all looks good, until you spot the price tag. £12,595 for a supermoto? You're going to have to really want a Megamoto to be prepared to shell out that much. Which is the problem I have with the bike, because although it's undoubtedly the rawest and most aggressive BMW out there, it's hard to justify that kind of money. Anything below £10,000 and I wouldn't have an issue, but above that and I'm struggling.

But let us forget the money issue for a minute. I never thought the day would come when I would describe a BMW's performance as explosive, but the Megamoto's certainly is. Right from the word go the Boxer motor has tons of torque, but it's the mule-like kick in the power delivery that's so surprising. The first hit is delivered between 2 and 4,000rpm before a dip due to the inevitable emissions laws, at which point you are rudely awoken by a whopping boot at 6,000rpm that catapults the motor towards its 8000rpm redline. Supermotos are all about explosive delivery and a feeling of brutish power, and although the Megamoto has a low top speed - by 110mph it's all over - it doesn't half get there in a hurry. And all the time the OE Akrapovic titanium exhaust gives a wonderfully sharp bark while revving and glorious pop on over-run. It's this aural treat that makes you want to rev the motor through its range just to hear what tune you can make it play, which is good because the engine does need to be worked as it's extremely low-geared.

On the open road 90mph equates to 5,000rpm and you sit there in the flat part of the power, but it's hammering through B-roads that the bike comes alive and does what it's supposed to. Keep it boiling between 6-8,000rpm, keep feeding the gears in and the BMW will fair rattle through the miles at electric speeds. The bars will be wriggling in your hands, the intoxicating noise from the exhaust in your ears, and it makes you grin ear to ear. There's proper passion in this motorcycle, and it even wheelies, on the power. When did you ever hear of a BMW doing that? Although in typical BMW fashion the Megamoto tends to lurch off to the side like a drunken tramp due to the torque reaction from the Boxer motor.


As with the enduro-only HP2, BMW has abandoned its Telelever front end in favour of forks on the Megamoto. I've never really understood why BMW doesn't follow convention on a bike such as a GS and fit forks, especially considering its off-road potential, and the Megamoto proves the point. Although it is undoubtedly helped by its light weight (not to mention the fact it has 17-inch wheels front and rear) the Megamoto feels much lighter than its claimed weight and handles well, but it could be considerably better with a decent set of forks.

Although the frame, wheels and engine are of the highest quality a few bits let the BMW down, the most obvious of these being the forks and front cowling. And yes it's a fashion thing, but on a bike costing this much I would have expected radial brakes as a matter of course. The performance from the BMW-stamped Brembo calipers is actually very good, but the same cannot be said of the forks. Over-sprung and with crude internals, the front end of the Megamoto skittles across bumpy surfaces instead of tracking smoothly as befitting of a bike like this. BMW have sharpened the handling by making the forks very firm and taking the dive out of them, but it feels like a cheap bodge. Time spent in set-up would certainly improve the situation, but after the assured quality of the Öhlins rear it seems daft not to repeat this at the front.

Then there are the rather crappy shoulder panels. Sure, this is a stripped supermoto, but BMW's failure to put some kind of inner panelling where all you can see are plasticky mounts makes it look unfinished and cheap. And how about a flasher dash? The crescent instrument binnacle doesn't look very 'hard' at all, it's a bit fluffy and the last thing this bike is about is fluffiness. Although it does have a sensible side.

Unlike other big supermotos the BMW feels remarkably long. It doesn't have the traditional feel of being sat right up and over the front of the bike, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it's actually fairly comfortable to ride. But it certainly compromises its usability as a full-on motard machine. It's all about feel at the front wheel on these machines at racing speeds and that is certainly lacking on the BMW. But the stretch to the bars is just right and if it wasn't for the firm seat and lack of wind protection the Megamoto would make a fairly relaxed commuter. Certainly a very unusual one, and one that is slightly limited in its range due to its fuel capacity.

The BMW has a miniscule tank range. With only 13 litres of fuel on board the warning light comes on at 60 miles and proceeds to count down your final 42 miles until you have to start pushing. My dad's lawnmower carries more fuel than this and it's a bit irksome, although the rich city lads who buy this bike won't care. It is, after all, about short, furious rides kicking the hell out of sportsbikes on smaller roads.

If you live in the UK this is probably one of the most aspiratonal bikes around at the moment. Aspirational because unless you already have one on order, you are unlikely to own one this year. BMW are only bringing in 30 of the bikes to the UK, and most are already pre-sold. That came as a bit of a surprise to me, because with its whopping price tag I honestly couldn't see it selling that quickly. Although I would never pay that much for a bike I can understand why someone would. Supermotos are all about sticking two fingers up at the establishment, riotous power and silliness, which is exactly what the Megamoto delivers. As well as that arse-kicking engine you get the exclusivity that comes with the BMW performance tag. How much is that worth to you?

BMW HP2 Megamoto

Price £13,010
Engine 1,170 cc Air/oil-cooled flat twin ('Boxer') 4-stroke
Power 113bhp @ 7500rpm Torque 85lb.ft @ 6000rpm
Bore x stroke 101 mm x 73 mm Compression ratio 12.0 : 1
Front suspension 160 mm Upside-down fork, compression damping and rebound damping adjustable
Rear suspension Öhlins-central spring strut, spring pre-load adjustable to continuously variable levels, rebound damping and compression damping adjustable
Front brake 2x four pot, 320mm discs
Rear brake double pout, 265mm disc
Dry Weight
178kg Seat height 890mm Fuel capacity 13 litres
Colour option Aura White/Magnesium Metallic