Is this BMW's ultimate sports development of the boxer twin? Based on their endurance racer the HP2 makes an interesting variation for road riding and is not nearly as extreme as you might think when you first look at the bike. But whether it has much of a future ... with the introduction of the S1000RR I can't see that BMW are gonna try and squeeze much more out of the flat twin concept; performance expectations have now moved on too far and if you're not getting 170 bhp at the back wheel then a superbike is going to struggle.

BMW suggest the Beemer puts out 130 bhp - and they're probably not far wrong. Put that in a reasonably light package at under 200 kilos ready to roll, add in some interesting suspension and shaft drive and you have one weird motorcycle. But not without charm.

Perhaps the most unique selling point is the pivoting arm front suspension, mounted on the engine the arm links to the front forks by a ball joint and is controlled by an Ohlins shock. So the suspension work is carried out by the arm rather than the forks - they are in effect just sliding locators.

This system is of course not new, and was largely developed by Saxon in the 80s, but BMW refined the idea as their Telelever. It means less unsprung weight, almost no brake dive and better control when braking hard, especially mid bend. As a bonus comfort over bumpy roads is better.

It does take a bit of getting used to and at first the steering feels heavy and ponderous; you're not at all sure than you will be able to deal with the unexpected mid corner and change line rapidly. But you soon adapt to the oddly remote feel and can start to push the system's benefits.

The setup on the HP2 seems to be different to the 1300s layout - they use BMW's Duolever system, based on the Hossack design used on Britten race bikes. This removes the suspension completely from the steering forces and the forks are solid as they are not required to move with the suspension unit.

The DOHC 1170cc motor sits in a steel tube frame, or rather it doesn't, the frame really sits on the engine - the tubing is just there to support the swingarm/driveshaft and to hang the ancillaries on. The drive is the usual parallelogram design which limits the negative effects of shaft drive but does demand a degree of caution on downshifts as there is no slipper clutch and it's easy to lock the back wheel, or at least create a very jerky deceleration experience.

The view from the seat is fairly traditional, although there is the hot poop digital readout which can perform all sorts of trickery and has pretty lights sometimes. But the mirrors are completely useless - the only view you can get is by looking under your raised arm. You'll need to junk them and fit something that works. And the indicators are unfortunately BMW's own unique silliness, with separate left and right paddles and a cancelling flippy lever on the right which is impossible to locate when you're riding this thing as it's intended.