READER'S RACETRACK RIDES
Fat Bottomed Girl
Author: Bill Pelfrey
Flogging the schnitzel out of a very rare Beemer
 I guess you could say that "she had me at hello." I've always been a sucker for single-sided swingarms. But those blue wheels. Those audacious carbon-fiber-covered hips. And bodywork that was drop dead gorgeous. "She's the perfect streetbike," I rationalized as I was writing the check for MSRP. Her relatively upright riding position was positively lazy-boy-like compared to my steady track day partner (a 748 Ducati) and that was a good thing. The power was underwhelming to say the least "but that won't matter for a streetbike," I consoled myself.
Destined as eye candy from the get-go, the 2003 BoxerCup Replika was introduced as a limited edition (200 U.S units) bike commemorating the inaugural BoxerCup race series and it's winner, Randy Mamola. It was also BMW's idea of formal notification that the racing and performance heritage of its car brand would soon become synomous with motorcycles too. But 2003 may have been a bit too soon; my 2003 Replika can hardly be called a racing or performance machine by any modern standard. Compared to the GS or any of the touring bikes in the BMW lineup in 2003, it was definitely a screamer (okay, maybe 'yeller'). But compared to anything else, its 500-plus pound weight, shaft drive and relatively anemic 97 hp were anything but. Did I mention the horizontally opposed cylinder configuration measuring a whopping 31 plus inches in width? Yup. A full foot wider than my Ducati. We're talkin' serious 'fat bottomed' girl here. After several seasons of mild use and the full onset of track day fever (i.e. no desire to ride on the street), my big-ass beemer saw less and less of me. I even started to resent her Jetson s-like exhaust note courtesy of the massive catalytic converter on the stock bike. I think I was having the motorcycle version of the seven-year itch and went so far as to call a few friends whom I knew had a thing for her, telling them that I was putting her out to pasture. However, when I found out that the current market value for this beauty was well below what I’d paid for her and far less than what I’d have expected for such a rare machine, I had a change of heart and did what any reasonable track junkie would do; I called my favorite track day buddy, John, and we promptly ordered and installed the race exhaust and chip from the original race series with some help from the boys at Laser Exhaust. The result left me smiling and speechless. My son put it best, "It sounds like a real motorcycle now!" Indeed it did. And it made me want to ride her. Really ride her. No more cruising silently through the countryside. I wanted to...well, let's just say I wanted to get her on the track and see what she could do. (cue Queens' Fat-Bottomed Girls)
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