What BMW S1000 RR
Engine 999 cc inline-4 cylinder
Specs 193hp, 112 Nm, 183kg (dry)
Why BMW has created this extraordinary bike to take on the competition in the Supersports segment - both the road and the racetrack.
www.bmw-motorrad.com
As any aficionado will tell you, BMW have been designing bikes since the early 1920s and late 2009 will see their much-anticipated entry into the prestigious realm of superbike production. This move is hardly unexpected as bike enthusiasts the world over have been waiting for the announcement for years. It makes perfect sense, the superbike market is vibrant and the company is eager to stake a claim on the very top end of the class. “Taking the 85,000 units in the 1000 cc class, we would a slice of this cake,” says Rudolph-Andreas Probst, head of BMW Motorcycles communications, after rattling off the sales figures for the sector as a whole.
The S1000 RR is set to shake up the competition, the bike compares well with similar offerings in the market and should, all things being equal, make an impact. BMW has strived to produce a machine of the tightest handling, lightest weight and fastest top end possible and is bullish about the S1000 RR’s prospects, “From the beginning the S1000 RR is a motorcycle which is technologically on a par with the competition – though the competition has already 20 years of experience in this field. We are the same or perhaps even better level than the reference model in the class,” says Probst. It remains to be seen if BMW can challenge the established cache of the existing order, but, technologically at least, there’s a new face in town. It’s about time that the Italians and Japanese experienced a little Teutonic competition.
By way of their F1-gained knowledge, BMW have incorporated titanium in certain parts of the engine; the lightweight metal helps to shave grams off the weight of the bike and thereby increase the top speed. Small, light cams, the in-line four cylinder engine and a host of other innovations mean that when it rolls out of the factory in Berlin, the S1000 RR will be a very tasty proposition indeed. Expect very high speeds and a lot of room for tweaking the set-up to tease a little more out of the machine. On top of all this, the Bavarian firm has upped the ante in terms of safety and performance, the S1000RR will offer at least one feature the Japanese don’t: traction control. RR features Race ABS and traction control that, Probst claims, “is by far the lightest in the market, it’s perfect for use in a sports bike.”
BMW have chosen a tough nut to crack, but are doing well by all accounts. “BMW Motorrad reached in the first full season all goals we wanted to achieve so far,” says Probst, “We see this first race season as a season to further develop the race bike and to become acquainted with the race series.” So they’re off to a fair start in a fiercely competitive field. Only a fool would bet against a force like BMW, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them in the future. For now, there’s an alternative to the Suzukis, Yamahas and Ducatis of this world - and that can only be a good thing.
