The new S1000RR, everything the previous one did - only much better (photo: manufacturer website)
shock.
Incomprehensible.
makes no sense at all.
Exploding heads.
Burns fuses.
Ballistic missile.
Not from this world.
Inhuman.
Continue with clichés?
Hope you're breathing, because I'm barely breathing.
Take everything you think you know, and forget it.
What BMW did with the RR1000S and R1000M that we rode at the world launch in Almeria, Spain, is truly unimaginable.
The technology is so good, that they took a motorcycle that on paper should be for singles, almost uncontrollable, one that requires super riders, and made it accessible to less experienced riders, to riders who are human, who want to feel like racers at the top of the world, to ride a super monster And still stay alive to tell about it.
Yes, you have to remember that this is still a 1 liter superbike motorcycle with 210 hp, and with all due respect to all the technology, a rider who reaches a turn too quickly or doesn't turn, the motorcycle will simply continue straight and all the electronic controls in the world won't help, even if they are the best we've encountered so far Today.
A serial motorcycle that surpasses the motorcycles of the Superbike racing circuit of a few years ago (photo: manufacturer's website)
While the R1000M Roadstar version, we tested and rode on the winding roads of southern Spain (and also did 4 laps on the race track);
On the sporty sibling the RR1000S, we rode only at the Almeria race track, the natural place where BMW's superbike was born.
A cool track, 4.2 km long (there is an option to extend it to 9 km - insert a burning brain emoji here), the person who designed it fulfilled the dream of every motorcycle rider who loves twists and turns - each turn is cooler than the other, And there are all of them;
Long turns, 90 degree turns, a long and fast U-turn (the "elbow turn"), turns with elevation changes, and there's also a back straight long enough to touch a split second at 300 km/h - only the very brave among us. This track is definitely competitive On the first place in the list of my favorite tracks.
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All the technological systems allow the rider to get the full potential out of the motorcycle (photo: manufacturer's website)
If my memory serves me correctly, the entire following section took place at the eleventh turn, called 'Stone Mountain'.
It's actually more of a long, super-fast curve.
The problem - the entire first section is uphill and completely blind, the continuation is downhill when at the end we are waiting for a sharp turn (a sharp left turn and an immediate right) brutal that requires a long brake with the motorcycle on its side to reduce the speed.
This curve is reached by turning left which is relatively slow;
And if we translate all this into actions - as soon as the motorcycle hits the apex, the right hand turns the throttle (the brave will open it all the way) and the motorcycle flies to unimaginable speeds when it is on its side.
The challenge: you can't see what's going on and you mainly rely on your memory of where the route continues and the motorcycle that will keep you on it.
You have to trust him 100% and it takes time (photo: manufacturer website)
All that comes out of my mouth is - "Mind-blowing".
With great pride he tells me that it is not him, it is the motorcycle that is so good.
He enthusiastically explains to me with hand movements, there is a sensor on the steering shaft, there is a sensor that measures the tilt angle, and there is a sensor on each wheel.
The computer uses the four sensors, and knows how to keep the rear wheel in a slip and a small step to the side, to help the rider refine the turning radius.
He encourages me to try in the next round.
The display is loaded with data, based on the motorcycle's inclination angle meter (photo: manufacturer's website)
My brain is on fire, still struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the experience I went through.
The clichés run through my mind all the time - "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", "The Green Giant and..." You are invited to complete. The engineers at BMW took a racing motorcycle and made it accessible For the average rider. And this cliché has never been so true. On the one hand, there are amounts of power, which we doubt we will use on the public road, and on the other hand, the engine is friendly and nice as long as you don't cross the 6-7 thousand rpm line.
You can ride it in the city even in sixth gear at a ridiculous speed of 40 km/h and still when you open the throttle, the engine reacts so smoothly and well that it is not noticed. There are a lot of electronic systems that come to help the rider, you could write a long book on that alone.
Straight, with determination pushing to 300 km/h (photo: manufacturer's website)
On the other hand, put a racer like Knight on it, who will keep the engine above 8,000 rpm, with the redline somewhere around 14,000 rpm, and he admits to himself that he produces faster lap times than those on the bike he raced a few years ago .
Thanks to the controls, it is possible to produce morbid accelerations even when the asphalt is not perfect - and every time the right hand rolls the throttle - the brain is pulled back, the guts threaten to tear apart, and the next turn comes so fast that the head has a hard time absorbing it, so it attacks the brakes hysterically, and the feeling that all the organs want to be torn from the body .
The speed decreases, and I find that I was just scared, that the brakes bite so hard that there is a situation where the asphalt has folded.
The brakes reduce the speed so efficiently that I found myself time and time again discovering that the bike is coming into a turn much slower than I planned.
One more and that's it (photo: manufacturer's website)
Bottom line, for those looking for the top bar in a super sport motorcycle, with the best capability envelope that is still legal for the road - even in its current generation - the S1000RR is still the right marker, this time also more or less with the best safety systems the industry can buy you.
By the way, to buy, like its capabilities, the prices of the S1000RR were not and will not be particularly low.
Depending on its version, they should range between 160 and 200 thousand shekels, and if that amount made you short of breath and suffocation, well, you've experienced a bit of the feeling of riding it...
Technological punch to the stomach (photo: manufacturer's website)
Roadstar or Superbike?
Alongside the track-oriented supersport version, there's also its seemingly sane or milder brother, the M1000R, actually a more expensive version of the S1000R - BMW's roadstar/hyper-naked.
The engine, chassis, suspension and electronics in the M version come straight from the S1000RR, without any censorship, which means that there is 210 hp there, compared to 165 hp in the S1000R version.
As in the superbike brother, here too you will find semi-active suspensions, controlled by the computer, and an electronics package that any fighter pilot would want.
Despite being 'old school', I have always appreciated and always strongly recommend not to give up controls - not only are they good, they also save lives.
In the past, in very extreme conditions, the controls on the race track sometimes got in the way, but in recent years, it really doesn't matter - public road or track, the controls not only don't get in the way, they help a skilled rider or one who is not, to produce faster lap times than before easily and without effort and stay on the wheels in situations that it is doubtful that we have gotten out of in the past.
210 particularly belligerent horses (photo: manufacturer's website)
Riding the naked brother on the road of southern Spain, the mind has a hard time containing everything that is happening, similar to the sporty brother, the behavior, the capabilities, the accelerations are simply on the border of science fiction.
Although the handlebars are higher than in the sporty brother, the position is still extreme and combative, and tiring over time.
At one of the stops, I asked that the position of the clutch and brake levers be changed, and this slightly improved the comfort.
The steering is quick, the suspension makes sure to stick the sporty rubber to the cool asphalt even when the pavement surface is not perfect, and they still transfer every crease or crack in the asphalt to the butt and the rider's body.
These are also the two main and only criticisms of the M1000R on the public road - I would have liked the seating position to be less extreme, and the suspension to be softer.
Flat handlebars and cramped legs, not exactly a long-term riding position (photo: manufacturer's website)
Technology on one wheel
The development team of these motorcycles includes not only engineers but also riders, here they took the existing base (which was already amazing by all accounts), and improved it in every possible parameter.
With their goal to improve performance and on the other hand to make the motorcycle accessible to the general public.
The concept is that the more comfortable and confident we feel, the faster we can ride and still be alive to tell about it.
For 2023, the pair of models received changes to the chassis, suspension, design, there are now aerodynamic wings aimed at pinning the motorcycle at high speeds.
BMW equipped them with the best electronic auxiliary systems available today in the world of motorcycles, all developed by the German company. It's not that the pair of motorcycles here are cheap, but a few years ago, motorcycles of this level would have cost several times more.
Up to 8,000 rpm is a calm kitten, above that, well, you should know what you are doing (photo: manufacturer website)
And in all this beauty sits an engine, and what an engine.
When BMW introduced the first S1000RR in 2009, it blew away the cards in the category, with a power of over 180 hp, it was the most powerful per liter in series production, dyno measurements carried out for the motorcycle in stock condition, broke records, we were left speechless Today numbers like 200 hp and more have become the standard, and even though manufacturers are required to comply with strict air pollution regulations, the engineers managed to get 210 hp out of this engine, which comes at 13,750 rpm, there is variable valve timing, a higher compression ratio Previously 13.3:1 compared to the outgoing model 13.0:1.
There is also a new air box, with shorter intake ribs, again in favor of increasing the maximum power.
All this power, cannot be brought to the road without the electronic controls, which in this case are without a doubt the best level we have known.
It will offer the highest capacity available, but the rider must know what he is doing (photo: manufacturer's website)
And we talked about how they work, but the list of systems is long, so long that it really isn't captured.
The motorcycles we rode were equipped with an integral braking system with ABS (with ABS for racing and ABS Pro);
Dynamic braking system, ESA control (electronically controlled suspension), dynamic traction control, hill jump control, jump control, speed limiter in pits, immobilizer, transmission system with quick shift up and down, slipper clutch assist system, different ignition maps, brake slip control, Slip control under acceleration and I'm sure I forgot a few more.
As each of the controls can be changed and controlled from the 6.5 inch TFT screen, which really provides all the information you want including a tilt meter.
I call it the "slump gauge" because it shows how low you really laid the motorcycle and not how low you thought you laid it.
Besides the slip control, there is also another cool system, in braking when the computer detects that the rear wheel is about to lose contact, or starts to move to the sides,
The computer intervenes and balances the motorcycle so that the rear wheel stays stuck to the asphalt and exactly in line with the front wheel.
And this system works so well, time and time again when braking on the way down to turn number 1, you feel how the tail wants to escape to the side and the computer returns it back to its place.
These bikes are so good, it's really unimaginable.
So good that it was not caught (photo: manufacturer's website)
But after all the twisty turns, and after the laps on the track and all the explanations, all I needed to understand how good this bike was happened in a split second.
It was in the last leg, I was already tired, in one of the turns, I lost concentration, my eyes locked for a moment on the outside.
I was scared.
And by an unimaginable mistake, I hit the front brake, with the motorcycle on its side at an angle over 50 degrees.
On any other motorcycle it would have ended in an embarrassing crash.
And here?
is nothing.
Nothing.
Even he has a slight shift from the chosen line.
As if the motorcycle is saying to me, "Is that all you're capable of? Come on, give me more."
And as in the case of the S1000RR, the M1000R is also not a cheap tool, in fact "not a cheap tool" is an understatement, it is actually an insanely expensive tool, wait, where first.
did you sit
The price of this piece of jewelry will be NIS 270,000.
Which makes it one of the most expensive motorcycles in Israel.
A rare toy that will remain a very rare event for the handful who can afford it.
The reporter was a guest of B.M.
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