I’ve just had Words: Clinton Pienaar
lunch at a one of the most beautiful little places on this planet. The roads I’m about to ride I saw just before stopping for a bite to eat at a little lunch stop which is a remote spot on the island of Mallorca (just off the coast of Spain) and it is so remote that someone had to build a road over the mountain range that lies ahead of me. In fact, it is that remote that the only way in is by the road, unless you have a boat. Simply astonishing!
If you’ve ever played the rally game on PS3 in Corsica, that is exactly what this place looks like; white tar, switch back after switch back, steep inclines and blind narrow bends with sheer drop offs on the one side and hard unforgiving rock on the other. If you are going to ride quickly, you need to have something below you which is as sharp as a scalpel. I’ve spent the morning on the bike so I’m quite familiar with it now; the photos are done and now it’s up to me to get back to the hotel on my own, which is 120kms away and I feel like a bit of a ride.
Set the suspension to Sport, by the touch of a button on the left bar which jumps between Comfort Standard and Sport. I then select, on the right bar, my riding mode for my mood and out of a choice of 4 and I go for Sport Pro which allows for back wheel lock-up while still activating the ABS and very late intervention of the traction control. Oh and it lets you wheelie (front wheel lift off according to the Germans). I’m off, I pop through the gearbox without the clutch and the bike pops into the next gear effortlessly, making use of its quick-shifter. I can’t hold the throttle to the max in the first two gears, the bike lifts up violently in first and in second still leaned over and the wide ‘bars shake a bit as I try to get this beast under control. All of this happens while the scenery quickly starts to blur. The brakes are pin sharp and I see, into every bend, that some of the quick riders are doing exactly the same; back brake slides into the hairpins and then faint black lines leaving them. I race an RR in SA and this bike, with its higher torque levels at every rev range and straight up riding position, actually feels faster. I don’t tire of this relentless braking and acceleration but neither does the bike I do feel the suspension is a little hard for the bumps so I switch to standard setting and the bike and I are big friends again – I absolutely love it!
I eventually get over the mountain and start heading for the sweeping bends ahead, opting for the optional longer ride back to the hotel. Speeding is for your own account, but it would seem as if Mallorca is a little like SA and I give the R the berries. Like with all naked bikes with jet fighter power, I have yet to meet the gent who can ride one of these bikes to its maximum speed - it’s just impossible. The wind will tear your head off within a few hundred metres of setting off because the acceleration is frantic and I know I’m repeating myself here but I’m trying to drive my point home -this bike is fast! I experiment with some wheelies and pop through the gearbox, this is a hooligan’s tool and I’m sure sponsoring a stunt rider like Christian Pfeiffer has influenced this bike’s design. If you thought the 1300R was a bit of a deviation for BMW, this bike is completely on the very edge of that envelope. It’s mad, it’s crazy, it’s fantastic and I actually can’t fault it at all. If I had to try really hard, I’d say I don’t like the look of the exhaust and maybe you need a little wind deflection for the SA market, but that is covered because BMW has already thought of that and you can find it in the accessories brochure. I arrive at the hotel grinning because I know I’ve been naughty. I’ve ridden it like I stole it and, as I look around, a few leather clad gents have the same boyish look on their faces. We look at one another and laugh while the bikes tick-tick away dispersing the heat. This has been a ride and this is quite a bike!
Let’s start at the beginning; it takes about 3 to 4 years before you can ride a bike off BMW’s production line, from where it started as an idea in a board meeting (if you are thinking that this bike is simply just a naked RR with straight ‘bars you’d be mistaken) to where it is ready to ride - just look at the power and torque graphs to see the difference in the engines. I, for one, was a little disappointed in the evening’s presentation when I saw that BMW had chopped off almost 30hp off the top and why would they do that I was mumbling to myself? But I must have missed the torque curve because it’s significantly up where ever you are in the rev range. I’m not exaggerating, the straight up riding position with slightly lowered and moved forward footrest position makes for quite a comfortable seating position, but that riding position actually makes the bike feel more powerful - it’s as if the sensation of acceleration is increased. The difference in the engine in the red line has been reduced by 2,000rpm, the cylinder heads have been redesigned and cam lobes have also been changed. The BMS-X engine management also favours more direct, low down, every day ride-ability with the torque now about 10Nm up from the RR, right from idle to 7,500rpm. But let me tell you about a few other interesting features on this bike:
ASC (Automatic Stability Control):
Race ABS and a choice of two riding modes as standard. Riding Mode Pro with two additional modes and DTC optionally available: For optimal adaptation to different conditions and rider requirements, the S 1000 R comes with two riding modes and ASC (Automatic Stability Control) as standard. The Rain and Road modes cater for different road surface conditions, using different power and torque curves, and apply different levels of Race ABS and ASC intervention. This provides an important safety bonus, particularly under changeable road conditions.
Dynamic Traction Control (DTC):
Incorporating a further two riding modes.
“Dynamic” and “Dynamic Pro”:
This is available as an ex-works option and allows riders to make the most of the S 1000 R’s sporty performance potential, both on the road and on the race track. Dynamic Traction Control, which includes a banking angle sensor, offers safe and dynamic acceleration which is currently state-of-the- art for a production motorcycle.
Dynamic Damping Control (DDC):
Available as an ex-works optional extra and offers the benefits of electronic damping control. For further enhanced performance, in combination with enhanced active safety, this system dynamically adapts the damping to the current riding situation with split-second speed. I found this option a lovely addition to the bike, changing its personality on the fly. In Comfort mode it made light work of the bumpy road we rode over and even though you ready yourself or brace yourself for a few bad bumps, this BM just soaked them up. This is a glimpse into the future when most high end motorcycles will be damped this way.
Multifunctional instrument cluster:
And last but not least, race-inspired features also extend to the cockpit of the S 1000 R. With an LCD display along with analogue rev counter, the instrumentation offers an unrivalled amount of information in this segment, from the gear display and riding mode display to a lap timer. For optimal gear changes, an individually programmable quick-shifter is fitted and this is definitely the best quick shifter on a production bike bar none.
The weight of the bike is 207kgs with a full fuel tank, not the lightest street fighter out there but considering the technology built in, it is very acceptable and, although it’s not lethargic, it does feel like a big capacity bike all the time, even though the wide ‘bars do make it flickable and feel light. You are always aware that you are sitting on something rather special and the feeling of respect does not leave you. I love bikes that demand respect like this and this is precisely why I ride.
The brakes and suspension (except for the electronic damping feature) are exactly the same as on the RR, which are phenomenal. For your own reference, front braking is provided by a twin-disc brake with two radial four piston fixed callipers and two floating steel brake discs with a 320 millimetre diametre and a 5 millimetre thickness. The steel-mesh-wrapped, pressure resistant brake lines provide optimal transmission of the braking power from the hand-operated brake lever. Rear braking is provided by a hydraulically actuated single-disc brake with single piston floating calliper. The rigidly mounted steel brake disc has a diameter of 220 millimetres and a thickness of 5 millimetres. Maximum active braking safety is provided by the standard-fitted, partially integral BMW Motorrad Race ABS. With this system, the handbrake controls both the front and the rear wheel brakes and the footbrake lever controls just the rear wheel brake. In conjunction with the rider-selectable riding modes, three different Race ABS characteristics are also selected. These are combined with and – for maximum safety – fully synchronised with the riding modes. With a weight of just 1.56kgs for the controller and a total weight of less than 2.5kgs, this system is among the lightest on the market. For special requirements, Race ABS can be separately deactivated.
Although the chassis is mostly the same, slight changes have been made to work better with the roadster way of riding. For example, the castor angle of 65.4 degrees is 0.8 degrees more raked and the trail of 98.5 millimetres is 5 millimetres longer than on the RR. The wheelbase has also been increased by 22 millimetres to 1,439 millimetres. All these measures not only increase traction and stability but also steering response and comfort.
In conclusion, have BMW got it right with all these new hyper naked bikes being launched now? The short answer has got to be yes! If it’s BMW refinement and sophistication you are after, you will not be disappointed. This bike rocks and it’s breaking new ground for an ever changing company. Gone are the days when BMW made fast cars and slow bikes.
This S 1000 R will be offered in two variants in SA - no official pricing is out yet:
• Sports package with Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Riding mode Pro (Dynamic Pro), gear shift assist and cruise control.
• Dynamic package with Dynamic
Damping Control (DDC), heated grips, LED direction indicators and small engine spoiler in bike colour.
