Back in the day, the world was undergoing a great recession. Consequently, there was an extreme economic slowdown everywhere. BMW being BMW, launched an all-new litre-class superbike namely the S 1000 RR. At that time, BMW Motorrad’s decision to enter a new venture looked quite ridiculous. You see, 2009 and 2010 was the era of Japanese supremacy. We had the mighty Honda Fireblade, Yamaha R1 and Kawasaki Ninja that ruled the segment while all BMW had was GS bikes and tourers in their line-up.
So, as the world got their hands on the BMW S 1000 RR, everyone realised they couldn’t be more wrong. You see, for a new bike – with no racing experience to back up in the past – it gave the Japanese machines a run of their money. It was an absolute masterpiece! Come 2019, and BMW has upgraded their superbike to match the rivals. So, here’s a piece of our BMW S 1000 RR review.
As far as the design goes, BMW claims that they have not used a single bolt in the third-generation model from the previous BMW. What does this mean? Well, the asymmetrical headlamp look of the predecessor is down and dusted in the favour of a sleeker conventional zing. Plus, the new full-LED setup is going to appeal to a wider audience. In profile, the S 1000 RR is as small as its predecessor, in fact, it looks nearly as compact as the TVS Apache RR 310. What’s also nice is the M badging – which so far was only reserved for performance-oriented cars – makes its way to the S 1000 RR. As a result, the super BMW now gets a special M paint scheme with racing red, blue and white colours.
BMW Motorrad claims to have shaved some weight from the S 1000 RR. The main contribution comes from the powertrain – now a full 4kg lighter. The 999cc in-line four-cylinder is all-new but it retains the bore and stroke of its predecessor. The engine now produces a mind-numbing 204bhp – 8bhp more than the model it replaces – and an identical torque output of 113Nm.
As we get riding in our BMW S 1000 RR review, I realised gauging the mid-range and top-end output of a litre-class superbike is quite difficult. My first impressions – the engine is absolutely bonkers! The motor is throttle happy and as soon as you open the throttle, it feels like the bike will launch itself in the space. In fact, it really takes a while for the normal human brain to register the way this BMW builds up the pace – that’s how fast it is. Crossing the 260-270km/h mark on a straight is effortless and while you’re at it, the motor screams and growls producing the inline-4 harmony.
When it comes to gadgetry, the S 1000 RR is brimmed with electronic aids. There are four pre-set riding modes: Rain, Road, Dynamic and Race, which are offered as standard. In addition to that, there’s a Pro mode in which you can adjust the throttle response, traction control, wheelie control, engine braking and ABS as per your requirements. All the electronics are accessible through a beautiful 6.5-inch TFT display. The electronics act brilliantly to make the bike feel very glued to the road while not reducing any fun from the process. That said, even though I have some minor complaints with the new BMW, it’s one of the best litre-class offerings there’s been. In fact, if I had that kind of money laying around, I would pick one in a heartbeat. To read our extensive BMW S 1000 RR review, be sure to tune in to autoX.
