BMW S 1000 RR
The problem with BMW’s S 1000 RR, isn’t so much with the bike itself – but all the others here. After attending the launch of this very model just a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but be impressed with how the tweaks and twiddles had indeed upped its game. Yes, a lot of that trip was spent essentially underwater, but in the dry time we did have the bike fared well. I also opined that it could now give the Tuono a bit more of a run for its money. The old version, though, as I had yet to ride the 2017 machine...
Opening up this barking test with a ride around some of Lincolnshire’s finest (and fastest) roads, however, the BMW is no longer feeling as good as it did. Hang on, wait, I need to add a caveat to that. Ridden in isolation with plenty of time spent aboard, you do indeed raise an eyebrow or two at its capabilities, and there’ll be more on that later. But again, when you throw in the other bikes, especially when jumping from one to the other, things which may not bother you start to, well, bother you.
It feels like a big beast, which on one hand allows a rather tremendous sense of value, but on the other, makes it seem a bit ungainly and heavy, which becomes quite marked when doing mundane things like turning it around. While the steering has definitely been improved and speeded up over the previous version, in this company it initially feels lethargic, awkward and harder to achieve, especially when trying to be extremely accurate.
You’re steering the beast from a very comfortable riding position however, maybe the most comfy here by a gnat’s wing or three. All the controls are perfectly set at thumb or finger, it’s generally a rather nice place to be, especially in the early morning cold with the heated grips on full blast! Only the dash looks outdated now, though I’ll always have a proper rev-counter over a digital one – ideally I’d like both, but then I’m greedy. And the ride on the smooth or bumpy stretches, via the electronic Sachs suspension, complete with brand new algorithms, is beautifully smooth and sweet. Even when you start to get a bit giddy, where the first ESA kit could get a tad flustered, now it behaves impeccably, whether braking gently or loading it up hard. Although, doing so does reveal a bit of an issue – the brakes.
On all the other bikes (perhaps sometimes bar the Yamaha), it’s either a one or two-finger braking routine, maximum. Not here, it’s an issue that’s plagued both the naked and its base machine, the S 1000 RR. The brakes just don’t feel strong, despite the Brembo kit. Oh, you’ll stop alright, but it may not always feel comfortable, especially if you’ve seriously overcooked it into a country lane, hairpin or similar. The only benefit is, believe it or not, the ‘hollow’ brake lever. Levers such as this increase feel, which I like, but I’m already not looking forward to having to brake hard (over and over) at Cadwell Park the following day. At least the ABS doesn’t intrude when you don’t want it to, that alone is another potentially important bonus for the BeeEm.
But then let’s be honest, most owners didn’t buy this bike for its brakes (or lack of), or its heated grips or even its ESA suspension. They buy it for the
engine and I can’t say I blame them. There is a small issue, which is that there’s almost this near indeterminable timespan of nearly nothing where you’re waiting for it to go. It’s so short as to almost be a redundant observation, except that none of the others suffer from this. However, once it goes, it really bloody goes. Euro4 has not contained the fury its capable of. This bike is fast, seriously fast. Chasing the KTM and MT-10 on super-quick stretches, where they were chucking gears at them I had it in top gear, rolling on and off the throttle and it was able to reel in the Yamaha with ease. In its sweetspot the thrust on tap is quite remarkable, and the sheer mass of the thing only adds to the sense of rabid momentum. It also adds to the potential terror when braking in a hurry, granted, but you get my point!
The Beemer is also the best for big, long, stupidly fast wheelies too. Nothing is as stable or planted when you add the number 30 to 100 on one wheel, it’s so good at it, it’s almost like cheating. But, the speed is also a problem, as even if it’ll lift easily at slow pace, within seconds you’re in prison territory! But back to chasing the two bikes, and this is where the BMW makes sense, riding the surge of grunt and displaying nothing but assured stability at the same time. Here, it was epic, but Cadwell Park was a different matter entirely.
In short, the BMW let itself down. Every face that slipped out a helmet after a session was red, sweaty and puffy. The Beemer made you work hard; it was okay in some areas, but too hard in others. In particular, the soft rear shock set the bike wallowing and weaving down the back straight, and bouncing too, as the electronic brain tried in vain to keep up and offset the shock’s tepid damping abilities. This then had an adverse effect on the front end, and the brakes were often inconsistent, too. Sure, it was very fast, keeping some track prepped superbikes honest at times, but in overall terms it seriously blotted its book, to its detriment.