BRUCE BMW S 1000 RR M-SPORT
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… GETTING ACQUAINTED
Good things come to those who wait… but what a wait it’s been. BMW well and truly whetted my appetite for the new RR way back on its launch in March, giving me a taster of their game-changing superbike. It rocked, and on the few rides I’ve had on one since, my adoration for the Bavarian bruiser has only grown stronger. What’s so good about it? The most hard-hitting attributes are its ease of use, bucket loads of power and super-smart tech. The old Beemer was no luddite, but the
spec on tap has been moved on several notches. I’ve only had my bike a couple of weeks now so I’m still a long way off getting the most from its technology, or understanding what it all does. There are buttons everywhere, including a massive one on the right ’bar to call out an SOS… which probably isn’t meant for when you run out of fuel?
There are literally reams of stuff to go at and I’m looking forward to getting my head around it all and extracting the best from the RR. As of now, I’ve just been playing around with the four rider modes that come as standard on the M-sport – Rain, Street, Dynamic and Race. I’ve given them all a blast, but it’s probably Dynamic that I prefer the most on the roads. It just takes the thinking out of riding this 206bhp (that’s what it made on our dyno, and two other mags) beast, meaning you can crack the throttle and let the anti-wheelie systems do what’s necessary to stop you from throwing yourself over the back every time you leave the traffic lights. Never before has such a powerful bike been so easy to blitz around on, though I’m not such a fan of the quickshifter, which seems to engage abruptly if you’re too low in the revs. The downshifting blipper feels a bit wooden, too. The actual technology is seamless, but I think I’m going to have to get used to the vagueness of the operation.
On a chirpier note, considering this is such a big bike, the agility of the RR is unreal. The M-sport comes with carbon fibre wheels, which don’t just look the tits, but ably enhance the flickability of the Beemer – I wish my race bike turned so effortlessly. Of course, the electronic suspension should take a good chunk of the credit, too. I remember riding the HP4 on its launch in 2012. That was the first RR to have electronic suspension, and it wasn’t half bad, but the game’s moved on a lot since then, as this bike has highlighted. So far so good, but I’m gagging to get it out on track to see just how hard you can push its pogos. On a final note, I should probably flag up the RR’s impressive brakes. I was blown away by them on the launch, but I’m even more impressed now. They’re seriously powerful, the feel on the lever is rock solid, and even on bumpy roads, there’s little chance of getting the ABS kicking in without a genuine reason. Happy days.