Yamaha R1M versus BMW S1000RR M Sport. Can they really be rewarding to ride through a British winter?
Two of the planet’s hottest superbikes put their racetrack fantasies on ice to face 250 miles of English winter
Motorcycling has always been defined by bikes that break boundaries, the performance pioneers that re-set where limits lie. So forget today’s brown-seated caféracers, 1980s-inspired adventurers and faux flat-trackers. If you really want to carry on biking’s proudest and longest tradition, look instead to land of ultra-elite superbikes. Yamaha’s YZF-R1M is the latest. A limited-edition, online-order-only version of their MotoGP-inspired sportsbike, this ‘M’ version adds carbon-fibre bodywork and semiactive Öhlins suspension. For 2020 it has new engine internals, sharper
styling and posher suspension. It’s the fastest road-going superbike Yamaha have ever built.
But the current superbike standard is set by BMW’s S1000RR. MCN’s 2019 Bike Of The Year brings together power and practicality in a way never previously imagined possible. Like the R1, there’s a fancy ‘M’ version, too – the S1000RR M Sport gets all the base bike’s optional extras, a race-rep paintscheme and carbon wheels.
But while this pair might be £20,000, 200bhp apex predators, let’s not forget they’re sold as road bikes – complete with mirrors, indicators and clean-running exhausts. That means they need to work on the road, too – even an English road in December. So, which of these dream machines can still keep it the most real?
The R1M’s stark focus is instantly apparent. Clip-ons seem set down at the front-wheel spindle, while the thin seat feels higher than your head. It’s a proper tip-toe, nosedown, wrist-heavy stance, great for putting weight over the front end, lousy if you like feeling in your hands. Just 30 miles into today’s 250-mile test route, I’m taking every opportunity to shake the blood back into my wrists.
The R1M’s engine is similarly intense. The 998cc four is hyperresponsive, gaining and losing revs with feral immediacy. There’s a dramatic leap in power at 8000rpm where the motor goes from fruity to frenzied. But tall gearing means that, even in first gear, it only starts getting into its stride at 60mph. Hold on for peak torque, up at 11,500rpm, and you’re already north of 80mph. Sampling its 197bhp means you have to head for the ton.
This high-speed focus means village limits are begrudgingly prowled through in first gear and B-roads are evaporated in second and third. Even in the outside lane
‘The BMW is an incredibly good road bike’
of the M40 it grumbles along at such low revs you can leave it in fifth. Remarkably though, it’s perfectly smooth at cruising speed, with no bar or peg vibration. That’s one effect of its crossplane crank, which also makes for the most delicious guttural, warbling exhaust note. “That is the most intoxicating engine you can buy,” says fellow tester Simon Hargreaves. “It feels more like a V4 than some actual V4s.” As we enter the Cotswolds, a chocolate stripe splits the lane.
The mushy mix of mud and leaves is like ice to our near-slick tyres. The Yamaha runs Bridgestone’s RS11, while the BMW has Metzeler Racetec RRs. But whether it’s the tyres or something else, the R1M has a slight edge in the slime.
“The R1M gives more confidence than the BM in these conditions,” says Simon. “It’s more planted, solid, and tracks over bumps better.” Swapping to the BMW reveals a drastically different character. Higher clip-ons and a lower seat make the S1000RR’s ergonomics feel more like an R1250RS than an R1M. Mirrors are larger and set wider. There are oh-so-welcome heated grips. The TFT dash is larger and clearer, its riding modes easier to understand than the Yamaha’s wealth of numbers and letters. I’m not alone. Simon pulls alongside at traffic lights, pointing at an acronym on the R1’s dash. “What’s the meaning of ‘LIF’?” “I think it’s Yamaha’s name for anti-wheelie,” I reply helpfully. “No… it’s a joke. As in, what’s the meaning of… never mind.” D’oh. Driving away, the S1000RR’s power delivery is richer, deeper and easier than the R1M and makes
‘The R1 engine feels more like a V4 than some actual V4s’
tons of torque from tickover to 14,000rpm. On paper, the Yamaha might claim more peak torque but the S1000RR has masses more midrange. Much of this is down to BMW’s ShiftCam, the engine swapping between two inlet cam profiles (one below 9000rpm, the other for top-end power).
This far more flexible motor offers a wider choice of gears – you could ride round in fifth or even sixth if the mood took you, letting that gutsy bottom-end do all the work.
The motor manages to be both fearsome and friendly, producing more than 200bhp at the back wheel yet still reaching down to help us mere mortals.
The BM’s two-way quickshifter is smoother and lighter, too, giving slick clutchless changes even on a barely positive throttle at modest revs. By contrast, the R1M’s shifter feels crispest when you’re spinning the engine harder.
But the RR isn’t perfect. There are some vibes at low revs and the ride quality from the new semi-active Marzocchi suspension is good rather than great. The M Sport’s seat has about an hour or two’s comfort at most and Simon’s right: in today’s greasy conditions, the BMW’s connection to the road feels slightly more numb than the Yamaha. But these are tiny blemishes on an astonishingly complete package. The S1000RR is an incredibly good road bike, and it manages it without compromising its credibility as the current superbike king.