2012 BMW S1000RR: Oh, Lord, is this bike ever FAST!

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This article was published 30/03/2012 (5298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VALENCIA, Spain — It wasn’t supposed to go like this. To say BMW’s 2009 announcement that it was building a 1,000-cubic-centimetre superbike was greeted with skepticism vastly understates the depth of the sneers that greeted their pleas for respect.

BMW, after all, really was your dad’s Buick. Even with its belated adoption of my-God-we’re-almost-up-to-date double-overhead camshafts, it was best known for its oddly shaped, even more oddly performing flat-twins, surely the fuddy-duddiest of internal-combustion engines.

Even when BMW threatened to unleash its purloined-from-the-car-side Formula One technology, motorcycling’s orthodoxy wasn’t worried. Had they not seen this before with Petronas’ almost-stillborn FP1 and Aprilia’s occasionally rapid but more often floundering Cube?

All that high-tech stuff was just poncy, went the establishment’s refrain. Perhaps more powerful in the dyno room, but out in the real world of motorcycle racing, all that F1 theory was just so much eggheadedness.

Then came rumours of 190 horsepower. At the rear wheel, no less. A rev limit of 14,200 rpm that wasn’t there just to impress the poseurs but was truly usable. And electronic traction control so we wouldn’t all fall on our ears. But still we didn’t believe.

Then we rode it. My, oh my, was it monstrously fast. Oh, a CBR1000RR could keep up with the Beemer to 11,000 rpm, but then while the Honda flat-lined after its power peak, the absolutely manic BMW kept pumping for another 2,000 revs and 20 more horsepower. Its top speed was at least 15 kilometres an hour up on its most rapid competition. One British motorcycle magazine claimed it got 317 kilometres an hour out of an S1000RR stock except for a change to the rear sprocket and some judicious application of duct tape for aerodynamic purposes.

While no one was quite ready for that surprise, even more unexpected is that nobody has really succeeded in besting the big Bimmer since. Oh, Kawasaki took a run at it with last year’s all-new ZX-10R, but it fell a few ponies and kilometres-an-hour short. Honda says it’s taking a different tack with its 2012 CBR1000 — code-speak for an admission it doesn’t actually see winning this horsepower war with BMW.

This explains why the 2012 S1000RR, while boasting some new bits and software revisions, is still quite familiar. The engine, for instance, is essentially the same, benefitting from last year’s switch to a two-kilogram heavier crankshaft (demanded by BMW’s motorsports teams in search of more rideability, even at the expense of quicker throttle response).

Nonetheless the 2012 S1000RR’s maximum horsepower remains 193 hp; ditto the maximum torque of 83 pound-feet.

That’s not to say the character of the engine hasn’t changed. Indeed, everything from the throttle return springs to the engine power curves have been manipulated so the engine feels completely different even though it’s essentially the same.

The Rain mode, for instance, has its own power curve, now actually stronger than the previous (a maximum of 163 hp versus 150) model. BMW found that allowing the extra power actually made it easier to ride in the wet.

Meanwhile, the other three settings get the full 193-hp monty. As well, though the rain setting retains the soft throttle response necessary for guiding a powerful litre-bike over any wet, slimy tarmac, the sportier three modes offer even more direct throttle response than the old S1000. So, while there’s a noticeable lag in the Rain setting, in Race mode, it’s as if the electronic fuel injection (EFI) is directly wired into your synapses, so immediate is the connection between wrist and piston.

Part of the credit is S1000RR’s fatter mid-range — there’s more torque available between 5,000 and 7,000 rpm — but the electronics have also been modified as well for more immediate response to the throttle.

Those thinking of going racing will appreciate the additional changes to the Dynamic Traction Control system’s slick mode, which is more liberal with wheelies. And the EFI now bleeds a little fuel through the engine under closed throttle. BMW’s race teams complained that the previous model’s engine braking caused the rear end to lose traction when braking hard for corners and that cracking the throttle open a smidgen reduced the back-torque to the rear wheel.

Racers will also appreciate that BMW’s onboard laptimer has a new GPS function that can tell, section by section on the race track, if you’re going faster than your previous lap. Supposedly, this will be popular with the go-faster riders, but, being decidedly cowardly, I never mustered the courage to take my eyes off the track long enough to check my progress.

That all sounds well and good, but how does the new version feel compared with the outgoing model? Well, ultimately, it doesn’t feel faster (nor does it need to, as the S1000RR’s acceleration never fails to take one’s breath away), but it’s substantially easier to ride.

The more direct throttle response eliminates the sensation that you’re piloting a virtual Xbox game rather than riding an actual motorcycle. The improved mid-range torque gives you much more leeway in gear selection through corners, the engine finally feeling as torquey as its 999 cubic centimetres. Even the lighter throttle allows more precise control, especially important when there’s 193 horsepower underfoot.

Aiding all of this speed is revised chassis geometry — less rake, lower ride height in the rear, altered anti-squat geometry and a slightly shorter wheelbase — that BMW claims makes the newish S1000RR easier to turn after blitzing the straightaways. And, indeed, it’s easier to initiate corners and hold a tight line. It also retains the previous model’s incredible high-speed stability.

But, although it steers more precisely than before, the new S1000RR still balks a little in tight, decreasing radius bends as if it could use even more than the 2.5-millimetre reduction in offset BMW determined was adequate for 2012.

That said, the S1000RR is still the fastest thing on two wheels. BMW can talk all it wants about linear throttle response and controllable power delivery, but out on the long back straight of Circuito Ricardo Tormo, one of Formula One’s premier test tracks, all you’re really thinking is how Oh My Dear Lord fast it is.

–Postmedia News