The excellent BMW dealer Bahnstormer at Alton kindly lent me an S1000RR this weekend and what a blast its been. Believe everything you read about these bikes they are amazing............. It's tough to compare and review it to the 848 they are very different machines but I'll have a go. I found the riding position a little odd for the first few miles, legs seemed to be a little more tucked up but the clip ons were at a more comfortable height than the 848. It's fast, and that is like saying the Arctic is a bit chilly. The speed that you can pull on it in such a short space is mind bending, the world goes into a blur if you crack the throttle and in race mode, 2nd and 3rd gears are beyond mental. I'm pretty sure it pulls as hard in 5th as the evo does in 3rd. It will pull from 20mph to 120mph in 5th gear as well (on a private runway). But it sounds shit, even with akra on it. I reckon the most revs I used was 12k and it red lines at 16k............. Handling I thought for a road bike ( everything set to 4 on the suspension) was about perfect for pressing on, still firm but turns beautifully so much easier than the evo I was overturning it to start with, I did over 100 miles on it last night on almost empty roads and other than a bit of wrist ache it was perfect on dual carriageway / fast sweeping a roads and twisty B roads. It also drives impeccably at low speeds, 30 mph 40 mph, stick it in 4th and it is smooth as you like. I really liked having the riding modes, especially when I drove it home in the rain on Sat, and I felt safe knowing I had TC and ABS. Would I swap my 848 for one, probably not, I really missed the noise, I don't think I'd be able to get the best out of it on the track, where I feel I can ride my 848 hard and it won't bite me and I won't have to rely on the TC. And I wouldn't go in the garage just to look at it either. But as a second bike it would be mustard to use for riding to work, blasts out in the eve or early a.m if you feel like a mental one. It's an engineering masterpiece though, I was blown away by it, the motor is the star of the show, so strong, fast and tractable. Oh and heated grips.............. never used them before, amazing, got pretty chilly on the way back after about 9pm last night, switched them on and happy days ! So not sure if anyone is considering getting one instead of an 848 but if you are then I hope this helps !
Had it pinned on an empty french autoroute on my 1198 and my mate cruised by me on the junkers like I was standing still. They are fucking bastard fast.
I'd never change my 848 for an S1000RR, I found the BMW lacking in mid range grunt (fast top end but what modern IL4 superbike is not) compared to my blade for example, the quality of build is the worst I have seen in years (check my twitter pics) handles well but bland and boring to ride IMO, I think it's way over hyped by the mags etc, great boxed racing bike but again I'd rather have a 10R, and, let's face it, THAT picture would not get me excited when I open the garage door, pig ugly...
I'd but the RSV4 instead. I too was not that impressed with the overall quality of the finish and plastics on the beemer. V-Twin torque is a terrible addiction to overcome and the beemer disappears into my mirrors on slow in fast outs.
I need to do some more test riding tbh, just read this great article on visordown about living with an 1199s , I need to ride that and the 899 and maybe an RSV............ Living with a Ducati 1199 Panigale S - Road Tests: First Rides - Visordown
The BM is a great superbike, far better on track I am sure than on the road, maybe that's where it sings best as proven in many super stock class, on the road I prefer my blade for the torque, short shift the blade and it has the grunt to pull off out of a turn, I love my blade and still think it's king of the road when you talk 1000cc IL4s, problem is all the main line up of bikes are awesome and tbh I'd have anyone of them, defo an RSV4!!! What a bike that is!
The Pani is no looker though from the side. Front and back and the dash i like, but the side profile doesn't resolve itself. The tank and fairing blobs itself. That said, its still far prettier than the competition. Can it be that difficult to make a pretty bike? I confess temptation when your white blade was for sale. Nice looker.
Sold this one a month ago, 2k miles, shame the gearbox just went pop, now being fixed under warrantee! I did all the upgrades, full Akra, PCV, filter, HM shifter, LE OZ wheels and more, made 186 on the dyno.
Didn't they bring the torque curve down the revs on the 2012/13 bikes Arthur? I remember taking a 2013 out and I thought it was plenty grunty enough, not twin style mind you but to be fair within a split second it was warp speed anyway so I guess it's hidden well. I do actually like that gold bet one though, reminds me of Badavini in superstock, fuck me he could ride.....when he wasn't binning it spectacularly
They did mate, I guess my post is a bit misleading, hard to air your thoughts in a few words, ok so it has grunt just not as much as others in the field IMO, the owner of that S1 in my post now has this, rates it MUCH higher than his old S1' he had the one in the image for 2 years and a 2010 before that (same mods made 196bhp), this SP made 172bhp but feels much stronger than the S1 and has proven to be quicker off the line..
My experience of an S1000ArrArr are not what I would call memorable. 1 word sums it up for me... Disapointing. Top dog of the litre bikes or so they say. Hmmmm I have far more fun making my 11 year old 999 go fast than being the passenger.
My S1000RR blew up twice.. One engine had done 2,000 miles and the other had done 1,000. It shit a gearbox too. Also spent 5 months at BMW getting the engine swapped over. All done under warranty, which was nice. When it worked the bike was awesome. Used it for track day instructing. Was full BSB Superstock spec with full carbon fairings. Loved that bike. Just too temperamental. Made a true 201 at the rear though, which was nice lol
It was beautiful to look at. After I thew a good few grand at it, it handled well too. After it spent more time at the dealers than I did riding it, it had to go. It's a really fragile bike. Gearboxes are made of chocolate.
