S1000RR - BMW Superbike

BMW Press Release:
THE RACE IS ON: SUPERSPORTS BIKE BMW S 1000 RR COMES OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE AT THE BMW MOTORRAD PLANT IN BERLIN

Munich. Staff and fans of BMW Motorrad are looking forward to March 1st 2009 with great excitement. At the introductory race to the Superbike World Championship in Phillip Island / Australia, two BMW motorcycles will be in the starting line-up for the first time. After recent tests in Portimao and Valencia, riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus are optimistic about the future and the mood in the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team is positive. The racing bikes will be fairly close to serial production models, allowing for the greater audience identification characteristic of the sport. Behind the scenes meanwhile, production of the serial machine is getting underway: the BMW S 1000 RR.
The package of this completely newly developed motorcycle with its 999cc in-line 4-cylinder engine is very compact and light. The dry weight of the motorcycle is 183 kg.
Both its supreme performance figures and its outstanding riding properties make the BMW S 1000 RR an extremely attractive offer in the supersports segment.

The engine has a very compact cylinder head and is narrow in shape. The valves are activated by means of very small, light cam followers, virtually at Formula 1 level in terms of their dimensions. This construction ensures very high engine speeds and allows maximum freedom in engine design in terms of torque and output.

For the supersports bike BMW S 1000 RR, a completely newly developed sports ABS featuring four different modes as well as the dynamic traction control system DTC will be available. The functional principle of the traction control system has been borrowed directly from racing.

The distinctive design of the S 1000 RR reflects the general style of the segment but also clearly represents the brand BMW. The new S 1000 RR will be available in the four finishes Mineral Silver metallic, Acid Green metallic, Thunder Grey metallic and - based on the BMW Motorrad racing colours - Alpine White/Lupine Blue/Magma Red.

lifted from BMWSuperbikesdotcom.................



BMW just released a Press Release on this item:

Success at Hockenheim for BMW S 1000 RR

The BMW S 1000 RR enjoyed its first national race success on 11 April, with victory in the prestigious 1,000 km Hockenheim race in Germany. Not only did Team Motobike (a cooperation partner of BMW Motorrad Germany for motorcyclist training programs) celebrate victory with a production version of BMW’s new 1000cc superbike in this famous endurance race, but the HP2 Sport also enjoyed a podium finish in its class.

Under the leadership of crew chief Albin Kirchengast, three teams of riders competed under the ‘Team Motobike’ banner in the 1000 km endurance test and sprint races at the 4,567m Hockenheimring circuit. A special treat for all race fans was that in Class 1 (motorcycles up to 1200cc) Team Motobike brought the brand new BMW S 1000 RR superbike to the starting grid, along with racing legend Jürgen Fuchs and the two-times German IDM Supersport champion, Arne Tode.

The absolutely standard production machine gave both team-mates a convincing victory and also proved its strength and reliability by being entirely problem-free during the 203 laps of this endurance race – much to the delight of team chief Albin Kirchengast:

“Initially I was a little apprehensive about our plans for this race, because we had only unpacked the motorcycle from its container 14 days ago,” he said. “However, the BMW superbike ran like a dream! It was also great to complete this hat trick of victories for Team Motobike, especially after we had won in 2007 with the R 1200 S and in 2008 with the HP2 Sport. Now, with the addition of this inaugural victory for the S 1000 RR, we have clearly demonstrated BMW Motorrad’s sporting credentials – and then some!”

This was a view shared by former 250cc Grand Prix rider Jürgen Fuchs, who was lucky enough to ride the S 1000 RR across the finishing line and celebrate its first national race victory against a field of Suzuki GSX-R1000s, Yamaha R1s, Honda CBR1000s, and Kawasaki ZX-10Rs.

“With a brand new motorcycle, a completely different engine concept and a new team mate, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I needn’t have worried,” he said. “My team mate Arne Tode made a very clean start and when it was my turn on the bike, I was able to increase our lead further and it was quickly clear that we had only ourselves to beat. Although in previous years we were up against some quite superior motorcycles, the S 1000 RR is without doubt a ‘declaration of war’ to the series-production sport competition!”

In Class 4 (motorcycles with a maximum of three cylinders) Team Motobike also started with two BMW HP2 Sport machines, up against the various competition machines from Ducati, Triumph, Buell, Aprilia and KTM. Team Motobike HP2 Sport riders Oliver ‘Rackete’ Schmidt and Dirk Schnieders celebrated a podium finish, after crossing the chequered flag in third place, while two seriously fast ladies – Babette Schneider and Insa Jäschke – finished in a creditable 18th place.

“To finish in 18th place out of 30 starters wasn’t a bad effort, all things considered,” said Babette Schneider, the former R6 Cup competitor – who along with Katja Poensgen and Nina Prinz, is recognised as one of the fastest women in German motorcycle sport. “I was satisfied with the outcome in spite of some difficulties during practice, because Insa and I had to share a motorcycle, when it would have been better if we could have had a machine each. It was tough out there and by the end of the race, I felt drained due to the long stints in the saddle. Although I wasn’t completely satisfied with my lap times the overall experience was great.”

Results

1. Team Motobike (BMW S 1000 RR)
2. SPS Race Team Motorland Mannheim (Yamaha R1)
3. Motorrad Stein (Suzuki GSX-R1000)
4. Schiller (Suzuki GSX-R1000)
5. FRS-Attack Team (Suzuki GSX-R1000)



Class 4 (motorcycles with a maximum of three cylinders)

1. KTM Zentrum Heilbronn (KTM RC8)
2. Ducati am Ring (Ducati 848)
3. Team Motobike 3 (BMW HP2 Sport)
4. Ducati Frankfurt (Ducati 1098)
5. Buell Racing Bonn (Buell 1125CR)
18. Team Motobike 2 (BMW HP2 Sport)

Belowend

It’s only a road bike I know but it’s arguably the biggest step in BMW motorcycles’ history. Not being a “raised suspension” type, it will probably be boring to some forum members/circles but believe me the motorcycle world in general – and I mean as in global- is buzzing tonight………and you can read the “red hot” news right here on your own forum and as you can see from the posting time, a fair effort was made to bring it as fresh as possible


the official news and pictures of the production (road) version are out………..

Courtesy of BMWSuperbikes.com.





note the different look of the left and right fairings....











and sadly this………..



……my reaction to the asymmetrical head lights………

“Such a beautiful bike but for me, this is the disappointment of the day…….no, the disappointment of the year.

I can now understand why they tried to hide the asymmetrical layout from public eye for as long as possible. If I was the designer, I would have done the same”



S 1000RR TECHNICAL DATA

Engine & Drivetrain
999 cc
Bore/Stroke (mm) – 80.0/49.7
193 hp @ 13,000 rpm
83 lb/ft @ 9,750 rpm
Compression – 13.0:1
48mm throttle bodies
14,200 rpm redline
Valves operated by single cam follower
6 speed gearbox
Slipper clutch
Multi disc wet clutch
Chain final drive

Suspension
46mm USD forks
Adjustable preload, rebound, and high and low speed compression
Single Shock with linkage
Adjustable preload, rebound, and compression
Pressure cast (forged) aluminum wheels
3.5 x 17 front
6.0 x 17 rear
Dual 320mm floating rotors in front
Radial mounted 4 piston Brembo calipers
Single fixed 220mm rear rotor
Single piston floating rear caliper

Special Features
1st time available Race ABS & Dynamic Traction Control (DTC)
E-gas (ride by wire) that works with Race ABS & DTC
Four Settings:
Rain
Sport
Race
Slick
Aluminum gas tank
Built in laptimer
Optional Gear Shift Assistant
Variable intake runners
Asymmetrical headlights derived directly from endurance racing
Dry weight of 404 lb. 450lb wet with full tank, 455.3 wet with full tank and ABS.
Available colors are Acid Green Metallic, Mineral Silver Metallic, Thunder Gray Metallic, and BMW Motorrad Motorsport colors.
Black frame with all colors

Mineral Silver



Thunder Grey come with Ostra Gray swingarm and wheels




Acid Green (see the first pictures)

and Motorsport come with a silver swingarm and gloss black wheels

Thank you Jamie for your efforts in keeping us abreast of the latest developments in the lowered suspension class of things

I have to agree with you - those headlights are fugly! Otherwise this will be a bike I won't mind riding (If I were a bit smaller!!!)

Thanx for the info Jamie, much appreciated ... Agree with the headlights, hopefully it is better in real life ... Pity the lawa is not an option, that would be wicked

I quite like the headlights - something different.

When the other superbikes see it in their mirrors it will seem like it is winking at them just before it passes them!!

Good looking bike overall, but.....................

I personally do not like the headlights AT ALL !!!!! It makes the bike look unbalanced and frankly I think it looks dof !!!

I also do not like the exhaust, but hey that is just me.......

But I still think it is an awesome bike, and well priced in the European market. I just hope they can make up some ground in the WSBK series, Troy crashed two bikes yesterday........

and already the "sugested re-designed head lights" start to surface


Photoshop job 1

Photoshop job 2

Photoshop job 3


and for comparison the real deal



all 3 an improvement imo

I agree. I do not like the unbalanced headlights. Looks odd.

I like the 3rd pic, with the twin lights..

Jobs 2 and 3 look great. Also i.m.o. in line with BMW's designs. I think they designed it so FUGLY just to create hipe and i'm sure it's working better than they expected. As for sales, hope their not holding breaths!

Ok, so they got the LH light from a 1200GS...but where did the RH light come from...?

Richard H wrote:Ok, so they got the LH light from a 1200GS...but where did the RH light come from...?

It looks like the reverse light of a Ford Bantam bakkie, if you ask me...

Jamie, any idea what the price tag will be? I'm considering to let the Buell stand over and maybe look at this Beauty.

Nothing official from BMW SA as yet.

However, BMW AG committed themselves to a “Japanese Competitive” pricing structure and indeed in Europe and the US where prices have been announced already, they are definitely on the same level as the big four from Japan…….maybe in the top outer circle but still on target. For example a suggested $13 500 in the states. (R113k direct conversion) I know one can and should not do a direct conversion but the said is pretty much in line to what the Japanese prices were at the end of last year. In the mean time Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki increased their prices substantially with the new R1 now selling for R165k. Honda is the only manufacturer who “fixed” their prices for 2009 with the new Blade (with ABS) selling for around R142k.

What I’m trying to say is even if they are competitive in SA, they will in all probability jump on the band wagon with reference to the current prices we see from Japan – albeit the reality it is comparing apples with pears…….Yen vs. Euro. From a business point of view they will surely take that opportunity.

Long and the short……nothing official yet but my guess would be somewhere between 155 and 165…..I hope anyway. Luckily the hostile nature of the Superbike market is favouring the consumer. THERE IS BUT VERY LITTLE BRAND SENTIMENT. Price and horse power are the keys there. With hp, the S1000RR is halfway there being the best of the big 4 so come one BMW SA……….let us see you do your thing with the price!

.....and remember you starting on the back row with those ugly lights

GSing wrote:Jamie, any idea what the price tag will be? I'm considering to let the Buell stand over and maybe look at this Beauty.

Congratulations on one of your better decisions

"Speculation regarding the S 1000 RR’s styling and technical specification was rife,
and it wasn’t until the fifth round of the World Superbike Championship that the production model was unveiled to widespread acclaim.

The bold design and phenomenal performance figures stunned the motorcycling world.
BMW Motorrad had officially arrived in the supersport market – and in some style..."

Read more about Designing the Dream >>> http://www.bmwmotorrad.co.za/Web/InfoLibrary/NewsIndex.aspx?id=63

Watch this video . . . goosebumps?