Words: Séan Hendley
Pics: Black Rock
It has been awhile since I rode a BMW S1000R, the last one was a year or three ago, when we did 900 km’s in 9 hours around E.T. in the dead of winter. 900 clicks in 9 hours doesn’t seem like too much of a challenge, but try it on a Hyper Naked…. With a photographer on tow whose favourite term is, “Do that again”. Every decent corner had to be attacked in anger at least 6 or 7 times in each direction, so effectively, 900 kays turned out to be closer to 1,200 km’s at the end of the day. The other challenge was, that particular winter Mpumalanga was not much warmer than Gauteng, and even though I am the biggest fan of naked bikes – I gladly gave up my seat on the nakeds for a bit of respite from the biting cold for a few minutes behind the fairings of the photographers bike.
With a wary eye on the Gauteng late summer/early autumn skies I made sure to chuck my All-Weather suit into my backpack as we headed off the BMW Motorrad East Rand on one of less than 20 or so sunny mornings of this summer. Nonetheless, I was still excited to swing my leg over a newer generation BMW S1000R, or in this case the M1000R. The fact is, I have never actually had the opportunity to ride an M1000R, there just never seems to be one available to the press from BMW Motorrad SA – or any BMW press bikes for that matter at the moment.
On the day, I had to cool my heels on a cruiser for the first 50 or so kays that we had along to review at the same time, (with so much rain and so few riding days lately, we try to squeeze as many test in as we can during breaks in the rain), as our intrepid leader was first up on the M1000R. Eventually, after dawdling along at the back of the pack I got my chance on the M1000R. It was on a long straight-ish piece of good tar, that I know better than my own bathroom. With memories of the rip snorting beast I thrashed around E.T. a few years back I was really anxious to find out what the M1000R could do and work out if those wings on the fairing were of any worth.
I took it easy in first gear, snicked it into second – that quickshifter is a beauty – rolled on a bit harder, (it is a new bike after all…. And not mine). Hooked third, still a bit conservative on the throttle – Truly, it really was almost brand new, but just how new was about to become quite apparent as I tucked down and found fourth and banged on the gas…. HARD!
And very little happened!!!
No I didn’t nearly hit something or accidentally apply the brakes unexpectedly. Let me explain, with experience comes…. well, experience…. and anticipation. Tucking in and rolling on you change your weight distribution to be front bias to keep the wheel on the deck, but you almost intuitively brace form going off the back but do not brace for a sudden lack of forward momentum, so – when it does happen unexpectedly – like mid hard throttle charge – you aren’t ready for it and nearly overtake the bike when it suddenly the bike ran out of puff.
“WHAT!?!?! A BMW M1000R running out of puff – what kind of maniac are you?” I hear you muse incredulously as you read these scribblings. Well, cutting a short story long for dramatic effect, this particular BMW M1000R only had around 500 kays on the clock when we picked it up and had not been for its 1,000km run in service yet, where they unlock the 8,000 rpm rev restriction and turn the volume all the way up to “OH GOODNESS!!”. Had I bothered to look at the mileage I would have adjusted my expectations. You see most manufacturers do this officially so that you don’t destroy your motor as it settles itself in, or at least that’s what they tell you. In reality, I think it is so that knobs like me don’t scribble ourselves before we have had the opportunity to get used to the bike and live to spend more money with them.
Anyway, once I worked out what was going on I then started trying to work out how to bypass the rev limiter by scratching around in the menus of the beautiful TFT screen to no avail. A bit of Googling and You Tubing later it became apparent you need a fancy BMW “Workshop Only” computer to unlock it. Oh well….. I then decided it was time to go find some really tight twisties to play in.
They were a little ways away from where we were and that long straight-ish bit of tarmac had to be endured rather than enjoyed, but I made the most of it anyway. Playing with the rider modes, testing out the cruise control and just generally enjoying the greenery and the Cosmos around me. For ‘tactical scalpel’ like the BMW M1000R it is unbelievably fun to ride along sedately at 180 km/h. Even though it is a naked the aerodynamics kept a surprising amount of wind off of me. The wide, flat and straight bars suit my riding style and attitude. It is actually a proper streetfighter, and I felt immediately that it would be a big giggle in the corners – very stable indeed, and in a more talented rider’s control, it can easily spend most of its time on the back wheel.
The brakes are good, VERY GOOD and with all the electronic gadgetry onboard keep the whole rig very tidy in every situation. By the time we found tight twisty corners it was getting into rush hour traffic, and we had along Mr “Do that again” on photography duties, so it was wait for a gap, whip the bike around, haul ass through a corner, whip the bike around – pause for traffic and “Do that again”. I may not be able to wheelie or break any lap records, but man I can chuck a U-ey like a pro, and on this bike I could do it even quicker.
The mirrors are on the ends of the bars, so I can see past my elbows. The electronic suspension, especially on ‘Dynamic Mode’ is intuitively reactive and the brakes bite down and release predictively. So it was hard on the gas, tilt through a corner, bang on the gas out the other end, scan the road ahead acutely, while doing the same to the road behind in the rearview mirror, counterbalance the bike, hard on the brakes, choose my moment, release the brakes and tilt around at the same time, using the lean angle and the momentum off the brakes to rail the bike around for another assault on the corner for that perfect pic.
Like I have always maintained – as a professional U-turner, the measure of a bike is in its balance, weight distribution and how quickly it turns and/or stops. And think about it, anybody can go fast in a straight line – in fact the bike can do that all by itself without you needing to be on it, (watch those MotoGP and WSBK crashes), but it can’t turn or maneuver by itself, which is where human intervention and skill comes in. Look at all those rider battling to get their bikes out of the garage or the parking bay at the local jol or wobbling through traffic – C’mon, be honest, that is where most bikes and rider spend 80% of their time and only 20% odd going flat out or tilting through a race track or carving up a mountain pass.
And even though I couldn’t go really, really fast on this M1000R I would hazard that it is the most advanced and user friendly bike I have ridden in a very, very long time. And do I even need to say it – YES it does rail through a corner exceptionally well and even make a palooka like me look good.
Get down to BMW Motorrad East Rand and go check one out for yourself, and if you ask really nicely they might even be able to rustle up a demo for you to ride. As you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t included any specs or technical data – go do a bit of research for yourself on the net – you will be pleasantly surprised with what you find along the way.
