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If you haven’t seen this month’s Sport Rider magazine, their cover proclaims that The BMWS1000RR is the real deal, writing “No joke: This could be the new King”. It’s apparently wicked fast.
Fast enough, in fact, to kick the crap out of a 700HP Corvette Z1.
BMW S1000RR Dyno Chart
Motorcycle Daily reports that the BMW S1000RR appears to be a real superbike.
Apparently, our Brit cousins at MCN strapped the S1000RR to a dyno, and got the HP/Torque results shown over at the right (click to enlarge). The results show 183HP at the rear wheel with stock exhaust, and 185.5 with an Akraprovic setup.
Oh, and about 81 lb-ft of torque, if anyone cares.
So, if they’re putting out 185 at the wheel, then they’ve got to be pushing 200+ HP at the crank, which is…a lot. A lot more, in fact, than BMW even admits to.
As Gabe Ets-Hokin notes:
Used to be 180 hp at the back wheel was the result of tens of thousands of dollars of soup-up work: a turbo or nitrous, or just getting your hands on a megabucks works racebike.
Back when I was a kid in the 70s, we thought a 70HP bike was wicked fast. 200HP would have been seen as…insane.
BTW, the nearest competitor–according to the dyno-tested models, at least–to the S1000RR was the Suzuki Hayabusa at 179.5 HP.
Yet, with all that horsepower on tap, Troy Corser is being beaten like an egg-sucking dog in WSBK by guys riding 170.6 HP Fireblades.
Loser.
By far the most popular search that leads people to this site, is a search for the rumored variants of the BMW R1200RT for 2010, such as “R1300RT”, or R1250RT”. Everyone seems to want to know what the 2010 version of the BMW R-bikes are going to be.
Well, now we know. It’s the R1200RT, and R1200GS.
2010 BMW R1200RT
BMW announced today that the 2010 R-Series bikes will all sport a DOHC Boxer motor derived from the Hp2 Sport. Unlike the HP2 Sport, however, the R Engine will rev lower, and put out less horsepower.
So, the horsepower figure for the R-series Boxer will remain unchanged at 110HP, but torque will increase by 3lb-ft to 88lb-ft at an unchanged 6,000RPM, for faster acceleration. The redline will increase to 8,500 RPM from the current 8,000rpm.
The R1200RT will receive an updated fairing and windscreen, designed to offer better wind protection. The instrument panel has also been updated, with redesigned instruments and a visor to help keeps the sun’s glare off a bit better. Also updated are the handlebar controls, with the old-style paddle turn signals on each side being replaced by standard turn signals. An additional control is a rotary thumbwheel on the left handgrip to allow the rider to cycle through all the stereo options without taking his hand off the grip. The stereo itself gets rid of BMW’s CD player, although a jack is provided for external audio sources.
2010 BMW R1200GS
TheR1200GS is visually unchanged from the previous year’s model, except for the cylider covers, which have two bolts, instead of four. The new engine, on the other hand also gets the 110HP output, and increase of 5 horsies over last year’s. There’s also an accessory LED headlight for a few extra bucks.
Overall, the change to the DOHC engine doesn’t provide as much oomph as I would have expected, considering that the HP2 engine actually puts out 130HP in the HP2. I would’ve thought that BMW would have added more ponies to the R-series boxer, rather than upping the torque a bit.
I’m also a little disappointed in the new styling for the R1200RT. I think last year’s version looked better, and came in better colors than white, beige and two-tone gray and white. Overall, I suspect that GS afficionados will be a bit more pleased with the 2010 update than their RT brethren.
There’s tons of detail available from BMW about the new models in PDF format, which you can acquire here for the GS, and here for the RT.
The big motorcycle show, Italy’s EICMA, will be happening in 20 days. Traditionally, this is a show that always brings some surprises for the new year. So, what’s up this year?
Obviously, Aprilia will be rolling out the RSV4 and RSV4-R. That’s a no-brainer.
BMW might be an interesting presence this year. The rumors of what is going to happen with the R-Series bikes has been rampant, with everything from a new 1300cc boxer, to the 1200cc boxer getting an update with the 130HP DOHC motor ported from the HP2. I’ve written about the GS getting that motor, but there are rumors that the whole R-series will be getting that upgrade as well, which would make both the GS and RT extremely attractive. And with 130HP, the lighter-weight RT would approach the performance of the FJR, making it a true sport-tourer. The 1300cc K bikes and the S1000RR are old news already, so the only conceivable surprise would come from a revamping of the R Bikes.
Ducati’s new 1200cc Multistrada and Hypermotard 796 will be there. We’ve already seen the Hypermotard. And we’ve seen the new Multistrada, too, except with lots of duct tape hiding the fairing. The removal of the duct tape will be Ducati’s big event.
MV Agusta has had the same model lineup of two bikes–the F4 and Brutale–for the last decade. This year looks to be a little different, however. We’ve already seen the two new Brutale models, so, while they’ll no doubt be there, no one will care. What we haven’t seen is the revamped F4, other than the teaser image MV released several days ago, So I expect that to be unveiled. But what we really haven’t seen are the two entirely new models that have been rumored over the last month or so. The 675cc triple that has shown up is spy shots, and the company’s new Superbike, which is expected to lead MV Agusta back to participation in WSS or WSBK racing. We don’t even know if it’s a completely new model, or WSBK-compliant F4 model. But, after a decade with the same old line-up, MV might be the surprise of the show this year.
Neither Honda now Yamaha will be there, which, in Honda’s case seems a bit odd, since their new VFR1200F has just debuted, and it’s supposed to be the basis for a whole new line of motorcycles from Big Red. So, it seems strange that they won’t be at EICMA so show it off.
Triumph will be there, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the new Street Triple R show up, with its new black and gold paint scheme, reminiscent of the John Player Special motorsports paint scheme of beloved memory.
But, surprises aside, with thingsas bad in the motorcycle manufacturing and sales world as they are, it seems that this year will mostly be a low-key affair, which the absence of two of the Big Four won’t help.
BTW, I wonder if Harley-Davidson will be pulling the Buell 1125R from the show?
When people find this blog through web searches, the absolute number one search that brings traffic here is a search for the notional BMW R1300RT. Now, this may be because I’m nearly the only-English-language web site to pull a story from the French Motosports web site MotoRevu about BMW releasing a bike of that very name in 2010. If so, it’s only natural that I get so much traffic from that search, because I have about the only content that matches it…in English, anyway.
The thing is, as near as I can tell, there is no hard information about a new generation of BMW boxer engines for 2010. And, to the extent there is, the most likely move is to a 1250cc boxer, not a 1300cc one. Oberdan Bezzi, the Italian motorcycle designer says that BMW’s next move is for the R1250GS, with and RT version coming a bit later. And BMW’s changes since the 1990s to the R-bikes have been 50cc bumps in displacement. That makes a 1250 more likely than a 1300 for the next-gen R-bikes.
But, of course, that’s just a rumor, too.
The bottom line is that, as of September 2009, there’s no firm indication of a change to the R1200-series bikes coming in 2010. And if there is one, BMW will announce it in the next 60 days or so. But, right now, all the rumors about a new R-bike are just that…rumors.
MCN's Aug 19th Cover Story. Click to enlarge.
Motorcycle News, in the UK, has just released their 19 August print issue, in which the BMW S1000RR goes head to head against Honda’s venerable CBR1000RR, and smacks it down like a red-headed stepchild. Indeed, they say that their tester could do a 3-second faster lap in the test at the track in Brno. They breathlessly report:
In this week’s issue of MCN, on sale August 19, we have a world exclusive track test of the BMW S1000RR. According to our tester, it feels more powerful than a Yamaha R1 and makes the Honda Fireblade’s suspension feel rubbish in comparison…
World exclusive riding impressions of the new BMW sports bike shows it can lap Brno 3 secs faster than a Fireblade.
Man, that sounds like a super hot bike, doesn’t it? Three seconds per lap faster than the CBR1000RR! Wow!
The thing is, that in World Superbike, where actual, professional racers do actual, professional racing, the S1000RR’s best result to date has been Troy Corser’s 5th place finish at Brno in Race 1. He was 10th place in Race 2. He was beaten by two Fireblades in race 1 and three in race 2.
And, of the top 10 riders in WSB after 10 of 14 rounds, four of them ride Fireblades. None of them ride BMWs.
I’m just saying.
BMW and Garmin have released a new motorcycle navigation device for BMW motorcycles, the BMW Navigator IV. It sounds very nice.
With a new slim design and custom BMW four-button mount cradle, the BMW Navigator IV includes a bright widescreen 4.3 inch display and waterproof design, configurable fields and display, stereo Bluetooth for hands-free calling, turn-by-turn directions and lane assist features with lane guidance and junction view.
BMW Motorrad Navigator IV
Of course, it’s specifically designed to be used while wearing gloves, too. It’s also got a lane assist feature that guides you through multiple lanes, and even displays road signs on the screen that look like the actual signs you see over the highway.
And, since it’s a BMW device, plan on shelling out about $1,000 for it, too.
BMWs are really the Swiss Army Knives of motorcycles. BMW riders get spoken, turn by turn navigation through their Bluetooth-linked helmets. Meanwhile, a gentleman such as myself, who rides an FJR, has to carry around paper maps like an animal.
The annual march of media bike choices continues, with Motorcycle.com weighing in with thir top picks of the year. Their choices are interesting, and a bit different than I would have expected.
Triumph Street Triple R: Motorcycle.Com's Bike of the year for 2009.
For the overall bike of the year, they picked the Triumph Street Triple R.
Best Sportbike honors go to the Kawasaki ZX-6R, with the runner-up being the Honda CBR1000RR.
The Ducati Monster 1100 gets the nod for best standard motorcycle, with second place going to the Harley-Davidson XR1200.
The best cruiser pick is the all new Triumph Thunderbird 1600, with the Suzuki Boulevard M90 taking an honorable mention.
The award for best touring bike goes to the BMW R1200RT, closely followed by the Honda Gold Wing.
BMW also take both first and second place spots for sport-touring, with the K1300GT winning, and the F800ST getting the honorable mention.
BMW stays in the winner’s circle for best off-road bike, with the top honors going to the F800GS, and the second spot going to the Aprilia SXV/RXV 5.5.
They also have picks for best eccentrics, scooters, technology, and more, so why not go there and read them?
The September issue of Sport Rider has a head to head comparison of the BMW K1300S and the Suzuki Hayabusa. You can read it when the mag hits the newsstands, or you can read it in PDF Format here: BMW K1300s vs. Suzuki Hayabusa.
You might expect that the venerable ‘Busa would be the hands-down winner in a head to head comparo with a BMW. You’d be wrong. They rated the K13S higher in every category except transmission, where both bikes tied. They especially liked the more comfortable ergonomics, the anti-spin control, and the on-the-fly adjustable suspension.
I‘ve been seeing this pop up for the last few days. Oberdan Bezzi is an Italian motorcycle designer. Sometimes his notions of what a future bike model would look like are just that: notions. But, he is a guy who has some hooks into the major bike shops in Europe, so, sometimes, he’s spot on.
Oberdan Bezzi's BMW R12500GS Concept.
In this particular case, the rumor is that BMW is working on a 12500cc successor to the current 1200cc boxer in their R-Series bikes. It would give the bike maybe, what, 10-15 more ponies, and an extra lb-ft or two? And, it would keep in tradition with past incremental shifts for the R-Bikes, from the 110 to 1150, to 1200. maybe it;s shave a few punds of weight off, too. I dunno.
If I was BMW, though, I’m not sure why I would. Instead, I think the move towards the HP2 boxer engine, with the dual overhead cams would be a better move. They already get 130HP out of that engine.
Of course, if you bumped up that engine to 1250cc, you’d probably get to 140+ HP out of it in the HP2 series.
And, lets’ not forget my previous trip down BMW rumor lane, which is that there will be a 1300cc HP2 boxer, and it will go into the RT and GS.
BMW recently announced that the new S1000RR superbike would be available for sale to the public in January, at a price that makes it very competitive with Japan’s Big 4. Now, it appears that this was part of an intentional strategy to go after the Japanese market share in liter-bikes. And they’re confident enough in the new bike to predict a 20% increase in sales–even in this shaky economy–and to let the Japanese know that the Bavarians are taking aim at them.
“We are going to take the Japanese head-on,” said Pieter de Waal, vice president of the company’s U.S. motorcycle operations, at an event last week in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
The motorcycle’s introduction puts BMW into a niche — informally known as “crotch rockets” — dominated by Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha Motor Co. and the Kawasaki brand owned by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. The four Japan-based companies have 88 percent of U.S. market share in the superbike category, De Waal said. BMW’s offering will be priced at $13,800, close to the four most popular competing motorcycles.
While it’s always good to see Germans in a buoyantly confident mood, some observers say, “Not so fast”.
“For BMW, which has always had a reputation of being a very high-priced motorcycle, it’s certainly a lot closer to the Japanese bikes in price,” said David Edwards, Cycle World magazine’s editor in chief. “That may be for some people a reason to consider it, especially if its performance lives up to expectations. But I don’t think you are going to see a mass exodus of Japanese sportbike riders going to BMW.”
2010 BMW S1000RR Superbike
Perhaps, but a lot of the liter-bike guys are crazy for motorcycle racing, and if BMWs race version can show up the Japanese bikes on the track, it can’t do anything but help their sales. And releasing the bike for public sale here in the US allows them to meet the homologation rules for AMA Superbike, so I’d bet very good money that we’ll see a BMW race team hitting the tracks next season. If you really want to take on the Japanese–and the Italians, by the way–that’s the way to do it.
Although, having said that, Buell proved a few weeks ago that, while the AMA may have rules about homologation, they aren’t, you know, fanatics about them.
Motorcycle.Com has just released this year’s comparo of the top sport touring motorcycles. This year, they pit the BMW K1300GT, Yamaha FJR1300A, Kawasaki Concours14, and the venerable Honda ST1300 against each other.
They declare the top bike to be…
Objectively the BMW is the clear winner to us. It makes markedly more power than the others despite not having the biggest engine. Our experiences aboard all four left no question the big K bike is the quickest steering and provides excellent braking performance. It offers very good wind protection, great ergos, an adjustable seat and handlebars, possibly the best passenger perch and very good saddlebags, to name only a few high points.
I’ve never been aboard the St1300 or the C14, but after tiding a K13GT and owning an FJR, I’d pick the FJR any day. I didn’t like the GT at all.
The RT, on the other hand, was a dream.
With the money from my insurance settlement coming, I really am trying to figure out what to do. I know I’ll pay off my FJR, but beyond that, I’m not sure which direction to go.
I rode the R1200RT, and absolutely loved it. But I’d have to trade in my FJR to buy it outright. I’m also really interested in a Buell 1125r, and I can get an ‘09 white/blue one for a pretty good deal. Good enough so that I can keep the FJR, and buy an 1125r outright. I have a test ride scheduled for next Saturday on the 1125r.
Assuming I like the power and handling of the 1125r, I’m really in a quandary about which way to jump. The Buell is the only sportbike that has ergos comfy enough for me to ride regularly, but, on the other hand, the BMW has all those cool amenities like cruise control, ASC, ESA, etc. that I miss on the FJR.
This may be my only chance to get a new bike with someone else’s money, and it’s a very hard decision to make.
The mavens at Motorcyclist magazine have announced the winner of the award for 2009 Motorcycle of the Year, as well as their other picks.
Motorcyclist's Motorcycle of the Year: 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1
The bike picking up the top award this year is the Yamaha YZF-R1.
Modern sportbikes are engineered so close to the edge of the performance envelope that we’re conditioned to expect incremental changes: a shaved pound here, an added pony there. It’s almost unimaginable that any sportbike could surprise us with a novel riding experience that realigns our understanding of what a liter-class sportbike is, and what one can do. The 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 is exactly that sort of bike-which is why it’s our Motorcycle of the Year.
Other notable picks include:
Ben Spies as the Motorcyclist of the year.
The Kawasaki ZX-6R as the best sportbike of the year, closely followed by the Ducati 1198.
The Ducati Streetfighter as the Best Naked Bike, followed by the Harley Davidson XR1200 Sportster.
The Kawasaki Concours14 as the year’s Best Touring Bike, followed by the Harley Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide.
Best Adventure Bike honors go to two BMWs, with the F800GS in the top position, and the R1200GS Adventure in second place.
The Best Dreambike is the Aprilia RSV4, with the BMW S1000RR as the follow-on.
Best Bang For The Buck goes to Kawasaki, with the ER-6n as the winner, and KLX250SF as the second-place finisher.
For Best Cruiser, Motorcyclist goes strictly for muscle this year, with the Star (Yamaha) V-MAX ruling the roost, and the Harley Davidson V-Rod Muscle in the supporting position.
Best Dirtbike is the Husaberg FE450; second best is the Honda CRF450R.
Best New Technology is the Honda Combined ABS system, followed by the Ducati Traction Control.
And, finally, the Best New Product honors go to the Gopro Motorsports Hero Wide Camera, with the Bazzaz Performance Z-FI Traction Control taking the runner-up position.
A reader from South Africa–isn’t the web just amazing!–has sent in an interesting story about his horrific run of bad luck with the R1200RT, and he also asks me an interesting question. I thought I would address him in a new post instead of the comments.
Hi Dale,
I am a 54 year old bike rider now and in October/November 2006 I purchased my first R1200RT, strickly ran in the bike as recommended, at about 5000 somthing km while running flat out (230km/hr)up a long hill, at sea level, the engine blew up, right hand cylinder it later turned out. BMW Motorrad led me to belive that it was my fault to an extent, they offered me their demmo RT with 355km on the clock at nost cost although this was a 07 model. I completed the running in procedure to 1000km and proceded to enjoy the bike. Planning on doing a long trip with the ODO at just less than 10,000km I had it serviced for its 10K. 3 days after this service and still not on 10K, running the same hill also flat taps as previous the engine blew, again the RH cylinder with identical damage as the first. After a big fight and quite a lot of money I got a new 09 RT full house, ran it in as previous, blew this motor at less than 3000km, only difference I was on a different hill. Yes, the same cylinder with identical damage as the previous 2 bikes. Completely dishartened as I truely love this machine, I had it repaired kept it for a month after which I traded it in on 1200GS. The GS is a different beast, also good but nothing like the RT. Anyway in this time I found out that BMW are bringing out a new RT,to be released in Germany Nov/Dec this year, it’s apparently top secret, I’ve tried searching the web for any bit of info without any success, I’m waiting in anticipation for it as I know I will have it. Perhaps you know what BMW are doing and could advise me!
Also please advise if you know about other RT owners blowing their motors, especially the R/H cylinders.
Regards
Deryck Siddons
South Africa
Your story is horrific, Deryck. Actually, it sounds outlandish, because I’ve never heard of the RT, or any other of the boxers, having a problem with the cylinders blowing. Now, if you’d told me that your final final drive started spewing lubricant and bursting into flame, I’d have nodded my head and said, “Yeah, that seems to be going around.” There’s been a lot of controversy over BMW’s final drive in the 2005 and 2006 models, and whether there was a fundamental design flaw that BMW refused to acknowledge, but quietly fixed. But I’ve never heard of any sort of problem with the boxer engine, which is, after all, going on its ninth decade as BMW’s banner power plant.
Indeed, here in the states, we have something called the Iron Butt Association (IBA), where motorcycle riders take their bikes on a ridiculously long trips in a ridiculously short time. The three big IBA events are the SaddleSore 1000 (1,000 miles/1,600 km in 24 hours), BunBurner 1500 (1500 miles/2400 km in 24 or 36 hours), and the 50cc Quest (coast-to-coast in 50 hours). In the last Iron Butt Rally (11,000 miles/17,600 km in 11 days) in 2007, 5 of the 72 participants who completed the Rally were riding R1200RTs.
So, you seem particularly unlucky. I suggest that you not take up piloting helicopters. Or skydiving.
I’m just saying.
The New BMW R1300RT?
As for rumors of a new R-Bike from BMW…well, I wasn’t going to actually write anything about this, but I actually have heard something about a new R1300RT. As far as I know, the only place where this has been reported is at a French motorcycle news web site called MotoStation. Back in February, they reported that BMW was working on a new R1300RT for release in June 2010.
They even have a photoshop of the new bike…and you can believe as much of that picture as you please.
Interestingly, they also say that the R1300RT will switch over to the same type of boxer motor as that which powers the current HP2 Sport, with its two camshafts, instead of the current single camshaft. That should up the horsepower to around 130HP, with…oh, let’s call it 95-100 lb-ft (13.1-13.8Kgm) of torque. More or less.
Whether all this is real or not, I really can’t say. You know how some of the motorcycle web sites are. In the UK, MCN has been predicting a new model of the Honda Interceptor (VFR) every year for five years. They’ve become a joke because of it, at least on that issue.
So, yes, there’s rumored to be a new 1300cc boxer for the RT in the works at BMW for next year, which is to say the 2011 model year. Whether those rumors are true, I really can’t say. MotoStation is the only place that’s reporting this, and they haven’t made mention of it again since February. If it’s true, then they’re doing a good job of keeping this hush-hush in Bayern.
I am, however, deliriously proud of myself for converting the English measurements to the heathen metric system for you.