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Canwest News Service
Exit the long, sweeping left-hander flat out in fourth, knee stuck hard into the sticky Portuguese tarmac. Lean waaay over and hard on the gas. This is a BMW?
Snick it up to fifth without letting off the throttle, thanks to the quick shifter that cuts the ignition for but a millisecond. Hit the steep crest that marks the beginning of the back straight and feel 193 horsepower try to wheelie over backward at well over 200 kilometres an hour. This is a BMW??
Keep it pinned. One more clutchless shift up to sixth with the electronic speedo still spitting out new digits like some crazy slot machine. Take one last furtive glance down at the LED gauge set and see it's registering 268 km/h, the front end dancing because you're still accelerating as if the various laws of physics and aerodynamics never existed. This is a BMW???
Welcome to the wonderful new world where not all BMWs are shaft driven, more than two pistons are allowed per motorcycle and, although no direct comparisons are available, one would swear the S1000 would get to the end of Mosport's famous back straightaway faster than anything wearing a Honda or a Yamaha badge. Maybe even something clad entirely in green as well. I wouldn't rule out the Gixxer, either. The 193 beside the horsepower notation on the brochure's spec sheet is not a typo.
BMW's claim of 193 horsepower (at the crankshaft) is the most in the 1000-cubic-centimetre superbike class. Credit the most oversquare engine in the biz– 80 millimetres x 49.7 mm bore and stroke– Formula One-style "finger" followers for the camshafts and a trick variable-length intake system for the outrageous numbers. Other features — two injectors per cylinder, ultra-light slipper pistons, etc. — seem conventional but incredibly refined.
So, it's fast. Not just fast for a BMW but really fast. What else does it have? How about one of the most sophisticated — certainly the most complicated — traction control systems available on a production motorcycle? First, there are four basic modes to the Dynamic Traction Control system — rain, sport, race and slick. The first is the full nanny experience, the S1000RR's maximum power cut to a relatively sedate 150 hp. One can't really consider this slow as, with those 150 ponies, the S1000RR feels like a really fast 900 of just a decade ago.
But, in comparison with what's coming, it's positively sedate. Even in the next most protective mode, the 999-cc engine's full 193-hp charge stands at the ready; the difference being the aggressiveness at which the traction control kicks in. In rain mode, for instance, the ECU ignores calls for more throttle when the bike is leaned over more than 38 degrees. In sport mode, it's 45 degrees and, in race mode, it's 48. The only mode where wheelies are permitted is slick, and even then only when the bike is heeled over less than 23 degrees and only for five seconds.
This "wheelie control" may be the bike's only weakness. On steep roller coaster tracks such as Portimao, the S1000RR wants to wheelie off the crest of every hill and, when the DTC cuts in to prevent the adventure, it can be quite startling. The only solution is to switch to slick mode, but it may not be compatible with U.S. Department of Transportation-approved street tires. Since it is but a software change, there is a chance the race mode may gain some intermediary function that will allow mono-wheeling but limit its severity.
Not that the S1000RR handles poorly without the electronic goodies — quite the opposite. Lighter than any other sportbike with ABS (206.5 kilograms with a full gas tank), the S1000RR steers with the razor-sharp precision one expects of a topflight superbike. It's especially adept at rapid transitions, an attribute the Portimao circuit certainly rewards. Stability, thanks to its husky aluminum perimeter frame, is incredible. The Sachs suspension is adjustable for both compression and rebound damping and the front inverted fork runs on beefy 46-mm stanchions. As for its abilities, the suspension was plenty firm and well damped enough for high-speed handling. How well it handles broken tarmac will have to wait for another evaluation as the new Portimao circuit was billiard table smooth. Lastly, the brakes, being the latest radial-mounted, mono-block Brembos, are nothing short of brilliant.
But, wait, there's one last break with BMW tradition, perhaps even more shocking than the S1000RR's incredible turn of speed. The bike is reasonably priced, and not just by BMW's normally inflated standard. The $17,300 sticker includes the ABS system, optional on most other bikes. Ditto the traction control system.
The S1000RR is the real deal. It is easily competitive with the best from Japan — in performance, styling and even on price. It is an amazing accomplishment made all the more incredible since BMW, unlike all of its direct competition, has no tradition of building four-cylinder superbikes.
dbooth@nationalpost.com
