All Tests – 2012 BMW S1000RR Test: dreaded and formidable! – Bomb Track!

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2012 BMW S1000RR test: dreaded and formidable !

All Tests - 2012 BMW S1000RR Test: dreaded and formidable! - Bomb Track!

Japanese manufacturers have long ruled the sportbike segment. But that was before BMW torpedoed the category with its S 1000 RR! And the competition may continue to shake, because the German is still progressing in 2012 ! Test.

Bomb Track !

According to German engineers, the main modifications to the 2012 model S1000RR are aimed at improving the handling of the bike and the operability of its engine..

Regarding the first point, this new vintage of the S1000RR fulfills all its promises: discovery in "full" during the first track day organized by BMW at Le Castellet (read our), the German bomb immediately appears more agile.

Not that the old model was heavy to drive, but it was actually a little more reluctant to place than an Aprilia RSV4 or a Honda CBR1000RR. Now more manoeuvrable, its front end is more incisive and more precise but still as straightforward when entering curves. That happiness !

This progression, the S1000R owes it in large part to the changes made to its geometry: the wheelbase has been reduced by 9.3 mm (1422.7 against 1432 mm previously), the fork offset goes from 32 to 29.5 mm and the swingarm housing pad is set 4mm higher.

On paper it doesn’t seem like much, but handlebars in hand it pays! Especially on quick angle changes and hairpin bends, where the 2012 S1000RR is easier than before. In the same spirit, keep the brakes until the rope "locks" less the front axle: the entries in curves gain in fluidity and the possible corrections in ease. !

As stable as a TGV, the new S1000RR also benefits from new suspension settings and a larger damper rod (18 mm instead of 14) to improve damping on small shocks. This will take on all its importance in road use, as is the adoption of a new steering damper adjustable to ten notches.

On a track as smooth as the "Ricard", the improvement announced is hardly palpable: the whole appeared to us to be as progressive and responsive as before, and completely free from dry reactions. And as in 2011, the ignition key can be used as a screwdriver to adjust the settings of ultra-accessible suspensions: a little "more" practical and very clever !

More exploitable, really ?

The more the pace increases, the more the S1000RR 2012 reveals its true nature: of course, it is easier to pilot thanks to its optimized cycle part … but its monstrous power still requires as much composure when turning the right handle when pulling shorter !

To compensate for the relative lack of "punch" of the engine below 7000 rpm, German engineers have strengthened the torque curve at low and mid-range, in particular by increasing the diameter at the air intake by 20% . The injection mapping laws have also been reworked for this purpose, while a tooth has been added to the secondary transmission crown (17/45 instead of 17/44).

Result, the Behème pulls shorter and begins to distribute its big slaps much earlier: around 5500 rpm, the acceleration is much more "full-bodied"! But how can the Germans dare to claim that this engine is " more linear and easier" ?

Throttle all the way out of the curve, the S1000RR belches like a real beast and stands on its rear wheel in first gears, while the tachometer needle spins at 14,000 rpm of the breaker at a truly staggering speed !

Capable of reaching 260 km / h in fourth, the Munich ball has lost absolutely nothing of its appetite for high revs, nor of its propensity to stretch out its arms! The S1000RR 2012 blows hard, very hard, and asks to become one with it to keep the slightest chance of staying on its handlebars !

Faced with such a surge of raw power – bordering on savagery! – traction control and traction control have their work cut out for them … And luckily they are there, these two "crutches" , because to be honest they are the best life insurance that is at the controls of this bike…

As in 2011, these assistances are continuously informed by the ABS sensors, the injection module and an inclinometer, while their degree of intervention is linked to the mapping engaged. In "Rain" mode (whose power went from 152 to 163 hp in 2012), the dynamic traction control (DTC) is for example at its maximum alert level. Its intervention then becomes less and less marked on the other three modes (Sport, Race and Slick).

What changes in 2012 is the finesse of the intervention of the system: in the event of detection of a wheelie or an escape from the rear (ie, basically, at almost every exit of a tight curve!) , the Dynamic Traction Control intervenes with more reactivity and especially more gently on the gas butterflies or the ignition.

The improvement is palpable: while the S1000RR 2011 violently rested the front wheel at each start of a wheelie, the same cause no longer had quite the same effects in 2012: the action is infinitely less brutal and comes very close. that caused by pressing the rear brake pedal (the motorcycle continues to accelerate, but the front tire gradually comes back into contact with the track).

Speaking of braking, precisely, the S1000RR retains its excellent Brembo device in 2012: tested with its disconnectable ABS (and partially combined front-rear), the Superbike has shown all its formidable braking talents..

Operated at 268 km / h at the end of the straight line of the Paul Ricard pits (however in a "short" configuration during this test, it is to say the health of the mill!), The system offers an immediate bite, a high progressiveness rank and exceptional deceleration power.

The bike stays perfectly in line, helped by its effective anti-dribble. She absorbs the enormous transfer of load with a brio that gives you perfect confidence, just before that fateful moment when you say to yourself that "there, maybe it will not pass !"

And yet if: the S1000RR plunges each time to the rope without pretending to resist, its front axle riveted to the asphalt … and its engine pawing with impatience to offer you a new round of high sensations from the exit of the curve ! But beware of overconfidence, because the German can demand as much as she gives…

Green: Definitely better !

More agile and more torquey, the S1000RR has lost none of its bestiality in 2012: in this, its engine behavior is reminiscent of that of the indomitable Japanese four-cylinders of the mid-2000s. !

Except that BMW has achieved the feat of making exploitable the unusable, by muzzling the rage of its 4-legged with "hyper-super-square" dimensions (80 * 49.7 mm) using electronics peak.

Too bad, however, that the German manufacturer did not see fit to include it as standard: whether for the ABS (+ € 930), the ABS + DTC traction control pack (+ € 1,240) or the excellent shifter (+370 €), going through the "options" box is mandatory…

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