All Tests – BMW S 1000 RR Test: the surprise Kolossale! – Experience required !

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BMW S 1000 RR test: the surprise Kolossale !

All Tests - BMW S 1000 RR Test: the surprise Kolossale! - Experience required !

Investing in the Hypersport segment by taking inspiration from the Japanese seemed a technically judicious but little daring choice on the part of BMW. Except that with its raging engine and on-board electronics, the S 1000 RR strangles received ideas… Test !

Experience required !

Going up the pit lane of the Portimao layout (whose impressive drops are more reminiscent of a roller coaster than a speed circuit!), Rocked by the usual purring of a large-displacement in-line four-cylinder, a certain anxiety starts to appear under the helmet…

Because if the first meters covered with this S 1000 RR do not revolutionize the habits taken with Japanese women (the vibrations are contained, the controls accessible, the legs folded backwards and the loaded position on the front), the little smile sketched by the BMW staff and the unwavering confidence of the engine engineers suggest a character and a potential much more assertive than expected…

Well wedged around the aluminum tank, the pilot enjoys appreciable freedom of movement, even if the S 1000 RR does not have the finesse of a 600 cc, nor the Aprilia RSV 4 or the Honda CBR 1000 RR.

The dashboard is readable and includes an analog tachometer, the time, the engine temperature, two trips, the speed, a gear indicator engaged, the warning light, a shift-light (which also serves as a indicator of good engine speed to achieve a great start in the race!), a reserve indicator, several lap times, ABS and traction control indicators and engaged mode.

In this case, to start this test, we carefully select the "Rain" map and its "only" 150 hp, with a flick on the right stalk. The operation can also be carried out while driving, by scrolling through the four modes then by disengaging and completely shutting off the throttle to validate your choice. Barely enough time to be surprised that we can disconnect the ABS and the DTC with this mode recommended for use in the rain (!) … and already the first turn is approaching !

With cold tires, there is no need to look for trouble: the rope dive is done without haste and however reveals appreciable responsiveness. The bike responds to the quarter turn and does not oppose the setting on the angle, even turning promptly while waiting for the charge to be sounded….

Once the excellent Metzeler Racetec K3s – whose level of performance and grip have proven to be stunning due to their consistency over time – have reached the right temperature, the return to the long pit straight makes it possible to better gauge the potential of the S 1000 RR … in particular its perfectible protection at high speeds, despite the unprecedented presence of four appendages in the screen.

Present without excess below 5,000 rpm (a counterpart of the high bore of 80 mm, retained to develop a maximum of power in the revs while a long stroke, as on the GSX-R, favors the low and mid-revs), the block manifests itself violently at 7,000 rpm and screams its joie de vivre up to around 10,000 rpm, a regime where the bike runs out of steam slightly in Rain mode.

Attention, experience required !

Already impressive with 150 cannons invited to the party, the acceleration then approaches that of a ballistic missile once the Sport or Race modes are engaged !

No doubt: the 193 hp are present: 280 km / h caught without any difficulty at the end of the straight line – the 4th goes up to 269 km / h! – prove that the S 1000 RR masters the gallop perfectly … And BMW specifies that from 250 km / h, the overpressure can reach 30 mbar in the air box, thus providing "an additional power of 4 kW (about 5.44 hp, Editor’s note)" !

Unlike Rain mode, where the traction control regulates the sliding of the rear tire at the slightest cornering, Sport mode allows more freedom when exiting a curve: the arrival of power is much more sensitive, almost brutal, the acceleration more dynamic and the bike requires that it be given all its attention in curves, under penalty of dragging its rider to the outside.

And that’s when the true face of the S 1000 RR appears: the pilot realizes that BMW hasn’t played its usual easy-to-operate score: this Hypersport sings a whole different chorus, without undoubtedly the most aggressive and demonstrative of the German brand !

With an almost metallic sound, the 999 cc spits all their aggressiveness from mid-revs up to 13,000 rpm (the break occurs at 14,000 rpm): without the saving intervention of the traction control – which also does anti-wheeling service via the ABS sensors – there is no doubt that this first test would have turned into carnage as the violent arrival of power surprises !

Unlike Japanese sports cars now favoring the smoothest possible torque and power curves to spare the driver, BMW has chosen an explosive engine which is more reminiscent of the monstrous 2004 ZX-10R than the current CBR 1000 RR. This S 1000 RR blows hard, very loud even! Well helped by a precise selection and a shifter which allows you to increase the throttle gears in full without disengaging, the acceleration seems to know no downtime and puts the crew to the test. !

Hanging as he can to a direction only asking to play the air girls on the reliefs of Portimao, the pilot struggles to contain the ardor of the four-cylinder: the brutal intervention of the anti-wheeling until third gear (!) demonstrates the demonic potential of this exceptional engine! "And again, on this road version the arrival of watts is more gradual than on the World Superbike machine. !", will slip us the official BMW driver Ruben Xaus, guest of luxury of this presentation, at the end of these first laps. Ach so…

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