Driving report: BMW HP4

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Driving report: BMW HP4
BMW

BMW HP4 single test

High performance: at full speed with the BMW HP4

The BMW S 1000 RR is not only a force on the road, but also on the race track. But good things can also be improved. With refined electronic driving aids, lower weight and improved handling, but above all the first electronically controlled semi-active chassis in series, it becomes the HP4.

Nowhere is an opponent in sight, the BMW S. 1000 RR could sustainably put in their place. Nevertheless, the Bavarians are already adding the next briquette: the HP4. The abbreviation stands for high performance 4-cylinder. And that makes it clear what it’s all about: a particularly exclusive and well-equipped S 1000 RR that is even more tailored to use on the racetrack.

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Driving report: BMW HP4

BMW HP4 single test
High performance: at full speed with the BMW HP4

HP4 not only goodies like Brembo monobloc pliers, lighter battery, automatic gearshift and launch control. The Akrapovic exhaust system is made entirely of titanium. That brings a weight saving of 4.5 kilograms and more torque in the middle range. Forged aluminum wheels save a further 2.5 kilograms. Above all, however, it has the first series-produced electronically controlled chassis, or DDC (Dynamic Damping Control, see box on page 39). Fake! In addition, an HP4 upgraded with a competition package consisting of folding hand levers, carbon parts and racing pegs will roll out to dealers.

The Spanish slope of Jerez is the ideal place to get a first taste of it. Lots of fast corners, long acceleration phases in an inclined position and also hard braking points to feel the chassis, brakes and the revised electronics on the tooth. As before, the four modes Rain, Sport, Race and Slick are on board. But now everyone has full power, and the ABS is consistently tailored to racing in slick mode with experience from the IDM. Also refined: the control behavior of the traction control, which can be fine-tuned in slick mode while driving from the handlebars in 14 steps (+/- 7).

The first laps immediately show that the lower weight – according to BMW, the HP4 should be the lightest four-cylinder 1000 with 199 kg – and above all the forged wheels give the handling a good dose of lightness. In terms of maneuverability, the BMW has noticeably gained in agility so far. The standard chassis setup was a bit on the soft side at the beginning. That’s why a short pit stop, the set-up changed using the rocker switch on the handlebars, and with a little more damping, it’s back on the track.

The DDC recognizes the need for action and adjusts the damping


BMW

The DDC goes about its work very subtly, even in sharp corners.

Of course, you’re like a gun dog to catch the DDC at work. But basically doesn’t notice anything. Especially not in such a way that the chassis changes from one curve to the next from velvety-soft to robust and firm. Even after the adjustment, the HP4 looks more comfortable than race-wise hard-tuned. And yet it whistles with great speed through the fast arcs, can be thrown through the chicane with great speed without causing any unrest in the chassis. It seems that the DDC goes about its work very subtly in the background.

Despite the ironed asphalt, there is plenty of opportunity to do so. Like in that eternally long right-hand bend that leads over a hilltop and ends in the back straight. Take your heart in your hand, open the throttle valves early and boldly in full incline and let go of all the 193 hp on the now 200 mm wide rear tire. The stern pumps two or three times, then the movement subsides. According to BMW, the DDC recognizes the need for action at such moments and changes the damping. It cannot prevent the HP4 from turning onto the following straight with the handlebars wriggling. But for such cases, an adjustable steering damper is on board – an electronically controlled one would of course be the icing on the cake.

In such acceleration orgies, the newly tuned traction control provides a clean idea. In slick mode, the BMW finely regulates itself with gentle slides along the slide limit, without the control processes being too strong or the feeling that the forward thrust is being restrained too much. great.

Soled with extremely grippy Supercorsa SP as standard, at the end of the day they hit the track with the very latest Pirelli slicks for the upcoming Superbike World Championship season. The racing skins provided more stability and noticeably calmed the stern, although they could not completely stop pumping. And because the wheelie control on every HP4 tames the rising front wheel much more sensitively, the BMW only knows one direction when exiting a curve: forward. And tears out of the curve like a projectile.

Individual chassis setups for different route sections


BMW

With the BMW HP4 as a further development of the S 1000 RR, the Bavarians are competing with themselves.

When braking, the monobloc tongs bite like terriers even from high speeds. Its pressure point shifted slightly at first, but then remained stable. The control impulses of the ABS, still clearly noticeable in the hand lever in sport mode, were only noticeable in race mode as an occasional twitch in the brake lever. Finally, in slick mode, even with brutal deceleration, it was hardly possible to tell whether the ABS was actually working. Only the rear that sometimes lurches during hard braking maneuvers and fast downshifts was something that was previously unfamiliar to the BMW. Apparently, the high engine braking torque causes unrest.

In addition to the well-known recording (around 600 euros), BMW also supplies a Race Calibration Kit (around 1100 euros) for the HP4, which opens up countless tuning options. With its help, you can intervene in the ignition and injection, set a pit lane speed limiter and launch control, and even adjust the engine braking torque for each gear. The icing on the cake, however, is the option of storing individual chassis setups for different sections of the track via DDC.

Whether you are enthusiastic or critical of the overflowing electronics, the possibilities that it offers are always fascinating. With this, BMW is opening the next round of electronic driving aids and leading the development competition away from the search for performance and towards electronics. Whether and how far it is ahead of its base on country roads and racetracks is the exciting question that a top test will clarify as quickly as possible.

That is new


BMW

The grippy Gilles footpegs with carbon heel protection are only available with the Competition package. The prices have not yet been determined, but should be around 20,500 euros without and 23,500 euros with the competition package.

HP4

– Serial number engraved in the fork bridge
– Dynamic Damping Control (DDC)
– ABS revised with IDM setup
– Traction control (DTC) with fine adjustment in slick mode
– Launch control
– Automatic switch as standard
– Wheelie detection revised
– Rear tires in 200/55 ZR 17
– Akrapovic full titanium exhaust system
– Adapted mapping for more torque in the middle range
– Forged aluminum wheels, black
– Brembo monobloc calipers
– Brake discs with nine floaters
– Pillion seat cover
– LED turn signals
– Tinted windshield


HP4 with competition package

– Closed lower fairing made of carbon
– License plate holder and tank panel made of carbon
– Forged, milled brake and clutch levers foldable
– Adjustable racing footpegs

Not a bit of a damper


BMW

Easy to see: the fork construction, which is separated according to Holmen. The cable runs through the hollow piston rod to the damper valve.

In automotive engineering, chassis that dynamically adapt the damping to the respective driving situation have long been known. Now BMW is taking the first step with two-wheelers too. The Sachs spring elements in the DDC are equipped with electromagnetic damper valves that are connected to a separate control unit. For the fork, the suspension and damping settings have been separated according to the spars. A damper cartridge is only located in the left column. The spring preload is adjusted on the right handle. According to BMW, the bandwidth of the adjustment range of the damping is somewhat larger than that of the standard S-1000-RR. Each of the four riding modes has its own basic setup, which can be changed individually in seven stages using the left handlebar switch to make it harder or softer. The spring deflection sensor on the shock absorber signals to the DDC control unit whether and to what extent there are compression or rebound movements.

To control the damper valves, the DDC computer uses a lot more data. It communicates with the engine and ABS control unit and the sensor box with the lean angle sensors of the traction control and uses data such as speed, engine speed, throttle movement or brake pressure build-up. In this way he recognizes whether the driver is accelerating out of a curve in an inclined position and needs a lot of stability on the rear wheel. Or whether a hard braking maneuver requires more cushioning in the fork. The speed with which the lean angle is changed reveals whether it is a jagged chicane or a leisurely tour through alternating curves. Within ten milliseconds, the damper valves can go through the entire range of settings from very soft to very hard.

However, the DDC chassis is only partially active. Because the fork does not have a travel sensor, so it cannot react directly to uneven road surfaces. The DDC control unit uses the available data to calculate how the damping must be changed. The rebound and compression damping are changed at the same time. However, the connection of such a sensor from the aftermarket is already provided in the series wiring harness. With the optional Race Calibration Kit, the front rebound and compression stages can be controlled separately and the fork reacts to bumps. That this sensor is not included in the kit, but has to be purchased separately, may not be entirely clear.

But one thing is certain: the competition is again under pressure and will soon have an answer. Piquancy on the side: Such systems are not permitted in the Superbike World Championship, unless they correspond 100 percent to the series. And the HP4 will be the homologation model for racing in 2013. In everyday life, this system allows you to use
To ride with a relatively comfortable set-up and to have enough damping reserves in the event of sudden hard braking maneuvers – at least in theory. The first test will clarify what it looks like in practice.

Technical specifications


BMW

The left handlebar fitting carries the rocker switch for fine adjustment of the traction control in slick mode, which can be adjusted in seven steps either stronger or weaker.

engine
Water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, rocker arm, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 48 mm, regulated catalytic converter, 350 W alternator, 12 V / 7 Ah battery,
Mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch (anti-hopping), six-speed gearbox, chain, secondary ratio 45:17.
Bore x stroke: 80.0 x 49.7 mm
Displacement: 999 cm³
Compression ratio: 13.0: 1
Rated output: 142.0 kW (193 hp) at 13,000 rpm
Max. Torque: 112 Nm at 9750 rpm

landing gear
Bridge frame made of aluminum, upside-down fork, Ø 46 mm, adjustable spring base, electronically adjustable rebound and compression damping (DDC), steering damper, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, electronically adjustable rebound and compression damping (DDC), Double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, four-piston fixed calipers, rear disc brake, Ø 220 mm, single-piston floating caliper, ABS semi-integral brake system (can be switched off).
Cast aluminum wheels: 3.50 x 17; 6.00 x 17
Tires: 120/70 ZR 17; 200/55 ZR 17

mass and weight
Wheelbase 1423 mm, steering head angle 66.0 degrees, caster 99 mm, spring travel f / r 120/130 mm, seat height 820 mm, empty weight 199 kg, tank capacity 17.5 liters.
Guarantee: two years warranty
Colors: white / blue
Price: k. A..

Driving report: BMW HP4

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