THERE aren't too many changes to report on the BMW S 1000 RR for 2011. There are new colours: Light Grey Metallic or Thunder Grey Metallic join the still available white/blue/red version.

What is new is the Power Up kit - for about six grand you can get 12 more horsepower, lose nearly 7kg and actually make the bike easier to ride fast around a racetrack.Around mid 2010 BMW started fitting the new, homologated-for-racing crankshaft and there have been some small changes made to the production methods of the bike, but nothing which materially affects the specifications. 

So in stock trim there's 186HP. With the traction control, race ABS, speed shifter and selectable ignition modes, the S 1000 is one of the most easily personalised machines available. It's also one of the fastest, but most controllable sports machines ever built, and has been winning all sorts of production-based racing classes right around the world.Adding more power and reducing weight via BMW's High Performance Race Power Kit takes the bike to a new level.

The kit includes an Akrapovic titanium exhaust system (with removable baffle) and replacement engine management unit.The result is more power, but possibly more importantly, more midrange. Heaps more midrange. From 4500rpm to 12,500rpm there's more power right through, but there's up to 20 per cent more torque, too - which means getting out of tight corners (especially) is so much faster.
The kit, only available and must be fitted by your BMW dealer, is not ADR approved (it's not called a race kit for no reason), and you must sign a waiver of your bike's warranty if you order one.

Cycle Torque understands if anything goes wrong after that they will look at it on a case-by-case basis, but officially there's no warranty if you're running the race kit.So it's not for everyone. Good.And it makes your high performance track-ready S 1000 RR WORTH OVER $30,000, but wow, what a machine.I've never ridden such a fast machine with such confidence.

This bike goes hard, really hard, but so easily.
The traction control, with it's four modes (rain, sport, track, slick) offer an incredible margin for error, as does the race ABS. The S 1000 RR is all about going fast. It has an aggressive riding position, high footpegs, only a cursory nod to carry a pillion passenger, and little luggage capability.

All that’s as it should be: if you want something more versatile, BMW has many bikes in its range which should suit you. This machine is about going fast – in a straight line, around corners, in the dry, in the wet. And doing it safely, improving your confidence, making your adrenaline pump and giving you the rush which only fast riding can provide.And when the standard machine is no longer fast enough, adding the race kit will take it to the next level.

The pipe makes the bike sound better and go harder, the reduced weight improves performance and handling.Sure, you can buy much cheaper track bikes, but if the technology available for the S 1000 RR saves you from one crash, it could easily save you the difference in the price, never mind the potential for injury and the hassle of crash repairs.I used to believe the occasional tumble if you did enough track days was kinda inevitable.

With an S 1000 RR, Race ABS and traction control I’m not so sure: I reckon a sensible rider could ride one for many, many track days, exploring their own limits, without ever crashing.