BMW'S S1000RR is one of the most technologically advanced road bikes ever built. As a sportsbike it has few equals. As a road bike it may be a little out of its element, as is any of its competition in that market segment, but it offers a level of safety from its electronic wizardry that takes the game to a whole new level.

In our January issue we reported on the S 1000 RR world launch at Portimao in Portugal. Our publisher came away very impressed, lauding the bike's virtues on the race track and also the traction control and ABS

None of these things are new. Both have been around for a while now but BMW were pioneers in the technology. To say the company has got it right with the S 1000 RR is an understatement to say the least.

I was able to sample BMW's new superbike at the Australian launch at Phillip Island, and then on real roads a month later. I won't go again into fine detail on the mechanics or electronics, for that you can read the January issue online at www.cycletorque.com.au where you'll not only be able to read the full issue, you'll be able to read the dedicated Emag on the S 1000 RR which has more pics than the printed issue.

Launch time

At the technical brief on the bike I couldn't help but be impressed with BMW's first effort at such a machine. Did I expect it to be so technically advanced? Yes. BMW has led the way in so many areas of motorcycling that anyone with an eye for history would know the German company would have made sure the bike was right from the get go.

The bike looks just like any 1000cc sportbike, it's slim, aggressive and has a sporty riding position. As we got the tech injection there were little things that made you think, 'this bike is trick'! For example, you can adjust the suspension (not pre-load) with the ignition key. There's not 20 odd clicks on damping control – the S 1000 RR has 10. So each one actually makes a noticeable difference. And when a cam follower was passed around I think we were all amazed at how light it was, weighing an imperceptibly low amount. No wonder the engine likes to rev.

For our first session we were asked to ride the bike in Rain Mode which limits the horsepower to 150. Also we should stay in fourth gear to sample the torque. Yes, it does have plenty of torque. You could ride the entire track in fourth easily, the bike pulling out of Honda and MG corners without complaint. A few laps like that and I started using the whole ’box. Sorry I flouted the rules, I couldn't help myself. Even with 'only' 150hp this jigger is fast.

The bike has four modes: Rain, Sport, Race, Slick. The first three are available, the fourth can only be activated by a BMW dealer. Simply put, Rain has the aforementioned 150HP, Sport, Race and Slick have full power which is quoted as 193 (now that is serious grunt). The ABS and traction control systems are less intrusive the 'higher' you go up the modes. In other words, Rain Mode has both kicking in much earlier than Slick Mode does. Superbike racer Steve Martin was at the launch and he likened the system in Slick Mode to that of a full blown superbike.

Not that long ago it would have been hard to imagine a race bike with 193hp, let alone a road bike. That said, while the bike was very fast, it didn't seem demonstrably more so than any of the competition's 1000cc inline fours, or Ducati's big twin. What I'm getting at is they are all fast, they all propel you down Phillip Island's main straight with eye popping intensity.
Where I came away thinking this was something special was with the traction control and ABS. Most sportsbike riders will tell you it's a load of wank. But I'm here to say it isn't. I've ridden some special bikes around 'The Island' but never as fast as this. The secret is the traction control. I felt so safe with it on that I never wanted to turn it off to see what the difference would be. I could crack open the throttle with gay abandon exiting a corner like Siberia and you could feel the tractional control doing its job – beautiful.

The traction control and ABS system doesn't come standard in Australia. It's a $2500 option (over the base $21,900 + ORC) but is well worth it. You can turn one or both off via a button on the handlebars but I'd leave them on all the time.
And with the quick-shifter – standard on the Australian model – you just cranked through the gears with the throttle held wide open. If you can't get your jollies doing this sort of stuff you are probably already dead. Low down power is strong. When you get to 7,000rpm the bike starts to shift forward with real purpose, and when you hit 9,000rpm it goes absolutely mental. Redline is 14,000rpm

What's the rest of the S 1000 RR's running gear like? Top shelf, that's how good. Radially mounted Brembo calipers, 46mm Sachs forks with full adjustment, including high and low speed. Rear shock is also Sachs, same deal with damping adjustment.

On the road

While the S 1000 RR is fairly comfortable on the track, it's not so easy on the body when you tackle our goat tracks in Australia. For my road test I took the bike on a 1000 kilometre weekend ride through Mid North NSW, on roads which were at times, less than ideal for a sportsbike.

As received the bike was set up on the stiff side, giving me a few sharp hits from the rear end. At my first stop I backed off the compression and rebound damping with the key (a screwdriver is needed to access rebound on the shock). I left preload and high speed damping alone. In an ideal world I would have sorted the pre-load but daylight was a burning so I left my tampering to the clickers. This vastly improved things on the comfort side. Most of the trip was on open roads and as such the bike in this set up handled well enough but when you pushed on through the corners the bike was not as good as it could be. I then adjusted the damping from basically full soft to three turns in from soft on all fronts and this felt much better, offering enough compliance from both ends without upsetting the handling in the tight corners.

There's not a lot of wind protection, the mirrors are OK, the seat is hard and you will strain your neck to look where you are going. If you are six foot or thereabouts you will find this to be the case. If you are shorter you might not. One thing I didn't like was the high frequency vibration through the ’bars. I didn't really notice it on the track but at constant speeds it is noticeable.

The last word

As a track day bike it's possibly the best I've ever ridden as a complete package. BMW has priced it very competitively and if you are able to procure a bike from the first shipment you will be lucky. The S 1000 RR is proving popular, and why wouldn't it, a new benchmark has been set which others will surely have to follow. The thing is, BMW has already left the building.