In January we published the World launch report of the new S 1000 RR, where AC praised the BMW for the new refinements on track. This time we get out hands on the same M Sport version to put it to the test on Aussie roads, plus cut some wet and dry laps at SMSP…. Test: Jeff Ware Photography: HMC Photography, SD Pics
To say we’ve been looking forward to getting the S 1000 RR on the road is an understatement. The last time we were able to get one in for testing here at BikeReview was way back, six years ago, with the S 1000 RR Race 2017 edition. We attended the world launch of the heavily updated 2019 model, and we have had other track test opportunities and launches, but then we were never able to get out hands on once for road testing. Covid-19 didn’t help… and the S 1000 RR eluded us, until now!
Fortunately I had ridden a friend’s 2020 S 1000 RR. So after my track testing of the model in Estoril, Portugal, I was able to sample it on road, but not for a review for you guys. However, at least I can compare the old and new here… The first bike I picked up on a rainy afternoon was fitted with Michelin Power Cup 2 tyres, which have to be the most track serious street OEM rubber I’ve ever seen.
I rode home on them in the wet, and with 30-years racing experience and 22-years full time bike and tyre testing experience, I am qualified when it comes to riding! These tyres were like slicks off centre, I only just got home… anything off centre and they crab walked… Great on track in the dry, I am sure…
The next day another S 1000 RR was delivered, this time with alternative tyres. And just as well, as the track test the following day was half wet and I was still able to get the job done and test wet and dry. Those Michelins might be great on a dry track day but I would not want to be caught out on the streets in the rain… and on a wet track you may have to miss sessions and sit it out in the pits…
For the full technical updates on the new model, check out the tech release below, and be sure to click on the link to Alan Cathcart’s World launch report where he details more of the changes and why BMW engineers made them… I’ll stick to the testing and ride impression, the fun stuff! I usually road test first, then head to the track, but this time I had to do the opposite, and headed out to SMSP…
My track testing history of the S 1000 RR is extensive, going way back to the very first World launch in Portugal back in 2009, plus every model since bar the 2023 launch, lots of domestic testing. Plenty of racebikes too, from Glenn Allerton’s ASBK superbike to Troy Corser’s WorldSBK, and our long term project bikes back in the Rapid Bikes days. I’ve enjoyed every model, and BMW continue to impress.
“I was surprised to be able to lap in the 1:39s bracket on the S 1000 RR”…
For 2023 BMW have really upped the game in the name of gaining that elusive WorldSBK title winner, something that has been just out of reach for so long, despite successes in road racing, domestic series and showroom sales. Even bringing in Scott Redding didn’t do the job, but the improvements on track this year seem to be showing… Let’s see what Toprak can do next year. Can he help Redding?
With standard tyre pressures and cold tyres, I head out onto SMSP with the S 1000 RR in Rain mode. It’s my first ride back since I broke my hands and I am still waiting on surgery for my right hand, so I am not sure what to expect having been off the track for almost two years. With 207hp on hand, it would be natural to feel a bit nervous, and I am. But, within a few laps, I realise that all I need to focus on is edge grip and relaxing. The throttle is so soft and controllable, the ABS there for me and DTC.
It’s not fully wet, just that annoying period when the track still has water flowing over it in places and has a very faint dry line appearing. I begin to relax and just use the session to loosen up and get comfy in my leathers again, get a feel for the ergonomics and try to get a bit of heat in the tyres and scrub them in. The track starts to dry up and by the time I pit, I’m using every bit of Rain mode power.
Initial impression, if I am honest, is I can’t tell any difference between this and the previous one, so I think I really need some fast, dry laps! Thankfully that is what I get and as I return to the track in clear sunshine, with three sessions after my first to dry the surface, I have the M Sport in Race mode and I have my brain in race mode too. Now just to get the old body in race mode… Beer belly and all…
Race mode. Now we are talking. Straight out of the pit exit, the S 1000 RR feels much faster and more responsive than it did this morning, the way it should feel, angry! A lap to warm the tyres and brakes, and I get into it. The bar is set high for BMW, as they mistakenly let me loose here on a HP4 Race once (Video review here), the $115, 215hp, 145kg dream weapon, so I always think of that amazing bike!
Over the years, the S 1000 RR is catching up and now makes the same power, has the same amount of grip, more advance electronics than the HP4 but like me, carries a bit of weight! Still, at 193.5kg ready to go this is one of the lighter 1000cc sportsbikes on the market now. It shares a lot of geometry and set-up from the $64k M RR, and is closer to a factory superbike than ever before, with a fair price!
Head down, bum up, into it. The S 1000 RR fits me perfectly in attack mode, with the rearsets well placed (they are adjustable on this one), and the rider triangle spacious. The handlebars feel closer and wider, but I may be wrong. It’s easy to tuck in behind the screen on the chute, and the RR feels really small and narrow yet as I brake hard for the first time, into T2, there is plenty of lock-on area.
This is where my smile starts. The front brakes feel much better than the previous one I tested, in which I ended up with the lever all the way back to the ‘bars. I really have nothing great to say about those Hayes calipers on the 2019 model, so I was happy to see and feel these new ones. The RR now stops as well as it accelerates, although the intimate feel and modulation of top Brembo is missing.
Initial bite is not racebike strong and instant, and a fair squeeze is needed to pull the bike up into hairpins, but as I brake hard lap after lap, the fade of the previous brakes is not rearing its head thankfully. If my hands were stronger, I could brake a little harder, then we would find out more. At the back, I burn a lot of rear brake, and this one is great, giving good support and control mid turn.
The forks are doing whatever they do, and are giving good support under heavy braking, while tracking through a turn well and there is loads of front feedback for what I recall from an S 1000 RR, which must be the increase in trail combined with the frame flex and longer wheelbase. The bike is so settled, so planted, even through T1 over the apex bumps, at close to 200km/h, it’s rock solid. Very balanced.
Equally, the rear of the bike is very good, no squat under acceleration, no surprises mid corner, complete stability on the brakes and plenty of rear grip while carrying corner speed. Even a heavy rider like me can pull the bike in and keep it tight on the apex, as I find out time and time again in SMSP’s tight, tricky, downhill T9. With EBC and other electronics, the S 1000 RR is just so easy to ride now…
I am opening the throttle here earlier than I normally would on a street bike on street tyres, yet I am only just clipping the outside paint on exit. This proves how good that shock hardware (and software) is. And with the fat 200-section rear tyre, wow, there is some speed going into T10, I tell you! Here, I notice that the S 1000 RR steers slightly slower and heavier than the previous model, noticeably so.
Also, the T4 to T5 change of direction, although faster and more flowing than a traditional flick side to side, has me working harder to get the S 1000 RR hard lean right, to hard lean left, than I recall previously and certainly more than other superbike models there. Whether it is the winglet downforce, the steering damper, the 200-section rear tyre or the more stable rake, or all of the above, I don’t know.
“Whether it is the winglet downforce, the steering damper, the 200-section rear tyre or the more stable rake, or all of the above, I don’t know”…
It’s nothing hanging onto the end of the ‘bars (or fitting wider ones for a racer) won’t sort out and the planted feel and the front grip are by far for me more appreciated, so I would not change a thing for track day use, only for racing when getting through traffic swiftly on lap one is so important! I like the old school riding style of big sweeping lines, so it suits me and I’m loving every lap on the S 1000 RR.
Head down, tucked in for the chute, I’m seeing 285km/h before braking and flicking the bike right into T1, shifting rapidly to fourth via the excellent two-way quickshifter. Crack the throttle before the apex to balance the bike for the mid-corner bumps, then wind it progressively to full throttle for a 200km/h run to T2, where the hard braking and rapid backshifting starts. A tightening line is held, no problems.
“It is just a very flattering, 207hp, machine, so I was feeling good but it was the bike making me feel so confident and flowing”…
Hard on the gas out of T2, let the electronics do all the hard work, and the S 1000 RR absolutely launches over the crest into T4, where I run it in very very deep and hard on the brake momentarily, before easing back on the throttle, then changing direction for T5. This uphill exit is a great test of grunt, and the RR absolutely screams up and over the hill into T6. It’s fast, yet so controllable and smooth.
I do four dry sessions on the S 1000 RR, and I lap in the 1:39 to 1:42 lap time, which is above what I normally would do, because it is just a very flattering, 207hp, machine, so I was feeling good but it was the bike making me feel so confident and flowing. I did not play with the Pro modes or modify anything outside of the factory presets, there was no need, and I didn’t feel the electronics doing too much to be honest – I definitely didn’t try the slide control into corners! Overall, and excellent track day package…
On the streets, the S 1000 RR continues to be what it always has been, a very capable road sportsbike that is easy to live with and offers some nice BMW luxury that most others do not. Cruise control, heated grips, and well over 200 ponies, just crazy. But like it is on the track, the S 1000 RR feels so, so less intimidating than it should be, thanks to BMW engineers containing all of that power and torque.
The throttle is smooth, it is really docile in the lower gears, has compliant suspension, and to ride it around town or in the wet, on your commute, you really wouldn’t know you were on a fire breathing track weapon. The ride position is not too extreme even by sportsbike standards, the seat is firm but supportive enough and you can even connect your iPhone to the TFT dash of course…
I spent most of the week in Road mode, where the beast was well and truly tamed. Having ridden plenty of 200-plus horsepower bikes in the old days before electronics, it is hard to believe how tame they all are now and the BMW is the smoothest and tamest of all 200 + club bikes. Don’t get me wrong, open it up and get it in the high gears and revving and you will see God, but in a less fighting way!
I’m going to be completely open and honest with you here, aside from feeling the more stable steering, brakes and engine character/power curve from the new M 1000 RR head/Shift Cam and other changes, I could not place an enormous amount of difference between the outgoing the 2023 on the streets. That is not a criticism, more a compliment, as the 2019 model is an incredibly good bike.
Also having the carbon wheels on the test bike means I don’t have a comment on the steering and handling of the standard model with the alloy wheels. Still, I can say that this particular S 1000 RR M Sport edition is a bloody good road sportsbike. I did some long freeway cruise control runs of a few hundred kilometres, a day on fast flowing bumpy country roads and time in the local twisties…
Typical BMW easy controls, with the scroll wheel and the best TFT display and menu navigation in the business as far as we are concerned… The quality is top notch, and the price is very competitive. we know that BMW servicing and dealer support for the customer is second to none, so the S 1000 RR is definitely a good option if you are after a sportsbike, with track days as the main priority to take advantage of the new updates and the technology in the bike. You really won’t use it all on the road.
Check out Alan Cathcart’s 2023 S 1000 RR M Sport World Launch Report here…
TECH TALK, 2023 BMW S 1000 RR
The 2023 BMW RR features a four-cylinder in-line engine based on the power unit of the previous S 1000 RR but with key updates. Peak power is now 154kW@13,500rpm – which is a 2kW increase on over the 2022 model – while the torque figures are now 113Nm@11,000rpm. Not only this, BMW engineers have made changes to the mapping to compliment the change in power figures, the redline is now set at a whopping 14,600rpm.
The heart of the chassis of the 2023 RR remains the aluminium bridge frame – a welded construction of four gravity die-cast elements. It uses the engine, which is inclined forward by 32 degrees as before, as a supporting element. With the aim of optimising flexibility laterally, the main frame of the new RR has been given several openings in the side areas.
BMW Motorrad say the focus during development was also on further increasing riding precision for the chassis of the new RR. The steering-head angle has been flattened out by 0.5 degrees and the offset of the triple-clamps reduced by 3mm. This all translates into a changed riding position, which is better in theory, and allows for more feedback from the front wheel compared to the 2022 model.
New for 2023 with the epic electronics suite is the Slide Control function. Slide Control allows the rider to select two pre-set drift angles for the traction control system when accelerating out of bends. In terms of hardware, this is achieved using a steering angle sensor. Depending on where you set the traction control system, it allows for some slippage at the rear wheel when accelerating out of a bend, allowing for a drift. When the preset steering angle value is reached, traction control intervenes, reduces slip and stabilises the motorcycle.
Also new in terms of tech is the Brake Slide Assist function. As with the new DTC Slide Control function, this new system is also based on steering angle sensors and allows the rider to set a specific drift angle for so-called braking drifts while sliding into corners at a maintained speed.
Same as what’s on the M 1000 RR model, winglets on the new RR aren’t just for looks but generate downforce and additional load on the wheels. All of this translates to the faster you go, the more grip up the front and assists in reducing the bike’s tendency to do a wheelie.
Design of the new edition RR benefits from a redesigned front section including winglets, a new, lighter and sportier-looking rear section and three new colour schemes: Blackstorm metallic; Style Passion in Racingred non-metallic and the racing-oriented Lightwhite non-metallic/BMW M. The new BMW S 1000 RR is priced at $25,750*.
Highlights of the new BMW S 1000 RR:
- Increased output and torque: 154kW (210hp) at 13,500rpm and 113Nm at 11,000rpm
- Shorter secondary gear ratio for more traction at the rear wheel
- Advanced “Flex Frame” with additional flex
- Chassis geometry with new values for steering head angle, offset, caster and wheelbase
- M Chassis Kit as standard with adjustable swinging arm pivot point and raised rear end
- Dynamic Traction Control DTC with new Slide Control function for drifts while accelerating using steering angle sensor
- ABS Pro with new Brake Slide Assist function using steering angle sensor for braking drifts when approaching corners
- ABS Pro Setting “Slick”
- Optimised aerodynamics with new front section, winglets and high windshield
- M lightweight battery as standard
- USB charging port in the rear section
- Redesigned rear section and shorter number plate holder
- Optimised wiring harness for removing the number plate holder
- Clutch and generator cover in black
- Easier rear wheel assembly due to loss-proof axle bushings and chamfered brake pads and brake anchor plate
- M GPS Mouse Adapter as part of the BMW Motorrad original accessory range
- New GoPro holder as part of the BMW Motorrad original accessory range
2023 BMW S 1000 RR M Sport Specifications
Price: From $25,750 (+ORC)
Warranty: Five-years unlimited km
Colours: Blackstorm metallic, Racingred non-metallic and Lightwhite non-metallic/BMW M
Claimed Power: 154kW@13,750rpm
Claimed Torque: 113Nm@11,000rpm
Kerb Weight: 193.5kg (M Sport)
Fuel capacity: 16.5L
Fuel Consumption Claimed: N/A
Fuel Consumption (measured): N/A
Engine: Water-cooled in-line four-cylinder engine four-valves per cylinder DOHC, Valve actuation via single cam followers and variable intake camshaft control system BMW ShiftCam, 80mm x 49.7mm bore x stroke, 999cc, 13.3:1 compression, Electronic fuel injection system, Closed-loop three-way catalytic converter Gearbox: Six speed, constant mesh Clutch: Self-reinforcing multi-plate anti-hopping oil bath clutch, mechanically operated
Chassis: Frame: Aluminium composite bridge
Rake: 23.6 degrees Trail: 99mm
Suspension: Upside-down telescopic fork, slide tube diameter 45mm, spring preload, compression and rebound stage adjustable, 120mm travel (f) Aluminium underslung double-sided swinging arm with central spring strut, spring preload, adjustable compression and rebound stage, 117mm travel (r)
Brakes: 2 x 320mm floating discs, radially mounted four-piston calipers (f), 220mm disc, single piston floating caliper (r)
Wheels & Tyres: Die-cast aluminium wheels, 120/70R17 (f) 190/55 ZR17 (r)
Dimensions:
Seat height: 824mm
Ground clearance: N/A
Overall width: 846mm
Overall Length: 2073mm
Overall height: N/A
Wheelbase: 1458mm
Instruments & Electronics: Full-colour TFT dash, Riding Modes, Power Modes, Dynamic Traction Control DTC with new Slide Control, ABS Pro with new Brake Slide Assist function, full six-axis assist system…
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