Interestingly, BMW’s Motorrad division has existed for longer than its M\ performance division, but the two have never collaborated on a performance motorcycle before. Or at least the latter has never leant its name to the former until now. The new BMW M 1000 RR is obviously an extension of the already potent S 1000 RR with even more spunk. Homologation special cars basically don’t exist anymore, but in the world of bikes it’s still running strong, which is why this bike exists.
A few weeks ago the Motor Works unveiled a set of carbon fiber M performance parts for the S 1000 RR that conspired to reduce the weight of the bike by seven pounds (and reduce the weight of your wallet by $3700). It would seem that the company’s ultimate goal here was to secure the World Superbike championship with this homologation special, as all of the M-developed parts integrated into the new M 1000 RR were required to transfer over unchanged to the WSBK version. This also explains the bike’s relatively low price tag (£30,935 in the UK) because it needs to fit within that series’ price cap. This is a far cry from the old days of BMW’s $100,000 HP4 race version.
In addition to the lightweight carbon bits, the M 1000 RR also adds an Akrapovic exhaust and removes other extraneous bits to reduce the bike’s weight an additional four pounds, down to 423 pounds. The bike’s inline four engine has been seriously modified with lighter pistons and titanium connecting rods, which pumps up output to 212 horsepower (up from 205 in the “regular” S 1000 RR) and increases the engine’s redline to 15,100 rpm.
Add in an M-developed brake package, carbon fiber downforce inducing winglet add-ons, revised and lowered suspension, two adjustable throttle curves, five riding modes, launch control, dynamic traction control, hill-start control, pit lane limiter, navigation, and a 6.5-inch TFT display, and you start to see why this bike is so expensive. It runs an impressive lap time, no doubt.
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And if you thought this would be BMW’s only M bike, you’d be silly. The company known for sticking an M badge and three color livery on every vehicle in their range is now spreading that strategy to its bike segment. Following the M 1000 RR, you can expect a “touring capable sport bike” M 1000 XR and a full touring M 1300 GS.
