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"Ho hum," you're thinking. "Just another massively expensive and complicated Euro Superbike that nobody can afford and ordinary mortals can't ride without extensive electronics stepping in to save them from killing themselves every few seconds. Got anything new on the Trail 125?"
But wait. The new BMW M 1000 RR may not be exactly what you think.
Yes, that's an M, not an S. A little of the company's car nomenclature is slipping over to the motorcycle side and the motorcycle was displayed alongside the new M3 sedan and M4 coupe. "M is the most powerful letter in the world," said Markus Flasch, CEO of the BMW M division, in the presentation of the new bike, streamed live this morning. (See the video below.) "Racing is a part of our DNA and I am a personal motorcycle fan so for me it's just plain logic that we finally cooperate on motorcycles."
The M 1000 RR is made to be a race platform. A titanium exhaust and carbon fiber wheels keep weight low, at 423 pounds fueled and road-ready, while features such as a revised rear axle to make rear wheel changes easier will be useful at the track. BMW raised the redline 500 rpm to 15,100 to squeeze out a claimed 205 horsepower. It has new M-branded brakes reportedly developed with Nissin. And yes, it has wings.
But this is not another $100,000 Ducati Superleggera or a $78,000 BMW HP4 Race. While the M 1000 RR is a limited-edition homologation special aimed at racers, the price is "serious racer" level instead of Superleggera-class "wealthy collector" level. The U.S. price of the M 1000 RR hasn't been announced yet, but in Europe it is listed at starting prices that would put it in the $35,000 to $40,000 range in U.S. dollars. While that's a lot less than the HP4 Race, it's still significantly more than the new Honda CBR1000RR-R, which my faster colleague Zack Courts tells me is going to sell for $28,500 in the United States. (And he should know because — teaser warning here — he just rode the thing. Hang on just a few more days for his first impressions of that bike.)
With restrictions on modifications in Superstock 1000 race classes around the world, it makes more sense for companies like BMW and Honda to build these kinds of bikes that are closer to race-spec straight from the factory. The M 1000 RR will be available early next year, so if you're a Stock 1000 racer, here's another platform to consider. If you're a serious track-day rider with the money to spare, the first M from BMW Motorrad gives you one more way to try to shave some seconds off your lap time — and fewer excuses if you don't.
