Today, we get a good look at the 2019 BMW S1000RR, which after much teasing is likely to debut at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy – though it could arrive as early as the INTERMOT show in Cologne, Germany. Described to us as a “game changer” in the superbike space, the 2019 BMW S1000RR is set to once again disrupt what we have come to expect in the liter-bike category.
Now with CAD renders leaking from the bike’s design patents, we can see quite clearly the 2019 BMW S1000RR in detail. The first obvious change is to the bike’s engine, which is obviously completely new based off the case design. Inside those cases our sources tell us a counter-rotating crankshaft resides.
The engine design will mean better handling from the counter-acted rotational forces, and fewer power-wheelies upon acceleration. The engine design is likely to have more power too, especially if the new S1000RR gets some of the power plant parts that debuted last year on the failing BMW HP4 race. There are some rumors suggesting variable valve technology coming to the 2019 BMW S1000RR, so we will wait and see.
With a new engine comes a new frame. The basic chassis remains a twin-spar aluminum design, but we can see that the rear subframe is of a trellis layout. Noticeable too is an underbraced swingarm, which is de jure in MotoGP and WorldSBK paddocks, but has been absent from the street scene for roughly the past decade. What was old is new again?
Of note, the new BMW S1000RR finds an interesting solution to the growing emission/noise concerns, as it side-steps the issue with a three-part exhaust. Dual-canisters can be found on the underbelly render view (likely carrying catalytic converters inside them), which then collect in a bellypan exhaust noise chamber, before exiting to a solitary muffler.
This should help not only dampen the noise from the 999cc inline-four engine, but also help reduce its exhaust emissions. This is important because the 2019 BMW S1000RR will have to be Euro5 compliant by the 2021 model year.
Visually, the aesthetic of the 2019 BMW S1000RR is a stark difference from the direction that the Bavarian brand has gone in the past. Gone is the asymmetrical headlight design from yore, which had the effect of making every BMW for the last 10 years look an eye was bulging out of its head, as if it just stepped into a mouse trap in the middle of the night, searching for ice cream from the kitchen freezer.
With dual-projector headlights at the front, the intake is set squarely between them, which should give a good amount of air going into the airbox when at speed. Compact and lithe, the 2019 BMW S1000RR seems ready for track duty. Whether we see one on the WorldSBK grid – or MotoAmerica, for that matter – remains to be seen, however.
Source: Motorcycle.com
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