Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

S1000RR

Browsing
Bikes

Spy Photo: BMW S1000RR Naked Bike Caught Testing

By 20 Comments

Pictures of a supposedly naked version of the BMW S1000RR have surfaced on MotoRevue, as the motorcycle was caught testing at BMW’s proving grounds by spy photographers. Showing an S1000RR-esque motorcycle with a half-fairing, the motorcycle would be just the second addition to BMW’s true sports bike line, after the S1000RR itself of course.

Expected to be a detuned version of the superbike variant, we can expect horsepower north 160hp, flat bars, and improved ergos from such a design experiment (in order to compete with the Aprilia Tuono V4 R and Ducati Streetfighter 848), though there is some reason to give pause about what these photos actually mean.

Keep Reading
By
News

The Anatomy Behind BMW Motorrad’s Sales Dominion

By 16 Comments

We already told you that 2011 was BMW Motorrad’s best sales year ever, and that the BMW S1000RR topped the Bavarian brand’s charts here in the United States. Zie Germans must be feeling rather pleases with themselves right now (and rightfully so), as BMW has released more details about its all-time motorcycle sales record. Pushing out 104,286 units in 2011, BMW Motorrad was up 6.4% in 2011 over 2010, with each of the 2011’s twelve months outselling its 2010 counterpart. Toppling its previous sales record from 2007 (the height of the world economy), it says something about BMW’s current business strategy that it can best that figure in an economy that is still exceedingly weak in comparison.

It is interesting to note in which markets, and in which segments, BMW is finding this growth, because the answers are not necessarily our usual suspects. Basically doubling its worldwide 500+cc market share over the past four years, BMW now accounts for 12% of the worlds “big” displacement motorcycles by units sold per annum. This goes counter to the trend that we’ve seen, where small-displacement are being cast as the sales leaders for large brands (namely the Japanese Four).

Keep Reading
By
News

S1000RR Still BMW’s Top-Selling Bike in the USA

By 7 Comments

BMW Motorrad crushed it last year by posting its best sales year ever, and finishing in sales 6.4% over 2010. With the United States being one of BMW’s largest motorcycle markets, it comes as no surprise then that the German brand posted strong sales here in the US. Up 7.4% over last year, BMW Motorrad USA continues to weather the rough economy for the Bavarians, which is perhaps unsurprising considering how zie Germans have faired the past few years.

What is surprising though is which model topped BMW’s sales sheets, and in case you are blind and didn’t see this story’s headline, it was not the venerable GS. Taking the superbike fight straight to the Japan’s backyard, the BMW S1000RR again dominated sport bike sales again in 2011, and was BMW’s top-selling model across its whole motorcycle line-up (I’d love to see the profits per model on this though). Proof that when German engineering is coupled with Japanese pricing a consumer hit is born, the S1000RR should continue to be a potent bike in 2012, as BMW Motorrad has given the liter bike a mild update for its third year of production.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2012 BMW S1000RR – Tweaks Come to the Liter Bike King

By 11 Comments

BMW did an amazing thing two years ago. Not really known for its performance street motorcycles, BMW took the competitive superbike market head-on, bringing out a motorcycle that not only had class-leading performance figures, but was also priced extremely competitively against its Japanese competitors. That lethal combination of price, quality, and performance made the BMW S1000RR the sport bike to have over the past two years, and it shows in the S1000RR’s sales figures, which eclipsed every other liter bike.

Not wanting to rest too heavily on its laurels, BMW has updated the S1000RR for the 2012 model year, and while the bike may look the same, the German company hopes it has done plenty to its halo bike to make would-be buyers give the S1000RR a good looking over next season, despite going into its third year of production. While the same 193hp engine resides at the heart of the S1000RR, and the curb weight remains a paltry 449 lbs (90% fuel), the 2012 BMW S1000RR gets a bevy of suspension, chassis, and electronics for the new model year.

Keep Reading
By
Reviews

Ride Review: Riding the BMW S1000RR Superstock, Satellite Superbike, and Factory World Superbikes

By 2 Comments

Our good friends over at OmniMoto.it have shared with us today their experience riding BMW’s World Supersport and World Superbike S1000RR machinery. Getting a chance to flog the bikes of Sylvain Barrier, Lorenza Zanetti, Ayrton Badovini, James Toseland, Leon Haslam, and Troy Corser around the famous Monza circuit in Italy, OmniMoto’s Lorenzo Gargiulo certainly had a tough day in the office. Even translated into English, this Italian bike tester is well…very Italian in his assessments, but we think the subtle differences between the Superstock, satellite Superbike, and factory Superbike shine through in his writing. Enjoy. — Ed.

There are opportunities in the moto-journalism profession that are to be jumped on, and this is one of them. I could tell you the story about how today, in order to reach Monza to try the three motorcycles I’m about to write about, I slept only 3 hours, or how I had to work on a Saturday, and how I had to somehow fit in 1,000 other obligations and make up a lot of excuses in order to free my schedule, but the basic fact is the following: the opportunity to ride on a track, three SWBK motorcycles is so overwhelming that everything else became of secondary relevance.

So, when I received the invite from BMW to go ride around Monza with the very best of its motorcycles, my response was simply the most obvious one… I’m COMING!

Keep Reading
By
Banter

Video: BMW S1000R vs. BMW M3

By 17 Comments

Ah, the age old question of which is faster: a car or a motorcycle? We’ve seen the answer debated countless times on internet forums to no avail, and it seems at some point every publication in both the two-wheeled and four-wheeled realms tackles this issue in their own way. BMW recently took up the challenge to see which was faster, and the answer was painfully simple: the BMW…we jest.

Here’s the setup though, two of BMW’s fastest machines, a BMW M3 & BMW S1000RR, start at opposite ends of an unknown course. Unleashing their beasts at the same time, they lap until one catches the other, thus definitively faster. Sounds simple enough, right? There is a kicker though: part-way through, it starts raining. Make your guesses now as to whom won the race, and watch it unfold after the jump. Thanks for the tip Craig!

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

BMW S1000RR Superstock Limited Edition

By 5 Comments

To help celebrate Ayrton Badovini’s complete domination of the 2010 FIM Superstock 1000 Championship (the Italian won nine out of the ten races, finishing second only in the tenth race), BMW Italia is releasing a limited edition BMW S1000RR street version of the winning superstock bike.

With only 50 units being made, and available only in Italy, lucky owners will get the already potent S1000RR, along with a bevy of aftermarket goodies like a Akrapovic “Racing Exhaust” (pictures show a slip-on though), Gilles Tooling rearsets and levers, carbon fiber panels, LED turn signals, and of course BMW Italia’s racing colors.

Keep Reading
By
News

BMW S1000RR Outsells the R1200GS in the US for 2010

By 7 Comments

BMW Motorrad has just released its numbers for last year, and the Bavarian brand is showing some strong results in 2010, especially considering the double-digit slogging most other companies took. With sales up 12% globally, BMW sold 98,047 motorcycles in 2010 compared to the 87,306 units it sold in 2009 (that’s a 10,741 unit difference).

Of the motorcycles sold in last year, the R1200GS remained the globally best selling unit within the brand (accounting for 18,768 units worldwide), and was followed by the R1200GS Adventure (11,648 units), R1200RT (11,132 units), and the S1000RR (10,209 units).

Perhaps the most striking news though is the fact that the new S1000RR superbike dominated liter bike sales in the United States, and even outsold the R1200GS here domestically, making 2010 a very successful year for BMW not only on the balance sheet, but also as proof that the Germans can sell bikes that aren’t featured in Long Way Around.

Keep Reading
By
Banter

Real Ultimate Power!!!

By 14 Comments

If you weren’t a product of the first .com boom, then you probably won’t get this reference (), the BMW S1000RR shows off its mad power yo, and supplants the <<insert Japanese motorcycle name here>> as the bike of choice amongst the burn-out loving stuntah crowd (although, when was the last time you saw a gathering of BMW’s stunting in an industrial park?).

If that’s too much teenage angst for you, then here is a lovely viral video by BMW that uses some light humor to promote its new S1000RR superbike.

Source: Real Ultimate Power

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Wunderlich Curarê – The Gulf Oil BMW S1000RR

By 10 Comments

Named after the poison used by Brazilian Indians to tip their arrow with for hunting, the Wunderlich Curarê is the German tuning house’s take on the BMW S1000RR. Clad in the blue and orange colors of Gulf Oil Racing and plenty of carbon fiber and titanium, the Wunderlich Curarê is mix of something new with something old, and celebrates 25 years of the company’s business. Making only modest performance enhancements to the S1000RR, Wundrlich has instead focused its efforts on improving the bikes ergonomics and aesthetics (they left the winking headlight in though). Photos and more after the jump.

Keep Reading
By