BMW S1000 RR - The new 'Fireblade' from BMW

Introducing the new BMW S 1000 RR on the legendary Monza Racing Circuit, BMW Motorrad is for the first time launching absolutely innovative supersports with a straight-four power unit.

With this world debut, BMW Motorrad is indeed establishing a true milestone in the world of sports machines, combining engine output of 142 kW (193 hp) with overall weight of just 204 kg (450 lb) including fuel (183 kg/403.5 lb dry weight, 206.5 kg/455.3 lb overall with Race ABS).

Specifications of this calibre make this supersports machine not only an absolute highlight in terms of its power-to-weight ratio and performance, but also, equipped with Race ABS and DTC Dynamic Traction Control, a new benchmark in terms of riding dynamics, safety and innovation.

The decision to present this unique performer in Monza was by no means a coincidence. For since the beginning of this year Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport has been playing an active role in the World Superbike Championship, the new S 1000 RR setting the foundation for the production-based racing machines ridden by BMW Motorrad's two works riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus. And obviously the Royal Park in Monza is the ideal place for a presentation of this calibre.

To successfully enter the World Championship with a Superbike today, a manufacturer needs a production model with the right kind of overall concept consistently applied in all areas. The essential factors, therefore, are supreme power, a wide range of engine speed, fast revving capacity also over a long period, optimum chassis stiffness, and perfect set-up of the engine.

Other features absolutely essential more than ever particularly in the top league of supersports
motorcycles are simple and straightforward ride-ability , light-footed handling, and above all safety features such as rider assistance systems like ABS and traction control giving the customer precisely what he needs.

Developing the S 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad has entered completely new, unchartered terrain. Clearly, this meant a huge range of new challenges and responsibilities for the entire Development Team, but also gave the Team enormous motivation in seeking to set new standards.

The specific targets in developing the S 1000 RR were therefore clear:
• To achieve output and performance of the highest standard.
• To make the suspension absolutely stable, with top handling and supreme traction.
• To give the new machine that unmistakable, dynamic design of BMW Motorrad.
• To reduce the weight of the motorcycle to an absolute minimum.
• To ensure top quality typical of BMW .

Over the years and decades, the principle of combining a straight-four power unit with an aluminium bridge frame has been consistently developed and has become the dominating technical concept particularly in the supersports segment. The reason, quite simply, is that a motorcycle of this kind offers significant benefits in terms of riding dynamics, long-distance endurance, and straightforward production.
Precisely this is why the new S 1000 RR also applies this concept with its proven fortes and advantages.

But even while the S 1000 RR, in its concept teaming up a straight-four power unit and an aluminium bridge frame, may appear at first sight to have similarities with some competitors, the Development Team at BMW Motorrad has succeeded in enhancing the existing status of this concept in virtually every respect.
As a result, the S 1000 RR offers not only a wide range of USPs in terms of technology, performance, and design, but also, through its particularly compact overall layout, clearly demonstrates the high school of European engineering in the supersports four-cylinder segment.

The consistent concept of the S 1000 RR supersports is borne out in particular by the truly fascinating, innovative high-performance technology and incomparable riding dynamics of this new machine. The result is an exceptional combination of supreme riding precision and agility, on the one hand, with unparalleled engine power and performance, on the other, providing an overall package truly unique in the market.

Never before has a BMW motorcycle been conceived and built more consistently for supersports riding in terms of its concept and overall construction. But at the same time the new S 1000 RR retains many of the virtues so typical of every BMW to this day: Extreme sportiness and riding dynamics combined with supreme everyday riding qualities, playful handling together with supreme riding stability, outstanding performance combined with unparalleled active safety, as well as dynamic, unmistakable design in conjunction with optimum ergonomics and aerodynamics.

Free choice of engine characteristics as well as Race ABS and DTC Dynamic Traction Control
The new S 1000 RR also excels through features and qualities typical of BMW such as a long running life, superior quality of production and optimum environmental compatibility thanks to the use of the most advanced exhaust management with two fully controlled three-way catalytic converters also able to fulfil future standards and requirements.

Active safety when braking is significantly enhanced by Race ABS developed especially for the S 1000 RR as genuine supersports and available as an option straight from the factory. A further most significant feature likewise contributing to active safety of the highest standard is DTC Dynamic Traction Control also available as an option and masterminded electronically for supreme precision and practical value.

Facing various riding conditions such as wet roads ("Rain"), regular road conditions ("Sport"), a race track with supersport tyres ("Race"), or a race track with slicks ("Slick"), the rider also has the choice of various engine characteristics and set-ups available at the touch of a button. And last but not least, Race ABS and Dynamic Traction Control are combined with the respective riding modes and coordinated with one another to ensure a supreme standard of performance and safety all in one.

The primary objective in developing the new S 1000 RR was to create a supersports with supreme engine power combined with optimum ride-ability for the highest conceivable standard of all-round performance.
The water-cooled four-cylinder inline power unit chosen to provide these qualities is brand-new from the ground up, developing maximum output of 142 kW (193 hp) at 13,000 rpm and revving up to a maximum speed of 14,200 rpm. Maximum torque of 112 Nm (82.5 lb-ft), in turn, comes at 9,750 rpm.

Following the example of BMW 's Formula 1 engines, the two intake and exhaust valves per cylinder made of extra-light titanium are operated by very small and equally light single cam followers. In conjunction with the short sprocket driving the camshaft via an intermediate gear, this ensures supreme revving qualities at the highest speeds as well as exact maintenance of valve timing combined with very compact dimensions.

The use of extremely small and light cam followers furthermore gives the engineer greater freedom in choosing the ideal valve lift curves and, accordingly, in selecting optimum performance characteristics on both road and track.

All engine components are particularly compact and light, limiting weight of the overall engine without ancillaries to 59.8 kg (131.8 lb) and keeping the entire power unit very slim and slender.

Innovative exhaust system with interference pipe butterflies for optimum power and performance.
Made completely of stainless steel, the exhaust system featured by the S 1000 RR is designed consistently for optimum power and performance. It works according to the 4-in-2-in-1 principle with four individual manifolds of equal length first merging into two pipes beneath the engine block and then extending into a large-volume pre-silencer. From there the exhaust emissions flow through a very short and dynamically designed rear-end silencer to the outside.

A homogeneous power and torque curve ensuring optimum rideability is acknowledged as the requirement for sporting performance on the road and fast lap times on the track. Precisely this is why the exhaust system featured on the S 1000 RR comes with two fully controlled interference pipe butterflies housed in two connection pipes for the two outer and two inner manifolds, in the immediate vicinity of the exhaust ducts. As a function of various parameters such as engine speed and the position of the throttle butterfly, an adjuster opens or closes these flaps, allowing exhaust gas to flow freely between the two manifolds or, respectively, interrupting the flow of gas. This coordinates the sequence of oscillations in the exhaust gas mass flow, reducing exhaust gas counter-pressure at the decisive point (like on a racing muffler) and increasing the cylinder charge accordingly.

This factor alone makes a significant contribution to the very high standard of homogenous overall performance offered by the S 1000 RR.

The new S 1000 RR offers the highest standard of technology also on its suspension and running gear. Weighing just 206.5 kg or 455.3 lb in road trim and with a full tank, BMW’s new supersports is by far the lightest machine of its calibre displacing 999 cc and featuring ABS brakes.

One of the features that ensure this light weight is the aluminium bridge frame integrating the engine tilted to the front at an angle of 32?° as a loadbearing element for optimum torsional stiffness on minimum weight. The front wheel runs on an upside-down fork with a fi xed tube measuring an ample 46 milli metres or 1.81" in diameter, while a torsionally stiff swing arm made of aluminium holds the rear wheel in position.

The spring and damping action required is provided by a central spring strut pivoting on a guide lever.
The rear frame section of the S 1000 RR is a welded light-alloy structure belted
to the mainframe, combining low weight with superior stability and a high standard of robust strength particularly important to riders and teams on the race track.

The rider's seating position leaning forward towards the front wheel for an active style of riding is simply ideal for the sporting rider with his particularly dynamic style.

Developing the S 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad has given particular attention to the superior ergonomics of the machine, providing ideal qualities for both small and tall riders and therefore focusing consistently on the rider's individual requirements. The tank section is as slender as on a 600-cc machine, giving the rider the assurance of excellent control and handling at all times.

In the process of developing the S 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad focused not only on a lightweight structure, but also on minimum dimensions as an absolutely essential requirement. Cylinder bore of 80 millimetres or 3.15", for example, the largest bore in this segment, and the resulting width of the cylinder head, called for particularly attention on the part of the engineers in order to make the front silhouette of the S 1000 RR extremely slim and slender, on the one hand, while providing an efficient flow of cooling air, on the other.

Technical challenges of this kind as well as a development period of just four years made the S 1000 RR the ideal project for consistent, all-out use of CAD (Computer-Aided Design) technology as well as the most advanced calculation methods, for example for the machine's aerodynamics.

As the bottom line, the S 1000 RR is the absolutely ideal motorcycle for the customers of BMW Motorrad looking for new, unprecedented standards and qualities in the supersports segment, according to BMW.

But will the BMW S1000 RR be able to outperform its established competitors such as the Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade, the Suzuki GSX-R 1000, Kawasaki ZX-10R the Yamaha YZF R1 and the Ducati 1198?

Probably not, but maybe a soon test-drive will prove us wrong.

AE