As I folded my 6-foot 3-inch, 62-year old body onto the frame of the latest superbike from BMW, I had just one question:
Had I lost my freaking mind?
Sure, I’ve ridden many fast bikes over the years. GSXRs, Ninjas, SuperSports and more. But nothing in my recent experience has come even close to the capabilities of this mind altering, time bending, race machine. The fact that I was doing it in borrowed gear and on unfamiliar roads made me question my sanity even more.
The M 1000RR is as purpose built as any vehicle on the road today. It is BMW’s first M bike and every decision the designers and engineers made was with just one goal in mind, going faster.
• 999cc 4-cylinder engine with lightweight titanium valves, camshafts, connecting rods, and rocker arms. Check
• Revised intake system for improved high speed air flow. Check
• Lightweight M Carbon wheels. Check
• Lightweight M battery. Check
• M performance brakes with carbon cooling ducts. Check
• Revised aerodynamics with carbon fiber winglets for improve downforce and handling. Check
In fact, the only feature on the M 1000RR that isn’t designed to make it go faster is the Pit Lane Speed Limiter.
How race ready is the M 1000RR? It hits showrooms already homologated globally for the FIM Superstock class and Superbike World Championship and will soon be approved for the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 and Superbike classes in the U.S. Just put race rubber and number plates on and you’re ready to go.
But how does a two-wheeled rocket designed to win on legendary circuits like Estoril, Donnington, and Laguna Seca work on the street? That’s what I was risking my life to find out.
First of all, it’s important to understand that this bike was designed to fit a rider closer in size to current FIA world champion Álvaro Bautista who is 5-foot 6-inches tall and weighs 133 pounds. This made straddling the bike easy with my 36-inch inseam. Tucking my legs onto the pegs which are higher and further back than on even the most aggressive street bikes was… lets just say there’s barely enough collagen left in my joints to fold my legs into the required position to properly operate this bike.
Then there’s the shifter which was set for race mode. Instead of the traditional one down, five up shift pattern I’ve used my entire life, it’s one up, five down. I was sure this inversion would be a recipe for disaster and have me pulling upshifts instead of downshifts into tight corners where I’d find myself hurtling off a cliff thanks to my inability to scrub off enough speed. Fortunately, I only mis-shifted once, and that was on the flat, straight, six-lane boulevard on the way back to the hotel so the results weren’t catastrophic.
As I rolled away from the parking lot, I was struck by how smoothly the clutch engaged and how docile the engine was at low RPM. As a race machine, I expected it to be more high strung, bucking and rearing like an edgy thoroughbred being pushed into the starting gate at Churchill Downs. Thanks to the anti-hopping clutch, the M 1000RR was happy easing away from stoplights. It tooled along lazily at 3,500 RPM while I got comfortable with the controls. After a few miles, I worked my way up the tach and began running the bike in the 6,000 to 7,000 RPM range where responsiveness definitely improved.
Then I turned right onto Highway 74 and began the climb up the San Jacinto mountains on a pristine piece of pavement with more twists and turns than a Dickens novel. Keeping the tach higher in the rev range I leaned into the first curve with the bike responding to my thoughts as much as my inputs. The beefy and sticky Michelin rubber inspired stupid amounts of confidence and as I rolled through the first corner, the bike dug deeper and leaned more readily. Straightening up, I twisted the throttle and that’s when the world changed.
It’s all fun and games until the tach hits 11,000 RPM. At that point, time slows down, you hear demons screaming from the Akrapovič titanium exhaust, and your first thought is whether your life insurance is paid up. Thus began 33 miles of sprinting from corner to corner, learning the patience that is necessary to wait to turn in because this bike changes direction as quickly as a politician reading a snap poll. Thanks to the low inertia of the carbon wheels and the massive grip of the competition brakes, reining the bike in was never an issue. The most important thing for me to remember was that this was a public road and I am not, in fact, Valentino Rossi. This bike is so much better than I am, I can honestly say I rode as hard as I felt comfortable and probably never used half of its potential.
The BMW M 1000 RR is not a bike for amateurs. This is a serious race machine that belongs in the hands of only the most experienced riders. If you own this bike and don’t take it on the track you are doing it and yourself a disservice.
2022 BMW Motorrad M 1000RR
High-performance, race-spec superbike
Base price: $32,495
Price as tested: $37,490
Engine: 999cc, inline 4-cylinder DOHC with variable valve timing
Transmission: 6-speed manual with clutchless Shift Assistant Pro
Power: 205 horsepower at 13,000 RPM
Torque: 83 pound-feet at 11,000 RPM
0-60 MPH: 3.0 seconds
Top Speed: 189 miles per hour
