I cant even afford the entry level beemers, so the thought of shelling out Rs 30lac on a bike is more foreign to me than the possibility of finding life on Mars. Then I came to Milan on an exchange semester. And I attended a class on Negotiation. And I realized I could negotiate on a BMW S1000R rental
.
Suddenly, on a pleasant October morning, I found myself astride a white BMW S1000R with the GPS pointing me in the direction of Lake Lugano, Switzerland. I am not an experienced superbike owner. Most of life has been spent on bikes under 250cc. But I got to fulfill the dream of all bike enthusiasts, and Im going to give the perspective of a person who could never afford to ride something as powerful or exclusive as the S1000R. This is what a local boy feels when put on a dragon .
Design and Feel:
The BMW adventure and touring range looks very bland but functional, very German. But their sports bikes are the polar opposite. The headlights arent symmetrical, the side panels arent symmetrical, and they look like the body was carved with an axe. Huge gaping slits, smooth long cuts This bike is a looker. Every time you park it, you start walking away, but then pause and turn around and just look at it and look some more. Just look at the pictures, enough said.
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This is an odd 200kgs inline four beast, but it will surprise you how compact and manageable it feels. It doesnt feel much bigger than the F800R I rode earlier ( http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/superbik...esnt-want.html ). Your feet reach comfortably on the ground (I can just about flat foot a Duke 200) and the handle bar isnt a stretch to reach. It does have a slightly leaned forward position, but thats expected from a 160bhp bike. All in all, it felt very similar to a Triumph Street Triple in how you feel when you are seated, just a little heavier. The seat was surprising very comfortable, and I wasnt sore after a 2hr ride. The footpegs are aggressively placed, but not cramped like the F800R. Riding around in the city, it is actually quite easy. Turning radius is very good, the instrument cluster is very readable, the large tachometer looks stunning with the shift light, and going through the menus to adjust abs, traction control, rider modes is very intuitive. My one and only gripe was the indicators on the left side are a tad bit too low for your thumb to comfortably reach. I wish BMW had place them a bit higher.
All in all, it feels very solid, well thought out, and comfortable. Its like BMW really made a S1000RR that you can live with on a daily basis.
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Performance:
But this is a performance bike, and perform it does! This is the first time Ive ridden an inline four, and people keep telling you of how smooth it is. And thats absolutely true. You dont have to drag the clutch, you dont have to worry about a mad surge of torque like an L-Twin, this is just a very very smooth thing to ride. The clutch is light, so traffic is not a problem, and the ride by wire throttle makes that pretty effortless too. But when I say smooth, dont in any way mistake it for being timid. In the city, I kept it under 4000RPM, and while it never knocked or anything, if you dropped below 2500-3000RPM, it was extremely displeased. Im told thats something all inline fours do, as the throttle bodies are not fully open at such low revs.
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But then came the highway, and I got to start pushing it a bit. Im a light person (56kgs), so Im easily upset by wind, so I decided to go easy on a bike without a faring (didnt want to blow off like a parachute you know). I was in 4th gear doing about 90kmph at 4000RPM when I started to gradually open the throttle. It is a very smooth but powerful surge that you feel, akin to a Harley but without that Harley weight! Pretty soon I was north of 140kmph and bike was not even working hard it seemed! Then of course is the noise! There are a lot of people who would a buy inline four just for the way it sounds, and I can now testify to that! It starts off as a low hum, and then progresses to a deeper growl before going all out howl! And oh what a noise it is!! But words dont express it as well as a video going though a tunnel does, so
Pretty soon I was getting quite comfortable with the bike, riding through country roads and highways. The brakes are pretty strong and responsive, so you need to adjust mentally to lighter braking. The BMW handles like a charm though. It obeys every movement of your body, and is super stable mid turn! I took turns at over 150kmph, leaned over, and it just stuck to the line like glue! Very confidence inspiring.
This may so far have seemed smooth and comfortable, but the truth is its a ballistic missile if you want it to. I was keeping it reigned in all the time because, very simply, I didnt want to die. But then after a toll I thought, lets YOLO this baby once and for all. I downshifted to 3rd, and I was doing about 120-130kmph, before opening up the throttle all the way. Bad idea. The front tire lifted clean off the ground as the bike took off like a rocket! BMWs Safety Pack has an anti wheelie function which brought me down to earth rather than have me land on my back in what wouldve been an absolutely hilarious backflip; but what a surge! All my thoughts that this a linear and progressive power delivery were gone. This bike is stupid fast, in a way that makes you feel nothing will happen to you. Let it rev and it does 100kmph, in first gear. In the video about you can see it do about 150kmph in 2nd, but the adrenaline coursing though my veins hadnt had enough. I saw a long stretch of empty highway, put my head down and just gunned it. I dont think Ive ever been so scared in my life, or this fast in my life. I thought I was scared doing 220kmph in 3-Series in Germany a while back, but now I was doing 254kmph, on a two wheeler, in 4th gear. At this point, I didnt run out of road, and the bike definitely didnt run out of power, but I sure as hell ran out of courage. I eased back on the throttle and rode the remaining 90km home at under 100kmph.
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In conclusion, this bike is comfortable, easy to handle and smooth enough to use daily in the city. It has the build quality only Germany can give you. It has an electronic package that will delight everyone (electronic suspension, shift assist, rider modes, traction control, heated grips etc). When its standing still, it looks so calm and serene. And when you want it to, be an absolute monster. Quite simply put, this is the best bike that you can buy. Period
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Suddenly, on a pleasant October morning, I found myself astride a white BMW S1000R with the GPS pointing me in the direction of Lake Lugano, Switzerland. I am not an experienced superbike owner. Most of life has been spent on bikes under 250cc. But I got to fulfill the dream of all bike enthusiasts, and Im going to give the perspective of a person who could never afford to ride something as powerful or exclusive as the S1000R. This is what a local boy feels when put on a dragon .
Design and Feel:
The BMW adventure and touring range looks very bland but functional, very German. But their sports bikes are the polar opposite. The headlights arent symmetrical, the side panels arent symmetrical, and they look like the body was carved with an axe. Huge gaping slits, smooth long cuts This bike is a looker. Every time you park it, you start walking away, but then pause and turn around and just look at it and look some more. Just look at the pictures, enough said.
This is an odd 200kgs inline four beast, but it will surprise you how compact and manageable it feels. It doesnt feel much bigger than the F800R I rode earlier ( http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/superbik...esnt-want.html ). Your feet reach comfortably on the ground (I can just about flat foot a Duke 200) and the handle bar isnt a stretch to reach. It does have a slightly leaned forward position, but thats expected from a 160bhp bike. All in all, it felt very similar to a Triumph Street Triple in how you feel when you are seated, just a little heavier. The seat was surprising very comfortable, and I wasnt sore after a 2hr ride. The footpegs are aggressively placed, but not cramped like the F800R. Riding around in the city, it is actually quite easy. Turning radius is very good, the instrument cluster is very readable, the large tachometer looks stunning with the shift light, and going through the menus to adjust abs, traction control, rider modes is very intuitive. My one and only gripe was the indicators on the left side are a tad bit too low for your thumb to comfortably reach. I wish BMW had place them a bit higher.
All in all, it feels very solid, well thought out, and comfortable. Its like BMW really made a S1000RR that you can live with on a daily basis.
Performance:
But this is a performance bike, and perform it does! This is the first time Ive ridden an inline four, and people keep telling you of how smooth it is. And thats absolutely true. You dont have to drag the clutch, you dont have to worry about a mad surge of torque like an L-Twin, this is just a very very smooth thing to ride. The clutch is light, so traffic is not a problem, and the ride by wire throttle makes that pretty effortless too. But when I say smooth, dont in any way mistake it for being timid. In the city, I kept it under 4000RPM, and while it never knocked or anything, if you dropped below 2500-3000RPM, it was extremely displeased. Im told thats something all inline fours do, as the throttle bodies are not fully open at such low revs.
But then came the highway, and I got to start pushing it a bit. Im a light person (56kgs), so Im easily upset by wind, so I decided to go easy on a bike without a faring (didnt want to blow off like a parachute you know). I was in 4th gear doing about 90kmph at 4000RPM when I started to gradually open the throttle. It is a very smooth but powerful surge that you feel, akin to a Harley but without that Harley weight! Pretty soon I was north of 140kmph and bike was not even working hard it seemed! Then of course is the noise! There are a lot of people who would a buy inline four just for the way it sounds, and I can now testify to that! It starts off as a low hum, and then progresses to a deeper growl before going all out howl! And oh what a noise it is!! But words dont express it as well as a video going though a tunnel does, so
Pretty soon I was getting quite comfortable with the bike, riding through country roads and highways. The brakes are pretty strong and responsive, so you need to adjust mentally to lighter braking. The BMW handles like a charm though. It obeys every movement of your body, and is super stable mid turn! I took turns at over 150kmph, leaned over, and it just stuck to the line like glue! Very confidence inspiring.
This may so far have seemed smooth and comfortable, but the truth is its a ballistic missile if you want it to. I was keeping it reigned in all the time because, very simply, I didnt want to die. But then after a toll I thought, lets YOLO this baby once and for all. I downshifted to 3rd, and I was doing about 120-130kmph, before opening up the throttle all the way. Bad idea. The front tire lifted clean off the ground as the bike took off like a rocket! BMWs Safety Pack has an anti wheelie function which brought me down to earth rather than have me land on my back in what wouldve been an absolutely hilarious backflip; but what a surge! All my thoughts that this a linear and progressive power delivery were gone. This bike is stupid fast, in a way that makes you feel nothing will happen to you. Let it rev and it does 100kmph, in first gear. In the video about you can see it do about 150kmph in 2nd, but the adrenaline coursing though my veins hadnt had enough. I saw a long stretch of empty highway, put my head down and just gunned it. I dont think Ive ever been so scared in my life, or this fast in my life. I thought I was scared doing 220kmph in 3-Series in Germany a while back, but now I was doing 254kmph, on a two wheeler, in 4th gear. At this point, I didnt run out of road, and the bike definitely didnt run out of power, but I sure as hell ran out of courage. I eased back on the throttle and rode the remaining 90km home at under 100kmph.
In conclusion, this bike is comfortable, easy to handle and smooth enough to use daily in the city. It has the build quality only Germany can give you. It has an electronic package that will delight everyone (electronic suspension, shift assist, rider modes, traction control, heated grips etc). When its standing still, it looks so calm and serene. And when you want it to, be an absolute monster. Quite simply put, this is the best bike that you can buy. Period
