Lodown had the pleasure to review the ultimate sports companion in its natural environment - the Monteblanco Racetrack near Seville, Spain. Getting right into the specs -  with refined torque delivery and peak torque of 113 Nm (83 lb-ft), an increase in engine output of 4 kW (6 hp) to 146 kW (199 hp!), plus a reduction in weight of 4 kg to 204 kg with a full tank of fuel and Race ABS (making allowances for equipment), the Superbike is entering a new generation. Besides eliciting even sharper performance from the new S 1000 RR, particular attention was also paid to designing the bike to be even more rider-friendly. Whether it is used for everyday riding (if you really want that) or being put through its paces on the race track – the new S 1000 RR excels in every respect.

Motor journalist and lifestyle magazine volunteers were invited to ride the racetrack and no wonder, some of them couldn’t handle this powerful Superbike, we witnessed 6 crashes in total, although the BMW S 1000 RR comes with elaborated safety features, such as the factory Race ABS (semi-integral) as well as Automatic Stability Control (ASC) included as standard. In conjunction with the optional Pro riding mode feature, it can be equipped with Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) including banking sensor and precision calibration. All control systems have been retuned and further improved in terms of their control precision and characteristics.

Chassis-wise, the new RR has been honed with the introduction of a new, lighter frame structure offering an optimised blend of rigidity and flexibility.  To enable optimum adaptation to the prevailing riding conditions, the new RR bike already comes with three riding modes as standard: “Rain”, “Sport” and “Race”. If the Pro riding mode option is selected, these can be supplemented by the two additional modes “Slick” and “User”. The Pro riding mode option also features Launch Control for flawless racing starts as well as the programmable pit-lane speed limiter for sticking exactly to the pit-lane speed limit (60km/h). When this feature is activated, it has the additional effect of producing the impressive soundtrack familiar from the world of motorcycle racing, well you know that deal.

Last, but by no means least, there is the completely restyled bodywork which is not just an design upgrade. A state of the art Superbike modelled by BMW’s design team. The bike comes in Racing Red / Light White, Black Storm metallic and BMW Motorsport colours and hits the market in February 2015.