BMW S1000RR

From the makers of the popular GS comes this street legal WSBK racer. Sharp, the most powerful in its class when launched, and more agile than a mongoose. This bike has backed tens of awards and favorable reviews from reviewers who just loved it, the world over.

When launched, it ruled the horsepower charts, being as powerful as a Suzuki Hayabusa but weighing almost 50 kg less. The power-to-weight ratio was just phenomenal, what with a power output of 179.2hp at the rear wheel and with a wet weight of 207.7 kg (Dry weight- 183kg).

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The BMW S1000RR is a sport bike initially made by BMW Motorrad to compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, that is now in commercial production. It was introduced in Munich in April 2008, and is powered by a 999 cc (61.0 cu in) inline-4 engine redlined at 14,200 rpm.

BMW made 1,000 S1000RRs in 2009 to satisfy World Superbike homologation requirements, but expanded production for commercial sale of the bike in 2010. It has an anti-lock braking system, standard, with an optional electronic traction control. It has a wet weight of 207.7 kg (458 lb), and produces 133.6 kW (179.2 hp) @ 13,250 rpm at the rear wheel. It competes with Ducati Panigale, Kawasaki Ninja, Yamaha R1, Honda Fireblade

Race bike differences

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The factory race bike used in the Superbike World Championship differs in a number of ways from the production bike. Its engine has a higher compression ratio of 14.0:1 compared with 13.0:1, and it delivers over 200 hp (150 kW) at 14,000 rpm, compared with 193 hp (144 kW) at 13,000 rpm. The race bike has a 44 mm Öhlins inverted fork, compared with a 46 mm upside-down fork. It has 16.5-inch front wheel and 16-inch rear wheel instead of 17-inch and an MRA Racing 'Double-Bubble' Windshield. Most significantly, it has a wet weight of 162 kg (360 lb) compared with 207.7 kg (458 lb) for the production model.

Superbike World Championship

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On 26 June 2008, Spanish rider Rubén Xaus signed to ride the bike for the factory BMW Motorrad team. On 25 September 2008, Australian former double Superbike World Champion Troy Corser signed to complete the team's two-rider lineup for 2009. In the 2009 Superbike World Championship season, the highest race result achieved by Corser was fifth place in the Czech Republic, and Xaus achieved seventh place in Italy. During the 2010 FIM Superstock 1000 Championship season Ayrton Badovini dominated by winning every single race but one on the S1000RR. This result was significant because the Superstock class of WSBK is where the machines most closely resemble the stock offerings at the showroom. On 13 May 2012, Italian rider Marco Melandri riding for the factory BMW Motorrad team was the first to secure a win for the S1000RR in World Superbike competition at the British round in Donington Park. His team mate Leon Haslam came in second giving BMW a "One Two" finish.

MotoGP CRT Class

On 8 April 2012, US rider Colin Edwards rode a BMW S1000RR engined motorcycle for the Forward Racing team. This history making inaugural CRT Class debut, where 1000cc tuned factory production motorcycle engines competed for the first time alongside the current MotoGP machines. The BMW S1000RR engined Suter machine though placed first in its class finished 12th overall.

Marketing

In March 2010, BMW released a video on YouTube titled "The oldest trick in the world", which highlighted the S1000RR's acceleration by pulling a tablecloth off a long 20-seat dining table without disturbing the place settings and table decorations. Its popularity turned the ad viral, with 1.4 million views in the first ten days, and more than 3.7 million views as of October 2010. The October 27, 2010 MythBusters episode "Tablecloth Chaos" tested whether the trick could be reproduced. The stunt was replicated in detail, with the exception that a different motorcycle was used—an Erik Buell Racing 1125R, owned and ridden by the shows co-presenter Jamie Hyneman. The conclusion was that the video was fake as the only way it could be reproduced was by placing a plastic sheet on top of the tablecloth—thus eliminating any contact between the tablecloth and the table settings.

Recall

BMW issued a recall for bikes built between Sept. 1, 2011, through April 10, 2012 to address an issue with bolts that secure the connecting rods to the crankshaft that could loosen when the bike is driven at high speed.