That BMW is one of the best stock bikes I have ridden at least for street use.
The Germans built a bike that looks like a GSXR got lost in the Aprilia factory and handles like a 1000RR that has been given about 25% more agility.
Monster power output, I mean friggin massive amount of mostly linear power output, but in my opinion it is slow to rev. The bike had 159 miles on it when I first got to throw a leg over it and I was not impressed with the brakes at all, but I *cough ahem* guess I bedded them in pretty good because by the end of the ride they were really working well in fact that brings me to the only real fault I can mention about this bike. When using the brakes aggressively it really ties itself in knots... It seemed to get better when I shut down the ABS and Traction Control (DTC) and along with that the hooligan factor went up (literally) about 75%. You see the DTC system also has built in WHEELIE CONTROL. This can be adjusted in 4 different modes RAIN, SPORT, RACE & special SLICK mode that has to be manually unlocked before it can be selected. The RAIN mode cuts the power & adjusts the ABS/DTC accordingly, the SPORT mode uses full power and also adjusts the ABS/DTC inputs accordingly & RACE mode again full power, but a more aggressive ABS/DTC algorithm that incorporates a high lean angle baseline. In SPORT mode wheelies just aren't gonna happen and while I didn't try it in RACE mode I believe it allows for a 5 second wheelie before it cuts in and settles the front back down (although that might be SLICK mode) as again I didn't try to test it in any mode other than SPORT at least not until I shut the DTC off and then it wheelied like a big dog as soon as the tach hit about 9000.
Purely as a streetbike it is truly amazing... I didn't even adjust a single setting on the suspension which made for a rougher ride than I would like, but hey this is a sportbike afterall not a Goldwing. The DOT Metzeler Racetec tires were slightly overinflated for spirited riding too, but the bike was amazingly stable and so nimble to flick around. High speed 100+ sweepers to 30 mph hair pins. Uphill & down the mountain it really inspired confidence. Now don't misconstrue I rode it a little aggressively to get acquainted with it, but since I was on the street there is still 1/2" pussy stripes on both sides of the rear tire, but then again if you have seen me ride the track over the last few years you know how ridiculously far I lean off the bike to keep it from having to lean for me (learned that style from Nate Kern ) which brings me to another point. With the wide tank and nice ergonomics (for a sportbike) it feels like a 1000RR...
I think for the track it might need a little bit of trail added to it and I can't even fathom how good some Ohlins kit will improve this already very nice handling machine, but I sure hope Dan lets me get it out on the track at some point because I have feeling that is where it will shine the most.
So the BMW is 40HP stronger than the R1 ?! C'mon . How is this possible with 100,000 mile reliability ? I'm truly in shock about this bike's numbers .
Maybe they expect them to be wadded up into piles of Teutonic trash within the first few thousand miles. If you track it and ride hard enough to actually need 190 hp, it will happen. At that pace you would also be going through other spare parts (like brake pads) at a ferocious rate so they will make some money on that too which offsets the eventual spare engine they may have to supply if you are truly remarkable and don't crash the bike riding at 10/10ths.
If you just ride it like a sane person on the street, it is not stressed and would last for a long time. Either way they are OK.
All they have to do is make an engine that lasts longer than your cornering skill or your driver's license
You do understand that 95% of the people that buy one of them will NEVER even use the 190hp the bike has! I do understand that "It's better to have the "NEED" then need the "NEED" and not have" but lets get real here! I get a kick out of everyone saying they need one of these things when no one will really even ride it to it's full potential! What a joke! I still say the 1098/1198 is by far the better looking bike with the RSV4R a close second....but thats my opion!
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