Jefferson
07-09-2009, 09:40 AM
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the VP of BMW USA, Pieter, unleashing a barrage of questions about the S1000RR and what it means to BMW as the historic company reinvents itself.
Much like Harley-Davidson, the ages of BMW riders keep rising. A few years ago the company decided it needed to appeal also to a younger, more adrenaline-driven audience. The affable explained how they are repositioning the brand closer to the car side of BMW lighter, more exciting.
There are two major challenges in entering this class for BMW, something admits is “a high-risk project.”
The first is that the S1000RR absolutely must be competitive with its highly developed rivals. “It’s not like someone is building a bad bike,”. “They’re all extremely good.”
As such, BMW’s RR doesn’t reinvent the ultra-sports wheel, a development process that began 4.5 years ago. The bike has nothing externally visible that is a departure from the class formula. A perimeter aluminum frame and a 1000cc inline-Four powerplant is the same recipe the Japanese OEMs employ. We had a big reality check in the company,”. “Basically, BMW did things to be different, not necessarily because it works better. Now, if anything is done differently, it’s because it works better,” he said, referencing the new G450X dirtbike whose clutch is directly connected to the crankshaft to create an ultra-short engine with its cylinder inclined 30 degrees.
One aspect of the S1000RR that will be different from the rest lies in the cylinder head, according to oblique hints from BMW. The popular theory at this point is some form of positive valve actuation, which basically means pneumatic valves (highly impractical for a street bike) or a system in which the valves are closed mechanically instead of using springs.
Speculation aside, the S1000RR will definitely be equipped with dynamic traction control, something quite welcome on a bike with something near 190 crankshaft horsepower; 165 horses at the rear wheel seems likely. Some of BMW’s high-performance cars are equipped with variable-length intake manifolds, so we might see something similar on the 1000RR, although wouldn’t admit as much.
3162
As for the bike’s appearance, keep in mind that we haven’t yet seen exactly what the production bike will look like. We’re told to expect something exciting and less generic than what we’ve seen from the prototype race bikes thus far. With no new ground broken in the chassis design, we’re told to expect a fueled-up production bike to weigh in less than 450 pounds, right around the tally of its Japanese competitors.
Breaking into this market won’t be easy, but there are a couple of factors that make it financially feasible.
To keep its costs down as much as possible, component sourcing from other manufacturers and countries will be critical. BMW already has contracted Taiwan-based to build the G450X and G650 single-cylinder engines to BMW specs. We might expect a similar arrangement for the S1000RR.
Despite these turbulent economic times, World Superbike is ramping up for a renaissance season in which there will be factory-supported teams from no less than seven manufacturers. New to the series is the V-Four-powered Aprilia RSV4, plus BMW’s S1000RR. BMW decided to enter WSB racing (not MotoGP) to prove a BMW production bike can beat the competition.
Trackside observers say the pitch of the BMW’s exhaust note is higher than the other four-cylinder machines, giving credence to the theory that the S1000 revs higher than its competition. It’s also worth noting that the WSB rules have been revised for ’09 to remove rev-limit restrictions (14,000 rpm) for engines with a bore/stroke ratio of 1.5:1 or greater, so the RR will likely have a bigger bore and shorter stroke than its 1000cc competition.
With the daunting task of competing with such heavily developed competition, it’s yet unknown if BMW will be ready to race at the season-opening round in Australia on March 1. We’ll know more after the next round of tests, Portugal on January 24-25. However, it appears likely the S1000RR won’t be ready for prime time until perhaps the third round in April, according to a BMW spokesman. To qualify for inclusion in the WSB grid, a manufacturer has to produce a minimum of 1,000 bikes by the end of that season’s year. In a class segment so highly competitive, customers expect a new or heavily revised bike every two to four years, and BMW acknowledges this product cycle and is willing to step up to the plate.
Looking further into the future, we can expect some big things from BMW. The company is set to spend in 2009 the most the motorcycle division has ever spent on research and development. Whatever the case, watching the progress of BMW over the next few years should be highly entertaining.
Much like Harley-Davidson, the ages of BMW riders keep rising. A few years ago the company decided it needed to appeal also to a younger, more adrenaline-driven audience. The affable explained how they are repositioning the brand closer to the car side of BMW lighter, more exciting.
There are two major challenges in entering this class for BMW, something admits is “a high-risk project.”
The first is that the S1000RR absolutely must be competitive with its highly developed rivals. “It’s not like someone is building a bad bike,”. “They’re all extremely good.”
As such, BMW’s RR doesn’t reinvent the ultra-sports wheel, a development process that began 4.5 years ago. The bike has nothing externally visible that is a departure from the class formula. A perimeter aluminum frame and a 1000cc inline-Four powerplant is the same recipe the Japanese OEMs employ. We had a big reality check in the company,”. “Basically, BMW did things to be different, not necessarily because it works better. Now, if anything is done differently, it’s because it works better,” he said, referencing the new G450X dirtbike whose clutch is directly connected to the crankshaft to create an ultra-short engine with its cylinder inclined 30 degrees.
One aspect of the S1000RR that will be different from the rest lies in the cylinder head, according to oblique hints from BMW. The popular theory at this point is some form of positive valve actuation, which basically means pneumatic valves (highly impractical for a street bike) or a system in which the valves are closed mechanically instead of using springs.
Speculation aside, the S1000RR will definitely be equipped with dynamic traction control, something quite welcome on a bike with something near 190 crankshaft horsepower; 165 horses at the rear wheel seems likely. Some of BMW’s high-performance cars are equipped with variable-length intake manifolds, so we might see something similar on the 1000RR, although wouldn’t admit as much.
3162
As for the bike’s appearance, keep in mind that we haven’t yet seen exactly what the production bike will look like. We’re told to expect something exciting and less generic than what we’ve seen from the prototype race bikes thus far. With no new ground broken in the chassis design, we’re told to expect a fueled-up production bike to weigh in less than 450 pounds, right around the tally of its Japanese competitors.
Breaking into this market won’t be easy, but there are a couple of factors that make it financially feasible.
To keep its costs down as much as possible, component sourcing from other manufacturers and countries will be critical. BMW already has contracted Taiwan-based to build the G450X and G650 single-cylinder engines to BMW specs. We might expect a similar arrangement for the S1000RR.
Despite these turbulent economic times, World Superbike is ramping up for a renaissance season in which there will be factory-supported teams from no less than seven manufacturers. New to the series is the V-Four-powered Aprilia RSV4, plus BMW’s S1000RR. BMW decided to enter WSB racing (not MotoGP) to prove a BMW production bike can beat the competition.
Trackside observers say the pitch of the BMW’s exhaust note is higher than the other four-cylinder machines, giving credence to the theory that the S1000 revs higher than its competition. It’s also worth noting that the WSB rules have been revised for ’09 to remove rev-limit restrictions (14,000 rpm) for engines with a bore/stroke ratio of 1.5:1 or greater, so the RR will likely have a bigger bore and shorter stroke than its 1000cc competition.
With the daunting task of competing with such heavily developed competition, it’s yet unknown if BMW will be ready to race at the season-opening round in Australia on March 1. We’ll know more after the next round of tests, Portugal on January 24-25. However, it appears likely the S1000RR won’t be ready for prime time until perhaps the third round in April, according to a BMW spokesman. To qualify for inclusion in the WSB grid, a manufacturer has to produce a minimum of 1,000 bikes by the end of that season’s year. In a class segment so highly competitive, customers expect a new or heavily revised bike every two to four years, and BMW acknowledges this product cycle and is willing to step up to the plate.
Looking further into the future, we can expect some big things from BMW. The company is set to spend in 2009 the most the motorcycle division has ever spent on research and development. Whatever the case, watching the progress of BMW over the next few years should be highly entertaining.