Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1508846
RIDE REVIEW I 2023 BMW M 1000 R M COMPETITION P96 In Road mode, you're left with whatever the TC setting is from the factory. Again, this is fine for most applications found on the street, but if you want to amp things up, head into Race Pro mode (an optional extra at pur- chase from your BMW dealer), and you can choose from +8 to -8 TC settings. You'll also be met with the full force of the 205-horsepower motor. Just to give you an idea, BMW WorldSBK machines of a decade ago "only" had 10 horsepower more than what this M 1000 R produces. That's the level of performance on offer. However, it's not perfect. BMW still hasn't got to grips with the emissions police, who have seen to it the area between 6-8000 rpm is nothing more than a dead zone. The motor labors through these 2000 rpm, then screams to life, although not quite as bad as the S 1000 RR from a few years ago. From here, things get really silly. The front end feels like an angry Doberman on a leash, constantly trying to rip itself away from the owner; the only thing holding the show together is the wheelie control working overtime in the background. It's a visceral experience, one in which sense and sensibil - ity get spat out the Akrapovic exhaust and the intake and ex- haust wail take center stage. A single-piece handlebar only adds to the occasion—this is street fighting at its best. Although pinning the M's throttle is an assault on the senses, the motor is equally an - noying in how much it vibrates at the handlebars. A 300-mile, seven-hour round trip had my hands feeling like they'd been gripping something that was hiding under the bed in a shoe - box. The mirrors are absolutely useless on the freeway as they vibrate so much you can barely make out the shape of a car be - hind, let alone tell if it's close or not. This has long been a BMW (Top left) Mission control is mainly on the left handlebar and will take you a long time to work out all the available options. (Top right) The Akrapovic exhaust gives extra bark to match the bite. (Below left) As part of the M Competition package, you get a special chain that adds a bit more bling to go with all that carbon. (Below right) The Marzocchi fork, matched to BMW's Dynamic Damping Control algorithm, makes for a soft ride in Road mode and stiff as a race bike in Race Pro mode.