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/1536228
(Top) The swingarm pivot is numbered to easily recognize the setting. Inside that motor sits north of 250 German horses. (Above) Brembo M4 calipers grip 338mm discs and offer truly prodigious stopping power. (Bottom) A much larger WorldSBK tank cover (the tank actually goes under the seat) makes it easier to latch onto, especially when squeezing it to keep your weight in the right place under braking. P104 FEATURE I RIDING RAZGATLIOGLU'S BMW M 1000 RR a perfect setup, you just put in another tire from another compound family. When you change suspension, it changes again. This is why the guys are still at the track working at midnight." ON THE HOT SEAT There's a bit of a party atmosphere in the Cre- mona Circuit pitlane as the ROKiT BMW Motor- rad WorldSBK Team members fire up Toprak Razgatlioglu's BMW M 1000 RR and beckon me to climb aboard. The seat unit is tall thanks to the carbon-fiber subframe, but you sit much more "in" the Toprak bike compared to the factory BMW EWC racer I've just jumped off, which has a far more aggressive riding position with a lower-set handlebar and a taller seat unit. The Toprak bike, like all WorldSBK machines these days, has neutral at the bottom of the gearbox that's activated by a lever on the right handlebar, so it's impossible to hit neutral when going from second to first gear. Stamping on the lever to grab first, the team pushes me away, and I'm rolling down pitlane on one of the most exclusive motorcycles in the world. Toprak runs his handlebar quite wide, similar to the stance I remember from Jonathan Rea's 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R WorldSBK title winner. The ride position is relatively relaxed, but the high, rearward-set footpegs remind you that when you hit the track, it's business time. Out of the pitlane and sedately negotiating the first of Cremona's switchback corners, the first thing that strikes you is just how light the Toprak M 1000 RR is on direction changes. Having just spun laps on a stock M 1000 RR with carbon-fiber wheels, the fact that the To - prak 370-pound-dry bike feels so much lighter on its feet is astonishing. The phrase "look where you want to go and it'll do it" is so overused in my profession, but it's apt here. A simple push of the outside leg into the tank while leaned over is enough to get the BMW to completely alter its line, tightening up the latter part of the turn and allowing you to get on the gas sooner and harder.