2015 BMW S1000RR
FIRST RIDE
P80
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Even if in a two-wheeled poker
game of pricing, BMW is waiting
to see what Yamaha will charge
for its new bike before revealing
its own prices for the new model.
The German manufacturer
astutely got its retaliation in first
by launching the new S1000RR
on home ground at Intermot,
one month before the advent of
the Yamaha at the Milan Show
opening on November 5. That's
its ploy in seeking to protect the
22% market share of the 800cc-
plus global sportbike sector hith-
erto dominated by the Japanese,
which it claims the S1000RR has
built since its 2009 launch. With
more than 50,000 such motor-
cycles now delivered in five years
of production, this is a major profit
center for BMW, and the chance
to ride the new bike in southern
Spain at its press launch on the
twisty but well-surfaced 2.75-mile
Monteblanco track near Seville,
likewise before the Yamaha's de-
but, showed just how serious it is
about maintaining that supremacy.
It's hard to think of any other
motorcycle in the world today
which is so loaded down with
appealing features and attrac-
tive options, especially in the fully
loaded form our test bikes were
presented in—quite apart from
the increased performance and
uprated electronics incorporat-
ed as standard in this revamped
model. Yamaha and its Japanese
rivals will surely have work to do
to counter this exciting and very
authoritative new German model.
My first of five 20-minute ses-
sions at Monteblanco underlined
that very well, with the explosive
yet brilliantly controlled perfor-
mance of the new S1000RR im-
mediately to the fore. I'm fortunate
to be able to test ride each year's
crop of factory Superbikes, and I
promise you that, even complete
with street equipment, the new
BMW has a level of performance
in keeping with many of them.
Despite the small space, the RR's instrument panel
provides a ton of information.
Even the taillight gets us excited.
Alan Cathcart was
impressed with
the S1000RR's
performance on
the Monteblanco
circuit near Seville,
where BMW
introduced the bike
to the media.
