BMW Motorrad launches the S1000R

BMW has silently launched the S1000R in our market. The new motorcycle is basically the stripped down version of the flagship litre-class offering, the S1000RR. The BMW S1000R was unveiled for the first time at the 2013 EICMA Motor Show in Milan with deliveries in Europe commencing just two months before the bike landed on our shores.

The bike sports a stubby headlight at front with the traditional asymmetrical twin lamps as seen on the S1000RR barring the fairing and windscreen. Since the BMW S1000R is a streetbike, it adopts conventional bare basic bodywork, the only exception being the small panel below the fuel tank with the BMW badge on it. The BMW S1000r shares close to 75 per cent parts with its faired sibling and visual similarities include the tank, tail section, stepped seats, instrument cluster, wheels and the exhaust. 

Powering the bike is the same 999cc, inline-four motor as seen on the S1000RR but it has been tinkered to adopt the streetbike dynamics of the bike. The BMW S1000R’s powerplant produces 162PS of power and 112Nm of torque, the naked bike is down 33PS on power in comparison to the S1000RR as the revv limit has been dropped by 2,000rpm. But torque figure has been hiked by 10Nm. Like the faired offering, the BMW S1000R has also been loaded with all the electronic goodies like race ABS, automatic stability control (ASC), and dual-riding modes (Road & Rain) and dynamic traction control (DTC). 

The BMW S1000R has a relaxed riding posture compared to the faired-offering and ditches the clip-on’s for a wide and flat handle bars for a more upright riding posture in tune with street bike riding dynamics. The chassis, suspension and brakes have also been borrowed from the S1000RR, and the bike tips the scale at 207kg. But all this technology and superior cycle parts comes at a price, as the BMW S1000R would retail for an eye-popping Rs 22.83 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). The S1000R is currently on sale only in Mumbai, with other cities to follow soon, and no official accessories have also been provided for the bike. The S1000R will be offered in three colour options of red, blue and white and will be pitched against the likes of the Triumph Speed Triple, Kawasaki Z1000, Honda CB1000 and Yamaha FZ1 in the premium end of our streetbike segment.