Tarra Bulga National Park via Yarram Monday 25^th April 2011

A quick spin on Rod’s BMW S1000RR

It was only meant to be a short, see what you think ride but when Rod missed the unmarked corner and sailed off down the highway at Toora, Melbourne bound, the nominal 60 km Leg 3 turned into the 350 km Leg 3, Leg 4, Leg 5 and 100 km home run. And then another 15 km the next day when we met half way between homes for the bike swap.

At Foster, where we swapped bikes, my immediate impression was general tautness of the suspension and particularly the drive-train. A similar feel to Pierre Ong’s Ducati 1098. Next impression was the light weight, high foot pegs, throaty exhaust and busy dash. That’s in the first few hundred metres. Next was how easy and pleasant the bike was to ride, acclimatising very quickly, the seating position and handlebar, top fairing very similar to the 954 setup. The next thing I noticed was that the gearing is lower – 124 km/h @5000 rpm on the 954 versus 115 km/h on the BMW. It needs to be as it has a very short stroke motor compared to the 954 and feels like it makes less torque in the low rev ranges. Having said that, the bike naturally runs 1000 rpm higher and you automatically drop into that range. And being so light the bike accelerates deceptively quickly. Conversely, it brakes brilliantly and effortlessly. Getting back on the 954, the bike felt heavy and needed plenty of time to pull up.

The test route included everything from very tight, narrow, slippery and partly wet roads (Tarra Bulga National Park), the occasional sweepers, and lots of medium speed corners (Toora/Agnes Fall loop), a section with lots of sparse gravel (just north of Welshpool). And lots of highway – to test out the lane splitting capabilities and headlight throw. The bike is small and very narrow and the headlight is excellent.

The bike has all the electronic trickery. I immediately missed the gear indicator when I swapped back to my bike. I played with the slipper clutch – no need to clutch down, but in the end just rode it conventionally, blipping the throttle on down changes. Rod had the bike in “Sport (full power) Mode” and that is where it stayed. There is a lot of information on the dash, but the speedo and gear indicator are easy to spot. The time clock is handy too. Hitting the starter button produces a proper high energy fast spin, unlike the Honda CBR1000s which sound like the starter motor is barely coping with one asthmatic spin. Hitting the starter button early, before the self checks have completed, results in a bare bones display – speed and gear only. But you find yourself missing the trip meter and clock. The trip meter (2 off) is interesting in that as soon as you hit reserve (193 km, 17 litre tank, 3.75 litre on reserve) the trip meter automatically switches to count down mode – 57, 56, 55 km till empty. A handy feature. Economy at 12 km/l seems quite thirsty – the price you pay for 170 hp on tap.

The boys were wary of the slippery conditions but the Beemer has traction control and it is exceptional. Nary a moment. Twice I felt slip and grip – but less than that – almost slip, grip, no loss of drive. Perfect!

The front forks are brilliant, the rear shock good – great out of corners under load, but harsh over big bumps. Not sure if it is a function of the light weight of the bike, or could be tuned out. Mind you, with 500 km the day before on the Jamieson ride, I was already mildly sore and sensitive before today’s ride started!

Change of direction and neutral steering was great. So easy! And the lack of drive-train freeplay was hard to comprehend. It is minimal. By comparison, the 954 is particularly bad (a recognised weakness) – you just have to be smooth with gear changes. And the Beemer has a power shifter. I ignored it.

Thanks Rod for a fantastic experience. Having a ride on your HP2 down the length of the Licola Road was also a great experience.

Would I buy one at $29,000? The missus took one look at the pillion seat … And that was that.

Ben Warden

p.s. I was so impressed with the feel of the BM forks (and the Ducati) on change of direction, I upped the rebound on my 954 by a quarter of a turn. But if it makes the ride harsh, I’ll back it off one eighth of a turn! [I backed it off the 1/8 turn and it is excellent. …Ed.]