Just spent an enjoyable hour on a demo s1000RR Sport from those nice fellas at Coopers BMW (certain dealers 'elsewhere' in the north east should take note - 3 minutes after saying hello and handing over my licence I was let loose on BMW's top sports bike - try that on a Jap or Italian bike anywhere else north of Doncaster !!).
Nice review Chef - i'll just add a few* words comapring the Sport 1000RR (all done in Sport mode on the ECU) to a Ducati 1198S.
Looks:The Duc has it.
No doubts.
Yeah,i'm biased but the 1198S looks great from all angles.
The BMW?
Functional is the best way to describe it - headlights aside it could be a Honda/KTM/Kwak clone (especially in the black/graphite colours) - nothing wrong with that of course but it's not a bike to buy with your heart alone imho.
The red/white/blue looks better but 450 quid extra?!!
Brakes :They share very similar Brembo calipers but the BMW uses a Nissin m/c.
The 1198 brakes are fantastic - all the feel you need combined with astounding power - they're capable of trackwork without any fade.
The BMW?
Fook-in-hell !!!
Everything the Duc has but more - one finger braking to lose 110 mph in an instant together with the safety net of an excellent ABS system.
Superb.
Handling :Now it gets tricky and what one rider thinks is good can be considered an annoying trait by another.
To be fair,my Duc has been well set up (was a bit of a hound on standard settings) and i'm not sure what setting the BMW was using.
The BMW seems to hold a line as well as the Duc (praise in itself) but takes a little effort to get it to turn in initially - the Duc can be coaxed onto it's side far quicker and stability doesn't seem to suffer as a consequence.
The BMW feels a lot like my old (2008) ZX10 with a touch more stability and better damping although you can feel from the off that the Duc is a lot lighter.
In a word?
Nice but not exceptional - definitely not a deal breaker though.
Gadgets :Now we're talking.
The QuickShitter fitted to the BMW is very good (not as quick as a dynojet fitted to Kainy's R6) but far better than the one not fitted to the Ducati !
I had a couple of 'moments' with it where it refused to change from 2nd to 3rd under full load - slightly easing the throttle sorted it and the bike had less than 700 miles on the clock so it might just be a one (or two) off.
Traction control :
It works and like Chef said,you know it's working as you can feel the power drop off and the clocks look like something out of a 70's disco!
However,the Duc's system works just as well but is far more subtle - at times i've had to look at data traces to see it was actually operating as it's difficult to feel it working whilst riding - just seemless drive.
ABS - dry roads and no gravel using sticky tyres so never got to trial it - an excellent safety net though - could have done with it on the Ducati over the weekend!!
Engine:Here lies the biggest differences and which is best could quite easily be down to which you're used to.
You want INSTANT pull,almost any revs and any gear?
Gotta be the Duc - it's an animal just waiting to be unleashed (as soon as you clear 2500 rpm).
However,it can be fooking annoying too - a bump in the road can cause a 1% throttle increase which equals (what feels like) 100bhp extra to the back wheel - it's something you get used to and learn to take advantage of especially on traffic infested roads.
Low down is the Duc's real problem (and one of the reasons I decided to get a test on the BMW - other reasons soon...).
Want to sit at 40 mph?
Tough - you're either in 2nd where the slightest bit throttle almost wheelies the bastard or you're chugging along in 3rd sounding like a knackered 1930's Norton stretching the chain (and your patience).
Want to use 6th gear?
Get to 95mph first,otherwise use 4th or 5th and pay for it at every petrol stop (which are fairly regular anyway what with a tank the size of something from a scooter and poor mpg figures when using the performance - a 70-80 mile tank range is ok for a supermoto but not a superbike when the best roads happen to be miles from petrol stations !!!!)
All of these faults can almost be forgiven when the motor clears and starts putting down that huge torque and bhp but after a year of use,4000 miles and 4 trackdays it starts to lose it's fascination a tad..
BMW - up until 7000 rpm I was honestly wondering what all the fuss was about - seriously,there seems very little 'urge',more of a turbine smoothness,quite quick but nothing unusual comapred to an 08 ZX10 or 09 R1.
Smooth.
Then you hit 7001 rpm.
Oh yes,daddy's home - J E S U S !
I want my mam
REAL acceleration which is helped by the QuickShitter - the pull in 5th and 6th (closed roads naturally) is as strong as the pull in 2nd and 3rd (no doubt there's some cunning mapping and ignition trickery going on but the results justify it).
Without back-to-back 'testing' I'd say there's little in it between the BMW + Duc from 2nd through to the end of fourth but after that it's goodbye to just about anything else on the road (except a lighter person on another BMW or a 'charged Busa).
However,I reckon 99% of riders will be quicker on the BMW for one simple reason - I slipped the clutch in first on the BMW for a quick get away and had the throttle pinned from 5000rpm in first all the way to 14000 rpm in 5th and you know what?
Not one wheelie - not even the threat of air under the front wheel.
Obviously there's something going on with mapping for each gear and there's lots of talk about gyroscopes and other dodgy stuff but the fact remains - while the BMW is hurtling down the road the Ducati rider is facing the real prospect of flipping the bugger in 1st,2nd and even 3rd gear - that means throttling off.(it can be fun in the right place mind...).
(Old bastard alert).
Now the main reason for wanting to try the BMW (aside from all the wanking over it the press seem to be doing lately..)
COMFORT.
I'm not a little lad,i'm not as light as I once was and all those pesky little broken arms,wrists and legs are starting to take effect.
200 mile ride on the Ducati on sunday (with 150 on saturday) has left me in agony.
I'm not talking aches and twinges but loss of circulation to hands,locked kness and (worst of all) an arse that feels like it's had the attention of a gay bull.
Ducati 1198S - it's not a tourer!
The BMW is in a different league - comfy seat,bars in a 'normal' position,very feint vibes (but nothing like those on the Duc) and footpegs which don't mean having to place your feet in your friggin armpits.
Very nice.
Overall then - BMW should be congratulated - the S1000RR feels well developed,excellent ergonomics,fine handling,breath-taking brakes and a stonking engine once over 7000rpm (but smooth and perfectly usable from tickover).
If this had been released last year and i'd ridden it before throwing 15K at the Ducati,the Ducati wouldn't be here !
Does that mean i'm getting one?
No.
Well,not sure...
You see,I hit 3rd gear on the brow of a hill on my return from the demo ride on the Duc and the front seemed to levitate for a couple of hundred yards before returning back to earth just in time to drop and gear and peel into a corner as quick as you like without complaint.
My problem is simple though - are those 'once in a rideout' moments worth the other 95% agony?
The Jury is out (or is until i contact the dealer and enquire as to what rediculously low figure he's offering me for p/ex)
S1000RR -
11,500S1000RR Sport
12,800 (450 extra for white/red/blue paint)
Value of 09 1198S
12,750Reckon a straight swap for the 'sport' is on the cards?
If you get the opportunity to ride the S1000RR (especially the sport with all the bells & whistles) then give it a go - it might just be the best bike you've ever ridden all things considered.
If only it had a bit more 'go' low down,would fooking wheelie and turn in quickly (which it may just do with a little setting up) I'd be signing the dotted line.
Need to sleep on this one......night night
*Oh aye,you know how it is...so much to say yet so little time
