BMW S1000RR for the track.

Two totally different bikes as far as riding style and technology is concerned. There are TONS of S1000rr's at my local track every week. A friend of mine has one thats already been worked over by GP suspension. He never bothers with rain mode, never felt ABS come on, but does feel the TC kicking in out of corners a lot. Likes the factory quick shifter a lot. Says its light and nimble. I beat him down the straights every time, but its more down to the act I simply corner harder and get on the gas sooner than he does.

I still haven't seen the club racers going nuts with them yet. There is one locally that dyno's at 208hp with a bit of work done to it, but the top guys are still on GSXR 1000's and Honda CBR1000rr's. Its going to take a bit before people figure out the setups all the way and start taking advantage of the top end it has. For reference, I just acquired an AMA Superbike CBR1000rr that was raced by Jake Holden for Team Corona last year and I don't think it dyno's anymore peak power than that S1000rr does (which has much less work than mine into it), though I slaughter it in the torque department.

But really, are you a fan of twins on the track? Not saying they are good or bad, but its a totally different riding style than an inline 4. Plan on banging off the rev limiter a lot during the first day while you get used to it. Also, Ducati's tend to need a LOT more suspension work to get them up to race pace, new tripples etc. And when you crash, don't count on bumming spares off anyone at the track.

Are you competing? Running top of "A'' group? Just a "B" group guy having fun etc? If you aren't going for lap records or club racing, go with whatever gives you the biggest boner.

 

^ a+...

well said..

636rr? not even sure thats a real bike? the rr models had 599 cc's.....

 

The japanese will catch up to BMW in the peak power department as well as electronics on the next cycle of models. Kawasaki's new 2011 ZX-10 will likely feature a similar 180-ish hp figure. Honda will certainly have traction control to go with its existing ABS on the CBR1000RR in 2012 if not 2011. Never count out Suzuki for more than a year or two. Once they catch up the current BMW features will be standard equipment on plentiful bikes at much lower cost. Much more aftermarket support as well.

The BMW is the "it" bike to have right now, although IMO it is will be short-lived in that position. Keep in mind that below 13000 rpm it is only more or less equal to the other literbikes in power. The only real advantage it has is on the extreme top end because it can rev so high. Up to now the Japanese bikes have kept up with each other, gradually increasing redlines and peak power has hit a plateau of 150-160 for the past few years as sound and tailpipe emissions regulations kept power improvements in check. Now that the bar has been raised by BMW, all four companies will do likewise and we will see literbikes just as worthless in the real world as 17k rpm 600cc bikes are now with nothing below 10k revs.

With that said, try a Ducati 1198 before buying the BMW. It will be a totally different experience to the two inlines you have now. There is a large, if expensive, aftermarket for the Duc that could satisfy everything you could want for track days.

 

for a while Kawasaki's 600 class bike was, indeed, a 636cc.

not sure if they still sell it that way or went back to 599cc's.

anyway, the BMW....I've heard loads of hype about it, but no "real world" track experience. thanks for the input from this thread. sounds like it is truly a legit sport bike.

 

2003 kawi went to 636... this was the zx-6r (while an rr model was still available, it was only 599 cc's)

this ended in 2007 when the zx-6r went back to 599. (no more extra 37 cc bump)

My 2005 636 was one of the best bikes I've ever owned and ridden. "confidence inspiring" sums up the ride in 2 words. Not to mention I could run a mid 10 quarter mile on it and it handled like a dream.

 

My 636 was my favorite track bike as well. I've ridden the new ones (zx6r), not the same. Not to drag this thread off topic- the BMW is a pure BEAST!

 

I like Kawis, and have had a bunch...ZX-6, ZX-11, ZX-9R, ZX-6R, and currently, another ZX-9R. I like everything about them except they feel like pigs compared to my Ducati because of the seat position and tank width and bike girth. I think I will go for a ZX-10R next. Kawasaki shifting mechanisms have come a long way since my first ZX-6, but they still kinda suck. I read a letter from one guy in Roadracing World whose shifter engaged at the wrong time, made his bike pop a wheelie, and then dragged him as he lost control. I think he ended up with a broken ankle and a host of other injuries.

After the ZX-10R, I am going to buy a BMW or the first Japanese bike that catches up to that technology.

I never enjoyed my Ducati 996. Uncomfortable, smaller riding range, and not faster around the track. It did look cool.

 

You can find a leftover new 2008-09 ZX-10 for around eight grand these days. Huge discount off MSRP. Even the cross-plane R1 is under nine grand if you are so inclined.

 

Rode at PIR on a trackday yesterday and there were again several S1000rr's present. One in particular had a lot of work done to it. The back section of PIR is not really a straight, its a slight curve that is actually built over an old city street, so it has a crown to it.

Liter bikes generally slide to the outside and pull back in to make the kink at the end of it due to the crowning and tons of tire spin. 600's are able to hug the wall the whole way. I need to look at the telemetry to see speeds hit, but I think its over 160 mph by the time you start braking for 7.

I was following the built S1000rr on my CBR1000, mine does have the full HRC traction control fitted to it, but its basically turned off at this point until I can get it back to the dyno and tune it a bit. Lap after lap I was watching this guy simply pin the throttle and leave a nice black stripe the whole way through this section. The TC just took care of everything.

He wasn't any faster than me, but I'm sure he was doing this with 1/3 the effort I was through that section.

 

Keith Code School is using BMW 1000. Try it there.

 

whats the black strip from, doesnt the tc STOPPP wheelspin?

 

It does not totally stop it in ''slick'' mode. You can get several degree's of sideslip before it will totally cut it off. You can still steer with the rear wheel a bit. Basically, he was just pinning it and letting the TC figure it out, while I was having to feather the throttle manually to accomplish the same thing.

Confirmed this with several owners in fact that you can still spin up the rear a bit. If you are just plane rough with the throttle you can still highside yourself into next week. Its not totally fullproof like many seem to think it is.