Pommie has been out on the BMW M 1000 R, putting this insane machine through its paces on the road and at SMSP. Check out what he thought of this super nakedbike... Photos: SDPics, Tony Wilding
The idea of a nakedbike has always appealed to me, in fact, I’ve owned a few over the years. However, the thing that bugged me was the fact they were always detuned and watered-down Superbike siblings. That is until the BMW M 1000 R stepped onto the scene…
The new BMW M 1000 R is one of the wildest nakedbikes you can buy. Pommie put it to the test.
Check out our review of the S 1000 R M Sport here…
Road Test
With the bike arriving at the crack of dawn, it was a good opportunity for me to have a good look around the M 1000 R and see what you get for your $32,290 (the competition package is $39,890) before the sun made an appearance and warmed up enough for this soft lad to don my leathers and brave the winter morning. The BMW, as you’d expect, is quality.
Visual aspects of a bike are always subjective, what I think looks good, someone else may hate. I personally love the look of the M 1000 R, those winglets really do make a statement and even when I’m riding the bike they are always in my peripheral vision to remind me I’m on something a bit special.
Check out those winglets that dominate the front of the M 1000 R! What a spectacular looking machine…
Throwing a leg over, I immediately love the riding position, for my 182cm frame it’s perfect. I’m upright, but have a slight reach to the ‘bars, bringing my body forward slightly so I put more weight on the front and promote extra grip. With the key-fob in my pocket a push the start button and the 6.5in TFT dash springs to life and I’m treated to a bright, easy to read and very uncluttered screen.
The quality of the components are top-notch as you’d expect, like the M brakes, fully adjustable new Marzocchi suspension with electronic Dynamic Damping Control (DDC) and an adjustable steering damper, you also get a lovely engineered up and down quick-shifter. It’s those little things that shout quality like the diamond cut finish on the swingarm ends and even the billet bar-end mirrors, the whole bike just oozes quality.
It’s a seriously top-notch looking bike. There’s so many quality components that ooze quality.
Although there are a few negatives, the main one is the finish on the panels. The fuel tank is great, but for some reason, on the rest of the panels BMW have decided not to clear coat over the graphics giving them a duller orange peel look.
My only other small issue was the position of the map button, I would have preferred it to be swapped in the place of the heated handlebar grip button so I can easily press it with my right hand on the move. With my few minor gripes over, it’s all good news from here, there’s nothing really to dislike about the M 1000 R apart from being scared of the insane performance and losing my licence.
My first ride on the bike is a 200km loop of my favourite local roads, but before I set-off I take a while to warm-up the bike and have a look and play with all the buttons. The first thing I do is set the heated handlebar grips to level 3 and set-up the dash to show only the functions I really need, such as rev-counter, speedo, clock and fuel remaining, for that minimalistic look.
Pommie decided to set off in the high-intervention and lowest power mode (Rain) to ease into the performance.
I decide to set off in Rain mode and go from there due to the cold morning conditions and brand-new tyres. With the bike at standstill and ticking over, it is reasonably quiet, but has a nice eager note with the stock Akrapovič exhaust and titanium silencer. I pull in the nice light cable operated slipper clutch, with the beautifully engineered M adjustable lever and select first gear.
The first thing that strikes me is, the bike is held with what feels like a handbrake on what is almost flat ground. When I let out the clutch, it seamlessly releases as I feed out the lever and off I go. I head up my street and snick a few gears through the quick-shifter and give it a slight handful. The bike responds smoothly, but incredibly fast and I have to double check that I am in Rain mode. I think to myself “If this is the power in Rain mode then this M 1000 R is going to be absolutely mental in Dynamic…”
I think to myself “If this is the power in Rain mode then this M 1000 R is going to be absolutely mental in Dynamic…”
The M 1000 R is basically an S 1000 RR stripped of its clothes, the fact that BMW have then lowered the gearing ratios both internally and via two more teeth on the rear cog, shows that they have gone all out to make this bike into something we could only dream about a few years ago.
BMW’s clever Shift-Cam technology means that the old 1000cc four-cylinders with no torque are a thing of the past. With this new motor it has gobs of grunt available all throughout the rev-range, so much so that even in top gear at 60km/h the thing pulls like a train if you twist the throttle. I even went at much slower speeds in top-gear, but the engine still pulled away smoothly without a complaint. This has the result of making the M 1000 R an excellent mannered road bike.
“BMW’s clever Shift-Cam technology means that the old 1000cc four-cylinders with no torque are a thing of the past. With this new motor it has gobs of grunt available all throughout the rev-range.”
As I head through traffic to get to some better roads I can’t help thinking that the quick-shifter is one of the best I’ve used. It’s super precise and requires just a light pressure up or down to select a gear and requires very little input on the up-shifts. Finding neutral while rolling to a stop at the traffic lights is really easy, too.
Check out Alan Cathcart’s 2023 World M 1000 R Launch here…
Speaking of traffic, although the bike looks wide with those imposing aggressive wings, it’s not really. The widest part are the mirrors and you can turn them vertically to reduce the width if you wish, and I have no trouble lane splitting through traffic. The vision in the mirrors is excellent, however, once at freeway speeds they get really blurry. You also get cruise control, which works flawlessly and is super simple to operate and is really handy on the freeway to help preserve your licence.
I’m not sure what I expected when I selected Dynamic mode and twisted the throttle properly for the first time. I mean, I’ve ridden some fast bikes in my time as head tester for Rapid Bikes magazine, but nothing I’ve ridden comes close to this. When the exhaust valve opens the bike becomes angry, the induction noise becomes more intense, the gear changes start popping as I tap up the gears and the acceleration can only be described as scary fast.
In Dynamic mode, you can feel the suspension get a bit more sporty and the throttle response has a more eager feel.
I can’t help thinking that I have to ride the bike at SMSP track in a few days and have to hold on to this thing, as it’s literally trying to tear me off the back with the force of acceleration. Imagine my shock when I look down and see I’m nowhere near redline…
“I’m not sure what I expected when I selected Dynamic mode… I mean, I’ve ridden some fast bikes in my time, but nothing I’ve ridden comes close to this.”
Cornering on the M 1000 R is effortless, I’m scratching my head thinking of another bike that falls in and goes around a bend as good as this. It may be a combination of the chassis/steering geometry and the Bridgestone Racing Street RS11 tyres, BMW has really excelled in making this bike turn.
Changing direction, flicking the BMW from side to side is easy, it seems to require me just to think about it and I’m already lifting and dropping into corners with very little effort. The bike weighs just shy of 200kg fully fuelled, but when punting through the corners feels much, much lighter.
Exiting the corners I would have loved to have given it the full beans, revving it to redline, however I never made it there. The engine has such phenomenal torque that there was no need to rev the bike anywhere near redline, seeing the traction-control flickering on the dash was also a good indication I was going way too fast anyway.
“Changing direction, flicking the BMW from side to side is easy, it seems to require me just to think about it and I’m already lifting and dropping into corners with very little effort.”
Luckily the braking system on the M 1000 R is up to the job. The front monoblock fixed radial calipers are made by Nissin and the rear is a Brembo item, both offer great feel and power and I only really needed two fingers on the adjustable billet lever.
This is no doubt helped by the BMW intuitive engine braking and slipper clutch system, which seems to be working some sort of magic in the background to keep me from locking up the rear wheel, no matter how hard or rapidly I shift down the gears.
Next course of action was to see how the BMW M 1000 R handled SMSP at full noise…
Track Test
Arriving early at SMSMP I’m greeted by a wet track so I set off in Rain mode and wobble around slowly to remind myself of the track layout. After a few laps I start to up the pace slightly, the M 1000 R is not intimidating at all in Rain mode, because the throttle response is super smooth and progressive and the bikes electronics stop you from doing anything too stupid and intervene really early.
Once Pommie got his eye in at SMSP, he was have a ball on the wild M 1000 R.
In the next session the track starts to dry out and I find the bike’s suspension to be too soft. Not a problem, a quick press of the mode button and I select Dynamic mode, this stiffens the damping, sharpens up the throttle response and eases off on the traction control intervention. In fact, it totally transforms the bike into what it was designed for, an all round weapon.
Down the straight is the only place I feel a bit average, it really takes a bit of hanging onto with no fairing and the sense of speed is greater because of it. The fun factor is great and with the wide ‘bars cornering is effortless, once my confidence in the bike and the drying track came, I really start to have fun and take full advantage of the M 1000 R’s 206hp.
“It really takes a bit of hanging onto with no fairing and the sense of speed is greater because of it.”
I knew after riding on the road that the brakes were good, but they really shine on the track. The power to wash off speed coming into slow corners is incredible and the brakes have excellent feel, power and intimate modulation, while the ABS can’t be felt.
The blistering acceleration out of turn three over the hill and into turn four is amazing and my favourite part of the track, going around turn four the bike feels like it’s on its side forever, but in reality is probably a second, the M 1000 R just holds a perfect line and feels so safe and stable doing so.
BMW do an awesome job of making their M bikes look special. Just look at this thing!
I was looking forward to selecting Race Pro mode and having a bit of fun with the traction control adjustments that this mode offers, but unfortunately just as I was about to press the button the red flags come out as someone goes down, then the heavens open and that is it for us for the day…
“With the wide ‘bars cornering is effortless, once my confidence in the bike came, I really start to have fun.”
Conclusion
At the end of the day, there’s not much to dislike about the M 1000 R, it’s a bike that’s happy to commute to work and is beautifully balanced at slow speed and through traffic, you even have GPS and Bluetooth connectivity through the BMW app. It’s a bike you can take out for a scary thrash on your favourite stretch of road or potentially embarrass pretty much any other bike on a racetrack, if you’re a good enough rider and can hold on tight. Does anybody need this much power on a naked road bike? No, but do we want it ? Hell yes…
Second Opinion – Jeff Ware
I was lucky enough to do a number of sessions on the M 1000 R the same day as Pommie. And like Pom, I got wet, drying and dry time, so plenty of opportunity to test out the electronics and to scare myself with a 200-plus-hp nakedbike on lightly treaded sports tyres! What I can say, after around 35-laps, it that the M 1000 R is the wildest nakedbike this bike journo has sampled in his 22-years on the job! Acceleration, braking and handling are all at the top of the list for me. The M 1000 R is madness!
Jeff’s first few sessions were on a drying track, but this gave him a chance to sample the modes and electronics.
A drying track is never fun, particularly when you are not on wets, but the M 1000 R was smooth, predictable and easy to handle in Rain mode. The only issue I had? The footpeg to seat distance is so seriously tight that it really prevented me from riding the bike the way I needed to in the wet. OK for shorter legs, not so good for me at 187cm, but an easy fix for an owner.
Acceleration off turns is mind blowing but the electronics keep everything inline. Here Jeff has it pinned to full throttle!
So I was unable to ride the M 1000 R properly in the wet unfortunately, as I just could not get the bike upright when needed and I could not shift my weight around with finesse, as my legs are at full flex. In the dry, this is far less an issue as there is so much more grip, I can move around less carefully. With full power engaged it was time to have some fun…
Braking is fantastic – good initial bite and great modulation but I feel a good set of Brembo monoblocks still trump the M calipers (Nissins?) fitted. It stops hard, but you can feel the weight into turns 2 and 9 after a few hard laps. The suspension is great, and only towards the end of my last full dry session did I begin to feel it is a little on the soft side for me at 95kg. With the grip of full slicks, it might be a bit soft, but the treaded tyres are OK. Still, I would not want to change things internally as that would compromise the ride in other areas… Top speed at the end of the chute into turn one was 256km/h, pretty fast for a nakedbike, and stability through turn one is stunning. Acceleration between turn one and two in fourth gear is mind bending for a nakedbike!
The front-end is planted and intuitive, steering is a bit heavy but quick enough. Stability and line holding are 10/10.
Direction change and initial turn-in is a little conservative and heavy, but stability and lineholding are brilliant, I just found I had to get it in tight and on line into the turn, then it would stay in tight for the entire corner. It was then a matter of standing the M up and firing it off the corner like a cannon. At first I felt it was almost too powerful and torquey but once I started to rev it past the peak torque area it became much smoother, faster and made sense. From then on it was full gas! Loved every lap!
Tech Talk
The new M R features the water-cooled four-cylinder in-line engine based on the power unit of the S 1000 RR. Its peak power output is 154kW@13,750rpm, which represents a 33kW (45hp) increase on the S 1000 R. That’s a lot of extra ponies!
The new M R features a modified water-cooled 4-cylinder in-line engine based on the power unit of the S 1000 RR.
Maximum torque of 113Nm is generated at 11,000rpm (S 1000 R: 114Nm at 9,250 rpm). Compared with the S 1000 R, maximum revs of the M R are now 14,600rpm. Increased rear wheel traction in all gears is also provided by a shorter secondary gear ratio through the use of a sprocket with 47 teeth (S 1000 R: 45 teeth). In addition, gear ratios for the fourth, fifth and sixth gears are shorter, which also benefits thrust and traction at the rear wheel.
Aerodynamics were a key development priority for the M R in addition to the drive and suspension technology aspects. The new M R features winglets in the area of the front side panels, they provide an increase in front wheel load of 11kg at 220km/h thanks to the aerodynamic downforce generated. BMW Motorrad engineers countered the slightly increased aerodynamic resistance caused by the small additional frontal area and shape of the M winglets with a correspondingly designed wind deflector in front of the instrument cluster in combination with the M Competition Package.
The suspension and chassis of the new M R are based on the S 1000 R with the aluminium bridge frame as the centrepiece. On the M R, the front wheel is controlled by an upside-down fork with a 45mm sliding tube diameter in an “All black” design.
It is equipped with closed cartridge inserts and separate hydraulic piston-cylinder systems. Another new feature of the M R is the additional adjustability of the fork’s spring base in conjunction with the standard Dynamic Damping Control (DDC). In addition, the fork of the M R features an upper triple clamp with an elaborately milled-over handlebar clamp as well as a black aluminium tubular handlebar with a wider design than previously seen on the S 1000 R..
Handlebar end mirrors forged from aluminium are also new, while the fork legs have also been modified and are now designed to accommodate the new M brake callipers. An adjustable steering damper is also new for the M
The new M R is the second BMW motorcycle to feature an M brake system following the M 1000 RR. The system was developed with experience gained from motorsport via the BMW Motorrad factory racing program in the Superbike World Championship. Together with two 320mm brake discs of 5mm thickness and black anodised aluminium brake disc carriers, the brake system is equipped with a new radial hand brake pump.
The new M R is equipped with lightweight forged aluminium wheels as standard but can be specified with exclusive M Carbon wheels as part of the M Competition package. The new Brake Slide Assist function on the M R represents a significant innovation – especially for track riders – in enabling a brake drift into corners with a constant and controlled slide.
The new M R is equipped with lightweight forged aluminium wheels as standard but can be specified with exclusive M Carbon wheels as part of the M Competition package.
The extended display of the red speed range is additionally a new feature for the M R. As optional equipment, comprehensive data material for using the M GPS Laptrigger and the M GPS Datalogger (Original BMW Motorrad Accessories) can be provided by means of an activation code via the OBD interface of the instrument cluster.
Australian pricing: M 1000 R: $32,290* M 1000 R with M Competition package as tested: $39,890* *Recommended Retail Pricing is shown and includes GST, but excludes on-road costs. Customers are advised to contact their nearest BMW Motorrad dealer for all pricing enquiries.
2023 BMW M 1000 R Specifications
Price: From $32,290 Ride Away
Configure your bike and price here
Claimed Power: 154kW@13,750rpm
Claimed Torque: 113Nm@11,000rpm
Wet Weight: 199kg
Fuel capacity: 16.5L
Fuel Consumption: 6.4L/100km
Engine: Liquid-cooled in-line four-cylinder engine, 999cc, DOHC, 80 x 49.7mm bore x stroke, 13.3:1 compression ratio, valve activation via individual rocker arms, variable intake camshaft control system BMW ShiftCam, Gearbox: Constant mesh six-speed with quickshifter Clutch: Self-reinforcing multi-plate anti-hopping wet clutch.
Chassis: Aluminium composite bridge Flex-Frame frame, load bearing engine, aluminium underslung double-sided swingarm. Rake: 66º Trail: 96.3mm
Suspension: Marzocchi USD 45mm telescopic fork, spring preload, compression and rebound stage adjustable with DDC, Marzocchi central spring strut rear, spring preload, adjustable compression and rebound stage with DDC.
Brakes: BMW Motorrad ABS Pro, dual 320mm rotors, radial four-piston M calipers, single rear 220mm rotor, single-piston floating caliper, conventional master-cylinder.
Wheels & Tyres: Carbon-fibre wheels, 3.50 x 17in, 6.00 x 17in, Bridgestone RS11 120/70 ZR17, 200/55 ZR17.
Dimensions:
Wheelbase: 1450mm
Seat height: 840mm
Overall width: 812mm
Overall length: 2090mm
Overall height: N/A
Instruments & Electronics: 6.5-inch TFT screen, multiple display modes, Keyless Ride, DDC, DTC, Gear Shift Assist Pro, Riding Modes, Engine Braking Control, ABS Pro + lots more, see tech link.
Editor’s Note: If you are reading this article on any website other than BikeReview.com.au, please report it to BikeReview via our contact page, as it has been stolen or re-published without authority.
The Verdict | Review: 2023 BMW M 1000 R Nakedbike, Road & Track Test
Insane!
Pommie has been out on the new BMW M 1000 R, putting this insane naked machine through its paces on the road and at a wet SMSP.
The Author
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