THE WORLD ACCORDING TO M

2023 Bmw M 1000 R

BY BRETT MCCORMICK

hen BMW calls, you answer. 2023 marks the 100-year anniversary for BMW building motorcycles, and they rarely come up short of impressive. Bikes have come a long way in the past century, and the new BMW M 1000 R is a testament to that – what a machine. I was lucky enough to spend a day testing this weapon in Spain on some of the best roads a man can find. We were hosted at a southeast piece of the Andalusia region, just outside the city Almeria. Beautiful roads along the coast, and we lucked out with perfect weather.

This was my first exposure to street riding for a bike review, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The other journalists that rode the day before us had some words of wisdom when they were leaving the hotel and crossed paths with us. Definitely wear leathers, because the roads were epic and the pace was really quick. Oh boy. This seems like a recipe for disaster, especially with a couple guys in our group not far removed from the best superbike racing in the world, plus a special guest – we were treated to having current CSBK champion Ben Young tag along for BMW, and he is no slouch.

Getting familiar with the M 1000 R started Wednesday morning at the hotel, when we got the run down on the basics of the bike from a BMW engineer, who was part of the electronics team in developing the new bike. He showed us the ropes on the M 1000 R electronics, how to change all the riding modes and other small adjustments.

The M 1000 R is a blast. This naked “roadster” takes the S 1000 RR chassis and engine, then plugs in perfect ergonomics for street riding. Armed stock with some head turning highend components comes as no surprise for this BMW M model machine. Marzocchi front and rear suspension, M model Brembo caliper in the rear with M model Nissin calipers in the front, winglets to help add weight to the front end at speed, and can’t help but love the titanium Akrapovic slip on. If your heart desires more performance, you can order the M Competition model that includes carbon wheels and other trick bits.

The M 1000 R electronics package is set up with multiple riding modes to suit every riding scenario. Weighing in at 199 kg (439 lb), packing 205 horsepower and 83 ft-lb of torque, there is no shortage of opportunity to have some fun, especially if you’re comfortable to turn down the electronic aid.

The Rain mode that comes as a stock setup on the electronics package was a perfect place to start in the chilly morning, and the mode I used to get used to the bike’s chassis and ergonomics. The power delivery was really clean in this mode, dialed back enough but still a ton of fun. The rain mode felt like a 750 cc to me, torquey but not as crazy up top, which made it a friendly spot to get acquainted with the machine.

Sitting on the bike feels exactly as you would expect looking at it, a really comfortable riding position. With the motocross style handlebar mounted above the triple clamps it promotes an upright position for your upper body which is great for street riding. A lot more control on slow tight roads, and it doesn’t hurt you in any of the faster zones. If you are looking to do 200 km/h on straight highways for six hours this might lack comfort compared to the S 1000 RR with clip-ons and a fairing, but if you’re mixing up your street riding this is a hard setup to beat. BMW nailed the riding position, and accommodating for a tall guy isn’t easy. If you’re not a tall guy, don’t worry: I didn’t hear Ben Young complain once about the ergonomics and he’s more on the typical rider size spectrum than myself.

One more thing to mention on the comfort of this bike, we rode from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a few breaks – but my ass didn’t get sore at all. Most important piece of street riding is having a bike you can put long hours on to enjoy the trip without any soreness.

By the time late morning came, we were probably 150 km into our ride and I was feeling more confident on the M 1000 R. I jumped the riding mode up to Road mode. Not a massive step, but a noticeable increase in power. This engine is so awesome for the street, it has unreal grunt from 4,000 to 6,000 rpm. After 6,000 rpm if you stay in the throttle and grab gears it absolutely barks, and you’ll be impressed with how smooth the quick shifter is. No surprise considering this is the same powerplant as the S 1000 RR superbike. We had some fun on the street opening the bikes up, I won’t repeat the speeds I saw on the dash – you can use your imagination.

The next jump up in riding mode is Dynamic, and then from there you can select the Race mode that is prebuilt in the electronics package aimed at track riding. Each mode has its own configuration of settings for the main electronics controls. Engine power mode, engine braking, traction control, wheelie control and then the Dynamic Damping Control that controls the electronic suspension rebound and compression. Preload is manually adjustable but having the damping adjustable electronically gives a lot of flexibility. The four modes from Rain to Race basically take the bike from being in a soft suspension and gentle power delivery with a lot of electronic aid to a stiffer chassis with more unlocked power delivery and less electronic aid. You can also build your own riding modes, which is such an awesome feature. You likely wouldn’t be bothered to build your own because the main four that the bike is set up with are well thought out, but I think it’s a benefit to have the ability.

The chassis on the M 1000 R is impressive, well balanced and the bike changes direction with ease. In the morning before I was comfortable on the bike I felt it was a little bit loose on the front end, almost like it didn’t have a steering damper, even with the adjustable steering damper cranked up all the way. This was just me adjusting to the ergonomics and how easy the bike steers with the wide bar. By the end of the day I had no complaints: the chassis was really planted in all scenarios, and when we found some fun curves in the afternoon and I ran the bike in Race mode the stiffened-up chassis came to life. I didn’t ride over my limits, but for going fairly hard on the street it was always ready for what I threw at it. I was comfortable to drag knee and get to 55 degrees of lean angle during our photo session, so that says everything you need to know about how well the bike works.

The other honourable mention are the M brakes, which leave nothing to be desired in the braking department. The front brakes are monsters, and the ABS system on the bike is impressive. It’s come a long way in the past couple years and is much less noticeable, but still there doing its job. I found the stock rear sets to have the rear brake too hard to reach, but an easy fix if you get the M rear sets as an accessory for adjustability.

The dash on the M 1000 R is substantial, but still looks really clean on the front end of the bike. It’s a bonus to have a big clear display for street riding, and the options for different layouts should suit anyone’s taste. You can have an old-school, around-the-clock tach, or the newer style horizontal bar tach, and a few options in between.

Making changes to this and using the controls on the left side of the bar I found seamless, but I wasn’t impressed with the controls on the throttle side of the bike. This is the racer in me but having anything on the throttle side that’s important to make changes on mid-ride doesn’t make a lot of sense. The only two controls on the throttle side of the bar are for the heated grips, and the riding mode. They were just far enough away and up on the controls that getting to them while riding was a nightmare. I had a small whisky throttle at one point trying to turn the heated grips off and puckered a bit. Everything else is controlled from the left side of the bar, so there is a lot going on and I don’t know if BMW could have fit everything else over there – but I wish they would have tried. Small complaint but be prepared to pick your riding mode and heated grip setting from a stop or find a really straight stretch of road where you can look down and take your hand off the bar.

Highlight of the day was having an afternoon lunch at Almeria Circuit where we got to spin four laps on the track before eating in the BMW World Superbike hospitality unit. The M 1000 R impressed as much on track as it did on the street, with a great chassis and endless power even in a full knee dragging race mindset. Perfect machine for the track day enthusiast that wants to enjoy the street riding as much as the track! IM