Bike India – August 2019

asdampingsettingsat bothends.thereis,however,nostaticdampingsetting;the

DDCwillcontinuetomakeminoradjustmentsasit seesfit.thesystemworksvery

well,however,someridersmayclaimthatthedynamicsuspensionmutesfeeland

feedbackthroughthechassissincethedampingvariesfromcornertocornerand

situationtosituation.thisis thereasonthatracebikesstillusemechanicallyadjustable

suspensions—forhighlytuneableandconsistentbehaviour.however,it is my

opinionthatyouwouldhavetobea riderofanextremelyhighcalibretobeactually

sloweddownbytheDDC,anditsconvenienceinday-to-dayusefaroutweighsany

perceivedlossoffeel.ithinkthatridingthisbikefastandconfidentlyis justa matterof

trustingthesystemandadaptingtoreadtheslightlyalteredfeedbackasyouthrowthe

s 1000 rrarounda racetrackorblastupa

twistymountainroad.

i, forone,feltextremelysecureonceigotup

topaceandstartedpushingthebikearoundthe

circuit,andtheDoublerwentexactlywherei

pointedit lapafterlap.theexcellentmid-corner

stabilityallowedmetomakeminorchangesand

adjustmentstomylineevenwhenleanedallthe

wayoverat highspeed;thereweretimeswheni

thoughtimightmissanapexorrunwide,but

thebikealwaystightenedupitslinewhenthe

situationdemandedit,andwithouttheslightest

protestfromthechassis.

thenewbMW-brandedbrakecalipershave

beenbuiltforthes 1000 rrbyamerican

componentmanufacturerhayes,andreplacethe

high-performancemonoblocbrembosontheoutgoing

bike.thesteeldiscsarestillmadebybrembo,while

nissinstillsuppliestheradialmastercylinder;however,

bMWdecidedthattheywanteda softerinitialbitethat

whatthebrembosoffered,andhadthesenewcalipers

madetotheirexactingspecifications.racersandtrack

junkiesmaycomplainthattheypreferthesavageinitial

biteofthebrembos,butit is clearthatbMWwanteda

morestreet-friendlybrakingsystemthatwouldn’tscare

casualriders,whilestillretainingthebrakingforce

necessarytogetthisbikestoppedfromsillyspeeds.if

youareusedtothesharperinitialbiteoftheolder

brembosystem,a gentlesqueezemaynotnetyouthe

desiredeffect,andtheleveralsomayfeela littlespongy

at first.but,oncedeeperintoitsstroke,thereis massive

retardationavailablewiththereartyrethreateningtogo

airborneandplentyoffeelandfeedbackat thelever.

somebodyplanningtobuilda racebikeusingthes

1000 rrasa basemaywanttoswitchoutthecaliper

forsomethingmoreaggressive,butforstreetuseandfor

allbutthemostadvancedtrackriders,thesehayes

ABovElEft:

Navigatingtheendlessmenusviathe

complicatedswitchgearandrotary

dialwilltakesomegettingusedto

lEft:

Theextremelyinvitingcockpit

GearCheCk

Rider: Anosh Khumbatta
Helmet: Bell Star Carbon
Suit: Mugen Race LS-MNR-1701
Gloves: Shima RS-1
Boots: Sidi Cobra Air

BMW S 1000 RR M SpoRt

ABovE:

The advanced

wheelie control

system holds the

front wheel a few

inches off the

ground, without

compromising

acceleration

62 Bike India August 2019 http://www.bikeindia.in