German Car Forum

Upon unveiling a prototype version of BMW's new World Superbike racer for the first time, Hendrik von Kuenheim - general director BMW Motorrad - also outlined that winning the world championship is seen as a 'medium term' objective.

"We naturally realise that we are taking on a great challenge," said von Kuenheim. "Particularly the Japanese are some 20 years ahead of us in this class and have lots of experience. But even so, the spirit of this competition alone encourages us in our efforts. From the start we wish to be on par with our well-established competitors.

"Our development team is highly motivated to achieve our goals. And I can tell you today that the status we have achieved so far is very promising.


"We are confident that we will be able to start the Superbike World Championship next year with a convincing all-round package, and that our series motorcycle will be just as convincing. In both terms of both its technology and price, our 'Supersports' will be absolutely competitive."

After years of rumours linking BMW with a MotoGP entry, von Kuenheim explained why the famous German marque had chosen WSBK instead.

"The Superbike World Championship is becoming increasingly popular among motorcycle riders, since here, unlike the MotoGP, they are able to watch and admire their motorcycles in a direct comparison with competitors," he said. "And they can enjoy this thrill all around the world. This year the Superbike World Championship is being held on four continents and in 13 countries."

von Kuenheim added that the process of building the new BMW WSBK race team, in partnership with Alpha-Racing, is progressing well and revealed that its test riders - ranging from veterans to young guns - are operating on a 'revolving system'.
"Today I can confirm that our preparations are proceeding according to plan in every respect: In compliance with the rules of the series, the new motorcycle will be available to customers in 2009 and we will build 1,000 production models by the end of next year," he said.

"We are implementing our racing activities in close cooperation with our partner Alpha-Racing, a specialist very experienced in motorsport. Located near Munich, Alpha-Racing have already started work in a special production hall specifically for this purpose.

"The process of building up the team is proceeding at full swing and we have already filled the key positions.


"The team is a combination of specialists from BMW and members of the Alpha-Technik racing crew, as well as further specialists from professional Superbike racing.

"Choosing the development and test riders for our racing machine, we are currently operating in a revolving system to gain as much experience as possible. The selection of test riders ranges from experienced riders still active today all the way to young 'top guns'.

"In the upcoming weeks and months we will systematically start production of the racing machine in its individual power and performance stages, testing the new model as we go along."

The Superbike itself, called the 'S 1000 RR' is powered by an inline four-cylinder engine and has a number of 'special' design features, particularly in terms of its cylinder head and traction control. However, BMW's Duo-Lever front suspension has not been incorporated for packaging reasons.

"In this name, the 'S' stands for Supersports, marking a new class of motorcycles from BMW. The '1000' designates the size of the engine, and the 'RR' naturally stands for the model itself," he explained
"Since we are still in the middle of the development process, it would be too soon to mention any specific technical data. But you naturally know the usual level of performance our competitors have to offer. So with this in mind, I leave it to you today to speculate on what the specifications might be.

"In the early project phase we checked out various engine concepts. And as you know, we then decided in favour of a four-cylinder, with the straight-four offering the best qualities to meet the power, performance, weight, and package requirements to be fulfilled.

"In typical BMW style, the engine will of course offer a number of special features, especially on the cylinder head. For package reasons we have decided against the BMW Duo-Lever on the suspension. Taking up more space, this kind of front-wheel geometry would have presented disadvantages with the very compact structure of BMW's new Superbike," he revealed.


"But you can be sure that the innovations we are introducing are absolutely convincing. One example is the special traction control you will find on the new machine. Again, however, we cannot give you any further information today."

Finally, von Kuenheim listed BMW's targets for its new WSBK adventure.

"Naturally, we will have to go through a certain process of learning - which is precisely why we have set ourselves realistic targets for the time being: In our first year in the Superbike World Championship we seek to bring home several places in the top ten and to consistently close the gap to the top teams. In year two we plan to catch up with the top teams and to win our first places on the podium.

"And our medium-term objective, obviously, is to win the world championship!" he declared.













Seriously the BMW motorrad is on Fiiiiiiiirrrree, this is one of the sickiest hypersport bike i have seen in many years, they blew my mind with the HP2 MEgamoto but this is Perfect.

Any pics? Edit: Nevermind, it didn't load the first time.

Was never a fan of BMW bikes - they were all of the touring variety, but this one looks nuts - wonder if they will make a street version. Will be amazing if BMW wins F1 and Superbike championship - only Honda and BMW is in any position to be able to accomplish that.

Sorry ?

wow ..this is sick..
they just have to make a road going version..

Of course they will make a street Version

Yeah, a street version will be coming next year. It's funny that when they were testing they were using Yamaha R6's body work.

Glad to see another ambitious von Kuenheim in top director position at BMW AG - Hendrik von Kuenheim (now President of BMW Motorrad).

I hope he managed to the CEO position sometime, and be even more successful as his father - Eberhard von Kuenheim, the most legendary BMW CEO.

Yeah, well he needs to kick motorrad in the nuts and bring the F800GS over to the US already. LOL People love that bike but it's still not here in the US yet.

This thing looks ridiculous. I've never been into bikes, but lately, this nice weather and rise of gas prices has made me reconsider. This BMW bike will cost a pretty penny, that's for sure

I'll say no less than $17K, but it could be as much as $20+K because the HP2-Sport is $22K. But I could be wrong.

Not a fan of bikes, but that thing looks absolutely sick!

I would have to go back and check some crazy Ducatti's and Augusta's i've seen and thought were the #1, but this might be the new best one i've seen so far and would love more than anything to see one irl.

Oh and of course for wearing BMW badge, that makes me love it even more. Those Italians and Japanese will have some hard competition approaching, it seems.

See, I know this thing will annihilate pretty much any car below 100k in terms of performance, but I just can't see myself spending over 20k over a bike. I used to hate them but now I am slowly beginning to accept them

Oh,baby..Cant wait to see it in action..

Believe me, what BMW are entering now, the Japanese and the Italians have been doing for a LONG time. Not to mention the Japanese have pretty much OWNED the whole bike racing thing for a while now.

This BMW bike is great, but honestly I'd rather spend $10K on a R1 and still pretty much blow the crap out of anything on the road.

This is how it works as of right now, and I doubt BMW is going to change this.

1000CC class - YZF-R1
750/800CC class - GSXR750
600CC class - Toss up between CBR600RR and YZF-R6

The best thing is all these bikes can be had for less than $10K.

They are using the same camo from their civil cars

I guess I have to get back in to following WSBK.

190 PS for 180 KG, admire the beast

Looks better without the paint

That looks absolutely beautiful, man! Like I said, never been a fan of bikes, but I sure wouldn't mind having one of those, hehe. Still a death trap though

Always hate bikes, but this thing is changing my mind, sizzling-hot indeed ...!

LOL I still can't see the difference between this bike and other bikes .. can someone explain what is so amazing about it ?

^
I guess you have to know your bikes a bit better than you would have to know your cars to know the differences.

I like this one better than previous BMW bikes, it is a move towards those lovely Ducatis.

Just look at it!!!! It looks like a MotoGP bike, or some brand new race Ducatti....

This is what BMW normally makes, big heavy touring bikes for trips:


Or hardcore off-road dirt bikes for Paris-Dakar and stuff:




This new monster really looks stunning. I want one! I am a fan of bikes that look like this and I will be getting my drivers licence for bikes before the end of the year!

i am more into dirt bikes

btw today i got new ATV: Yamaha Raptor 700 CC ... 2009

I suppose you are, with that gigantic desert around you...must be a blast taking sanddunes with that ATV Have fun dude