RaWarrior
Well-Known Member
So I finally got down to the local BMW bike dealer and took the S1000 out for a demo. Not really seriously considering buying one, but really curious as to how fast it actually was. The local dealer puts all the demo bikes outside, every day, rain or shine, and there's "demo rides" signs in the lawn all the time as well. Stopped in, asked a salesman to take the S1 out, he photocopied my license, put a plate on it, and handed me the key. He also warned me to "take it easy at first until the tires warm up....it had track-day "near" slicks on it. It also had the chip that unlocked the "race" ECU setting. And a Arapovik(?) exhaust, so it was loud. On a demo bike. It also had "BMW Express Parts Delivery" on the windscreen, as a joke. Maybe, never know with these BMW types.
I hopped on, and for my relatively stumpy stature of 5-8 I had to tippy-toe sitting on it, even moreso than my stock-seat Max. First curveball....the engine stop rocker is also the starter, it clicks down from the "run" position to crank. Got situated and set off. The clutch wasn't super light, I'd say about on-par with the PCW spring in the Vmax, though this one is a cable action. Feedback was very linear, and engagement was spread over the meat of the lever's travel. Overall, easy to get familiar with and use. Next, the transmission was a bit odd, in that it had absolutely zero feedback whatsoever. No clunk. No "grab" in the lever. Nothing. The shift pedal might as well be a button you pressed. Shifts were positive, and even on-throttle shifts were eerily smooth, since the demo bike had the shift-assistant thing as well that would cut ignition for a second to shift. It all worked seamlessly, didn't get any false neutrals. True neutral was a little finicky to find, had to use the Vmax trick of getting it before coming to a stop. Big gear indicator on the dash, as well as a big, shift light that came on different colors as RPMs rose.
Around town, it was surprisingly "driveable". Low end torque was decent, on par with the Max, maybe a tad stronger but much smoother. The Z1000 I rode last summer had a much stronger bottom end, but then again it was tuned for that. Get the revs up past 4-5k and it starts to wake up, and by 7-8 you're going "jeeeeeeeezus" and your eyes are watering. It tachs up to 14000....high for a liter bike, not sure I ever saw past 11 or 12. This hauls ass big time. V-boost feels like a scooter hitting it's powerband compared to this. I kept it on the general "sport" mode, since I did just sign the paper saying I was responsible for any and all damages to the bike. I dunno if there's any dash indication of the traction control kicking in, I really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the gauges. Even on WOT chops in low gear, it didn't wheelie and just surged forward with ungodly force, so I assume the electronic magic boxes keep the front end down, though I never noticed any power cutting or other electronic barriers.
Now maybe I need more time with it, and my experience on true sportbikes is admittedly pretty limited. But from a "hop on and ride", the handling just didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't confidence-inspiring. The rear end tended to get unsettled over small bumps when cornering, and the "flick" wasn't as easy or responsive as I guess I was expecting. I would be able to push my Max through corners faster at the current time. Now that could be suspension setup(the guy told me employees took it to track days when I asked about the tires) for the track, the tires, my lack of experience on sportbikes, or all of the above. I'm sure a familiar rider could and would smoke my Max around twisties. What I'm saying is the handling had a steep learning curve to it, it wasn't "intuitive". Like when I rode the Z1000, I felt instantly at home, instantly familiar, and instantly fully confident in the bike, where that didn't happen here.
The brakes were amazing as well, most powerful I've ever used. The lightest touch was all you needed, and feedback was good as well, you could almost feel the rotors rubbing through the lever, if you know what I mean. I dunno if it's a sportbike thing, or something with that bike, but the rear brake was almost useless. Lots of travel(compared to the front), and very very little power. Like it was more of a DOT compliance tokenism than anything else.
It's hugely fast, no surprise there, but a bike I think it would be very difficult to "live with". It's not even slightly comfortable, it's a track bike and makes no bones about it. After a 30 min test drive the base of my spine was sore and my wrists hurt. And I do 500+ mile days on the stock seat of a Max, so I don't think I'm a wuss when it comes to this sort of thing. Plus, I'm just too short for this bike....I was afraid I was going to drop it at a stoplight, and generally look like a dolt doing the hokey pokey as I was coming to a stop.
So if you want to feel was the fastest bike on the road(until the new Ninja comes out) is like, go for a ride. BMW dealers practically beg you to take test drives and there's zero sales pressure or endless pitching.
I got back on my Max, and while it isn't as fast or high tech, it feels so much more natural to ride, and from my familiarity I'm much more confident in the bike....I know what it can and can't do. Plus it's got a lot better sound, and while the Bimmer's motor was undoubtedly strong, it felt like an electric motor. No character, no soul. The Vmax rumbles around, shakes a bit to let you know it's working, and just seems "eager" to go fast, yaknowhaddimean? Think of the S1000 as a "butler", while the Vmax is that "crazy uncle that let you do whatever you wanted"
I hopped on, and for my relatively stumpy stature of 5-8 I had to tippy-toe sitting on it, even moreso than my stock-seat Max. First curveball....the engine stop rocker is also the starter, it clicks down from the "run" position to crank. Got situated and set off. The clutch wasn't super light, I'd say about on-par with the PCW spring in the Vmax, though this one is a cable action. Feedback was very linear, and engagement was spread over the meat of the lever's travel. Overall, easy to get familiar with and use. Next, the transmission was a bit odd, in that it had absolutely zero feedback whatsoever. No clunk. No "grab" in the lever. Nothing. The shift pedal might as well be a button you pressed. Shifts were positive, and even on-throttle shifts were eerily smooth, since the demo bike had the shift-assistant thing as well that would cut ignition for a second to shift. It all worked seamlessly, didn't get any false neutrals. True neutral was a little finicky to find, had to use the Vmax trick of getting it before coming to a stop. Big gear indicator on the dash, as well as a big, shift light that came on different colors as RPMs rose.
Around town, it was surprisingly "driveable". Low end torque was decent, on par with the Max, maybe a tad stronger but much smoother. The Z1000 I rode last summer had a much stronger bottom end, but then again it was tuned for that. Get the revs up past 4-5k and it starts to wake up, and by 7-8 you're going "jeeeeeeeezus" and your eyes are watering. It tachs up to 14000....high for a liter bike, not sure I ever saw past 11 or 12. This hauls ass big time. V-boost feels like a scooter hitting it's powerband compared to this. I kept it on the general "sport" mode, since I did just sign the paper saying I was responsible for any and all damages to the bike. I dunno if there's any dash indication of the traction control kicking in, I really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the gauges. Even on WOT chops in low gear, it didn't wheelie and just surged forward with ungodly force, so I assume the electronic magic boxes keep the front end down, though I never noticed any power cutting or other electronic barriers.
Now maybe I need more time with it, and my experience on true sportbikes is admittedly pretty limited. But from a "hop on and ride", the handling just didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't confidence-inspiring. The rear end tended to get unsettled over small bumps when cornering, and the "flick" wasn't as easy or responsive as I guess I was expecting. I would be able to push my Max through corners faster at the current time. Now that could be suspension setup(the guy told me employees took it to track days when I asked about the tires) for the track, the tires, my lack of experience on sportbikes, or all of the above. I'm sure a familiar rider could and would smoke my Max around twisties. What I'm saying is the handling had a steep learning curve to it, it wasn't "intuitive". Like when I rode the Z1000, I felt instantly at home, instantly familiar, and instantly fully confident in the bike, where that didn't happen here.
The brakes were amazing as well, most powerful I've ever used. The lightest touch was all you needed, and feedback was good as well, you could almost feel the rotors rubbing through the lever, if you know what I mean. I dunno if it's a sportbike thing, or something with that bike, but the rear brake was almost useless. Lots of travel(compared to the front), and very very little power. Like it was more of a DOT compliance tokenism than anything else.
It's hugely fast, no surprise there, but a bike I think it would be very difficult to "live with". It's not even slightly comfortable, it's a track bike and makes no bones about it. After a 30 min test drive the base of my spine was sore and my wrists hurt. And I do 500+ mile days on the stock seat of a Max, so I don't think I'm a wuss when it comes to this sort of thing. Plus, I'm just too short for this bike....I was afraid I was going to drop it at a stoplight, and generally look like a dolt doing the hokey pokey as I was coming to a stop.
So if you want to feel was the fastest bike on the road(until the new Ninja comes out) is like, go for a ride. BMW dealers practically beg you to take test drives and there's zero sales pressure or endless pitching.
I got back on my Max, and while it isn't as fast or high tech, it feels so much more natural to ride, and from my familiarity I'm much more confident in the bike....I know what it can and can't do. Plus it's got a lot better sound, and while the Bimmer's motor was undoubtedly strong, it felt like an electric motor. No character, no soul. The Vmax rumbles around, shakes a bit to let you know it's working, and just seems "eager" to go fast, yaknowhaddimean? Think of the S1000 as a "butler", while the Vmax is that "crazy uncle that let you do whatever you wanted"
