At Last! Bmw Builds A Superbike
AT LAST! BMW BUILDS A SUPERBIKE
ROUNDUP
WHAM! AFTER SO many teasers, rumors and spy-camera photos, here is the BMW S1000RR, which is going racing in World Superbike in 2009. Look closely at the photos and you will see no funny business, no punch-pulling jointed swingarms or other uniquely BMW-traditional features that could ever be used as excuses for not succeeding.
Why is this bike so con ventionally. . .well, super bike? I think the answer is because BMW sees a need to learn what the others are learning, and the best way is to build and race a tool much like that of its
competitors. Traction con~~'~~ trol? Secrets of engine map ping? GPS and lean-angle gyros? There's nothing like plunging in with equal equip ment and having to learn it all. There is no better way, but if your machine is dif ferent, quirky, odd, you'll never be sure where your problem lies. If your machine is similar to the others, that nar rows your range of variables and makes solutions easier.
BMW has strong engineering in all Back in 2002, it ri Formula One with a new engine and ias immediately com petitive. That's strong engineering. Rumor has it `~thatBMW prototyped a three-cylinder 990cc MotoGP bike that was extremely pow erful but not easily rideable. Did that persuade managementf~ift~theoreti cians are less able to solve problems on two wheels than on four? That might mean it's time to jump into the thick of it.
In the press conference for the Si 000RR, BMW revealed that, "In compli ance with the rules of the series, the new motorcycle will be available to custom ers in 2009, and we will build 1000 production mod els by the end of next year." The race team will operate in cooperation with AlphaRacing, located near Munich. Personnel have been hired and test riders are at work "in a revolving sys tem to gain as much experi ence as possible."
Ye BMW faithful, be not faint of heart. The real deter mining variables in Superbike racing today, and therefore in large production sportbikes short strokes, light pistons, Brembo brakes. Everyone knows the same basic stuff. What the winning bike uniquely has-aside from the special qualities of its rider-is the successful match of its setup to rider and conditions.
This is achieved at present by lengthy rider/engineer conferencing, by careful analysis of the computer data, by measuring what is different from last year's event at this same track. We can call this "manual setup" because it takes up all the time there is from Friday morning to race time on Sunday. But the production bikes of the future will surely do much of this on their own, just as modern CNC machine tools have "canned" the accumulated skills of machin ists and tooling engineers. Getting to that future requires passing through this "manual setup" phase in actual racing.
Therefore, the S1000RR has to have equipment second to none, which is what you see here. Yes, the clutch is high up-because the gearbox shafts are stacked to shorten the engine package so it can con centrate mass forward. Yes, it's a twin-beam chassis with an adjustable swingarm-pivot height. Got a better idea? Ohlins suspension works well for the others, making it fool ish to choose Acme Door Closer as your supplier. Look at the forward engine hang er, dropping far down from the chassis beam in the right side view. These peo pie have been to the races and paid attention.
There's another point: The English industrial revolution had roots in French watchmaking. The German industrial revolu tion was based upon but improved on the English one. The point I wish to make is that you must copy the best existing technolo gy and fully understand itthen innovate. This is how the world turns.
Kevin Cameron
