2021 BMW M 1000 RR - in-depth look & exclusive interview

Hello and welcome to Bike Social. I'm Michael Mann and welcome also to BMW's UK headquarters where in this video I'm going to be introducing you to the new M1000RR and I'm also going to be talking to two of the most influential people behind that project. Stay with me. So in the BMW car world M packages where customers could choose a slightly higher level of trim have been around since the 70s. Then this came along in 1978 the M1 which is the first bespoke M model and even today you can have an M package on your standard 3 series but that doesn't make it an M3. So in the motor adult motorcycle side of the business we've only ever seen the M package on one motorbike. That's the 2019 S1000RR where for your two and a half extra thousand pounds you'd get the M sport colours, you'd get carbon rims, you'd get a pro mode and you get a lightweight battery among other things. But now for the first time you can buy an M motorcycle. Yes ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to the M1000RR. So headline figures include 209 brake horsepower at 14,500 rpm. There's more torque in the mid-range, there's a higher red line and it's very very similar in terms of its base model as the inline four cylinders of the S1000RR. It comes in at a whisker under £31,000 and it's a homologation special which means it complies with world superbike regulations so it can be used as a base model for that championship as well as the FIM World Endurance Championship and of course the Bennett's British Superbike Championship too. And if sir or madam is not completely satisfied with the outrageous performance then you could always upgrade for your £4,100 to the competition package. What does that include? Well a host of milled alloy parts including the foot pegs and the brake lever, clutch lever. You get electronic upgrades for your lap timers and your GPS data loggers. You also get a lighter swing arm and a special DLC coated chain which is supposed to improve performance. You also get a pillion seat cover as well. How and why was this bike developed? Well I spoke to two of the most important people behind the project so we've got the RR project manager Josef Machler and the BMW Motorrad development race director who is Mark Bongers. Mark, Sepp, great to see you both. Thank you for joining me here at Bike Social. Thank you for affording the time to talk through your magnificent new machine. I think it's been around for a few months now so you know people are very aware of its hey let's say magnificence if that's a good word for it. Both in terms of its visual appearance but also on the spec sheet you both made very very proud so congratulations. Shall we start with perhaps if you would just introduce yourself perhaps Mark you first you give us your title and a little bit about your your particular role and what you do at BMW and how you've been involved in this project and then Sepp we'll move on to you if that's okay. Yeah I'm happy to do so. So my name is Mark Bongers. I'm 49 years old, nearly 50. I'm the BMW Motorrad Motorsport director. I've been in this role since 2018. Before I have been in the role of technical director for the same project but back at that time it was more customer sports and not so much factory efforts. I've been with BMW now for just over 15 years whereas the first five years I spent in Formula One and then from 2010 after the Formula One program was stopped I swapped over to the bikes and ever since then have been involved in and around the super bikes. And Sepp. My name is Sepp Mechler. I'm the product manager of the double R. That means for the S1000 double R and the N double R my role is I can be the customer so I'm the guy with the big wish list and ask the R&D guys to bring some new good stuff which we can use for racing and for our fun on the racetrack and on the road. So you've been involved in the double R project since the first version haven't you for a long time so well over 10 years. Since the beginning yes I'm working for BMW since 2007. I'm involved from the beginning in a double R project as well HP4 race all of our stuff in the beginning as well single R and the XR. That's a hell of a project a hell of a wish list as well or a hell of a CV. Well we have some wishes as well from our side so yes and we'll come on to that the way in which you kind of joined forces for this particular model no doubt. So with the N double R how long has this project been an ambition of yours as a company and did it stem from the road side or did it stem from the sport side or did you just have a you know you met over the coffee machine one day and said hey you know what we need an N double R. Since our CEO Dr Marcus Gramm took over Motorrad in 2018 up until that point we had HP the high performance line of BMW Motorrad and the the background of Marcus Gramm is he comes from the strategy side and he has taken the initiative to introduce the M brand to Motorrad and of course we know what the what the M stands for so there is no more logical position than to introduce the first M on a super sport model and that is where the M was born from. And on the wish list was absolutely clear that it should suit for the racing guys for all this in the national series worldwide and in the racing for fun stuff and as well suits to the marks department demands so that that's the most important and yes as you say before with the M we always was thinking about M to make from HP to M but it was not allowed so it's always a matter of time and yeah the goal was racing guys and for those guys like you and me who want to have a lot of fun with this kind of bike on the racetrack and as well a little bit on the road. So we've seen in certainly with the current S1000RR model there's an M package that you can add on the customers can add on. Does this new the new M or the first ever M motorcycle mean that an end to the S1000RR M? Will that that line will continue? It's definitely an own model and it's that the S1000RR with the M package is like if you have a 3 series car with M package it's add on it's a little bit more performance and it's a little bit more yeah M stuff inside and the M model is definitely bring it on the point it stands for performance stands for motorsport and that's what we want fulfilled with this bike. I love the fact that M stands for performance. So okay well let's get familiar let's get introduced then to the to the MRR. So the highlights really are what I think increasing power some big differences in the engine set maybe you can you can start by talking about the the differences in the engine because it's still the same four-cylinder 1000cc. Still the same base engine yeah. Yeah base engine absolutely the same but we have titanium conrods which is lighter we have pistons with two rings even lighter we increased the revs now we have 50 100 revs that helps the mark as well on the straights and that and then we have the cylinder head we was looking at the cylinder head and all this stuff just to get more top end power and without losing the mid-range power so it was really an important target for us bring more top end the engine revs higher faster and of course we have as well the full titanium exhaust system which is not necessarily for the mark but for our normal customer it brings a weight benefit of four and a half kilo. Four and a half kilo? Yeah just on the titanium. That makes it how heavy in total you know? Yeah it's 193 kilo is the whole bike if you have the full loaded then you come roughly to 195 depends a little bit so for the for the homologation weight pure for the motorsport side of it we were already within the homologation limits with the S1000RR the M1000 just gives us that little bit more flexibility to place weight in different spaces. So there must have been a day several years ago where Mark you perhaps you had the the homologation regulate the world superbike regulations in your hand and you said right and we need a bike to do this and Sep you came along and said right we have an engine and a bike that does this already and you like sort of working out how the the jigsaw piece comes together right? Yeah sure I mean the placement of M products is of course always more on the pinnacle of performance. So let's say the the everyday customer surely has has to take some how do you say some compromises because the the placement of the product is all the way to the top of the of the sporty sides. So clearly we have requested content technical content from our side which would bring us further along in in not only world superbike but all the the series which run along to the FIM regulations which are well basically all championships around the world are in some way or form related to the FIM regulations in both superbike as well as in superstock because the the content of the M1000RR just does not just focus on superbike but clearly also on superstock and there's a very tight link to the to the customers to the end customers on the street because for example the M also has a different brake system has the first M brakes both front and rear in in world superbike for example brakes are still free but we still went to the effort of getting a performance increase also in this area because it will help all our national levels as well as many many of the the track day guys. So the where the brakes are you are those the brake the brakes that one could if I went to my local BMW dealership and bought an M1000RR are they would they would it be using the same brakes that you're using world superbike or how how different are they? It's the same supplier let's say like this but it's like we already love the brakes so we wasn't really looking which kind of supplier we were looking for which is the best one for us we have our spec sheet and then we was tested those and then we decide to go with this kind of brake clipper but then we do a lot of test endurance testing on our engine and our knee department and then we make some really nice modification on this brake clipper so we are absolutely proud with this M brakes because they they are you know the first double R brakes were really biting if you go on the brake lever it was biting and this of the double R now they are a little bit more on the relaxed way I would say but now the M double R they are absolutely crystal clear if you ask for something you get more it's not like so attack if you go on the brake lever it helps you but but if you pull it comes always more and more and more so that's that was the demand for the national race series but it helps for normal riders even on street on racetrack so that's a really I would say this brake clip is very very it's benchmark I would really say the benchmark so when you've got a top speed of 190 miles an hour 300 kilometers an hour yes you really do need to rely on the brakes absolutely not just should help an hour on the racetrack should work not just for 10 minutes and then you get fading so there's that's a big benefit of the brake I mean the brakes deliver more performance they have a more linearity stable bite point it's just fine yeah and no they are not the exact same brakes as in the world superbike but of course it's it is the same manufacturer which we have a cooperation with and as it is for us as well in superbike we basically use this platform to further develop the bike and then bring it into the production step by step is there any any intention of of kind of creating your own brakes so to speak so or your own calipers the m calipers so you don't necessarily have to rely on a third party do you know what I mean or is it you leaving with the expertise of the likes of Brembo or Nissin or Hayes well I wouldn't I wouldn't clearly say they would just leave the expertise there is definitely a very tight cooperation between ourselves and our partner so we do directly get involved into the requirements into the testing into the modifications of the calipers but the expertise of manufacturing these brakes is still with with our partner with other words it's really we have a big R&D department which is just responsible for the brakes ABS brakes normal brakes and all that stuff so it's like with the M Endurance chain you wouldn't start to produce chains because they have enough supplier on the on the world Regina DD and all that stuff so like you ask them hey we have an idea for a chain like for the M Endurance chain with this DLC coated and it's the same on the brake caliper you say hey we see this point and we have an idea how we can improve it what is your idea and so you work really close together and it's a little bit how shall I say all the guys if you go to social media and all that stuff to say oh there's no Brembo Brembo it's an awesome brand but it's more than just a brand it's the cooperation between BMW and the supplier so that brings the benefit in the end. You talk about the chain there Sepp and that's that's part is that the chain is part of the competition package correct so that's an additional sort of an extra extra extra special thing that you can add to the MWR what does that package contain? It's content in M competition package the M Endurance chain in the M competition package are the middle parts like footrest, brake lever, clutch lever, a lot of carbon parts, tank cover, chain cover and all that stuff and the benefit of the Endurance chain is really nice they are very stable of losing power I say over the lifetime and it brings to the rear wheel it's safe one to two percent of power so because normal chain we will lose that so when you have one to two percent more power on the rear that means of 200 that's two till four PS horsepower which you have more on the rear so that's that's really a very good benefit. So the competition package adds benefits in terms of of lightweight it's lighter weight and more power? Yeah power in terms of the chain but the engine has not more power. We do actually use this chain as well in Endurance World Cup in our factory engagement and we've had extremely good results because in the 24-hour races the chain is a critical item and we have done several tests in the last few weeks because Le Mans is already in the middle of April and we have tested our worst case so we've put the chain on and tried to achieve 4 000 kilometers before Le Mans without lubricating it and we've actually run nearly a thousand kilometers in the rain yet and it's amazing it's amazing. So the World Endurance Championship is upon us very soon the World Superbike Championship is on us very soon we've got the British Superbike testing starting in theory next month everything is coming together quite quickly will all the teams have their their bikes and they will they will all be ready for the season? I hope so we we do our best I mean it is the policy of of our motorsport department that we make our race parts available again through a cooperation partner but they are available they are they have been available before the bikes have been delivered to the customers and actually our national race teams and of course factory race teams as well are in some ways prioritized so the first bikes which come to the markets will go straight to race teams and we I think the first teams have received their bikes two weeks ago two or three weeks ago so it depends on the championship I mean the the difference of the M1000RR are clearly there but on the other hand are also very subtle you know it's not that you have to completely change the concept compared to the S1000 for example if we look at the stock championship I know with the S1000 there were some some issues in stability and stopping the bike and with the M1000 we have a different offset and a different head angle through which we create more trail and bring more stability to the to the bike so this is actually something we know the teams have been looking for in the championships where they could not change it and in the championships where it is allowed to change like World Superbike BSB we are already sort of with most teams at these head angles at these offsets so there is a typical example where we've transplanted our know-how from racing into the into the M bike so when the teams receive that it's not that they will have to reinvent the wheel and completely recreate their setup but basically it's more of a matter of we give them what they have been looking for on our bike. Interesting but you point that out I've spoken to the likes of Peter Hittman and Brad Ray and Joe Francis last year we all were talking about that trying to find a solution to get through the corners faster but one of the big differences for the MRR over the SRR is of course the the wings or winglets. Your R&D department must have been working sort of overtime on the aerodynamics it's not just a case of screwing two bits of carbon to the outside of the wings is it? I mean how long does that process take to get to where you are with the production model? Well for sure when we introduced the M strategy two years later the M was on the market so for production processes that is a very very tight schedule and the field of aerodynamics especially with these winglets and you can clearly see the development in MotoGP but it's a highly complex matter because you have to find the right balance between downforce and you cannot create or nearly not create downforce without increasing the drag so if you create a lot of downforce you will lose top speed and there's many many aspects to it so yes we have spent a lot of time in CFD so computer fluid dynamics and we're set up very well in that area we use a lot of internal motorsport know-how in that field as well not only from the bike side but also from the car side and after that we've been in the wind tunnel a lot and then you come to the point where you have to prove it on track so the winglets I'm very happy with the balance we have found for the M1000RR they deliver 16 kilos of downforce at 300 kilometers an hour but they not just that they also stabilize the bike on braking and of course there's clearly less wheelie tendency for the bike. Sepp, you've ridden the M1000RR with the winglets and you're a very capable rider too how have you found the winglets? Did you get to a position in terms of your own performance where you could feel it? What I would say is similar what Mark is saying you feel the stability of the winglets not you would definitely feel it if you accelerate out of a corner but if you're in the first gear out of a corner then the winglets are I say really useless because you have so much power to make sense so if you're above 120 140 then you feel to start the impact of the winglets but then it comes to the braking area where you come with 200 or something like that then you really feel how the winglets helps you the bike is stable as well when if you're in braking areas and as well in fast corner you can feel the winglets that they support the bike so that's for me the big benefit the bike is less moving and it helps third, fourth, fifth gear acceleration, braking areas and as well in the corner so. Maybe a good example after the race in Estoril and we talked about Estoril before so you all know the track right behind the boxes there is this fast right hand kink and unfortunately we had the test day after Estoril after the superbike days we had terrible weather so we could use about one and a half hours of dry track and we sent out Michael van der Mark first time on the S1000 but with wings we didn't have the M1000 yet so with and without wings and he clearly said that this right hand kink with the winglets because we did the back-to-back test gives so much more confidence to to just leave the throttle wide open because it's planted at the front I think this was one of the yeah clear examples of a corner where the winglets definitely help you as well as of exiting the faster corners where they reduce the wheelie. In your list of ambitions or project targets with this particular model was racing or racing success higher than sales success? Well we believe that these are very strongly linked I mean we are still market leader in the super sport segment if you look at the big bikes sporty bikes we we are still in the lead and I clearly do believe that especially for this segment the racing plays a big role. I spoke to a BMW Motorrad dealership dealer manager only last a week before last and he he said exactly the same you know the old saying is race on a monday buy it on a no race on a sunday buy it on monday. Win on sunday sell on monday in the town yeah well we we already sell on monday although we didn't even win on sunday yet but yeah and but but he was he used a specific example of when Peter Hickman was so successful around the Isle of Man TT you know he was holding a record and all of a sudden the next day everybody wanted to buy S1000 so in the same manner here you you must have you must have race targets right for for certainly for the World Superbike Championship is that right? Yeah sure the long-term target is clearly to to win it no question about that. Mark you had to you you spoke earlier about super stock championships around the world I mean obviously with our with Bennett's involvement in the British Superbike Championship my question really is around development of this new model going forwards but also its success is it's it's is it success in the super stock level championship almost as important as a World Superbike type of success in terms of because that is exactly the bike that the customer can go and buy. It's a little bit tricky let's say like this if Mark achieved the World Superbike title that that would be great that would be great but it's on the national series that you are successful on the national series that's very important for the sales of the normal double R and the NRR because that that the customers see that this kind of bikes are not so far away as a World Superbike bike because yeah they are closer as well on the Racing for Fun series if if all the the first three or four are on the double R they sell definitely the bike will those guys are the guys who say hey this bike has a lot of power it's easy to ride and blah blah blah blah that increase definitely the sales. And but yeah I totally agree but also these guys still look up to World Superbike now there is still or Superbike Championship in national countries or in national championships it is still a reference and so there is you cannot clearly separate it says okay we do not care about Superbike but we want to win in Superstock because for me in my opinion it is clearly related because like I said before where we ended up in World Superbike to be performant in terms of offsets and head angle and pivot points that has been transplanted to the M and this is then where the year after the Superstock and I'm absolutely convinced we will make a step up again with the M compared to the S in the Superstock Championship so if we don't do Superbike we probably wouldn't know where to go in Superstock because you're not allowed to change that that would be a completely separate development and of course a World Superbike is a very flexible and therefore fast way of a development platform and we roll this out not just in World Superbike but our Endurance World Cup bike which is the second factory engagement more or less except for the fuel tank is the same bike and our customers in the BSB also use the same components and this is again our strategy that what we develop in World Superbike we want to roll out to the customers because we want the BMW to be successful in any championship. Do you know I was looking at the entry list for BSB this year I've got it here so you've got Synetic FHO Rich Energy PR so you've got four teams with two riders eight bikes already eight MRRs on the grid that's like that's almost a third of the grid. Yes I saw the list of the German Superbike and we have 11 M's on the grid which I think is nearly I don't know 40-50% of the grid. Of course this is very very good news very nice also put some stress on us because most of these teams they get their engines from our factory in Berlin where the race engines are built as well and we're doing overtime around there at the moment plus the fact that it's pretty tricky to get stuff to the UK at the moment with since Brexit with Corona and Brexit but we'll manage we'll manage. Yes a double whammy so Mark while you're at the you're at the race meetings hoping for instant success on that day when the chequered flag goes you want anyway it's all about that particular day Sep you must be watching the racing and thinking about the development and the next stage and maybe the next year or two years down the line and all about all about the finer detail of how to make it even better is that right? Absolutely absolutely look all around you go a lot of racetrack see what other guys are doing and that brings you always new ideas which you can play around so one idea maybe which we not pointed out is for the MRR the focus was that we built this bike as we say for racing but for normal customer who say I will ride alone with this bike you can ride with a pillion rider it doesn't matter but then you're cruising around but the focus is really for this bike hey it's for you one person it's on the racetrack it's on the street so that brings us a lot of benefits in adjustment of the suspension of the chassis and all that stuff so and that's definitely what everyone will feel on the racetrack that this bike is built on point. You can personalize so much of this motorbike can't you there's so many different areas you already talked about suspension and then of course with the electronics as well much like we've seen on the S1000RR there's a lot of customization let's say has that has that how or how much has it advanced from the S1000RR? It's quite easier because now it's for the eccentric on the on the rear damper it's quite easy now you just can really with one screw you can the ride height very nice adjustment the spring has a it's 100 newton per millimeter and it's the same ratio as all the Öhlins and all the other suspension guys know so if someone is really want to set up the bike for his own weight and rideability it's easier for all the aftermarket stuff and I was really looking on that and then we have the data logger 2d data logger now which which you can analyze everything so it's really it's more or less the same stuff which the guys using in world superbike so now it's no no excuse if you are slow because the data shows you if when you open or when you break. That's a bit worrying Seb, that's worrying me. I have all your data Mark, no kidding. So you almost don't want to see anybody on a track day on an MRR in the novice group do you? On the HP4 race we saw a carbon frame and and I guess I kind of know the answer to my own question I think here because world superbike you're not allowed carbon frame but was that ever discussed that for the MRR? Yeah but it's the price point we have to bring a bike with this 33 000 euro in Germany so that it's following the super stock rules and then you have a very expensive frame and then you don't have put other items in the bike so it's you have to. No wheels no engine but carbon frame. Also I think from the I mean the carbon frame was based in the HP4 race was based on K46 so the S the previous S1000RR and the K67 so the S1000RR model year 19? 19 and 20 yeah. Was already a massive step in reducing weight on the chassis itself where the the benefit of a carbon frame would not outweigh by that much anymore but of course the costs do. And Mark you mentioned MotoGP earlier on and and I know that you guys have also just announced that you're going to be providing the safety bike aren't you for for the MotoGP series? Which is the M? Yes yeah yeah has any again have you given any consideration you probably won't tell me but to competing at MotoGP level with the BMW M brand? Currently no I mean there have been considerations in in the past even before we entered Superbike factory engagement back in from 2009. There were even some some prototypes at that point and sure we follow what this championship is is doing but our main goal we want to have the relation to the to the product and that is what contributes to the to the brand BMW Motorrad and since MotoGP is a prototype series there is no link to the product and what we see here with the M bike in racing and the M bike on the road there is that direct link which sells the bike for us. It's a really nice product so MotoGP is no option. I've read a statistic as well that was in the press release about the performance of the standard bike I think you took a standard MRR put slicks on it and gave it to Markus Reiterberger and he was is it 2.1 seconds only slower than Tom Sykes on his World Superbike? Yes I guess this was do you know where where this was done or? Lausitzring. I guess this was at Lausitzring where we had a two-day test with the World Superbike and we had the track exclusively for the M and we use well our racers amongst which Markus is of course as well we also use them for production development work so at that point Markus and Tom Sykes have been on the same track on the same day Tom on his Superbike, Markus on the Superstock with wings and mirrors and slicks and yes he was only just over two seconds away and but Markus is the king on a Superstock bike it's really amazing to see. Then again to be two seconds faster requires some development yeah because I mean if you look at Superbike and MotoGP there's also only two seconds in between but also like 50 million euros. Yeah of course yeah this is the problem. But it is impressive you know that straight from the box you can be that close to these times if you can ride it that way. Just looking back at BSB and really your World Superbike program so there's we've already talked about the number of bikes or MRRRs that are going to be with them on the BSB grid and there's a lot of those younger riders like Salt, Joe Francis, maybe Bradley Ray. Do you look at those guys in terms of their performance on on your bike on your model with a view to potentially getting them Yes we clearly do of course not with the straight intention to get them to the to the World Superbike that very much depends on their performance but yes we clearly do monitor it. Last year we even had Bradley Ray lined up as a spare rider for World Superbike. Unfortunately due to the changes of schedules, corona and you know it of course luckily we didn't need a spare rider but yes we clearly do have agreements in place that we first of all look at them and second of all do want to give them an opportunity. Next year we will or this season we will have two satellite teams and of course for the factory engagement there is always a certain risk if you take someone into your team which hasn't proven himself in that environment yet but therefore satellite teams are of course very very suitable and no I'm of course happy also to give young guys like a chance when they do well on our bike. Seth, with the development or the such at fast pace really with a lot of the super bikes now that the liter class in terms of production bikes everything's getting faster and lighter and more aerodynamic and how do you sort of assess or judge the next steps? I mean you must be working already on projects way way down the line but do you look at social media leave social media out of it and all of the experts that comment there but do you look at the performance as a as your sort of number one target or is it weight or is it is it durability is it or is it just simply a package? I would say it's for us and for me it's very important the rideability of the bike that you have a bike which you can really use as well on the road we don't have to forget that we have a lot of customers that they never be on the racetrack they just ride with the bikes on the road so and if you have a very peaky bike with a maximum top end power with a strange gearing something like that where you just use the song gears that makes no sense so that that's always the balance to increase the power and don't lose the the rideability on the street so and yeah there's a lot of ideas but but it's everything come closer and with all the new noise regulation emission regulations get always tighter and tighter but I have some ideas and we have some ideas and it's yeah it will yeah it's always always some ideas around I think we can summarize it won't be worse yeah quite yeah it's it's it's for every manufacturer it will get tougher and tougher in the future and in terms of the future the in the immediate future of the M models are we going to see the the M models in in other areas of range maybe the XR good question next interview we can talk about future projects so yeah we always can imagine that you bring some other M models but at the moment yeah we can talk about new products so this is just the start yeah it would be a logical step you know there's also on the car side there's not just the M3 of course yeah maybe an MWR touring quite yeah get some panniers on there case then you'll need bigger wings yeah like a biplane lovely gentlemen I appreciate your time I know we're kind of over our limit here but thank you so much for for spending your time with me today and and for all of the information you've provided so I know I appreciate it thank you and good luck for the season as well that four-cylinder the first one was better