I have been riding motorcycles for a while now. I have ridden really powerful ones, really exclusive ones, really gnarly ones, and whatever else you can think of. This piece is about a naked motorcycle so I’ll let you know that I have ridden the likes of the 1290 Super Duke, Tuono V4, Streetfighter V4, and a B-King. Yet, this one terrified me… in a good way, of course. I am talking about the BMW M 1000 R; it scores highly in performance, exclusivity, and absolute fear factor! 

The xBhpPowerTour 2024 continues and I found myself in Germany aboard an M 1000 R. Thinking about where I should take such a mayhem of a machine, I decided on Austria including the mighty and beautiful Timmelsjoch, one of Europe’s most beautiful mountain passes. Now, the model I had was devoid of the M Competition package which makes this motorcycle even more extreme. But as you’ll find out in a little while, it does not need any more extremities. It is already overkill in the stock trim and with the M Competition Package, it is just bonkers. 

Just as an appetizer, I will shed some light on some things before we dive deep. The M 1000 R gets a familiar 999cc water-cooled inline-4 but with more grunt. It makes 210 bhp and 113 Nm. It gets ShiftCam technology which is BMW-speak for variable valve timing/lift. It weighs 199 kg (wet) and just to keep the front wheel on the ground, it gets M-Winglets good for 11 kilos on the front end at 220 km/h. The top speed is 280 kays an hour which needs a certain part of the human anatomy to be made of titanium, just like the valves in this engine. 

Weighing in at just over 1.3 kilos, the X-Cross from Axor is one of the lightest helmets around combining safety with comfort.

I rode it on the highway with heavy traffic and without. I rode it on some winding roads that lead up to the Timmelsjoch, with heavy traffic and without. After putting a decent number of kilometres on the odo, I think I have a general idea of what the M 1000 R is all about. More than a stunning piece of machinery, more than a fantastic motorcycle, and more than a marvel of human imagination, the BMW M 1000 R is a statement. I think you can guess it is directed towards the Bologna badass they call the Streetfighter V4. 

Starting with the looks, the BMW M 1000 R looks big. The winglets add to the shoulders, yes, but even if they weren’t there, it looks big and imposing. With the headlamp, the semi-faired sides, the titanium silencer, and a sleek rear accentuated by the massive 200-section rear tyre- the BMW M 1000 R looks mean. Even more so with the M Competition variant that comes in a deep black paint scheme. There might still be some people who may not like how it looks or find some other motorcycle that looks better in their opinion but I believe that it’ll cater to most in this particular department. 

Sit on the motorcycle and the ergonomics are friendly for the most part. The seat height, at 830mm, is slightly high. The footpegs are rear-set but not to the point of being extreme. I found the handlebar to be a bit peculiar. It is not very sporty but it is relatively sporty. Overall, it is a motorcycle that is comfortable over shorter distances but make it a mile-muncher and it will take a toll. The TFT display is brilliant and legible even on the brightest of days and it gets stuff like foldable levers and heated grips. So BMW has succeeded for the most part in making the M 1000 R a comfortable motorcycle but its sportiness will start to show over long distances. 

The 15L Rynox Navigator tank bag is a handy little piece of luggage that lets you keep everything you need quick access to on a roadtrip.

All of this does not matter though because of the next section- performance! Inline-4 engines are smooth and this one is too. Inline-4 engines are linear and this one is too. These traits point to rather sedate mannerisms but trust me on this, give it a handful of gas and the fury the M 1000 R unleashes is unprecedented. The winglets and the electronics barely keep the front wheel on the ground once the engine is at full song. The redline is a lofty 14,600 rpm and close to the redline, there is nothing sedate about this motorcycle… not the exhaust note… not the performance. 

Inline-4 engines also have problems with torque and grunt at the lower end and most of the juicy stuff is found higher in the rev range. This was mitigated to some extent by the ShiftCam tech. It has been further addressed by some more updates to the timings. Now, the lean spots are virtually impossible to find. Moreover, the engine gathers revs very quickly. So what you have is tons of power all the time and it pulls cleanly even if you find yourself in a gear higher than you’d like to be.

In addition to the imaging performance, the quality of the screen on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a sight to behold.

Even more fun is getting out of the corners. Once you grab a handful of gas picking the bike up after a corner, it pulls with utter fury. Thank god for the electronics on this one. Also, the tyres did a great job because. Despite happening upon some wet patches, I did not switch to rain mode and the tyres kept up well… with a lot of help from the comprehensive electronics suite of course. Talking about corners, the chassis is sublime and the suspension, well, adaptive. 

With Dynamic Damping Control (DDC), the motorcycle is constantly evaluating the surface and adjusting the suspension accordingly so you have exactly what you need at the moment. The braking is spot on and because of that, you have even more confidence to push the M 1000 R as hard as one dares to on public roads. I am not a big fan of depending on the electronics too much because it dulls the on-handness of the experience a bit but I can understand why those are necessary on this particular motorcycle. 

So, it is a sinister motorcycle that is deceptively easy to ride but make no mistake, it is sinister. 210 horses is a lot of power and it commands respect. If you do that though, it is a very rewarding motorcycle to ride that comes at a… price. INR 33 lakh for the M 1000 R and INR 38 lakh for the M 1000 R Competition Package. Just like the motorcycle, the price is a statement as well. But if you have the moolah to spare, this is one motorcycle that deserves a place in your garage. It surely does in mine…