After riding a motorcycle like the M 1000 R, one tends to sit down and brood. Whenever I ride a motorcycle as extreme as that, I think about saturation. I feel like this is it, perhaps the best possible. Then, another motorcycle comes along and shatters that belief. The one in question is the BMW M 1000 RR with the M Competition package. In simple terms, it beggars belief on paper and the road. To try to compare it to the experience of riding its naked sibling, I rode it in the same place- in Austria and up to Timmelsjoch.

Why does the BMW M 1000 RR deserve a remark like ‘beggars belief’? It makes 212 bhp and 113 Nm of torque. It weighs 192 kg (191.8 in the M Competition trim). It has enough of the sixth element to start a new life form. It looks like it was a piece of carbon fibre that was left at the mercy of wind and the form it has is the result. It is a motorcycle that should not be road-legal but somehow, it is… available for anyone with enough money to buy. Even when you consider that not a lot of people will have that kind of money, it is still a terrifying thought. 

After riding it for over a thousand kilometres, I have a lot of thoughts about the BMW M 1000 RR M Competition. The first one is that the name is a mouthful. That aside, it brings back the memories of the very first BMW S 1000 RR. Bavaria’s first attempt at a litre-class superbike and they left everything in the dust. This one is quite like that… just a little more extreme. The only thing I feel about the motorcycle that is not entirely positive is… who is it meant for? Maybe we’ll find the answer by the end of this piece. 

Lightweight and loaded with tons of power and scathing speed; that is how one can describe both the Acer Swift 5 and the BMW M 1000 RR.

Starting with the looks, the BMW M 1000 RR looks absolutely diabolical. With the M Competition package and in the black colour, it looks even more menacing… almost like a mythical creature. It has tons of road presence and it screams racetrack through and through. Apart from the headlight, mirrors, blinkers i.e. the stuff needed to be road-legal, everything else is meant to shave tenths of seconds off of your best lap time. It is mostly functional but executed in a manner that adds depth to the M 1000 RR’s form as well. It is a 10/10 for me but I won’t disagree with people that find it a bit too busy. 

Sit on it and the story remains the same- absolute commitment. The seat is firm, the footpegs are properly rear set and the clip-ons are low and narrow. I am 5 ’10 and yet, the seat height had me tip-toeing. The BMW M 1000 RR M Competition means business and nothing else. It is not meant for comfort. It gets cruise control, yes, but you better not be touring on this bad boy. Your back, your bum, and your wrists will be better off that way. I rode it on the highway in some traffic and it was akin to harassment- of my body and the motorcycle’s capability. 

This is a motorcycle meant for winding roads with scarce traffic. No, this motorcycle is meant for the racetrack, period. But if one rides it on the road, then what I said. I say that because of the performance. The only thing that the BMW M 1000 RR M Competition cares about is blowing the lap times out of the water. Toprak is showing that in WSBK and whatever little Topraks we have within us, this motorcycle is meant to appease that. The engine, the chassis, the handling, the acceleration, the braking- everything is just bonkers. 

Starting with the engine, it revs very very quickly. Add to that the ShiftCam technology (variable valve timing/lift) and the inline-4 does not feel like an inline-4. It is linear and smooth but it reaches its peak powerband in a flash and all you hear is it screaming. Mash the quickshifter and it all starts again. It just keeps going on and on and on. The top speed is 314 km/h and considering the 22.6 kg of downforce at 300 kays an hour, that top speed is unfathomable. That is thanks to the potent engine and the aerodynamic efficiency. 

The Rynox Navigator tank bag is not only spacious but also ready for adverse weather with its rain cover making sure your essentials remain safe.

Then comes the handling which is even more baffling. Thanks to the winglets, extensive use of carbon fibre for weight reduction, and carbon fibre wheels (lighter and therefore lesser unsprung mass), the BMW M 1000 RR M Competition turns on a dime. Directional changes are lightning-quick and virtually effortless. It is almost eager to get down to MotoGP levels of lean angles on tyres that have treads… or something that resembles treads. And thank god for those winglets because if the engine was left to go along on its whims, the front tyre would never know of petty things such as tarmac.

The braking power you have is insane. Electronics aside, the sheer amount of stopping power is mind-boggling. Then you have wheel covers for reducing turbulence around the front wheel and ducts to cool the brake callipers. How is it a road-legal motorcycle… I do not know. That said, it is not a motorcycle meant for bad roads. Ergonomics aside, it is very stiff and communicative which is a double-edged sword. On smooth winding roads, you have handling characteristics that seem telepathic and on bad roads… Well, it is a different kind of telepathy.  

Having ridden this motorcycle, I am not surprised by how well BMW is doing in WSBK and the fact that this very motorcycle is so quick around the Isle of Man. Yes, you can buy it and ride on the road but it is not meant for that. This is a motorcycle meant to be raced. It is a motorcycle that should be bought by a racing team that would field it in national and international championships. And I say that not just because of the performance but because of the price as well. 

In India, the BMW M 1000 RR will set you back by INR 49 lakhs before taxes and stuff. Add to that the M Competition Package and you’re looking at INR 55 lakhs (Ex-Showroom). Does it make sense? Well, it makes as much sense as the M3 does over a standard 3-Series Beemer. Catch my drift? BMW manufactured this motorcycle not to make sense but to set racetracks ablaze. And that it does… and then some!