BMW S1000RR group test first impressions

MCN’s Chief Road Tester Trevor Franklin is in the South of France pitting the new BMW S1000RR against the Honda Fireblade, Kawasaki ZX-10R, Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Yamaha R1.

He has just phoned in this initial report:

“We’ve just stopped after riding 63 miles up the Route Napoleon out of Cannes in the south of France.

“It was bloody cold to start, with frost on the road, but it’s warming up now as the sun gets higher and we should be able to put on some fast miles this afternoon.

“Initial reactions from the riders are very positive about the BMW. It’s one of those bikes that makes you feel comfortable straight away and the brakes are amazing.

“The suspension feels compliant like the Fireblade’s but we haven’t fiddled with settings yet.

“It can’t hang on to the R1 at low throttle openings, so it will be interesting to see what happens as the pace hots up and we start using more revs.

“I’ll phone in later this afternoon when we will have racked up 200 miles or so on one of the best twisty roads in Europe.

“By then we should have a lot more answers, but from this morning’s stint the BMW is right up there.”