2023 BMW M1000RR review: new aero makes big difference to the way this sizzling superbike handles

BMW’s ‘homologation special’ M1000RR superbike model has been around since 2021 and it’s the bike that forms the basis of their factory WSB racer. In simple terms it’s a BMW S1000RR on steroids with a race-ready engine ripe for tuning.

But TT wins aside it hasn’t had the success BMW would’ve have liked on track, so for 2023 they produced a new version. Rather than go to work on the engine, chassis or electronics, they’ve spent time in the wind tunnel to produce a more slippery superbike with extra downforce.

Not only does the M1000RR’S new aero look wild, but it makes a significant difference to the way it handles. Its wider new carbon fairing makes it easier to get tucked in out of the wind along the straights and wings jam the front wheel on the floor through the higher gears. But the improvements are small and more for race teams than trackday riders.

Elsewhere it’s still a phenomenal piece of kit with monstrous power. It’s hard for your brain to keep up and venturing into the race motor’s final few thousand rpm is like hitting the turbo button. Its brakes are just as powerful, electronics as reassuring and handling impeccable, although standard Michelins take their time to chime in on a cold track. Despite its searing performance, the BMW isn’t too extreme on the road, thanks to its roomy riding position, variable valve timing, heated grips and cruise control.

2023 BMW M1000RR video review

Watch as Neevesy takes on Cadwell Park atop BMW's best superbike.

Chassis, suspension and brakes are all unchanged for 2023, but a wider new fairing increases claimed top speed from 190mph to 195mph. You’d need a ton of extra power to achieve the same result at those speeds, especially on a bike with wings, which demonstrates just how important aero is.

We tested the 2023 M1000RR at Cadwell Park where you’ll ‘only’ see 160mph-odd along the straights, but the new fairing and tall screen still encases you in the kind of eerie-still pocket of air that you won’t experience on any other production superbike. There’s less wind noise and buffeting on the road at motorway speeds, too. Not only is the new fairing functional, it’s a sumptuously finished work of carbon fibre art. The fairing bracket is now carbon fibre, too.

BMW says the huge new boomerang-shaped carbon fibre wings are designed to pin the front wheel to the tarmac at high speed. They also load the front wheel in fast corners to give the rider more grip and confidence. At 186mph downforce on the wings increases from 16.3kg to 22.6kg, which is equivalent to an almost full sack of Lincolnshire’s finest Maris Piper potatoes perched over the front end.

The BMW has an uncanny air of stability, like a bike with the steering damper wound on slightly and where a superbike would usually wheelie along Cadwell’s undulating straights in third and fourth gear, the M1000RR’s front wheel stays welded to the tarmac. It’ll still take off over the Mountain, if your name’s Josh Brooks.

Working in harmony with the new fairing, the M1000RR has a new carbon fibre front mudguard that wraps around the fork legs to further smooth airflow. It also has built-in air ducts to cool its Nissin four-piston calipers, which are unchanged for this year and now also appear on the new S1000RR.

Stopping power, feel and consistency rivals the gold standard of Ducati’s Panigale V4. But the brakes vibrate under hard use in long braking zones here at Cadwell and other tracks where we’ve ridden with the same set-up. The mudguard’s cooling ducts are so effective that some BMW BSB teams revert to the old M1000RR’s conventional mudguard in cold conditions to keep heat in the calipers.

It’s stable and accurate on track, but with no semi-active suspension the ride can be harsh on the road and its M seat is thinly padded. Semi-slick Michelin Pilot Cup 2 fast road/trackday tyres are standard. They grip well but sensitive to tyre pressures and slow to warm-up, making them hard to manage.

Mechanically and electronically the new M-RR is unchanged from the 2021 BMW M1000RR. Its 209bhp race motor sounds and feels aggressive at full throttle and you need to rev it way past where it feels natural to change to taste its fruits.

Despite its power, it’s easy to control thanks to its superb rider aids and friendly engine mapping. That said, the standard electronics go in the bin when teams convert an M1000RR for racing, even for Superstock 1000.

Build quality is generally excellent, but when you strip the beautiful carbon fibre away it’s a basically an S1000RR underneath and doesn’t have the specialness of something like a Ducati Panigale V4R. It’s a mixed bag when it comes to reliability. Mostly M1000RRs and S1000RRs are bombproof, despite their engines sounding rough at tickover, but there are reports that some suffer the occasional mechanical malady.

We don't have any owner reviews of the 2023 M1000RR, but we do have some user reports of the previous bike.

There's a mention of it being rather highly strung, and using a lot of oil. That probably won't surprise too many of you, given its motorsport lineage and performance.

Costing nearly 31 grand in standard trim and another five with the M Competition Package, the M1000RR is eye-wateringly expensive. Ducati’s £38,995 215bhp 998cc Panigale V4R is its closest homologation special rival. The Italian machine has a more luxurious feel and is more powerful, but pricier.

A top-spec Aprilia RSV4 Factory will set you back £21,500 but, although it's got a heap of top-drawer components, it doesn't have the specialness of a true homologation special.

Or, you might consider the £23,999 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP 30th Anniversary Edition, which takes the standard SP to new heights with an awesome 90s-spec paintjob.

As before the M1000RR comes with a full array of electronic rider aids (but without the ’23 S1000RR’s steering angle sensor), full colour Bluetooth dash, Nissin brakes, mechanically adjustable Marzocchi suspension and carbon fibre wheels, fairing and wings.

A £5100 M Competition Package is also available and includes adjustable billet ali levers and footpegs, carbon parts, a low friction DLC-coated chain, GPS laptimer activation, pillion seat and pegs. It also comes with carbon fibre front wheel covers that give the BMW’s front end a look reminiscent of a fully enclosed 1950s dustbin fairing and add to its visual drama.

The covers, also used in cycling and the back wheels of Moto3 racers, smooth airflow over the BMW’s front wheel and claimed to come into effect over 150mph. It’s hard to feel any benefit in isolation, but they don’t affect the handling in any negative way.