BMW S 1000 R 2022

12 tripsExcellent 5/5

After rewriting the superbike rule book with its award-winning S1000RR, BMW decided to celebrate in the best way possible: by releasing a naked version for the street. Dubbed the “S1000R,” the model took everything that riders loved about the Bavarian liter bike, ditched the fairings, and added a set of straight bars to make it more comfortable for the road.

But here’s the thing: the changes involved more than looks alone; BMW also thoroughly reworked the engine — switching up the cylinder head, redesigning the ports, and modifying the cam profiles, as well as fitting it with different mapping, ignition coils and camshaft sensors — to optimize the bike for daily use. In practice, this meant that the S1000R’s inline-four was slightly tamer than its race-replica sibling, good for 165hp and 83lb-ft of torque. Additionally, BMW tuned the bike for an earlier power delivery, giving it more low-to-midrange grunt.

Per Motorcycle News: “It still has the muscle to wheelie off the throttle in third gear and will go faster than your neck muscles will stand for any length of time. But for normal riding the motor is nice and grunty, the throttle is smooth and its electronics, both before and after its update work well, aren’t overly intrusive and can be easily adjusted on the move via the switchgear buttons.”

In typical BMW fashion, the S1000R was also made available in “M Package” guise. As part of the upgrade, the bike shaved some seven pounds off of its curb weight thanks to some ultralight M forged wheels. Wrapped in a traditional M livery and outfitted with an Akrapovič silencer, it made for quite the statement.

Modifications:

M Package, which includes:

• M Sport livery.
• M Sport forged wheels.
• M Sport rearsets.
• M Sport endurance chain.
• Akrapovič slip-on exhaust.
• GB Racing engine covers.
• Evotech frame sliders.
• Evotech tail tidy.
• Swingarm spools.
• Quick-turn gas cap.
• Passenger peg block-offs.
• CRG lane splitter mirrors.