The fire of that four
cylinder is there right
out of the gate
ou will rarely leap aboard a bike
with a better welcome or more of an
invitational nature, than that offered
when getting astride this litre beasty from
Berlin’s blue propeller marque.
first turned out a four-cylinder engine
with the K series in 1983, and 20 years later
in
offered its first transverse four with
the K1200S. At the time it was the world’s
most powerful sportsbike, producing
bh . o, fast-forward to
. he
S1000R’s 999cc engine develops almost the
same, give or take a couple of horses. But
the delivery! Oh, man.
he fire of that four cylinder is there right
out of the gate, revving fiercely with a shriek
while the kra ovic crackles as you roll off
the throttle. Aboard the bike, that power is
delivered strongly everywhere, and I mean
everywhere, in the range. Massive torque
down low delivers a full-hearted boost from
30 KIWI RIDER
r m, ulling fiercely to five and a half,
where there’s a swift hummock of screaming
fire, and on with an eye-whitening rush to
the redline at ,
r m. hat ower is so
smoothly delivered that it almost doesn’t
suit a naked racer sportsbike, but ten
minutes in the country will prove you very
wrong.
Physically it looks very like the big brother
RR, but with higher bars and less fairing,
yet this is in no way a lesser beast. rue the
RR delivers another 30hp and is, let’s face
it, more track ready, but for everyday use
the R will deliver every road thrill, and give
you four levels of mapping and electronic
suspension setting at the touch of a button.
You get heated grips and cruise control as
standard too, so when you get tired in the
firm but comfortable saddle, you can rest
up for a minute or two, and stretch out your
kinks and knots.