Duck

So I have an interesting topic that I believe some of you might like to debate. With motorcycle manufacturers that have been in the business for years and years devoting billions of dollars into research and development what is it about BMW's S1000RR that enables them to put down so much more power to the ground than everyone else? It seems to me that some of the other big name manufacturers would have answered up to the challenge already and despite the release of Ducati's 1199 Panigale which produces more crank horsepower, they still aren't putting down the same numbers at the wheel. Any thoughts?

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Avboden

i've never seen any proof the 1199 puts down more crank horsepower.


As for your answer...I guess they worked on eliminating parasitic loss in the trans.

As for why the engine is so powerful, the answer is simple, the valve train.

good read

http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/bmw-s1000rr-valves

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gsxrsrt

neat, and sexy as hell too

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cal_look_zero

My dad heard (He's friends with their lead engineer in fairy dust/unicorn horn engineering) that they rip the souls out of ginger kids immediately after birth, and extract their essence to feed the hellish demon that lives in the fuel tank, who then shits out a mixture of rocket fuel and NOS energy drink (approximately 350 octane) to power the motorcycle to it's god like horsepower numbers.

It's all very simple, I'm sure Av has the email somewhere he can forward to you.

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KNanthrup

Well to answer part of it... there isn't a very significant variance in drivetrain loss amongst factory sportbikes so the arguement that the 1199 produces more crank horsepower is actually proven wrong by real dyno numbers.

The other thing is, despite BMW not having produced a modern I4 superbike, they do have a hell of a lot of engineering experience, and are one of the most experienced motorcycle manufacturers.

Lastly, people who understand the importance of power output look at more than peak numbers. Yes, the S1000RR makes the most peak power of the current production bikes, BUT have you look at how and where it makes that number? I don't have a comparison in front of me at the moment but if memory serves, from 3000-12,000rpms the S1000RR makes the same or less power than some competitors, but keeps revving to 14k which is where it peaks out an extra 15+ ponies. In other words, aside from when you're in those extra couple thousand rpms for those split moments, it isn't making any more power. Peak numbers do look good on marketing materials though.

I'm not hating though... those extra ponies in the last few rpms do make a difference at certain points of a track or road, but the real importance is area under the curve and usable power.

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xpertss

S1000rr ftw!!!

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Serpent

Horsepower doesnt equate to race wins. Maybe the others are concentrating on winning. If you cant put that power down to the ground, what good is it?

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Avboden

haven't' watched much WSBK this season have you? BMW's in 1st in the manufacturer's standings and 2nd in the riders standings.

as for the rest of the curve, here's the 2011 shootout dynos

Of course the twins are up top in midrange, and the CBR because that's all the engine is built for, but other than that the BMW matches everyone pretty closely until 10K RPM where it takes off.

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Serpent

One fairly successful partial season, doesnt exactly equate to domination. BMW Factory teams should be competitive, they have a ton of cash for R&D. Show me the guys, without factory support who are dominating on it. It is average at best in the AMA.

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Norainy

What a bunch of crap. The rider, Max, will show that all that crap (tech news), will show what really matters.

MotoGP is dead, as one needs to make money off of this bike riding hobby.

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04CBR

A bike does not ride itself.

It's only as good as s/he who rides it.

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Lone Rider

This is really hard to argue with.
All the I4's are the same until the top end.
BMW really nailed it.



Av is right.
Now go get laid kid. You in paradise!!!

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mcjunky

That Beemer motor is rockin it in the CRT bikes

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ShaneO

Im reading the liter bike shootout in sport rider magazine and they actually found the zx-10 number one over the bmw (2nd) of course they dont deny their love of the bmw either. I just wish they could test the ninja with the ecu unleashed then the horsepower figures would be a lot closer!

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S1KRR

I just wish Kawasaki would step up and de-restrict the bike from the factory, they definitely have the capability to do so. If Kawi unrestricted the engine and dropped a tooth on the front sprocket or added a tooth or two the rear sprocket, they would probably win a lot more magazine comparisons and have a really great stock bike, but they refuse to do so, which seems to be standard operating procedure for the other Japanese motorcycle companies as well and one of the reasons I went with the BMW.

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Duck

Read further, that's what I'm basing my info on. They found it second in street but first in track and first overall. Obviously rider has everything to do with wins but that's not the topic I am presenting. What I'm getting at is what is it that gives them the edge in power that the other manufacturers like Kawasaki can't reach? If others could bridge that gap they would be unstoppable because they have cornering more or less down to a science. Out of anyone I would think Kawasaki would present an outright powerbike that would top BMW.

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Duck

Correction, first in street, second in track.

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mcjunky

The Beemer is doing pretty good in the local club series as well

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Gotama

6 minutes that's gotta be some kind of record

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ShaneO

I know that I wasn't answering your exact question I was just putting out there about the ECU issue, regarding that I think I've heard that they had to do that for emissions reasons and that the european version has the full brunt. Now back to your question, I don't know why other manufactures aren't doing the exact BMW thing but thats why we have multiple manufacturers because if everyone made the same bike it would be boring. Sounds like from the magazine that they really like the ninjas traction control which nowadays seems to play a huge role in putting power down.

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