If Yamaha’s introduction of the R9 did not convince you that sport bikes are making a comeback, you might want to take a close look at this gilded superbike introduced by BMW at a motorcycle show in Italy last weekend.
The BMW Motorrad Concept RR apparently provides a sneak peak at the next generation of BMW superbikes. Of course, with Toprak Razgatlioğlu on board, BMW is the reigning World Superbike Champion.
Here is the press release and some photos concerning the new superbike concept:
Munich/Cernobbio. As part of the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, BMW Motorrad unveils its latest creation for the superbike segment: the BMW Motorrad Concept RR as the ultimate performance statement in terms of technology and design for the future generation of BMW RR models.
Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad: “Never before has BMW Motorrad provided such an early glimpse into a future generation of the RR models. The BMW Motorrad Concept RR is a true masterpiece of our development team, both technically and in terms of design language. Guided and inspired by the BMW Motorrad factory superbike M 1000 RR, with which BMW Motorrad factory rider Toprak Razgatlioğlu was able to dominantly win the FIM World Superbike Championship last year, the Concept RR offers a true firework of superlatives for both street and track use. The transfer from racing to road has never been shown more clearly. It represents BMW Motorrad’s leadership claim to offer the highest engineering level and maximum performance in this segment.”
Maximum performance, based on the BMW factory superbike.
BMW Motorrad engages in motorsport out of passion and conviction – on the tracks of the FIM Superbike World Championship as well as in numerous national and international championships. Every day, the BMW Motorrad team lives the symbiosis of engineering excellence and an unyielding drive for top performance anew. This dedication is reflected in every detail of our superbikes, and the valuable insights gained from racing are incorporated into our production models.
In terms of propulsion, the BMW Motorrad Concept RR relies on the water-cooled inline four-cylinder engine of the world champion machine from the FIM Superbike World Championship, which already delivers more than 230 hp (169 kW). This promises pure adrenaline in terms of propulsion and reinforces the leadership claim in the superbike segment. Accompanying this are the electronic control and regulation systems that come directly from the WSBK M 1000 RR, such as the engine management, traction control, and engine brake.
New benchmark in terms of lightweight construction and aerodynamics.
By innovative manufacturing techniques and the use of high-tech materials such as carbon and aluminum, the BMW Motorrad Concept RR sets new benchmarks in lightweight construction. From the frame to the smallest component, every detail is consistently optimized for lightweight construction and performance. The design also follows this principle: sharp, purposeful, expressive – with an embossed RR logo on the tail and an illuminated RR symbol on the downside of the delicate aluminum tail.
The BMW Motorrad engineers placed special emphasis on aerodynamics, particularly on the challenging objectives of “riding stability at very high speeds,” “maximum cornering speeds,” and “minimal air resistance for optimal top speed.” These competing goals are realized by the Concept RR through an unprecedentedly compact package, reduced external attachments, and enhanced precision of airflow, even through the motorcycle – from the ventilated front to the monolithic, also ventilated, aerodynamically optimized rear.
In addition, the concept bike is equipped with an aerodynamically optimized fairing with integrated winglets and high-performance brakes – uncompromisingly perfected for ambitious super-sporty use on the road up to professional racing.
The matching outfit – the jacket Concept RR LTD.
BMW Motorrad has been consistently implementing the claim to make motorcycling as safe and comfortable as possible with perfectly designed clothing, while also stylishly shaping the motorcycle lifestyle with attractive fashion, for more then 45 years. Today, it offers a comprehensive program of Riders Gear and Casual Wear. Once again, the maxim for BMW Motorrad is: Make existing things even better and simultaneously develop new innovative solutions. Accordingly, on the occasion of the presentation of the BMW Motorrad Concept RR, a unique lifestyle jacket was developed: the Concept RR LTD jacket, limited to 50 units. A masterpiece made of fine calf Nappa leather, crafted in cooperation with the traditional Bavarian company MEINDL, this jacket combines motorsport flair with the highest craftsmanship and exclusivity.
Disclaimer.
The vehicles shown may be modified and fitted with third-party accessories and/or proprietary parts that are not manufactured, distributed or tested by BMW. BMW accepts no liability for the modifications (including the fitting, characteristics and use of the accessories shown). NOTE: Modification of series production vehicles (including the fitting and use of third-party and self-made parts) can Media information Date 23 May 2025 Topic BMW Motorrad presents the BMW Motorrad Concept impair riding characteristics! Riding our vehicles in modified condition is at your own risk.
You will find press material on BMW motorcycles and BMW Motorrad rider equipment in the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.
My insurance agent would go into cardiac arrest if I showed up with this.
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Well maybe the manufacturers have reached a limit in how much hp they can make and still be usable on the street so now lighter weight is easier method to increase the hp weight ratio.
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They blew past that threshold by the end of the 90’s.
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Are you aware that a lot of dirt bikers will stick maxi pads to their goggles to soak up the sweat from their forehead? It’s probably done in other sports as well.
Oddly I never had sweat control problems when I had long hair. After I made the switch to short hair I actually considered trying that hack. Sweating on the inside of your goggles is something you really want to avoid. But I wasn’t about to buy a whole box on spec and I couldn’t image stealing one from some gal that invited me for a short stay at her place.
Make up mirror isn’t really a huge stretch for the Harley types. Think about it. They are really into style. I mean, have you ridden one of those things? Yabba dabba doo!
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What a bunch of old coots haha – Go complain somewhere else! I’m in my mid 50’s & will never sound like you old men even in my 80’s. I ride sportbikes & naked bikes because of the performance. Firstly to say cruisers are so much more comfortable is a lie to me. An arched outward back taking all the bumps in my lower back – no thanks. My back is in the best posture on the bikes I ride. Yes it’s harder on your knees, no question. That’s why I got a Streetfighter V4 which has a real nice riding position. Ohh I pay $550 CAD for full insurance on it 🙂
The BMW looks smoking!
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20 years ago, i talked to a friend who was a salesman at a bike shop, not here in so cal. he mentioned, sport bike insurance doubles the cost of owning one. when a new customer, sees he cant take his girl friend riding with him, he would be all hunched over riding it, it needs to revved to the moon to make any HP, and no way could he ride it for any length of time, without getting cramped. then in comparison, a cruiser style, is comfy, for him and his girlfriend, insurance is cheap, and he could ride it at a comfortable legal speed all day, it was a no brainer choice. and thats why cruisers sell, only in so cal is a sport bike, looked at as desirable, and since newcombs closed, I am out of touch with the sport bike world. so there.
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Sport bikes are not practical, and ‘revving to the moon’ for a real sporty feeling on the road, for most, is normal.
Several years ago a bike magazine did a torque vs horse power rider satisfaction test, and torque was 100 % preferred.
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It’s odd how people seem to think that you either ride a sport bike or a cruiser. Even when ADV bikes seem to be all the rage now.
I’m an old dirt biker. Duh! My three street bikes are a Gen one Multistrada for two up stuff, basically a big funny looking supermoto. The wife bought me a Hypermotard for my 60th, which is basically a less big less funny looking supermoto. And a supermoto, which has been my front line bike for twenty years after it replaced one very much like it that I built in 2000.
All three have proper ergos for maximum comfort and control and are equipped with torqey engines that you don’t need to Rev to the moon. One of them weighs well under 300 pounds. Which of course is impossible if you ask a street bike fan boy. But hey! There it is right out in the barn. That particular one is 22 years old.
All three have cable throttle, as God intended, one mode and no color TV screen. Seems the new bikes are so dull and boring that they need a dedicated porn screen to sell. Pathetic.
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Color TV, Huh,.. I have seen a store bought Harley top box with a make up mirror inside the lid. Top that !
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“weighs well under 300 pounds. Which of course is impossible if you ask a street bike fan boy.”
‘cept that isn’t a street bike, even if you can ride it there.
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It’s been a street bike for 22 years. I think it qualifies. It passes inspection every year.
I did say guys like you would think that it’s impossible. How’s that for a stunningly accurate prediction?
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That you’ve been riding a dirt bike all that time on the street doesn’t make it any more of a street bike.
Out here in the midwest people drive their SxS UTV’s on the street too.
I only see sportbikes being used for Stunt’n and pose’n….extended swingarms, lowered suspension and tuned with pops and bangs! Was seriously thinking about a GSXR750/1000 as a 60th BD present to myself but Insurance is $2700 for full coverage, while liability is only $100 for a litre bike. For those that have to finance, mandatory insurance has been the real killer of sportbikes. Cheers!
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“New benchmark in terms of lightweight construction”
They even put it in bold. The street bike industry hasn’t attempted to make lightweight anything ever. All bet the above bike weighs over 500 pounds. Two race ready dirt bikes topped off with gas. One of them kitted out for trail maintenance with a rack and a chainsaw. Why even bring it up? It’s laughable.
I know the street bike world likes to pretend that the entire dirt bike market doesn’t exist. But it does, and it’s not going anywhere. So they are better off not mentioning weight at all. It’s just not something they really want people to ever think about. They have such a reputation for lying about the weight of the bikes that nobody can trust a word they say about it anyway. You have to wait for some magazine or whatever to actually weigh the things. Then you find out that OEM “dry” often means that there isn’t any acid in the battery because there is no battery, or tires, shock, forks…
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Shut up Mick, your complete lack of understanding regarding modern emissions requirements, production cycles, materials costs and structural engineering has gotten BEYOND stale.
Shut. Up.
Thanks, EVERYONE
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When you aren’t getting any traction, it is time to shift gears.
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Thanks Bob! I would ask you to enlighten me on those issues. But I’m sure that you would provide me with the the typical angry non-answer. So save your digital breath for a true believer. I know you haven’t a single clue about any of those issues. Arch typical fan boy boiler plate stuff you’ve got cookin’ there. I was 13 fifty years ago. And you wouldn’t have fooled me even then. NEXT!
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Me again, you low-rent troll…
For the record, I’ve been working in the industry you enjoy shitting on for over four decades.
You are a consumer (albeit a piss-poor one) of the products I’ve shaped, tested, and helped engineer.
Yes, I know more than you. And refuting every half-ass statement and mistruth you’ve posted ON JUST THIS PARTICULAR SITE ALONE would take more hours and crayons than you deserve.
Please, for the love of the gods… Shut. Up!
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Sorry Bob. You’ll never sell me on the idea. The world is full of self-proclaimed geniuses.
Since Bob was nice enough to provide me with the predicted angry non-answer. I thought that I would go out a weigh a few items.
The first thing Bob said that I had a complete lack of understanding was emissions requirements. OK. Let’s have a look.
My 2012 Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP Corse edition came came with a couple of boxes of parts. The first three owners put 1100 miles on the bike (?!) and swapped out a bunch of parts on it. One of the items was the catalytic converter. It weighs 5.478 pounds and was replaced by a Y pipe that I’ll be charitable and say only weighs a pound. So we’re talking 4.5 pounds for the Cat. The bike also had a flapper valve in the exhaust, craziest thing ever, that was for noise emissions. The servo weighs a pound and a half. Let’s say the system including the wires and the flapper itself is two pounds, so we’re up to 6.5 pounds. The ECU for the Hypermotard is the same Continental M3C that KTM uses for their fuel injected two strokes. So it’s a push. Both dirt and street bikes have elaborate intake systems. I guess you could maybe squabble a pound or so out of the airbox deal. I lighter $2000 full exhaust, super noisy, system for the bike would be lucky to save five to seven pounds. So really, all in, even with a super spendy full titanium exhaust you’re talking fifteen pounds for emissions requirements.
Next up was production cycles. Hate to break this to you Bob. But dirt bikes are mass produced too. So maybe you should have left that out. Maybe you just tossed that in to make me look ill-informed. But I’m not sure which way that’s really working for you.
Materials costs was next. I get it that people want cheap street bikes. But dirt bikes and made from materials too. Here again look no further than my bike collection. I have 2004 and 2007 YZ250s The bikes are basically identical save the frame material. The aluminum framed bike weighs 7 pounds less than the steel framed bike. My KTM 300XC has a chromoly, and electric start, and weighs in the same ballpark. Here’s a good time to note that when electric start came to dirt bikes the buyers complained about the weight. KTM did stellar job of responding with a basic 7 pound system weight. Street bikers would have simply made excuses for the manufacturers. Dirt bikers never do that.
I really got a kick out of the last one. Structural engineering. OK. Let’s go there. Go grab the ADV bike of your choice and I’ll grab one of my aging dirt bikes, you can pick which one if you’d like. Then let’s see how many laps each bike can do around a motocross track before it breaks. To save effort. The ADV will break first simply because it is so heavy. And the dirt bike will be ready for at least another decade of service. And if you take a 225 pound dirt bike, add 15 pounds for emissions and 70 pounds for a heavier engine. You get 310 pounds. The Hypermotard is reported both wet and dry (street bikers) to weigh 380 pounds.
That gives you a whopping 70 pounds for heavier brakes, lights and a more robust frame. That’s pretty sub par structural engineering in my book. It’s too hot out today. Maybe I’ll weigh the thing tomorrow to see what it actually weighs on planet earth and dispense with the street bike wet dry weight fog.
Dear Mick, the current S1000rr weighs 434Lb wet so it is reasonable to assume that this bike will weight that much or less. That’s less than the two dirt bikes you cite with far more power than both combined. A dirt bike wouldn’t likely survive riding in a straight line at the speeds this superbike is capable of. It simply takes more mass to harness that kind of power and traction load, safely.
Most of the best dirt bike makers also make street bikes, very likely the same engineers working on both. like everyone else seems to understand, dirt bikes aren’t street bikes.
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If you find a source that isn’t BMW that figure is closer to 450. But whatever. So not a couple of 250s it’s “just” a 250 and a 125. And yes, it has twice what I consider enough power to make riding on the street boring, that’s subjective I know. You know they stopped making 500cc two strokes because they had more power than was necessary right? The street bike industry can’t seem to wrap their heads around a concept like that. If you want an upscale street bike that doesn’t have more power than is necessary and takes advantage of that fact to be as light as possible, you are going to have to find another planet that has a sane street bike industry and go there. Because here on earth we got bupkis. Having twice too much power is not a virtue in my book. It only serve as an example of what the industry can and will do as opposed to what they can and won’t do.
And you are absolutely correct. Dirt bikes are not street bikes. Dirt bikes are so far superior that the ones that wear street bike first company logos are lucky they can’t feel embarrassment. My 22 year old supermoto is the best street bike I own and it started life as a dirt bike. Remember the disaster that was BMWs attempt to design a dirt bike? That didn’t last long did it? They can make street bikes. But they are woefully unqualified to make dirt bikes. They’re going to need another hundred years or so of practice.
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Not 100% accurate.
Ducati has moved the needle on weight reduction in production sportbike manufacturing.
Weight reduction prior to that has been minuscule compared to engine output.
It’s an interesting use of downtime to review sport bike specs (weight, hp, torque) back to 1990 through the present day. Adding lightness has been woefully underperforming. Granted, it’s probably more difficult and expensive than engine output advances, but had there been proper focus on weight reduction?
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Back when they were going to slap a 100hp limit on street bikes, like France did, I kind of welcomed the idea. I thought my 916 Ducati had more power than was necessary and, of course, that street bikes are way too heavy. Limiting power leaves getting light to beat the next guy. And this was before 2002, the year of infamy for the sport bike market. There would have light weight street bikes. Now instead the race is for 250hp heavy street bikes. Oh goody. I’ll ride my impossible supermoto.
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The script writer should be in expensive real estate. Severe BS.
Jackets too ?
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