BMW S1000RR Gen 4 - "Long Term Review"

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noxx

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Hi Ladies,

so I figured I'd start a new thread and basically summarize my thoughts of this bike. It doesn't really fit into the ride review and delivery thread imho; so admins please don't rip my head off :)

Order / Pre-delivery:

I've ordered my bike late November 2018, paid 2000 Euro deposit and the initial delivery week was week 26 (which is next week). The delivery date changed almost on a daily basis, this one time it even changed to week 51! Dealers be dealers, great communication before I paid and absolutely nothing once they've received my hard earned $$$.

Delivery:

I've taken delivery of my bike on the 4th of June 2019, loads of congratulations, handshakes, pats on the backs and some paperwork. Bike was literally running on fumes as the dealer didn't bother to fuel it at all. It actually died from fuel starvation 200 meters in front of the gas station.

Pre run-in service:

I thought it was a brilliant bike. Stupid fast. Absolutely great handling, sound was cool too (yes, even with the fugly stock exhaust system). You can definitely feel that they've worked hard to put some more kick in the lower RPM band. The dash is stunning and HUGE in relation to the size of the bike. You have nice gauges, stunning screens, loads of information, turn by turn directions and then some. The riding modes are as follows:
- RAIN
- ROAD
- DYNAMIC
- RACE

Rain mode feels like a really, really vicious 400cc, Road mode is actually great for... roads. Soft suspension, decent throttle response, manageable torque, tiny wheelies and a nice pop when you let off the throttle. Dynamic is pretty much the same as road mode, except the suspension is a tad harder, throttle that bit more responsive and you can do better wheelies. Race mode.. well yeah.. race mode. Suspension too hard for roads, throttle very responsive, almost twitchy and you can pop decent wheelies. I have not yet tested the race pro 1/2/3 modes.
Neutral was literally impossible to find, almost to a point where I thought about bringing my bike to the dealer. Left handlebar controls completely malfunctioned twice on me. The only fix was to disconnect and reconnect the battery.

Recall:

I found out about the recall on social media. It wasn't my dealer and it wasn't BMW UK / HQ. I've contacted them multiple times and every single time I was told 'we do not know'. Communication was a joke and I was very, very close to utilizing Irish consumer laws and demand a refund. I went absolutely haywire on the phone, via email, on social media and that worked! Once I've publicly slashed BMW on social media, it took them 5 hours to contact me. The BMW Assembly Plant in Berlin contacted me first and promised that they will make sure someone with knowledge will contact me. One hour later the head of customer support at BMW UK contacted me and gave me all the information I wanted / needed. He was brilliant actually. There were three milling machines that produced parts for the engine. One of them was faulty for 3 weeks in May. During those 3 weeks, all three milling machines produced parts for 340 engines. They were producing parts at the same pace, which means that 226 engines were fine and 113 were faulty. Each machine embosses their identifier in form of dots onto the engines. Machine 1 = 1 dot, machine 2 = 2 dots and machine 3 = 3 dots. Machine 3 was the faulty one, so all engines with 3 dots are faulty and will be replaced. Engines with one or two dots are absolutely fine. There will be no production during the months of June and July (that's when BMW make changes to their manufacturing facilities). Mass production is scheduled to resume in August 2019. On top of that, one of their suppliers cannot keep up with the demand, but BMW expects these issues to be resolved by the time they resume mass production.

Post run-in service:

I am honestly not sure how to word this, but this bike is the best I've ever ridden, and I've ridden them all. The power is mind bending, the handling is out of this world. BMW can tell us what they will, but they not only limit the revs during the first 1000km. Something else was limited / restricted as well. The overall riding experience has improved dramatically since the run-in service. I have the BMW S1000RR M Sport, use Motul 300V and Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa 2 - nothing can beat this combination in my opinion. My 'finding neutral' issues have disappeared as well. I guess it's a combination of the break in and BMW adjusting my clutch play. A software update has also fixed the issues I've had with my left handlebar controls. Note: The first software update takes about 4 hours and BMW do not do it without you asking them for it. It's not part of the run-in service. The M Sport seat is still shit and nothing will ever change that, except a replacement; for which BMW charges you 340 Euro by the way :p

Bottom line. Buy this bike. If you already did, wait for it - you will not be disappointed.


P.s. If you find any typos / grammar mess ups... you can keep them :)

noxx
 
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Thanks for the write-up. Could you not get a comfort seat as goodwill?
Haha. I couldn’t even get the run-in service for free. At least I’m good for the next 9934 kilometers. Of course I’ll change my oil a couple times in between :)
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Thanks for the brilliant write up. Great to read that you are enjoying the new RR.
 
''No production June and July''.
Is that connected to engine woes/supply problems or was that always scheduled?
If it was always scheduled then,presumably,the delivery dates should only change by a couple of weeks(hopefully).
 
''No production June and July''.
Is that connected to engine woes/supply problems or was that always scheduled?
If it was always scheduled then,presumably,the delivery dates should only change by a couple of weeks(hopefully).
It?s their summer break when they make changes to factory lines etc to cater for new models etc - it?s normal.
 
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Bit pathetic really as they haven't been making any s1000rr's for almost the last year!
Like everything else-too many boardroom meetings and not enough just getting on with it.
 
Bit pathetic really as they haven't been making any s1000rr's for almost the last year!
Like everything else-too many boardroom meetings and not enough just getting on with it.
Unions dictate work over there

- Alex
 
I'd argue that whatever they do in Germany for factory production is the correct balance; they are the envy of the world in that respect.
 
Haha yeah true! Its bizarre how disconnected they are from the dealers. You'd think that BMW and indeed other manufacturers would understand that the dealers are the face and mouth of the Brand to the customer.
 
Haha yeah true! Its bizarre how disconnected they are from the dealers. You'd think that BMW and indeed other manufacturers would understand that the dealers are the face and mouth of the Brand to the customer.
Maybe because they don't care because it's the best motorbike on the market right now? Who in their sane mind would buy a more expensive and inferior v4s now?
 
Maybe because they don't care because it's the best motorbike on the market right now? Who in their sane mind would buy a more expensive and inferior v4s now?
Which is best is a matter of opinion, I cancelled and bought a v4, am I disappointed with the v4 not in the least, it is a fantastic bike, is it better than the 2019 s1000rr, no idea but it is far superior to the gen 3 I had, imo of course.
on the statement of best motorcycle on the market right now, is the bmw actually on the market right now, all the delays are stopping that from being the actual case?
I have no doubt bmw will eventually get it sorted, I just wasn’t losing a full season of riding waiting on one, will I go back to the s1000rr, time will tell, but for now loving life on the v4

Daz
 
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