2018 Buying Advice

If I was looking at some track-prepared 2018 bikes, what are the important points I should look for? (E.g. which upgrades are considered good, which are bad, etc.)

Piece of string question I am afraid, you're better off posting the spec and letting us dissect it.

If its decatted it needs a map, RCK3 would be best. But PCV/RapidBike should work also.

Track prepped could mean as little as a set of fairings.

- Alex

Never ending list of items.

Didn't you race in past? Surely you already know the absolute minimum of features to make you comfortable on track.

For me it would be (in order of importance):

Good pads
Suspension setup (might be ddc to begin with)
QS fix
Quick action throttle
Brembo MC
Good rearsets
Full Akra + map

Buy from someone you know or trust.....

Ash34 said:

If I was looking at some track-prepared 2018 bikes, what are the important points I should look for? (E.g. which upgrades are considered good, which are bad, etc.)

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i thought you was getting your track coach's bike?,goes well enough in stock trim was your comments.?

also what bmwboy says

Yes I am being offered several bikes and my question isn?t a general one about race bike prep. I was wondering if there is anything specific to the 2018 S1000RR that I should know.

I know nothing about the S1000RR and I?m trying to avoid discovering quirks or downsides only after I?ve bought one.

2018 is the best/most complex because it was Euro4 compliant.
The 15/16 is easier to tune of the Gen3's

- Alex

Good information so far Alex, thanks. So if the cat has been removed I need to check that it has a map to match?

What’s RCK3?

Did these bikes have different model variants such as base, sport, etc?

Ash34 said:

Good information so far Alex, thanks. So if the cat has been removed I need to check that it has a map to match?

What?s RCK3?

Did these bikes have different model variants such as base, sport, etc?

Click to expand...

If a bike has been de-catted, then it should at the very least have been checked on a dyno and usually it is desirable/recommended that some form of fuel correction be done.

RCK3 is the ?Race Calibration Kit 3?, BMW?s official ECU tuning software for the S1000RR.
A prerequisite for this software is the ?Racing Data Release?, which is BMW official ECU flash for track/race bikes.

There are indeed base and ?Sport? models, the latter come with the semi-active ?DDC? suspension and the full set of riding modes

RCK3 is software that I could use to change the map myself? I have the Kawasaki equivalent of that.

yes.you can change a lot more through the s/w than just the general dash settings

Ash34 said:

RCK3 is software that I could use to change the map myself? I have the Kawasaki equivalent of that.

Click to expand...

It's a software + hardware interface.

To use it you need to unlock ECU that voids warranty.

Unlock can be done by either a dealer (~450) or by enthusiasts (much cheaper).

It's quite complicated software, requires some time to understand it.