Masterbike 2010...!

Same procedure as every year.15 motomags from 12 countries get together on a track in spain to find out which bike is the fastest and the king of the hill for the season.Usually the bikes are all within the same second on the track ridden by some pro racer.
Except for this year.
The new king dusted the R1 by 3,39sec per lap!
That is an eternity on the track!
Anyways the new king is the BMW S1000RR.Who would have thought that the maker of the GS and "ploddy tourers" also has the hottest superbike in it's stable?Congrats to BMW!
2.Aprilia RSV4 Factory + 1,29sec
3.KTM RC8R + 1,55sec
4.MV Agusta F4 + 1,60sec
5.Ducati 1198S + 1,66sec
6.Suzuki GSXR1000 + 1,69sec
7.Honda CBR1000RR + 2,13sec
8.Kawasaki ZX10R + 2,24sec
9.Yamaha R1 + 3,39sec

The track was Aragon Motorland in spain close to Alcaniz...

Too bad that doesn't equate to winning races, which looks to be a long way off for BMW.

Actually you are wrong.
A rider on a S1000RR won the race in Portimao last weekend in the Superstock class which is the closest to the mentioned bikes right off the showroom floor...
The WSB bikes have nothing more in common with the bikes we actually can buy than the logo on the tank...
As you can see they all cost beween 12 and 20 grand and the race bikes are one off for 10-15 times that amount!
And in racing a guy like Spies would have even won on a Schwinn...
But for regular guys like us the ABS/TC combo on the S1000RR is like cheating...
But in 2-3 years the jap's will have copied it and the boys in germany have to come up with something new to win Masterbike and sell a few units despite having to charge a few more $$$...

I got a few more interesting numbers that showed how BMW was able to raise the bar in in the superbike class with it's new entry;
with a pro on board with ABS/TC on the best time was 1,59 min!
On the other bikes he rode a 2,01(54-94),followed by Honda CBR1000RR-ABS 2,02 and 2,04 for the R1.
That showed that the ABS/TC doesn't help only regular guys but also the pro's as well.
This and also the fact that the beemer put 202hp on the dyno;32 hp more than the Ducati and 31 more than the Honda!
Not that it matters for 99% of the buying public but this is sick...

As Natchflug weeps

Why does Nachtflug weep?Is he weeping for joy or did he just get a new R1...
My Sparschwein might weep pretty soon,too after riding one Code's S-RR's on the track...

Aprilia was NOT in that mix...

Of course Biaggi is faster in WSB than Corser and Xaus but for us mortals the ABS/TC combo is god-send and lets us go faster on the S-RR than on the RSV4 without it...
But the RSV4 for sure is pretty.But parts and especially those cranks might be hard to come by... Hope the second batch won't break!

What's your proof of this? KTM road bikes (and the RC8/R is no exception) get treated very well by the US press (and deservedly so).

Ducati gets more press for sure-- they have a lot more road models in several categories and keep models around for years, and usually have enough changes/tweaks to garner tests/coverage. They also have a much larger fan base as well as a healthy after-market.

Randy,good points.I guess Ducati spends more on advertising...
Look at Motorcyclist;Every other page is about Ducati because Catterson loves them for whatever reasons...
Harley,Ducati;"Lifestyle" brands.
KTM has still a long way to get there but they are ready to race....

Just for the ReCORD:
The first batch did not break. There are no reports of any breaking.
The second batch...well Aprilia did the right thing exchanging the full motor, all expenses paid and a few gifts like $500 leather jackets, etc...
If the 3rd batch is like the first batch... home run!!

Now let's see if BMW does the same with the (in)famous RD !!!

Olie,the intro of the RSV4 (non factory) was stopped because 5 cranks broke.After that incident 300 bikes will get new engines...
And yes BMW gave the guys of the first batch of faulty 2004 R1200GS reardrives new ones...
Not only Aprilia lets us customers do the beta-testing...

You a BMW plant? What with this thread and your Ducati 1200 Multistrada bashing, I'm starting to sniff out something.

Did Sport Rider say the RC8R doesn't compete well with the Duc? Or just that they preferred the Ducati? An opinion you don't like or agree with is not necessarily bias.

KTM springs often do overpower their shocks, so it's a fair criticism. As an aside- they used to say this about the Ohlins shocks on Ducs and the Guzzi model that had them. Further, lots of KTM road bike owners (way, way more than Ducati owners) have their suspensions reworked; so suspension performance might be a valid issue.

In the only direct comparison I've read, Motorcycle Online rated the RC8R and the 1198S pretty much a wash.

Nowhere near Masterbike, but SOME Americans have fallen in love with the S1000RR instantly, even before it's official release.
Dragbike.com (don't laugh too hard, L O T S of money and sales involved....) reckon the thing will be the new Hayabusa. For all the Skuzi faithful, not my words, it's their's.
As we speak, companies are already developing lock-up clutches, ignition modules,etc.

Hard to think of a BMW as a drag weapon!

Certainly in the dirt.

Pavement? KTM may be "ready to race"; but Ducati... actually races.

True, the bad batch started at the press presentation of the "R" model. Previously the Factory model was released to public without problems. Not a design issue, just a bad batch with fabrication issues.
There is no report of any bike sold to public with that failure. Aprilia voluntarely I must say, recalled all sold bikes affected by the bad batch...
Public was not beta-tester !!!

Yes, the public was (and still is?) the beta-tester for BMW. Note that RD keep failing ...$2k a pop...

PS: I am pasting a posting from the Aprilia forum....
I received my jacket....
Alex Frantz, a technician from Piaggio will be flying up to Alaska, the first week of April, to help the local shop do the work on the bike. I am EXTREMELY pleased with the service that I am getting.

Walter,that was funny...
Olie,I'll take that back.Not the customers,the journos did the beta-testing....
As for failing reardrives;mine is still running strong at 65K miles.
But I have to admid that I'm not to cheap to change the oil every 12K miles...So it cost me a whopping $60 so far not $2k...

Anyways if you like beemers or not I thought that 2010 MasterBike competition was interesting for a few reasons;
-It's good to see that the maker of boring tourers for old folks kicked some
ass and shut up the nay-sayers!
-Of course the competition won't sit still and it will be interesting how they
retaliate come 2011,2012 or 2013 for sure!
All this can be only good news for people who like fast bikes and like to ride on the track as competition improves the breed.
There is an all out war going on between germany,japan,italy and austria.
The axis of evil is alive...
They are for sure kicking allied ass as there is nothing on the horizon from us,england,france or the old soviet union...

As far as BMW goes, they got it right! Say what you want about WSB racing and Corser or Xaus- Bmw has created a revolution for street sportbikes. For all the WSB Bmw haters, rememeber its a team effort with engineers and suspension gurus. I do think Corser is past his prime. He might get a podium, but he may not be as hungry as the youngsters. With his experience he will benefit the team as far as development and racing data for the engineers. I hope the Japanese wake up and create advances in traction control electronics for future cbrs and gixxers. Honda has started with the abs for the cbr, let's see how they respond.