RideFast Magazine March 2020

In this issue of RideFast, Robert Portman had the
opportunity to ride Lance Isaac’s National-spec BMW
S1000RR race bike kitted with everything our minds can
imagine, and things much brighter minds can imagine also.
Before we turn the pages to peruse the written form of
his eyes popping out of his head, Donovan Fourie spent a
day at Red Star Raceway with both a “standard” version
of BMW’s latest superbike incarnation, plus a more
“reasonably” kitted-out one from the fellows at World Of
Carbon. Effectively, we move from good, to better, to best.
Let’s start with the good – herewith from Donovan:
Words: Donovan Fourie | Pics: Beam Productions
“Standard”
BMW S1000RR
Well, we say “standard”
because it is road-legal and
left the factory in this trim.
But manufacturers have
cottoned on to the idea that
people don’t want what
is technically “standard”
and find that their minds
are more at ease when
said factory bolts on all
their batsh*t crazy go-fast
bits. Thus we should make
a distinction between
“standard” and “base”. This is
standard, but it has an entire
catalogue of BMW’s newlyadopted
M-parts vomited
over it and therefore is
galaxies away from “base”.
If you don’t believe us,
observe:
It has the optional M
Package complete with
carbon wheels, the lighter
M battery, the M seat with
harder padding and a nonslip
cover, an M tail and a
“WSBK” M swing-arm with
a different pivot. And this
is the outward glance –
inwardly, there is a host of
added electronic trickery
with three Race Pro riding
modes, a launch control, a
pitlane limiter, engine brake
control, hill-start control
pro, dynamic brake control
and slide control.
After all that, if you feel
as though your overheating
brain has exceeded melting
point, take a moment to
sympathise with Rob and
me, standing disconsolately
in the pits of Red Star as
we flipped through the
seemingly infinite onslaught
of options on the TFT dash.
After various phone calls
and committee meetings,
we eventually reached an
electronic compromise that
will suit our simple track
needs and set forth down
pitlane. Obviously, this is
without the pitlane limiter
working on account of it
not being included in the
understanding settlement.
We are sure it works
terrifically, though.
At the beginning of last
year sometime, RideFast
attended the tedious world
launch of this model in
some scummy country at
the bottom of Europe on
some lousy race track – the
adjectives contained in the
RIDEFAST MAGAZINE MARCH 2020 33