BMW Unleashes Its Fastest Naked Bike Yet With the M 1000 R
The naked-bike category has a new and very important player in the all-new BMW M 1000 R. Eight years after the S 1000 R hit the streets with a superbike-derived chassis and engine platform, BMW Motorrad has cranked the platform up to 11 by taking its newly revised M 1000 RR superbike, stripping it and giving us the first M-badged naked bike in the company’s history.
For those unfamiliar with the nomenclature, BMW’s M division is the competition wing that has been responsible for innumerable four-wheeled gems, many taking wins in races as diverse as Le Mans and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The German marque recently applied the M division’s focus to the brand’s elite motorcycle lineup, but have been very selective about which models get the moniker. In fact, until now, there was only one machine—the S 1000 TT-derived 2021 M 1000 RR—that was bestowed the lettering.
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Priced at $21,345, the M 1000 R has integrated much of the M 1000 RR’s goodies and slotted them into one very sporty naked-bike chassis. The bike weighs a claimed 438 pounds and will pump out 205 hp and 83 ft lbs of torque from its 999 cc inline-four motor. This marks a 40 hp hike over the S 1000 R, from which it draws its heritage, and makes it the fastest naked bike BMW has built.
Shorter final-drive gearing as well as shorter individual gears in fourth, fifth and sixth mean you’ll get the aforementioned output to the tire faster than before. And the ride experience is fine-tuned with ECU modes that not only include Rain, Road, Dynamic and Race but an extra Race Pro 1-3 mode with, you guessed it, three adjustable throttle maps.
As you’d expect, there’s nearly every conceivable electronic aid at your disposal, including a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit, multi-level traction, wheelie control and engine brake control, electronic suspension via the BMW DDC (Dynamic Damping Control) algorithm, launch control, hill-hold control, cruise control, Cornering ABS and the ABS Pro maps. There’s also the new Brake By Slide feature for backing the chassis into the corner under brakes, and BMW’s Shift Assistant Pro (quick shifter) for clutch-less up-and-down gear changes.
The main chassis remains the twin-spar aluminum design while the bike runs on forged aluminum wheels. There’s also the option of fitting it with the M Carbon wheels complemented by M graphics. Other onboard accoutrements include a 6.5-inch TFT dash, the M GPS data logger and lap timer, an LED headlamp with illuminated M logo, keyless-ride functionality, bar-end mirrors, a lightweight M battery, a rear USB charging socket and heated grips. And if all that’s not enough, you get the very loud M racing paint job in either the Light White non-metallic/M Motorsport or the Black Storm Metallic/M Motorsport colorways. Expect to see the BMW M 1000 R naked bike on dealer floors in January.
Click here to see more photos of the 2023 BMW M 1000 R.
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