BMW S1000RR streetbike
 

It hit a LOT of branches while falling out of the ugly tree.

http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2009/...w-s1000rr.html

Separated at birth?

http://bakercg.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8...94fc970b-800wi

Why the hell did they give it two different shape headlights?

WOW, WTF? that thing looks WEIRD now.

The "Johny 5" School of Headlight Design is apparently alive and well in Berlin... :idk:

Honestly, the racebike will probably look great. You lose the headlights and the gigantic catalytic converter, and you'll probably have a decent-looking rig. The top of the tank is still goofy, but it's not too bad overall. I do like the side fairings, and the tail isn't too bad.

It better be fast as hell if it's gonna look that wierd.

wow... that is disappointing

as someone who idly considered plunking money down on one i gotta say that im rather dissapointed. I guess they thought asymetrical headlights would make this bike more acceptable to their current fanbase but damn is that fail

bout what i expected, ugly as shit.... cant wait to see Dyno HP numbers, i'm betting 193(though at the crank) is a bit optimistic...and what's the price gonna be

One of my industry connections has sat in on a number of design meetings at BMW in the last ten years and has offered me some insight into BMW's recent obsession with asymmetrical headlights.

According to him, the design team thought the bike had the best chance in the American market if it reminded the Americans of something they were already fond of, yet was still distinctly German.

A couple hundred thousand Deustchmarks' worth of market research later, they came back with this:











HOOOOGAAAAANNNNN!!!!

Interesting looking. Better looking than I was expecting with a BMW label on it. I bet it performs nicely.

Ah, classic Swan!

They look good in race trim though.

I like it. Please tell me which of the current Jap bikes looks better? R1? Nope, they screwed that one up royally. ZX10? Nope. Gixxer? Nope. 1000RR? Not a chance.

can i buy pot from you? fix the headlights and i might agree with you

Homeslice doesn't smoke pot.

It's not strong enough.

He gets high on Smug.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/...5bfcdc.jpg?v=0

The headlights are unusual, but they're better than the R1's beady eyes, or the Honda which looks like it ran into the back of a truck. You could always put body-colored tape over the lights if it's that big a deal to you. Plenty of stores sell headlight tape in different colors that doesn't reduce light output very much.

And at least it doesn't have inefficient undertail exhaust like the R1, or heavy, ugly dual cans like the Gixxer 1K.

it looks, uh, HAPPY


(in a lazy-eyed sort of way)

When you design a bike that looks Japanese, you do what you have to to make it unique.

:lol @ Swan

BMW really likes weird-ass headlights... i can't find pics now for the life of me, but a couple years back they experimented with a 1200C-based bagger that looked like a jumping spider :wtf:

Blech!! Those headlights distract from everything that might be considered attractive on that bike.

the gills in the side fairings too

Unique? Put bright orange rearsets on it or something, anything but those lights and the gills - looks like a shark that got the crap kicked out of it :lol:

The gills look awesome, imo.......I wish they were on both sides

is that their idea of a rat rod? you know grab whatever parts you have laying around and put it all together. different headlights just adds to the rat look right?
without the lights and the "shark gills" on the side it would look decent. Lots of angles though. Although that seems to be the norm now days.

Ok I have to cop to riding a bike for how it rides not how it looks. I would love to know the price point this going to come in a,t and what it looks like on a independent dyno.
In Short "Show me the Numbers"
PS
The green is not pretty in my eyes but All I need to look at is the dash and over the windscreen

id give it a year or so. Im betting they move so slowly that they do a redesign and start kicking them over cheep

I'm not concerned about the looks...I'd be more interested in the performance too. :idk:

alright, ive found a few other pictures and im gonna retract some previous comments. still a little awkward looking but i understand the look better now and its growing on me a little bit. def mad about the dash though. thought there was supposed to be a full digital layout but that doesnt seem to be the case

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....1000_rr_21.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....1000_rr_10.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....1000_rr_09.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....1000_rr_15.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....1000_rr_06.jpg

Looks oddly like a cross between a Honda..... with small hints of Kawasaki and Yamaha in there....

I'd definatly rock it.... but the headlight thing is still odd....

The dash is pimp. I'm not sure you'd want a full digital anyway.........the one on the RC8 is all-digital and that thing can hardly be read at all in daylight.

yeah, kinda like RC51 nose with strange headlights, some R6 in there, not sure what else

Johnny Cash edition

Looking at the head on picture if you could put the small semi-round headlight on both sides it'd look like it's giving you a "Eat Shit" look.

got any pictures of it? I havent been able to find any good ones

I like it.

I'll tell y'all about it after Utah WSBK.... *grin*

Well this is the KTM's........I could barely read it. Numerals too small and skinny. :td: At least with the BMW you get an analog tach.

http://i44.tinypic.com/15ocs3q.jpg

I definitely thought of that too. Got it one piece at a time...........That could explain the gills on only one side as well as the headlight thing.
LOL

The headlights are ugly as fvck but overall I like the bike. I may have to eliminate the cat when I change out the exhaust too.

As mentioned...I'd like to see some independant numbers on the bike and ride one but again overall....pretty slick. I do wish they had done something different with the headlights though...yuk.

rc8 dash is ok but the hp2 sports would have been a better comparison

Better article:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/05/bmw_s_1000rr/

Digital tachs suck. :td: This is a nice gauge cluster. Of course my bike doesn't even have a tach, so who am I to complain? :D

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/au...1000_rr_04.jpg

That is probably one of the cleanest and most efficient gauge clusters I've seen lately. :dthumb:

truth. i like it quite a bit. now we just have to see if bmw sticks to that "low" price point they promised. any idea what color the gauges are backlit?

Damn. No shit. Anyone who gets one of those and doesn't like the gauge cluster is welcome to swap gauges with my CBR600 F3.

Hell, on my old SecaII I rode for about 2 weeks with no gauge lights at all. I had to hit my brights so the blue light would come on and give me a little light so I could see my speed.

I want it in Black

I'm wondering if insurance companies could be convinced that this is just a sport-tourer :lol:

I like the bike (minus the differnt headlamps).

Cluster looks good, but not the best. The 06/07 ZX10R looks better.

i doubt anything is gonna top the zx10's cluster

Pics?

hell yeah!!!!

Is this the set up you guys are referring to? :scratch:

http://www.bluegauges.com/images/tac...x10r_stock.jpg

yup, i actually prefer the 08/09 version to that one though. gear indicator + white lights = win

The newer version is better. Actually, it is very similar to the Bavarin cluster.

The pic I posted does not compare to the Bimmer.

Not even close.

I was agreeing that the 06/07 ZX10R looks better than this bike.

How so? The BMW's probably provides more info, and the numerals are larger and easier to read.

I think was saying the bike as a whole.

You are right about the read out.

Add in that the speedo isn't in the way of the tach, there is a big ol' shift light and the panel to the right is the perfect mounting place for a lap timer.

ZX-10 = :zowned:

i meant the cluster, i really like how everything is centered. probably reads really fast

Everyone except zed was talking about the cluster.

I like it.

If the headlights have purpose, one shape optinmized for low beam and the other specifically designed for optimal high beam then I approve.

I expect the price point to be in the mid teens, about 15K.

the ZX10 has a lap timer.

:lol

Unless your lap timer is triggered by a beacon on the track it doesn't count.

Yeh, but they could have at least made them somewhat similar

is there a bike produced with one?

Not to my knowledge.

Hence the beauty of having the perfect mounting point for your aftermarket piece.

BMW has a long standing tradition of using a "brand identifier" in their bike designs.

The K bikes had "DD" grills in the lower fairings, that were designed to look like the grills on BMW cars, and since the GS series pioneered the ugly fucking headlight configuration (TM), it's no surprise they used it on the RR.

BMW marketing execs will tell you that's it just one more example of BMW's "Form follows function" philosophy, but it's real function is to help BMW riders "stand out from the crowd", which itself is another long time BMW marketing point.

Mission accomplished...

JC

only thing is, it looks sorta cool on the GS because it's not surrounded by plastic