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Hp4 Vs S1000Rr


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I am looking to buy a BMW S1000RR or HP4, just can't decide what I want/need for my purpose. Maybe there are some good guys here who have great input on those 2 versions of the BMW.

 

 

Purpose: To ride and dominate the BMW Amateur Cup in Germany 2016

 

If you have the resources it takes to buy a BMW S1000RR/HP4 which one would you buy and why?

 

 

Thank you in Advance.

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Interesting question. Here's my spin on it.

 

First a bit about the bikes.

 

The HP4. Production from 2013 to 2014 and based on the 2nd generation of the S1000RR. Two models. HP4 standard and HP4 competition. The HP4 has DDC and a number of the BMW HP race parts as standard to the bike. The HP4 competition added a number of carbon trim parts in addition to the standard HP race parts. All the bikes are numbered and are limited editions. Both bikes offer Forged wheels as standard. The HP4 is no longer in production.

 

The S1000RR. Production from 2010 to 2015. The 2nd generation bikes were mechanically the same as the HP4 with standard suspension and cast aluminum wheels. The 3rd generation bike has upgraded geometry and electronics. DDC is an option on the 3rd generation S1000RR. Forged wheels are also an option.

 

If I were building a bike to race with I would start with a 2015 S1000RR (remember the HP4 does not exist anymore). I would go with the HP race ECU + RCK3 and the factory Akrapovic evolution TI exhaust. I would opt with the premium package bike with DDC and forged wheels and add the 2d sensor for the front suspension. I would want the HP rearsets and levers as well as the datalogger.

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One other thing. It's worth mentioning that the 2nd generation bikes despite being older are still great. It's really a question of your preference. The 2015's are faster but the 2nd generation machines are well known and are still relevant. I own a 2013 model bike equipped with every HP race part and carbon wheels. It will outrun stock 2015's. I even equipped my 2013 with a rev match downshift unit just like the 2015's.

 

Many people like the HP4 because it was a special edition bike with most of the HP race options as standard. The HP4 has an X factor because of it's standard equipment and limited production. The S1000RR and the HP4 are quite different and the HP4 was a discount on a lot of HP race parts. To equip a standard S1000RR to the level of an HP4 cost a lot more money.

 

You can get 2nd generation bikes cheaper now because of the 3rd generation bikes being on the market. There's a lot more parts availability at the moment for the 2nd generation bikes but that advantage likely will go away in the future as the 2015 bikes become more common.

 

I'm keeping my 2nd gen bikes around but the 2015 is the best option if you are starting with no bike.

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One last tidbit. As you can tell I'm pretty passionate about my BMW's. :)

 

BMW does have a race contingency program. I'm not sure about Germany but it's available here in the USA market. Here's a couple of links that give more information about the program.

 

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa/pressDetail.html?title=bmw-motorrad-usa-launches-1-million-contingency-and-rider-support-programs&outputChannelId=9&id=T0218223EN_US&left_menu_item=node__6629

 

http://www.xtrm.com/contingency/BMW/

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Thanks guys. Hotfoot you do realize it's the school's fault. I loved #25 out of the school's 2012 fleet so much I ended up losing my mind a bit. :)

 

4erramses One thing you may want to focus some research on is suspension. My suggestion is for a DDC equipped bike but most racers prefer conventional suspension. I'm a bit biased towards DDC because I know an amazing rider who is very fond of the system. My 2013 is equipped with an very well setup Ohlins system but if I were doing a new bike I would go with DDC for the flexibility. It's a slight compromise but it gives a huge amount of flexibility in rapidly changing situations. If you have the knowledge time and patience though it's hard to beat a good Ohlins setup.

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Thanks guys. Hotfoot you do realize it's the school's fault. I loved #25 out of the school's 2012 fleet so much I ended up losing my mind a bit. :)

 

4erramses One thing you may want to focus some research on is suspension. My suggestion is for a DDC equipped bike but most racers prefer conventional suspension. I'm a bit biased towards DDC because I know an amazing rider who is very fond of the system. My 2013 is equipped with an very well setup Ohlins system but if I were doing a new bike I would go with DDC for the flexibility. It's a slight compromise but it gives a huge amount of flexibility in rapidly changing situations. If you have the knowledge time and patience though it's hard to beat a good Ohlins setup.

 

I agree on this. I bought a 2014 but after putting in some riding and coaching time on the 2015, I have become a very big fan of the Dynamic Damping Control and the on-the-fly adjustability of it. And I am a rider that is willing to fiddle with the suspension, turn clickers, add upgrades, etc.; I was used to doing that and kind of enjoyed it. For a rider that is hesitant to fool with the mechanical suspension, this is a godsend - it is so easy to experiment with the settings, and you don't necessarily have to made adjustments from track to track anymore.

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Absolutely. I was pretty neutral on DDC until I rode one of the 2015 bikes that the school had. Trevor got me at start finish and said "Robert are you actually going to ride the 2015 that you have reserved today". I took the bike out expecting the bike to not be as good as my bike. Boy was I wrong. At the end of it I was cackling like a madman and riding like a hooligan. I would say that for my level of riding the DDC system was equal to my Ohlins system. If not slightly better because it seemed to adapt to things my Ohlins system did not. A friend of mine has a DDC equipped bike and he demands a lot out of a bike. It's yet to slow him down. He's even made comments that DDC helps soften wheelie landings that are part of his riding style.

 

The reason I would recommend it for racing is because of the agility it offers. I have heard of racers having to tune their suspension for the cold mornings when the oil in their forks is heavy and viscous and then tune it again mid day once the fluid has had a chance to warm up. The problem with this of course is getting out on track and discovering that you may have gotten the adjustment slightly wrong. DDC does this all by itself 100x a second and eliminates the opportunity for error. Being able to focus on the riding could provide some pretty big advantages to some riders. I know it would help me immensely because I get uptight any time I even have to think about breaking out the sockets. I often bring a spare bike just in case I wear out tires or have any kind of mechanical issues at track days. I just want to ride and not deal with anything else.

 

Hotfoot. Do any of the coach bikes have the 2d sensor on the front fork? It's an expensive upgrade but from what I understand it gives the DDC system more data and a lot more adjust-ability. I don't have a lot of details because I don't have a DDC equipped bike myself to experiment around with. From what I understand it also can feed additional data into the Data Logger so you can see suspension travel in the data.

 

The really exciting part of all of this new technology is even though it's in it's infancy in the consumer market this stuff has been around for years in the pro market. The 2d software that I use to access my data from is very similar to what a MotoGP engineer would be using to look at the data on one of those bikes. The only major difference being of course way more data points and resolution for the pro systems and the ability to see that data in real time while the bike is on track.

 

Ok. I need to stop. I could bore you guys for hours talking about DDC, DTC, RCK2, Cornering ABS and all the other technological innovations that are coming onto the market. It's an exciting time to be riding at the track though for sure.

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That's awesome. Certainly sounds like you are going about things the right way. Every time I ride with the school I learn an incredible amount of stuff.

 

Since your plans are racing you should also consider the school's Code Race program if you haven't already. :)

 

When you start building your bike you should share your experience with us. It's really fun to be able to see someone getting "moved in" to a new machine. Back when I bought my bike I had a lot of fun sharing the process of getting my bike track ready. Here's a link for you.

 

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=4083

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Oooh. I like the way you think Spaghetti!

 

This year's fleet was mostly premium package bikes with DDC and Forged wheels. For a mostly stock bike I was really impressed with the fleet bike that I rode.

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That's awesome. Certainly sounds like you are going about things the right way. Every time I ride with the school I learn an incredible amount of stuff.

 

Since your plans are racing you should also consider the school's Code Race program if you haven't already. :)

 

When you start building your bike you should share your experience with us. It's really fun to be able to see someone getting "moved in" to a new machine. Back when I bought my bike I had a lot of fun sharing the process of getting my bike track ready. Here's a link for you.

 

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=4083

 

Cool Stuff.

 

Waiting for the Schedule for 2016. Want to check out Level 1-2 + Code Race in Willow Springs in the Spring time. Wanted to do it in October but was no available spot for Code Race.

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Cool Stuff.

 

Waiting for the Schedule for 2016. Want to check out Level 1-2 + Code Race in Willow Springs in the Spring time. Wanted to do it in October but was no available spot for Code Race.

 

CodeRACE fills up quickly, especially the spring version, as I recall. I suggest you email the office and ask already now.

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Cool Stuff.

 

Waiting for the Schedule for 2016. Want to check out Level 1-2 + Code Race in Willow Springs in the Spring time. Wanted to do it in October but was no available spot for Code Race.

 

CodeRACE fills up quickly, especially the spring version, as I recall. I suggest you email the office and ask already now.

 

 

Already called the office, told me I have to w8 until the new schedule gets released mid november...

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