The Richard Hammond test ride: BMW S1000RR HP4 is a cruise missile

BMW S1000RR HP4

 

My new BMW S1000RR HP4 is so clever it could probably write its own road test.
It's the most amazing machine I've ever owned and even though I've only had it a few weeks I've already asked it to marry me.

This is how clever the wonderful HP4 is: all modern superbikes (and most bikes in general) have multi-adjustable suspension.

You can twiddle with pre-load, damping and something called rebound until you've either turned it into a TT winner or upset it so much that it will tie itself into a granny knot when you're riding down to the chippy.
There's no need to risk messing up the HP4's suspension settings because this bike has semi-active suspension that does its own working out.

When you turn the engine on the suspension is so soggy you can bounce the bike up and down, but when you start moving, little motors in the left front fork leg, and another in the rear shock, start adjusting the settings for you.

Information on wheel speed, throttle position, gyroscopic forces and rear shock movement are fed to a computer that controls the motors. It's uncanny. The ride is super smooth but the handling is also pin sharp.

BMW S1000RR HP4

 Cars have had semi-active suspension for years but I've never driven a car on which it is as successful as this. Normally stiffens on a bike when you accelerate hard the rear suspension compresses as the rear of the bike squats.

The steering then goes a bit light and if the road is bumpy you get a wriggle through the bars.
This is often not good for the laundry bill. But on the HP4, the rear suspension stiffens as you accelerate and the steering remains perfect.

This isn't possible with conventional suspension because unless you could train a mouse to use spanners it would be impossible to adjust shock absorber settings on the move.

The HP4 has several other goodies you don't get on the standard S1000RR; Brembo monobloc brake calipers with amazing stopping power, lighter wheels which improve the ride still further, and lots of carbon bits.

I can't ride my new BMW anywhere near its potential because with almost 200bhp it is like a missile. But owning something so clever is exciting.

It was only a few years ago that BMW was known for building worthy but dull bikes. Anyone who thinks that's still the case should sling a leg over an S1000RR HP4.