BMW’s flagship bike is updated for 2025 with new quick-action throttle, cooling brake ducts, and keeps the unique styling cues – this time in the form of a giant front wing. Love it or hate it, this bike is an absolute work of art.

I flew out to Almeria, Spain, for a two day riding launch/event – with Day 1 riding the F 900 R and XR out in the Spanish hills and countryside, and day 2 exclusively on track sampling the S 1000 RR, M 1000 R, and S 1000 R. I’ll focus on the S 1000 RR today, covering a few things you need to know about the 2025 updates to this iconic machine – as well as a little bit about what it’s like on track from the perspective of a relatively novice track rider.

We weren’t blessed with the signature Spanish sunshine whilst we were out there, and the beginning of the day was beset with torrential rain. Not ideal for testing a 210 bhp bike with a new quick action throttle. Fortunately enough, the first session around track was a 20 minute affair with Chopsy and Joe, following our lead rider to get the hang of Almeria circuit, and we were all in rain mode on the M 1000 R for a go around track.

My session on the S 1000 RR was after lunch, when the skies cleared and the track slowly started to dry out a bit – but there were still a few rogue damp patches to keep you on your toes.

Anyway, let’s cover a few things to know about the S 1000 RR – or, the RR.

First off, price. The base price for the 2025 model is £17,990 – though in true BMW fashion, you’ll want to stick on a few bits to get the ‘full experience’. Colour options are black as standard, ‘sport’ grey for £385, or the ‘M package’ with sport colours for £5010 – the M package also then includes the M endurance seat, carbon wheels, and ‘Content M package’.

Further to that, you can add the dynamic pack for £1,285, Performance pack for £1010, Carbon pack for £2050, and M Billet package for £435. Also there’s a pillion package for £180 if you plan on taking someone around with you.
Add on the anti theft alarm for £255, SOS call for £360, you’re at £28,395. You can reach £30,050 with the Akrapovic titanium exhaust – and even further past that with other bonus accessories like M brake pads, adjustable CMC milled M levers, various trim bits. Pricey, but this would be the ultimate sports bike.

BMW notes these key updates for 2025, as follows:

• New winglets.

• Euro 5+ emission standards compliance.

• Pro riding modes are now standard.

• M short-stroke throttle (58-degree rotation angle).

• Side fairings in new design.

• New front wheel cover with brake ducts.

These refinements may optimise track riding, particularly that M quick-action throttle, but inclusions of the Dynamic Brake Control and Pro Riding Modes in 2025 give you some added comforts when…. I guess pushing the bike hard on the twisties at home. There is also the inclusion of Engine Brake and Hill Start Control Pro features for this model year.

I won’t speak about the new M 1000 RR, as I didn’t ride it, but if you decide you need a bit more exclusivity and outright performance (and money isn’t an issue), then the carbon M will be whispering your name as if you're Toprak waiting to go out on the Superbike grid.

Despite my novice track riding ability, it’s quite obvious that this is one of the most finely tuned and breathtaking motorcycles money can buy. Just ask the aforementioned Toprak Razgatlioglu, who delivered BMW its first-ever World Superbike title last year in 2024 (though yes, that was riding an M 1000 RR).

With a noted 210 bhp out of the box peaking at 13,500 rpm, the RR has over 1-to-1 power-to-weight ratio, tipping the scales at 198 kg fully fueled. The inline-4 ShiftCam motor is 999cc, with 113 Nm of torque arriving at 11,000 rpm. Top speed is listed at 188 mph by BMW.

Again, my experience was on track for about 15 minutes, starting in the wet and working towards a drier (in parts) Almeria Circuit – so I can’t comment directly on the power and delivery, but everything was so smooth, and even in the ‘medium’ road-based modes the delivery of power was exceptionally smooth. In the right hands, this would be an absolute delight on track.

The inclusion of pro modes also brings two new throttle map settings, with a softer throttle or more direct response as options, plus three engine brake levels and five ABS settings.

On the road, perhaps you’d only be tickling the throttle whilst riding along, but I guess in those smaller opportune moments on the back roads you’d be having some of the best riding that money can buy.

As you’d expect, plenty of tech is found here. More for your money in 2025, too.

As standard, the S 1000 RR has ABS Pro, Hill Start Control, 4 rider modes (rain, road, dynamic, race), shift assist pro (quickshifter) and now includes the Pro riding modes all accessed through the 6.5” TFT display.

If you need more, there is the pit lane limiter, launch control, DTC +/- shift, wheelie control, slide control, HSC Pro, Dynamic Brake Control, engine brake control, DDC, cruise, heated grips, brake slide assist, DTC Slide / Slip control – with all of that being fed into the six-axis IMU, viewed nicely in the 'sport screen' display that’ll tell you your maximum lean angle, amount of traction control used in that riding session, and maximum brake force used. Handy for assessing your output and making changes in the pits, via the BMW scroll wheel interface.

There is plenty of tweakable control at your fingertips, here, with the rider modes giving you a different feel from the bike depending on what you need. Further, the suspension up front is a 45mm upside-down fork with adjustment potential for preload, rebound, and compression – rear is an aluminium swing arm, with compression and rebound damping plus adjustable spring preload.

Other spec, whilst we’re there – 832 mm standard seat height, 16.5 L tank, and 17 inch wheels with twin 320mm dics up front, and 220mm single rear disc. Braking power on track was more than adequate, stopping from 120 mph on a drying track was taken on without a second a blink – and not even at the full potential of the brakes.

The new winglets up front generate more downforce, too, quoted as 50% more on the road – from 5.9 kg at 150 kmh, 10.6 kg at 200 kmh, 16.03 kg at 250 kmh, and 23.1 kg at 300 kmh. Realistically, on the road, you might not feel much going on – but they’re clearly doing something. So the moustache is not just for show!

Plenty of rivals are out there in 2025. As a flagship sports bike, all of the big players of the motorcycling world have some of their best-of-the-best metal on offer in this category, I’ll name a few for you:

Ducati Panigale V4 S - £29,995 – 213 bhp. Ridden this recently, and it’s seriously good – and updated quite drastically for 2025.
Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP - £23,499 – 215 bhp. I tried this for an afternoon a while ago, and it’s a seriously good bike – does like to be revved.
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R - £17,671 – 210 bhp. Tried this on track a few years ago, over two days at Brands Hatch with the California Superbike School, a wicked bike.
Aprilia RSV4 1100 - £18,150 – 214 bhp. Looks to be a great option, a bit of a dark horse. Often thought of as the ‘people's winner’.

These are just a handful of the fantastic options out there, even more if you throw in older models (Yamaha R1, Suzuki GSX-R, etc). Pick any of these listed, and you'll be in for a treat as an owner.

But, there is a lot to be said about the rising popularity of the upper-middleweight options – like the Ducati Panigale V2, Yamaha R9, even Suzuki GSX-8R...

Again, a brief run-through of my experience on track. Almeria is an entirely new circuit to me, the day started out wet, and I had about 15 minutes running behind Steve Plater to learn the bike, the track, and get back to grips with my purely amateur track riding experience and 'know-how'.

The circuit itself is incredible, fast and flowing, with plenty of time in corners - and a good few blind corners thanks to the undulations on the track (like turn 2 over the hill). The back straight is your main zone for pure acceleration and top speed, coming out of a rather technical chicane that I spent most of the day trying to get nailed in.

I won’t pretend that I’m a pro, and this bike ultimately is far above my skill level – so my input on the bike does not correspond with the supreme levels of quality on offer. But in simple terms, it accelerates smoothly and rapidly, the control and feedback are beautiful, and there is so much customisation on offer that you can really hone in your riding skill. It's an incredible bike to ride. Plus, at 6'3", I felt like I actually fit quite comfortably for a sports bike.

If you’re after a weekend rider and track bike combined, you really can’t go wrong here. It has the power, the delivery, the tweakability (if that’s a word), and the Toprak style. Stoppies not included.

Fantastic to ride with Steve Plater, too, even though I was blowing out of my rear end towards the end of the session – we pulled in a lap early cause I was making some small mistakes and losing concentration. Race fitness is a real thing. Certainly made me want to get a old sports bike and head to Snetterton, though.

Yes. But that’s not the point. If you can afford one, and you’re weighing up how many bolt-on bits you can have, and whether you need the performance bonus – the real answer is no, you’ll never ‘need’ this much power, let alone ride the RR to its full potential on the road. If you were trying to make a sensible decision you wouldn’t be looking at this bike in the first place.

What the RR does, as do the other bikes in this litre-plus category, is give BMW Motorrad the chance to create a masterpiece. The styling might not be for some, but the tech and machinery going on here is nothing short of superb. If I could afford one, I would have one. It’s a joy to ride even at 25% of maximum, and I even fit on it reasonably comfortably (considering I’m 6’3” and sports bikes aren’t quite the go-to for comfy rides). Now, just to convince my lovely girlfriend that a 2025 BMW S1000RR is exactly what our baby-on-the-way needs as an family heirloom.