The HP-2 is pretty much a hand built bike put together by the BMW Motorsports division and also features some of the best components available in the motorcycle industry. Most testers agree that it is probably the best air cooled sports motorcycle you can buy, and at the price is actually very good value
The S1000RR is a great bike but is just another mass produced motorcycle.
If I had the money (and the time to use it) I'd go for the HP2 over the S1000RR every time, then spend a bit more on it
Why are the Erik Buell Racing bikes so much more than the production versions? 'Cause they are completely tweaked to optimal values, that tweaking costs money and may have a high reject ratio of parts before they actually get put into a working machine.
My friend recently went in to purchase an Aprilia RSV4 Factory, but the dealership had an HP2 Sport marked down almost $7K. It was no contest... he rode home on the HP2.
He said the only "problem" he can see is that he can't think of anything he would want to add to it. Everything is already carbon fiber, Ohlins, and other top-shelf components!
Before I bought my first Buell I very nearly pulled the trigger on a R1100s Boxer Cup, the precursor of the HP2.
It went like f*** & sounded like a WW1 fighter plane. Fortunately wifey persuaded me that my license (& life) would have been imperilled & I went & bought the M2 that changed my life.
The XBRR is also 150cc bigger and tuned to use racing gas. The HP2 Sport is street legal and uses premium pump fuel.
I liked the R1100s models a little better than the subsequent models for one reason only: You could get hard bags for them. Plus, when you removed the bags, there weren't any really ugly racks left behind. Hard bags weren't an option for the R1200s or the HP2 Sport.
just to let ya'll know that jaimec is standing next to what looks like a red m2 maybe in the rider wharehouse catalog that i got today. we know how much you like your beemers J, but at least your 5 minutes of fame are with the buell. good deal, none the less.
Yup, that was my 2000 M2 Cyclone. It was "Molten Orange." Didn't get a chance to own a red Buell until my current 1125R.
By the way, this is the second time I've appeared in the catalog. First time was waaaaaaaaay back in the early 90's. I was at the BMW National Rally in York, PA (1989). Andy Goldfine was there, and he gathered up everyone he could find wearing his suits for a photo session. The black suit I wore in this catalog is the exact same suit I was wearing back then!
I was able to test ride a then-new R1200S before they were even available for purchase (this was back in 2007 or so I think). Aside from my 1125CR, that was the ONLY bike I would have considered replacing my Firebolt with, and I damn near might have if it weren't for the price tag.
Doesn't look like it has much in the way of lean angle with the heads sticking out like that. Considering what some riders are getting out of the newest tires you'd knock the heads off.
There's a guy that lives near here that I've ridden with. He has absolutely no problems with clearance. It would worry me though, as I've been known to run out of road every once in a while.
Those cylinders are up so high you'd have some SERIOUS lean angle to worry about them hitting. You have to see how TALL that bike is in person to appreciate it.
That is definitely NOT your grandfather's airhead.
Doesn't look like it has much in the way of lean angle with the heads sticking out like that. Considering what some riders are getting out of the newest tires you'd knock the heads off.
Hasn't stopped them winning at Daytona and various other tracks around the world. They also won their class in World Endurance racing a few times I believe.
If you watch Nate Kern or Richard Cooper you'd be shocked at the lean angles they can make (certainly nothing like my old BMW R100 used to do!)
The F800RS was introduced in the US along with the F800ST. As I recall it didn't sell well and was withdrawn. Come to think of it I havent seen many ST's either, in fact I don't remember ever seeing one at all.
The R1200S (the "less pricey" version of the HP2 Sport) is the only non-buell bike that I think could fill my needs. Air-cooled, no chain drive, torquey twin motor. That single-sided wheel is a thing of beauty too.
That HP2 is sooooooooo sweet. An excellent example of a big bore, short stroke, air cooled twin in a beautifully engineered machine. I had a chance to see one up close, and every detail is just amazing; not an inexpensive motorcycle, but worth every cent, and probably more. As far as dragging a cylinder, you'd have to have it wayyyyyyyyyy over; even on old airheads there is a lot more lean room than you'd expect, and the HP2 is built for lean. I really like BMWs, my old R100 is really fun and comfortable to ride, and the R1200R would likely be my most likely new bike.........if I weren't waiting to see what shows up at my local Can-Am dealer next spring!
Well, I've never ridden an HP2 - but I have ridden a couple of recent R1150/1200's, and found them hopelessly dull. No character to speak of. Very competent, and well put together and solid feeling - but boring. I was more than happy to give them back after the demos.
I have nothing against BMW's - have a '77 R100S and a '85 K100RT - but life's too short for dull bikes, and so far every oilhead I've ridden has been dull.
I did ride a K1200R a couple years ago on a demo, and that was a lot of fun. Of course, they stopped importing those...
Yours is the first I've heard saying the R's don't have character. 99% of those I've spoken to say it's the K's that lack character and that the R's have plenty.
To each his own. I'm a K person myself. The R's have too much "character" for me.