The fuel injection is so well calibrated that I could have been riding a 600. It is that docile and controllable. At the traffic lights, balance is good and I have little trouble looking up to see the light. When it goes green, out with the clutch and a little twist of the wick to get going. Trouble is I’m now at 60 km/h in first gear and I haven’t gone over 4,000 rpm. Stuff it in second and the bike is nearly down to an idle.

MY Way – the highway
Since the forte of this bike is performance, I head out onto the highway with the others. When I’m coming around a curve to merge with traffic, I’m in first gear, poodling along at about 40 km/h waiting for a gap so I can go for redline—just to see what happens. The gap was there and I went to warp speed when my head was still turned to see what traffic was doing. Getting my head back into line and seeing the scenery blur was disorienting, and I’ve never had that happen on any other bike I’ve ridden.

When I finally looked at the speedometer, I’m speeding and I’m still in first gear!! That 14,000-rpm redline can get you arrested on just about any highway in Canada! When I go into second, I run out of room because the other bikes I’m with aren’t that fast. Time to do a brake test; I piled onto the brakes so hard that my arms couldn’t hold me up and I had to lie on the tank. To add insult, I didn’t brake hard enough to get the ABS unit to cut in.

With an MSRP of $17,650, the bike puts a grin on your face so large you won’t be able to blink. (Photo: Charles Renny/Moto123.com)

Highway gearing
I spent the rest of my time on the straights trying out different combinations of gears and speeds. Sixth at 130 km/h had engine rpm so low that the motor was bucking and jerking. Highway speeds were best done in fourth, with a drop to second if you wanted warp speed.

Cornering was phenomenal, as you would expect. What I didn’t expect was how easy it was to get the bike around a corner. The light weight and narrow package meant that the first few times I pushed the bike down, I went too far and had to raise it up to keep from pushing the bars into the pavement. When I was as far over as I thought I could go in a corner, a close look at the tire showed there was still a good-sized chicken stripe.

Health Warning
When race car technology comes to motorcycles, it is revealing to find that I went from a reasonably-accomplished rider back to being a squid (novice racer).

With an MSRP of $17,650, the S1000RR should carry a health warning on it, telling potential riders that it is addictive and when the ride is over, your face will be sore. The bike puts a grin on your face so large you won’t be able to blink.

Pros
Reaches illegal speeds in 1st gear
Excellent cornering abilities
Docile and controllable

Cons
Addictive