New edition of the RR on the way: BMW superbike development in the home straight

The S1000RR is BMW’s flagship model. Admittedly, the Bavarian manufacturer’s best-seller has for many years been the ‘GS’ – synonymous with BMW’s top-of-the-range touring enduro – and the current R1300GS generation has done nothing to diminish its significance. Yet no model has done as much for the Munich-based company’s public perception and brand building in this millennium as the first generation of the S1000RR superbike. It was only through this model that BMW was finally able to shake off the sluggish image of earlier days.

The current generation also remains among the very best the market has to offer in the 1,000cc segment. And this is despite the fact that the current generation of the S1000RR, in its original form, is already seven years old. Several model updates have kept the bike fresh time and again, as is customary in the Superbike segment with its short product cycles. The launch of the flagship M1000RR, on which the Munich-based manufacturer finally won the Superbike World Championship with Toprak Razgatlioglu, did the rest. As a result, the Bavarian manufacturer still sells around 20,000 S1000RRs and M1000RRs every year.

These are big shoes for the next generation to fill. And it’s no secret that this successor is not far off. Back in May 2025, BMW gave a preview of its upcoming superbike at the Concorso d’Eleganza. The exhibit was called the ‘Concept RR’ and still sported the usual trappings of a concept study.

The fairing was made entirely of carbon fibre, the rear stood out with its embossed RR lettering and illuminated RR symbol, and the concept bike’s braking system is not expected to feature in either the production-ready new S1000RR or the more extreme M1000 RR.

Meanwhile, development of the new generation of superbikes is entering the home straight, with a launch scheduled for no later than the start of the 2028 Superbike World Championship season. A whole series of pre-production motorcycles have long been undergoing their final circuit, road and dynamometer tests in Bavaria, southern France and Spain.

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The new model will not represent as significant a leap forward as the current generation – known as the K67 – did when it was launched. The frame, for example, is largely based on the current design. This frame had only recently been revised in the current M1000 RR for the 2027 model year. The Bavarian manufacturer now refers to the chassis as the ‘3rd-generation M Motorsport frame’, which is said to save 1.3 kg compared with the previous design and is based on the chassis of the 2024 Superbike factory bike. In the current 1000cc generation, it has so far been fitted exclusively to the M variant.

The design of the S1000RR and M1000RR is intended to incorporate features of the ‘Concept RR’. The front end, with its headlights and distinctive ram-air intake, looks as if it were modelled directly on the concept bike. No wonder, then, that BMW Motorrad CEO Markus Flasch described it during his presentation as ‘a true masterpiece of our development team, both in technical and design terms.’ Aerodynamically, the concept bike also hinted at the direction the later production models would take: as with this model, the front section of the motorbike in the upcoming Superbike generation will be just as carefully aerodynamically optimised as the rear, which has been fine-tuned down to the last detail.

And, as with the current generation of the four-cylinder sports bike, the design of the fairing will differ between the two Superbike models: the S1000RR is set to be more closely aligned with the design of the concept study. This also includes winglets of a similar size and shape. Even more so than in the last model update of the current Superbike generation, where the design of the wings was still similar, these will in future be the most striking visual distinguishing feature: The more extreme M1000RR features horizontal, wing-like fairings with larger, horizontally oriented wings, the increased downforce from which is likely to be felt almost exclusively in racing conditions.

It is considered a foregone conclusion that both variants will retain these winglets throughout the entire production cycle, including any subsequent updates. The wings are now too deeply integrated into the supersport bikes’ aerodynamic concept. At the rear, the chassis once again relies on an aluminium lower-link swingarm, whereas the concept bike still used expensive carbon fibre. And just like the material, the design itself is also set to be redesigned.

At the heart of the bike is still the 999 ccm in-line four-cylinder engine, which will continue to utilise the Shiftcam variable intake camshaft control system but will be thoroughly overhauled. In the current generation, with its blue-painted brake calipers, this engine delivers 218 PS and revs to over 15,000 rpm; the concept study is said to have targeted around 230 PS. The upcoming BMW sports bike with ‘M’ in its name is likely to fall somewhere between these figures in terms of rated power, whilst the ‘S’ model will have to make do with a few horsepower less. It will also, as with the current models, weigh a few kilos more than its competition counterpart and rev slightly lower.

Whilst the M1000RR will continue to form the basis for competition in the Superbike World Championship, the S1000RR remains more road-oriented. At the same time, the S1000RR’s accessibility also has a positive impact on the rest of the model range. The Bavarian manufacturer is reportedly planning at least two further sports models, which are set to benefit from the appeal of the four-cylinder sports bike. One of these will be based on the new F450 platform. BMW CEO Markus Flasch promised SPEEDWEEK.com as early as last year that “road-oriented and very sporty motorbikes will be launched” on this basis. Based on the F450 R naked bike, which is expected to be unveiled at the end of this year, an everyday sports bike is a distinct possibility. The Bavarian manufacturer has already offered a similar concept, albeit with a single cylinder, in the form of the G310RR; however, this was only sold in India.

Also featuring two cylinders, but positioned three classes higher, a mid-range sports bike based on the successor to the F900 R is reportedly at an early stage of development in Munich. It follows a formula comparable to that of KTM’s 990RC R: a fully faired sports bike look, including the now almost obligatory winglets, but with ergonomics suitable for everyday use. However, it is likely to be at least another two years before this model is ready for series production.