so what's up with Haslam? Why hasn't it worked out for him this year? He's running more than a second off pace.
My 2008 prediction...
BMW screwed the pooch on this one... because it's a mega blunder going
after the Big 4 with the old 180º status quo I4... BMW should have
leaped frog the whole mess with a MotoGp inspired V4... because they
will be forced to copy Yamaha's virtual V4 just to stay in the game...
Quote Noyes Road Racing World 2010...
"The new BMW is, hands down, the most powerful of the seven bikes I
rode at Portimao. The new S1OOORR is one of the most thrilling bikes I
have ever ridden as far as sheer power. In fact, only the early 990cc
MotoGP Desmosedici was more of a thrill to open the throttle on. Troy
Corser's BMW comes on hard and explodes through the power band all the
way up to the rev limiter. But you would need an airport or a NASCAR
oval for this to be an advantage over the rest. It was too much, too
bright and too hard to control. making it the fastest but also the
hardest bike to ride. The Kawasaki and the Suzuki were not much better
and while the Honda was nicer coming out of the corners it didn't come
close to producing the confidence and the control I felt on the bikes
with V and big-bang engines."
"The only bike that was a little harder for me to feel confident on
was the BMW. With a brand new bike and team the top German motorcycle
manufacturer could probably have been reasonably happy with its first
year in the World Superbike paddock if it weren't for those black and
red Aprilias. All the talk about taking a year to learn the track set
-up, tires, power management, etc. doesn't really work if the other
new bike in the Championship is finishing on the podium. BMW had a
real professional 2009 effort with two fast riders, (as well as a test
team headed up by this year's Endurance World Champion Steve Martin)
dedicated to improving the S1000RR. The bike looks cool and, as I said
at the start of this article, is the fastest bike out there but it's
also the most demanding to ride. The frame is very rigid and even at a
slow pace I felt vibration under braking so chattering has got to be
an issue at some tracks. The handling itself is pretty neutral and
balanced but the combination of the rigid chassis and very strong
power makes the bike a real handful coming out of the turns."
"The team is working on different solutions to improve the bike's
general ride ability and traction in Superbike trim and I'm sure the
bike will be better next year but the problem is simple: The Yamaha
and the Aprilia will also improve. With such a history making
different motorcycles with boxer engines and drives shafts
I was
surprised to see BMW build a Japanese-like 1000cc Inline Four to go
Superbike racing. If the company had decided on a V4 or_a_big bang
engine_configuration surely the bike would have been closer to the
front."
He would be good at Aprilia, too.
