BMW S1000 RR, Phase 1 Track Mods

Rode the BMW on track and did some stuff

I got to ride the new BMW at Laguna in early July and gathered some initial thoughts on what I wanted to most immediately upgrade/replace/modify. Most of this is functional and designed to give me more space to work on my riding while expending less energy/time/thought on operations.

StompGrip tank grips - I put these on all my bikes, I just like having better purchase and a physical reference for the inside of my outer leg.

16 tooth front sprocket - I hit up Sprocket Center for a 525 Vortex steel front sprocket. It’s kind of a hassle getting the 17 tooth stock sprocket out without breaking the chain (lots of wiggling the chain and some choice words help).

L74 quick-change rear kit - I had taken this off the old bike; I detailed the installation from the last bike. If you have more than one rear wheel, you may want to order additional spacers. When at the track, I really don’t want to spend time futzing with wheel changes and the kit makes it so much easier. Lee from L74 is great and parts come quickly, even though they’re in the UK. This kit includes a HEL caliper with a cool spring kit that keeps the pads pushed out to make it easier to drop the rotor in there. The kit also comes with modified Lightech chain adjusters. It’s a very polished kit and you can opt for the Brembo caliper. They also have an option for ABS or direct for the brake line.

Rear sets / foot controls - the stock folding pegs are higher than I like, frankly, it’s kind of surprising how high they are. I already had a set of Gilles FXR rear sets / foot controls from the previous K67. The FXRs are adjustable from stock to higher and further back. I just wanted to get rid of the folding pegs since my boot would sometimes catch when moving my foot and lift the peg on the spring. It wasn’t a big deal but it was an annoyance and minor distraction. I’ve put the FXR rear sets on but compared to the OEM pegs, they seem a bit narrow. I may go back and forth on this on some street rides.

Camera mount - I tried a RAM ball on the inside of the fairing but with a medium-length arm, it just vibrated too much. I fabricated an aluminum plate and drilled two small holes in the back of the dash mount and put the camera on that. I’d done something similar on my previous K67 and it worked pretty okay. I do get some vibration based on the RPM but it’s still usable. It also keeps the camera clean. I’m using the AiM SmartyCam 3 GP with an 84° field of view (FoV). The controller fits just perfectly under the pillion area though I had to remove the USB-C charging port.

Front suspension potentiometer - again, I had parts from the previous K67 so I mounted up an AiM Eclipse 150mm linear pot using the Alpha Racing pot mounts. The catch is that it doesn’t clear the stock front fender so I used an Alpha fiberglass fender and cut out a notch. I also cut out a notch on the right-hand side for the fender to clear the L74 pull-cup axle. I installed the Alpha steering stops.

L74 front axle - I can never find the male hex sockets when I need them so I re-used the L74 front axle. It has a pull cup and has a 24mm head so that gets me back into tools that I can always find and I prefer pull cups. Also the pull cup bore the brunt of the damage when the bike slid on the right-hand side.

Stahlbus brake bleeders - I put these on most of my bikes. These make fluid changes and bleeding so much easier, at least once you get the air out from the initial installation. These went on the front calipers and the front master cylinder. I didn’t install on the rear since I’m not a big rear brake user. Part numbers for the BMW are as follows: master cylinder - SB-110311 (1 piece), calipers - SB-130111-NA (2 pieces), and caps - SB-180011-AZ (3 pieces). This is for the OEM Nissin calipers and master cylinder.

Forged wheels - I already have 2 sets of OEM forged wheels with Brembo T-drive rotors from the old bike so this was a no-brainer. I have L74 captive spacers on all the wheels.

Radiator & oil cooler guards - I pretty much default to Evo-Tech when it comes to these. I had to disassemble most of the front fairing to get in there (keep track of which screw goes where!) and I did them at the same time as the front suspension pot and the steering stops. I consider these kind of a must-do, it’s surprising how many bent fins (just slightly) I had in 650 miles.

Bobbins/spools - even though I almost exclusively use the Bursig stand, I put the Evo-Tech bobbins on the swingarm. With the previous bike when it slid on its side, the bobbins prevented the swingarm from coming into contact with the asphalt.

Frame slider/protector - I like the GB Racing and Alpha parts for this. I re-used the Alpha frame protector this time. Overall I think I prefer the GB Racing just slightly however you have to drill and tap the frame to mount their kit. Both cover the most vulnerable part of the frame (at least in my case) which is the ears where the engine bolts into the frame. The GB kit did not fit under my race fairings but the Alpha did.

Engine covers - I re-used the GB Racing ‘secondary covers’ kit. From the previous bike being on its right-side, the pulse cover was the only one that sustained damage so that at the very least is highly recommended.

Titanium drilled caliper bolts - I get mine from Kurvey Girl. I re-used them from the previous bike and will safety wire them.

Brake pads - I’ve used the Vesrah RJL-XX and ZZ on nearly all of my bikes for years and am very happy with them. Kurvey Girl is my primary source.

Safety wiring the oil filter - I’ll install a drilled sump bolt at the next oil change. I’ve learned and will not have the oil filter come off again!

My AiM hardware consists of the XLog data logger, the SmartyCam 3 GP 84° FoV camera, an ACC connected to the Eclipse suspension potentiometers. I removed the bump stop on the pillion cover and drilled out the underside of the cover with a stepped bit just enough to get the two AiM 719 barrel connectors through it and mounted the XLog in place of the bump stop. I also had to add a data hub and that and the ACC fit nicely under the front tank cover next to the bike’s ECU. The camera controller, as mentioned earlier, fits under the pillion cover once I removed the USB-C charging port. I installed a Solo 2 DL on the steering stem because the XLog doesn’t have a dash option and I want to be able to glance down and see how I’m doing. The S2DL and the XLog are both connected to the bike’s CAN bus. The XLog is my primary data source since it has finer GPS resolution than the S2DL but I have had glitches with both but never at the same time, this way I’m assured to get data, even if one of them glitches. The camera is only connected to the XLog.

BMW M Endurance seat - I’m going to try this out. It’s tall but because I’m not yet able to find rear sets that lower the peg height a bit, I just may go with this, my knees appreciate it and it’s quick to change the seat so this may take some back and forth to see what I prefer.

That’s about it for now. The bike is still street legal and plated/insured so I’ll do a couple of test rides and check the camera footage and possibly tweak the overlay but the bike is largely ready for the next track outing.