BMW Motorrad has launched the HP4 RACE in India at Rs 85 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The non-road legal motorcycle has been made by BMW for track enthusiasts who want the best the company has to offer. Use of carbon fibre is extensive and the bike also comes equipped with the highest-spec brakes, suspension and electronics available in the motorcycling world.
To begin, this variant of the HP4 has a race-spec engine that makes 215hp at 13,900rpm and maximum torque of 120Nm at 10,000rpm. BMW has said that this motor will require a full rebuild every 5,000km. Like the engine, the gearbox on this bike has been made for racing as well. The bike uses a six-speed close-ratio transmission with optimised ratios and various secondary ratios (diverse range of pinions and chain sprockets included).
With the HP4 RACE, BMW Motorrad is the first motorcycle manufacturer in the world to offer a mainframe made entirely of carbon fibre, which weighs just 7.8kg. The front and rear wheels are also made of carbon fibre, enabling a weight reduction of approximately 30 percent as compared to light alloy-forged wheels. The extensive use of carbon fibre has helped bring the weight down from the standard bike’s 208kg to 171kg on the HP4 RACE. The German bike maker say that this bike is even lighter than the factory racing bikes currently used in the Superbike World Championship and is only slightly above the MotoGP factory racers in terms of weight.
The new HP4 RACE also has the best suspension on offer. The bike rides on an Ohlins FGR 300 upside-down fork and Ohlins TTX 36 GP monoshock. The brakes are also the best in the business - Brembo GP4 PR monoblock brake calipers with 320 T-type racing steel brake disks (thickness: 6.75mm) at the front and Brembo Racing single-disc brake, 4-piston WSBK fixed caliper with titanium pistons at the rear.
Being a race bike, the bike ships with slick tyres called the Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slick SC2. It is also loaded with electronic rider aids and a screen that shows all the data you would need on a race track. The HP4 RACE also has what the company calls ‘audibly perceptible Dynamic Traction Control’ that is controlled by ignition cut, along with EBR (that allows the user to select the amount of engine braking) and Wheelie Control. Other electronic features are the Pit Lane Limiter for observing speed limits in the pit lane and Launch Control for race starts.
The BMW HP4 RACE is available in only one colour scheme and is limited to 750 units worldwide. At Rs 85 lakh (ex-showroom, India) it does seem like a bargain when compared to Ducati’s Panigale 1299 Superleggera that was priced at Rs 1.12 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). That being said, the Ducati was road-legal while this BMW is not.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
