SPIED: BMW’S NAKED SUPERBIKE!

A few years ago, in our January 2011 issue, we featured Evoluzione Cyclesports' one-off BMW S1000RR streetfighter, which our own Tim Carrithers favorably compared to "good 180-proof homemade whisky: intense, intoxicating, and definitely not for little girls or those with dodgy heart conditions." Now it looks like you'll no longer have to brew your own—spy shots have captured a very refined factory version of the naked S1000RR undergoing testing recently, suggesting you'll be able to buy your own at your local BMW dealership very soon.

Reportedly called the S1000RS, this new naked bike looks very similar to the existing S1000RR superbike, with a nearly identical tank, tailsection, and swingarm. The most obvious change is the deleted fairing, replaced with stylized radiator shrouds and a minimalist headlight surround, and the upright tubular handlebar that replaces the RR’s low-slung clip-ons. Nothing is known about the mechanical specifications, but if the state-of-tune is even close to the 170-bhp S1000RR that dominated our annual “Class of” sportbike comparison tests for the past two years, it will give existing super-nakeds like the Aprilia Tuono V4R and Triumph’s Speed Triple some serious competition. Only BMW’s excellent electronics—including traction control and wheelie control—will keep it from being impossible to manage. Expect this one to be revealed at Intermot 2013.