2010 BMW S1000RR Price Speculation

How’d you like to have the latest, most advanced motorcycle in BMW’s current line-up for $1,000 or less?

Now that I have your attention I’ll clarify the above by saying that you can have, at some point, the new S1000RR literbike for a stated maximum of no more than $1,000 over the retail of what most of the Big Four will price their liter machines. This was undoubtedly the biggest news from BMW during the U.S. round of WSBK held at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT, May 29-31, 2009, where the new in-line Four made its U.S. debut in both race trim and civilian form.

However, we’ll have to deal with the vague pricing news for some time to come, as BMW won’t be announcing the actual price until after the Big Four unveil 2010 pricing for their liter steeds. Per BMW, it’s expected that Japan will be forced to raise prices again (The ’09 GSX-R1000 has already jumped $1,400 from 2008!) next year in light of the still-unstable world economy.

For now, let’s use 2009 prices to speculate. With the non-ABS CBR1000RR dialing up as the most expensive from the Big Four at $12,999, simple math tells us the BMW S1000RR should fall in around $14K.

Of course, we all know that BMW pricing almost always starts with the elusive “base model.” Nevertheless, a non-Race ABS, non-DTC (Dynamic Traction Control) S1000RR will be in a tête-à-tête with, say, the Honda, and most certainly less expensive than the $16,495 Italian stallion Ducati 1198 (another superbike without ABS or traction control as standard).

At this level of the market, and considering the typical BMW customer, most will order or purchase the German liter motorcycle with at least the ABS and traction control. These options would seemingly then push the bike’s retail past the $1,000 mark. Go with the optional shift assistant (electronic speed shifter as first found on the HP2 Sport and now available for the K1300S), and the price will climb by another $500, give or take a couple bucks. Even a wild guess at a fully optioned S1000RR ($16,500-$17,000?) should put it well below the $21,795 of the tricked-out Ducati 1198S.

But BMW’s communications manager, Roy Oliemuller, expects that in order to keep the S bike competitively priced, cost of available options won’t ratchet the base model’s pricing to the moon, as is often the case with most other BMW models. One of the first things mandated about the S1000RR before a single Computer-Aided Design image was rendered was price point. In consideration of this, BMW will likely have to take a hit on the margins it usually enjoys on optional equipment if that’s what it takes to keep the retail figure as low as possible.

By Pete Brissette