I'm so tired of people comparing the BMW to the Ducati or any other Italian boutique brand. The BMW was built to beat the Japanese bikes at their own game, basically they took an already proven engine layout that has in the past been built to ridiculous levels of power (Lee's Cycles of San diego sold crate motors rated at 220 hp at the wheel with a full yoshimura system for the 08-12 cbr1000rr's). Then they ripped off every positive technology from the japanese brands (deltabox, unit pro link, etc.) added their own minor twists to avoid lawsuits and produced the ultimate generic I-4 motorcycle ever. Does it work on the track, hell yeah it does, it goes like stink, does it truly do anything that hasnt already been done a thousand times before...other than give people even more power than they had in the japanese bikes? not really.
The 1199 on the other hand is going out of its way to be "all new". New engine, new frame, new suspension geometry, new electronics, new ergonomics, hell even the Ducati trademark underseat exhaust is gone. The one standard that Ducati refused to budge on was the number of cylinders. I am sure they could have gone to a V-4 and had a more manageable engine in the lower revs, but the L-twin is the beating heart of Ducati superbikes. What they have accomplished with this engine is just short of unbelievable...I'm sure that 10 years ago anyone claiming almost 200 bhp at the crank would have been laughed into obscurity.
On top of all that, Ducati is to motorcycles as Ferrari is to automobiles. Sure the Nissan GT-R can smoke an F430, but I guarantee that if both were parked right next to one another people would hardly care about the GT-R. Same goes for Ducati, park a Duc next to a BMW and people will just think the BMW is an "odd Jap bike", while Ducati oozes sex appeal.
On the track the Ducati may be at a disadvantage but it would be slight, considering that even the best of the amateur racers on here posting arent really pushing these bikes to their jagged edge of performance. The BMW will most likely remain the HP king for some time, it has some of the best electronic "nannies" on the market that make all that power "seem" accessible. The Japanese will eventually make bikes that handle as well if not better than the BMW. Dont forget that we'll most likely see an "R" version of the 1199 as well, which will probably end the reign of the BMW on the track. And dont forget about Aprilia i doubt they will sit on their hands much longer when it comes to the HP wars with Ducati and BMW...imagine a 180HP+ V4 in a bike as nimble as the RSV4 and you have something approaching motorcycle zen.
The BMW just hammered the sportbike world with HP but didnt really upset the balance of the market. It found its niche between Jap bikes and the Italians and is content to be where its at. I am curious how BMW will progress with future models...basically what are they gonna rip-off next? Or will they innovate?
For me the decision came down to Aprilia or Ducati, and now I have a deposit on an 1199S. Deep down inside every BMW S1000RR owner is a desire to own an exotic, thats why the only argument they have against bikes like the Aprilia and the Ducati is "mine's faster". That's like the guy who mods a Honda Civic to post 10 second quarters so he can brag that its faster than a Ferrari...its still a Civic, bud.
