BMW unveils the HP2 Sport
BMW has unveiled the third model in its High Performance range, the HP2 Sport. It is the fastest, sportiest and lightest Boxer-engined sport bike yet, and it is ready for the road or track.
BMW has unveiled the third model in its High Performance range, the HP2 Sport.
It is the fastest, sportiest and lightest Boxer-engined sport bike yet, and it is ready for the road or track. The BMW HP2 Sport follows in the wake of the successful launch of the HP2 Enduro (2005) and HP2 Megamoto (2007). The BMW HP2 Sport is aimed at purist sports riders and is equipped with many racetrack derived features proven in endurance racing during 2007.
Some parts, such as the race shift for the close ratio gearbox, forged alloy wheels and MotoGP inspired dashboard are making their first appearance in a BMW series production machine. The BMW HP2 Sport will deliver thoroughbred sports riding on winding country roads as much as on race tracks. The highly tuned Boxer engine now delivers in excess of 96 kW (130+hp) at 8,750 rpm, even more than the R 1200 S launched in 2006. Peak torque is 115 Nm at 6,000 rpm, while the power doesn’t taper until it reaches the lofty red line at 9,500 rpm. Making the HP2 Sport the highest revving Boxer ever.
Essentially, the BMW HP2 Sport is based on the BMW R 1200 S. But there are significant mechanical differences, along with a new, race-ready composite carbon fibre body, race wheels and optional switchable ABS. To allow the new HP2 motor to rev so high BMW has evolved a new cylinder head valve gear design for the double overhead camshaft layout, now using a drag lever for valve actuation. Bigger valves are also used. In addition, the double spark plug arrangement used recently on R series machines has been replaced with a single plug per cylinder thanks to radially arranged valves that provide a very compact combustion chamber design. Further modifications include porting for intake and outlet flows along with new forged pistons and connecting rods, all of which help the engine to rev higher and deliver more power. The compression ratio is 12.5:1 and the engine runs on 98 RON or above. A pair of oil coolers is positioned behind the enhanced BMW kidney grilles in the front fairing.
Externally the engine changes are announced via new carbon cylinder head covers fitted with easy-to-replace slip pads made from PA6 hard plastic, an indication of the expected hard cranked over cornering riding style. A new stainless steel exhaust system is placed below the engine for the first time, while the silencer is of a particularly striking design. The rerouted two-into-one pipes keep the underside of the bike clear giving even more clearance for heavily banked high speed cornering.
Designed to thrill performance riders, the HP2 Sport comes with a new BMW feature, a race shift that incorporates advanced electronic control to allow the quickest possible gearshifts. The standard setting is for the rider to use the gear-shifter only, to move up the gearbox. By keeping the throttle open and ignoring the clutch lever, the rider can simply shift up with his foot. The benefit is quicker shifting and thus faster acceleration. Sophisticated electronics automatically sense the up-shift motion from the shifter and cut the ignition momentarily allowing the shift to take place when the engine is not under load. If the rider uses the clutch lever a traditional clutched up-change is effected. The default mode is race shift for switching between the six close ratio cogs. The race shift can also be optionally ordered with a reverse pattern shift and associated software specifically for competition use. This is the first time BMW has offered a race shift for a series production model.
The BMW HP2 Sport also boasts a sport chassis with fully adjustable Öhlins shocks front and rear, while a Brembo brakes set-up employs four-piston radial mounted callipers at the font grabbing a pair of 320 mm discs. A double sliding piston set up is used at the rear. Braided steel brake lines are used for optimum performance. Given the enhanced performance it was only natural that BMW engineer a specific and optional switchable ABS system for the HP2 Sport The BMW HP2 Sport runs on specially developed, weight and stability optimised, surface-milled forged wheels of 3.5 x 17" and 6.0 x 17". The forged wheels are fitted as standard with high performance tyres (120/70 ZR17 front and 190/55 ZR17 rear).
Optimum ergonomics are ensured by the adjustable forged aluminium footrests, adjustable stock handlebar and radial Magura clutch/brake levers. The instrument cluster is all digital and is based on a MotoGP set-up, delivering the traditional speed and rev information along with useful race data such as lap times, etc. Maximising the benefits of the improved power output is a stringent weight optimisation programme which has seen the wide application of lightweight composite carbon fibre for the front fairing and belly pan as well as a simplified rear structure which has an easily unclipped licence plate and tail light. Thus the BMW HP2 can be made race-ready in seconds.
The wind-tunnel honed front fairing is stiff enough to dispense with a subframe, a further weight saving. The front vista is dominated by lightweight, high-luminosity halogen twin headlamps with free-formed surface reflectors surrounded by the exposed carbon fairing and trade-mark kidney grilles which feed air to the oil coolers. Thanks to the weight saving programme the BMW HP2 Sport tips the scales at 178 kg dry, and 199 kg ready to ride. Rider ergonomics are suitable for both on track riding and endurance comfort. Compared with the BMW R 1200 S, the rider sits closer to the handlebars for a more upright position, behind the ‘waistline’ of the fairing. The slim-line tank is shaped to allow the rider to shift his weight across the bike when cornering hard.
The BMW HP2 Sport makes its public debut in Paris and is scheduled to go on sale in 2008. The full press statement from the Paris Show is below:
Statement by Peter Muller, Executive Vice President Development and Model Lines BMW Motorrad,
International Motorcycle Show "Mondial Du Deux Rouesì Paris, 28 September 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today I would like to present you a very special motorcycle – the HP2 Sport – the street version of our racing boxer. With racing prototypes of the HP2 Sport at international racing events, we seek to prove the competitiveness of this motorcycle at an early point in time, showing the world what kind of performance our Boxer is able to offer. At the same time such racing activities were also an integral and essential part of our development process. According to our definition of HP, high performance stands for the sporting performance, spirit and capability of the entire motorcycle in all its features, and not primarily just for maximum engine power. It is of course well-known that an air-cooled concept reaches its natural limits here, and cannot offer the same specific output as a water-cooled engine.
Precisely this is why this motorcycle – both the series model and the racing version – comes with an overall concept tailored directly to its specific purpose. The HP2 Sport offers its outstanding performance through the overall configuration of the motorcycle. That is its weight, the power characteristics of the engine in combination with the excellent running gear and perfect brakes. With the excellent racing results we achieved in Le Mans, Oschersleben and Magny Cours, we have already proven what our concept is able to offer.
We are offering the HP2 Sport, the street-legal version of our racing boxer, for the customer who wishes to experience this kind of performance himself. This truly outstanding motorcycle will be built in a small and exclusive series with virtually all the high-quality and sophisticated components to be admired on the racing version. There are five features I would like to highlight in particular: 1. The self-supporting rear subframe made of carbon-fibre 2. The high-performance brake system with its radially bolted monobloc brake callipers 3. The dashboard featured only in MotoGP 4. The power shifter 5. The new DOHC cylinder heads with direct operation of the valves The rider’s seat is integrated into the structure of the self-supporting rear subframe made of carbon-fibre. The rear section is absolutely unique in the production of series motorcycles and is featured in this technology for the first time on a series motorcycle. The entire unit weighs just 2.5 kilos. Compared with a conventional aluminium rear frame, this reduces the weight of this component alone by 2.1 kilos or 46 per cent.
The other components on the running gear are modified series parts carried over from the R 1200 S. Examples are the light and torsionally stiff tubular spaceframe, the Paralever swinging arm, and the Telelever further developed to an even higher standard. Both wheel mounting points incorporate top-quality Öhlins components. The Telelever is modified in its connection to the radially bolted brake callipers. The high-performance monobloc brake callipers come from Brembo and feature four brake pistons. Brake disc diameter at the front is 320 millimetres. The rear wheel features the single-disc brake system carried over from the R 1200 S, with brake disc diameter of 265 millimetres. As an option, the HP2 Sport is also available with our light Sport ABS from our R 1200 S appropriately modified for sports riding. You naturally have the opportunity to switch off ABS when racing on the race track.
Two other features we have carried over from motorsport are the dashboard and the power shifter: Focusing on the dashboard, we have chosen a unit from 2D Systems, the manufacturer that also supplies its components to teams in the MotoGP. Apart from the usual displays for road use, this dashboard also gives the rider a wide choice of information he is able to save on the race track for subsequent evaluation. The gearshift assistant enables the rider to shift up quickly without using the clutch and with hardly the slightest interruption in the flow of power. It does this by briefly taking back the ignition angle and cancelling out the injection in order to shift gears. The power shifter can also be converted into inverse shifting order. So far the cylinder heads of our racing bikes were a strict secret. But now I can tell you that for the first time since the legendary vertical drive shaft racing engines on the RS 54 back in the 1950s we now have a Boxer – the HP2 Sport – featuring a cylinder head with two overhead camshafts.
Our engineers have found a very intelligent technical solution for direct operation of the valves: Positioned horizontally, the camshafts act, respectively, on one intake and one exhaust valve each. The valves are operated by means of the light and stiff cam followers already well-known from the K 1200 S. Conically polished cams and radial arrangement of the valves in the cylinder head serve to optimise intake ports while maintaining the horizontal flow of gas in the cylinder head. Both camshafts are driven by a chain with fine links. We are particularly proud of the fact that despite DOHC control of the valves, the cylinder head is 10 millimetres smaller than on our current boxer engines. This new valve drive system allows a higher cylinder charge and provides a higher standard of mechanical strength and stiffness, enabling the Boxer to rev reliably beyond 9,000 rpm.
The speed limit is 9,500 rpm and the engine reaches maximum power at 8,750 revs. The further modifications on the engine versus the existing 1200-cc engines involve the chain guide leading to the cylinder heads and modifications in the crankcase, taking the extra power of the engine and the higher engine speed into account. For reasons of weight, we use light cylinder head covers made of carbon-fibre with exchangeable skid pads for the first time on a series motorcycle. The engine’s periphery, that is the Digital Motor Electronics with new mapping, the throttle butterflies and intake system all come straight from the R 1200 S. The intake funnel has been modified and the intake ducts carefully machined to provide the air throughout required for this kind of power. The manifold of the exhaust system has been moved underneath the oil sump for aerodynamics and leaning angle reasons.
The rear muffler has been integrated in its looks and appearance in the self-supporting carbon-fibre rear section. The exhaust system comes with a flap system to optimise both engine power and sound. It almost goes without saying that the exhaust system on our new HP2 Sport comes complete with a three-way catalytic converter and easily outperforms the EU 3 standard required by law. Maximum output of the production machine is 98 kW or 133 hp. This ensures the right kind of performance without requiring any concessions in terms of the reliability of the air-cooled power unit. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m afraid we don’t have enough time to look at the many other refined details on this new motorcycle.
I would however like to highlight the milled fork bridge, the adjustable, short and dynamic handlebar, the milled and adjustable footrests as well as the extremely light fairing made completely of carbon-fibre. Take your time afterwards to check out the motorcycle from close up and look at all the details. Naturally, we are at your disposal for any questions.
But before you take a look at the HP2 Sport, let me make an important announcement regarding the future road racing activities of BMW Motorrad. There has already been a lot of speculation on this point from your side. Today I am happy to tell you that in 2008 we will be entering the HP2 Sport in further classic endurance races. In 2009 we will then be opening up a new chapter in the road racing activities of BMW Motorrad, entering the World Super Bike Championship with our own team! We will inform you of further details such as the motorcycle concept and the structure of the team in good time.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you very much for your attention.
