BMW's foray into sportsbikes seems to have been hugely successful, producing a great looking bike with performance that challenges the best of the current hot poop road bikes but with a load of electronics added to allow for earlier throttle and later braking, just what you need to open a gap down the N810 on the final run down to the bar in Bouillon.

The bike's done pretty well in WSB and early rides show it's not too extreme for the road. All the electronics have various stages of adjustment so there must be a setting in there somewhere to appeal to everyone. We'll see how they cope with cold wet days in the hills, and just how much they affect riding style.

Playing with the traction control it seems that the wet, sport, race and slick modes can be changed whilst riding, just pull the clutch in when switching. And you'll need your chip plugged in for slick mode, which allows you to back the bike into corners and slide it out, natch.

Dyno runs of 180 plus bhp at the back wheel seem to back up or exceed BMWs 193 bhp at the crank. With effective traction control the theory is you can use that power more of the time, if you're brave enough to whack open the ride-by-wire throttle while on your ear exiting a bend.

More electronics in the braking - the fat 46mm Sachs forks carry Brembo radial brake callipers operated by a Nissin lever. They are seriously powerful and the anti-lock option means you can use them to the full without worrying too much about the surface you're on.

Another electrical goody is the quickshifter, which works well and ensures no bike without one will keep up on sheer acceleration - definitely the must have performance aid for 2010.

Instrumentation is pretty traditional for a modern bike, large analogue revcounter and digital speedo with info on gear and mode. There is a useful Gixer style shift light which can be programmed to come on at various rev limits, plus a lap timer. The later new bikes have a 9000 rpm electronically controlled rev ceiling until the first service as racers kept blowing motors running them too hard too soon.

All that power needs some decent control at the back end and the massive swingarm and fully adjustable shock are up to the task. Lots of twiddling potential; high and low speed compression and there's some rebound in there somewhere.

And front fork twiddling is actively encouraged by giving the ignition key a screwdriver end to fit the fork damping adjusters - just don't try fettling your rebound on the move. Spring preload is also adjustable.

On standard settings suspension is a bit on the firm side, but backing off rear compression to ease the old piles over the bumpy stuff just has the rear tyre squirming. Unwinding the preload makes a small difference but again you're losing rear traction, and following two BMs, one with standard preload and one backed off, showed the unsullied bike to be getting out of the corners better. What to do? Well history tells us that at this stage you junk the shock and get some WP gear fitted.

It does seem that BMW have saved just a teensy weensy bit of money on the suspenders. All that electronic wizadry won't make up for budget bouncy bits and the suspension is harsh, sometimes resulting in a rather skippy back end; and too much skippying means the traction control cuts in ... Softening things up just ruins the handling. So you'll have to put up with a bit of jarring on bumpy stuff.

Styling is like all styling, subjective. The lack of symmetry at least makes the bike a little different and adds a bit of interest to the sportsbike range. But it's a good looking bike, a bit Fireblade at the back but thankfully not at the front!

A satisfied owner polishing his helmet yesterday

Compact bars and front endy feel give you a good sense of control and the steering is very light and easy yet with good mid-corner stability. Out on some of the faster D roads of europe the bike is quick, but it's only right at the very top end that the Beemer can get away from a Gixer K5, and loses out on initial grunt unless it's revved hard.

Bike is a decent size and there's room to spread out a little on a long run. Power is huge once you reach 10,000 rpm and you'll be grateful for the electronic safety nets. But there is a distinct lack of grunt and this counts against the bike on typical tight twisting roads with a lot of second gear bends and you're using the full rev range but can't get down to first for the exits; better on the very fast stuff.

And the bike's got self-cancelling indicators. Not seen them since Exups, but a bloody good idea and all bikes should have them.

Fuel range is no improvement on yer average sportsbike. The '08 Blade improved things here and added another 20 miles between refills, but the Beemer starts flashing its reserve light at little over 100 miles which is disappointing. For serious road use you really want to see 150 plus miles before needing to look for a petrol station.

And how does it compare with the other hot poop bike of 2010, the Aprilia RSV4? Well, so far it seems that the BMW is the more practical road bike. A bit more spacious than the Aprilia, a bit quicker, more tecchy and more stable in extremis - the RSV4 is more visceral, more brutal. Teutonic engineering versus Italian passion?

Seems that the 1000RR is the biggest selling sports bike at the moment by a long way. Not sure it's really that much better than a properly set up Japanese four, but the on-board electronics obviously have appeal to a lot of buyers. BMW have saved money on the suspension and it shows, so that may be your first upgrade.

Specs:
Engine 999 cc (61.0 cu in) inline-4
Bore / Stroke 80.0 mm × 49.7 mm
Power 193 hp @ 13,000 rpm
Torque 183 ft·lb @ 9,750 rpm
Tyre Front: 120/70 ZR 17
Tyre Rear: 190/55 ZR 17
Wheelbase 1,432 mm (56.4 in)
Seat height 820 mm (32 in)
Weight 204 kg wet
Fuel capacity 17.5 litres

Greenish colur scheme doesn't look that good on paper but OK in real life, and is a little bit different from most of the rest.

BMW make some approved mods available, including this tasty Akrapovic can and BMW adjustable pegs, if you have lots of spare cash left over. Or spend the money on suspension. Or Le Tunnel and hotels ....