BMW Motorrad launches track-only bike, HP4 RACE at Rs 85 lakh

BMW Motorrad has launched a non-road legal bike in India for Rs 85 lakh (ex-showroom). Why so expensive when you can't ride it around the street? The BMW HP4 RACE is a track-only bike which features state-of-the-art equipment everywhere you look. Everything from the chassis to the electronics is top spec and made for one purpose – to go faster.

The HP4 RACE get s full carbon fibre mainframe which weighs just about 7.8 kg. Even the wheels are made from carbon fibre shaving 30 percent of the weight from alloys. Because of all this carbon fibre, the bike weighs just 171 kg. BMW says this bike is lighter than their factory racing bikes used in the Superbike Championship and just a bit heavier than their MotoGP race bikes.

Suspension duties are handled by an Ohlins FGR 300 upside-down fork up front and an Ohlins TTX 36 GP monoshock out back. Brakes are3 Brembo GP4 PR monoblack brake calipers with 320 T-type racing steel disc in the front and a Brembo Racing single-disc brake, 4-piston WSBK fixed caliper with titanium pistons at the rear.

Since the HP4 RACE is a track-only bike, it comes with slick tyres, the Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slick SC2. Unlike normal tyres, these race-specific tyres don't have threads to dispel water on the roads.

Now for the heart of the bike. You get a race-spec engine that churns out 215 horses at 13,900 and produces 120 Nm of peak torque at 10,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a six-speed close ratio transmission with adapted transmission ratios. BMW says the engine will require a full rebuild every 5,000 km.

In terms of electronics, the HP4 gets almost everything a race bike gets. The screen will show you all the data you need when you are out shredding the track. The bike also features Dynamic Traction Control which is controlled by ignition cut, EBR (engine braking regulation), wheelie control and launch control. You also get a Pit Lane Limiter to observe the speed limit inside the pit lane.