Page 34 - Motorcycle Trader (February 2020)

drifting the M2 Competition. I choose the
sinister black one at the rear of the queue
this time so I can see how everybody else
goes, but first the skidpan instructor shows
us how it’s done, performing a beautifully
executed circular drift on the soaking-wet
pavement. Looks easy enough. When it’s my
turn, I set off down the line of orange cones
and stab the gas hard mid-corner, sending the
M2’s rear end sideways before sliding to an
embarrassing halt 180 degrees in the opposite
direction. The concrete is fairly slick then.
I come around for another pass, this time
dialling in slightly less throttle and more
opposite lock when the tail steps out, and the
M2 obediently powers out of the slide with a
feral roar while I laugh like a maniac. After
several more passes with varying degrees of
success, I’m just starting to get a feel for the
steering wheel/rear wheel spin ratio when
the instructor informs the riders among us to
move on to the Motorrad portion of the day.

TWO WHEELS

A row of sparkling BMW metal greets us in
pitlane, from S 1000 RRs (the outgoing model
sadly – see breakout) to R NineTs and even a
K 1600 police bike.
Before we go out, former Aussie California
Superbike School boss and now Phillip Island
Ride Days operator Steve Brouggy gives us
some tips and a reminder it’s not a race out M M E E T S
there. We nod sagely, knowing full well we’ll M O T O RRA D
be racing each other at the first opportunity.
I head out on the S 1000 RR first, which
feels like a 190hp engine with handlebars
and wheels bolted to it, so compact are its ABOVE: Fluoro leathers
dimensions. And to think the new model is would have been more
said to be even smaller. appropriate on the
The feeling of speed is raw as the RR howls author’s K 1300 R. The
man himself had been
down the straight, the wind blast threatening hoping for a fang on the
to tear off any limbs not tucked into its shark- latest M version of the
like curves. Easing into the blindingly fast S 1000 RR. Maybe later.
Turn 1, the Brembo brakes bite hard enough
that care needs to be exercised not to upset
the bike’s balance and, as always, I exit
Doohan corner suspecting I could’ve gone
faster before pitching the RR onto its side
for Southern Loop. Turns are much harder
to finish off compared with the M4 I drove
earlier, the relative lack of visibility and grip
forcing me to delay winding the throttle open
for what feels like an eternity.
Back in the pits, Brouggy suggests I sacrifice
some mid-corner speed for a sharper line off
the turn, which immediately helps. By letting
the RR drift slightly deeper into the corner for
a later apex I can get onto the fat part of the tyre
sooner, using the RR’s berserk power-to-weight
ratio to cannon me into the next turn.

34 MOTORCYCLE TRADER